Almazan as Maria
DEATH OF THE DOLL (Short Film and Feature Film screenplay. Short film produced under Almazan’s production company La Lucha Arts) – Writer, Actor, Director, Producer.
Screened: (1st Annual Boyle Heights Latina Independent Film Extravaganza, Los Angeles, selection by Josefina Lopez of Real Women Have Curves) (Screenplay participated in The National Association of Latin Independent Producers, NALIP- Writers Lab) (Screened at the NALIP- national conference)
(*Voted 1st place at the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) Latino Pitch Session) (NYC Film Counseling Series Program Selected Participant)
This feature film centers on a young virgin stripper Mari, from Juarez , Mexico now living in America, whose hopes of crossing her mother over the border and quitting her job are crushed by her mother’s sudden death. She is pushed over the edge after a violent episode with a customer as she has hallucinatory dreams of being reunited with her mother. When an attractive priest Andrew, posing as a journalist begins interview sessions at the club; Mari is forced to reevaluate her obsession with Catholicism, secret interests in pursuing politics and the need to break free from the controlling Madame Laura. Causing them both to discover holiness in the most unexpected of places.
Ensemble Cast
Original TV Pilot: CHUT UP! : Based on the life, art and Activism of Raquel Almazan
A smart, uncompromising Ivy League Latina is an army of one as she fights the stereotypes that are set up to make her fail. The series will trace the battling rise of actor/writer, Raquel Almazan in New York City as she navigates the biz, die-hard activism, teaching youth of color, getting pregnant as a single mom and growing up in the US with her wild Costa Rican family. Features Almazan’s original theatre/media work, and the art of indie artist of color in NYC. It explores a spectrum of social and racial issues to expand the representation of contemporary Latinx experience.
WHITE ALLIGATOR– Directorial Feature Film Debut. Mockumentary on racism in the entertainment industry.
Juanita attempts to decide between two boxes on a standard actor audition form:
White or Hispanic
Um… both?
Screenings: (International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival (Art of Brooklyn Film Festival), (San Francisco Latino Film Festival) (International Bled Film Festival Slovenia *Winner Best Actress for WA lead actress) (Golden Door International Film Festival-produced by the Sorvino Family)
WATCH THE TRAILER:
LO QUE PASO – Director/co-producer of Lo Que Paso short film (text in Spanish by Mariana Enriquez) – Cinematic Reading Series Escena Sur, reimagining short stories. Short term stream produced by La Micro Theatre.
Directed and co-produced by Raquel Almazan
Performed and co-produced by Carmen Borla
Director of photography Sam Falconi
Edited by Eva Lia Pedriglieri
SMITHSONIAN SHORTS – Producer and Content Director through City Lore org. for a series of short 2 min documentaries directed by youth addressing the United Nations sustainability goals. Commissioned by The Smithsonian Museum. Four films awarded top 10 awards in Teens Dream international competition 2020.
BEHIND THE FLAVORS OF NEW YORK – Producer and Content Director through City Lore org. for this short documentary. Over centuries of modernization and development, the idea of food has become closely intertwined with the cultural identity of individuals and communities. How do three New York City restaurants embody the preservation of culture through food and highlight the immigrant experience in the US? This film explores the intersection of personal immigrant narratives and food culture, as well as the response of small businesses during the covid pandemic. Featuring insights from Veselka’s Tom Birchard and Olesia Lew, Bessou’s Maiko Kyogoku, Tyler Thrift, and Emily Yuen, and Bagel House’s Sunyoung La. (18 minutes, 2020-2021)
Directed by: Alice La, Sumya Abida and Esther Bistricer
Produced by Raquel Almazan, City Lore Urban Explorers Program.
Teaching Artist Mentor: Suzette Burton, Raquel Almazan
City Lore, Education, Urban Explorers Films
SWEET HOME CHINATOWN? – Producer and Content Director through City Lore org. for this short documentary depicting modern day Chinatown in New York City. Through interviews with art activists such as co-founder of Chinatown Art Brigade- Tomie Arai, fourth-generation owner of Wing on Wo—Chinatown’s oldest store—Gary Lum, and students and residents from the Chinatown community. The film uses personal and collective narratives to highlight the neighborhood’s struggles with gentrification. Oral history from Chinese immigrant residents such as Gary Lum, fourth-generation owner of family antiques shop, offer insight to the ways in which historical cultural values of immigrant business families are reinvented to flourish in contemporary times. This film investigates how immigrant culture is preserved, not negotiated in relation to the American landscape. (11 minutes, 2019)
Directed by: Sumya Abida, Zawadi Boyce, Tina Gao, Ningxi Pan and Michelle Villalba.
Produced by Raquel Almazan, City Lore Urban Explorers Program.
Teaching Artist Mentor: Mei Kazama, Raquel Almazan
City Lore, Education, Urban Explorers Films
PRIDE STORIES: Life Jacket Theatre partnered with the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project to support LGBTQIA+ immigrants share their urgent stories with a series of short docs. Storytelling Coaches: Raquel Almazan & Drew Drake. Video: Jeremy Kotin. Support: Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York – Funds for Anti-Oppression Work. Watch the films: http://www.lifejackettheatre.org/pride
THE WEIGHT OF FLIGHT– Collaborating with director/producer Elizabeth Mackintosh, Almazan wrote this short film based on the transgender life of Pooya Mohseni who starred in the film. Post production status.
MUSIC VIDEO– Director/Producer Van Wild’s “Cherry Tree” track – global digital distribution. View here
THEATRE DIRECTING
Over 25 Facilitation Arts Programming Productions with professionals and students across the nation.
THE FIRST BRIDGE –one act festival, Schreiber Shorts, T. Schreiber Theatre, NYC
BERRIES and My FAVORITE FLOWER staged reading, Clutch Productions, Primary Stages Studio, NYC
RISE UP! STOLEN LIVES, SAY THEIR NAMES w/Stop Mass Incarceration Network, Times Square
LETTERS FROM PRISONERS w/Stop Mass Incarceration Network, National Black Theatre, NYC
FUTURE STAGE (off broadway), New World Stages, NYC
A PEACH TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, Marymount Manhattan College
CROSSING DESOLATION by Paco Madden, Occupy the Empty Space, NYC
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, New World Conservatory
OH, THE HEARTLESS, Sticky Series, Blue Box Productions, NYC
PORTRAIT OF MY BROTHER –Solo show, Louis O’ Gerrits Theatre, New World Conservatory
ZAP! by Natasha Tsakos, Green Door Gallery Miami
FEMME AND FOE, Miami Beach Cinematheque