By Emily Scheer
Conestoga High School

In the world of film, it is often a struggle for Latinx filmmakers to express their culture within the predominantly white industry. But in Philadelphia, these local filmmakers and curators work hard to embrace their culture in their projects.

Since its opening in 2012, the Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival has nurtured creatives and showcased the work and diversity of the work made in Latinx communities.

“Cultures are meant to be celebrated, because they offer an opportunity for us to learn from each other,” said the festival’s director, Marángeli Mejía-Rabell.

Mejía-Rabell officially joined the festival team in 2014 as a collaborator and quickly became its director in the same year. She has helped the festival grow into what it is today.

“We began as a three-day festival,” she said. “From there, we went to four days, then to eight days, and our last season was six weeks. And we program over 250 films.”

Mejía-Rabell’s goal for the festival is to expand the presence of Latino culture in film and promote diversity in the film industry. She said it is important for people outside the community to embrace the cultural legacy of Latinx people and help uplift emerging voices in the industry.

“Latino culture has a rich history and experiences … especially at this point that we are navigating times where there’s a lot of forces that are pushing for us to focus on our differences,” Mejía-Rabell said.

One emerging voice in the industry is Latinx filmmaker Kristal Sotomayor. Their debut film, Expanding Sanctuary, is a documentary short film about a community leader who becomes the voice for a campaign to end the sharing of the Philadelphia police database with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Another of her documentary short films is Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens, which tells the legacy of Mother Cappellucci, a drag queen from New Hope, Pa.

Currently, Sotomayor is working on another short documentary project about Las
Cafeteras, a Chicano band based in Los Angeles that began a national campaign to get out the Latino vote.

“For me, it’s just so important to document things and to tell stories that I feel like aren’t getting told enough from a perspective that is uplifting and that can support a community,” they said.

In early March, Sotomayor launched their own production company, Sotomayor
Productions. They said it was a long process, but it was worthwhile to see their hard work all come together in the end.

“It’s just been a lot of work for a really long time to get this done. And I did have support from the Lenfest Institute early on, and I’m so thankful for them,” Sotomayor said.

When not on set, they spend most of their time on the writing and managing
side of the job.

“I would say 10% of [my] time is being on a film set. And 90% of time is
writing, whether it’s writing emails, pitch decks, writing treatments, or signing crew contracts. A lot of my work is networking and emailing and just a lot of writing,” they said.

“And then all of that is done in order to have your 10% [when] you’re on a crew
filming. But in order to get there, [it] takes a lot of work.”

As Sotomayor pursues more projects in their rising career, their hope as a Latinx
filmmaker is to continue exploring their culture and identity.

“I just hope that my films leave people in a better place than where they were when they came in,” Sotomayor said. “And that I teach them something new so that they can see especially the Latino community and the queer community as human and valuable and important.”

You can find more of Sotomayor’s work at http://www.kristalsotomayor.com.