Sister Outsider

When I began film school in 1998, I witnessed the transition from 35mm film to high definition video. The present digital explosion gives us the look of film for a fraction of its price, and while I will always love the look and romanticism of film, the working class girl inside me applauds the ever-changing technology. As a member of the generation that grew up with personal computers with huge floppy disks, I appreciate the way broadband content changes the multi-media landscape because of its accessibility. It balances the playing field by creating opportunities for marginalized communities -- (people of color, women, queer, immigrants, poor, etc.) to tell our stories, our way.

Sister Outsider Entertainment exists to transform the way media influences the world for the better. We are a multi-media production company committed to producing vehicles (film/video, broadband, stage, print and television) that entertain, engage and evolve.That is we strive to create entertainment that not only makes multicultural audiences feel but also think.

We believe that entertainment can transform audiences. We believe that Media can both be commercially viable and socially relevant. And we believe that this is achieved by being committed to striking the balance between exploiting the latest in technology yet being true to the timeless craft of storytelling. That this is how you get the world’s attention and change its perceptions. Now.

In 2000, Sofia and I co-founded Chica Luna Productions, a non-profit, community-based organization to support and develop young women of color who wished to use popular media to promote social justice.Chica Luna is the school where those who are usually the object become the subject by learning the skills and practicing their craft. As the school grows, Sofia and I now venture towards building Sister Outsider Entertainment, the for-profit company that will create opportunities to hire such women (and their allies of all backgrounds) and produce financially successful projects that reach diverse audiences.

Sofia and I created SOE while conceptualizing a television series called SANGRIA STREET. What began as work-for-hire by MTV Networks will now become an independently produced series for broadband set to premiere in 2009. SOE also produces book trailers for individual authors and publishing companies who want promotional videos to do for their projects what music videos do for recording artists.

Over the next two years, we will produce two off-Broadway productions: Jotaria (see details below about our sneak preview on February 7th) and New Black Man based on the book by Mark Anthony Neal. We also have a full slate of music videos, commercials and short films that will be produced, sold and distributed (and to hire us for your video/film project, check out our website).

2008 will be a major year for Sister Outsider as we push forward with our vision to create multimedia entertainment that pushes the envelope with respect to technology, craft and most of all, representation. We hope that you will follow SOE as we grow and join us as we realize our vision. Our bimonthly newsletter will always be filled with cutting-edge industry news, opportunities for potential crew and cast, and exclusives for our audience. And of course, we are always open to your feedback.

Sofia and I would like to extend a special thanks to all our supporters – our amazing staff, interns, crew, actors and consultants that have worked with us over the past year to make our company visionary and vibrant.We wish you and yours Happy Holidays and an abundant New Year!

Un abrazo,
Elisha Miranda
Chief Executive Officer

SISTER OUTSIDER ENTERTAINMENT MOVES TO NEW STUDIO SPACE.

SOE opens new full service studio on the upper west side of New York City.

PICTURE ME ROLLIN'

". . . but what I really want to do is direct."

Every industry has its clichés, and the above is one of my personal favorites from the business of film and video. The joke is that every actor, writer and producer truly aspires to direct. That however blessed one may be with talent and opportunities to act, write or produce, nothing offers the power and satisfaction of directing. Regardless of who may write the script, play the roles, or produce the project, the director is the architect of the final result. If the final product succeeds or fails, the buck stops with the director. He (because to this day the overwhelming majority of directors are men) is God.

Honestly, I never aspired to direct. As a writer who successfully crosses forms and genres, I was quite satisfied with the immense storytelling power of words. But when Sister Outsider decided to enter the book trailer market and to produce one for my urban novel Picture Me Rollin' as a sample of what we could offer other authors in that genre, I felt compelled to move behind the camera.

First, my team at the company insisted on it. They said, "No one knows your story better." This project also presented an opportunity for Sister Outsider both to walk our talk and flex our strengths. We believe that more women of color need to seize control over our images to create provocative yet quality entertainment that bucks stereotypes. In order to do that, it's necessary that we move beyond writing and performing into producing and directing. And as a business owned and run by women of color, Sister Outsider is driven to prove that when well crafted stories depicting those constantly deemed "specific" and "other" - women, people of color, queers, working-class Joes and Jills, and citizens of urban America and any combination thereof - can resonate universally across lines of difference. They must.

The experience (and the results) of directing my first video project were amazing, primarily because the myth of the omnipotent director proved to be just that, a myth. Yes, I wrote the novel Picture Me Rollin' and then assumed the usual directorial responsibilities, from writing the treatment to casting the actors to developing floor plans for the two-day shoot. I did so against a vision informed by the major themes of my novel, but whatever vision I had for the Picture Me Rollin' trailer was both executed and enhanced by a fantastic cast and crew that Sister Outsider carefully assembled. Without exception, each member of the team was dedicated to creating moving images that conveyed the essence of my novel which itself represents a deliberate effort to evade the clichés of its genre.

And it was the production team at Sister Outsider that convened and led these talented professionals into a creative synergy. Just as with our first book trailer production for Juicy Mangos (which, other than the core team at Sister Outsider, utilized a completely different cast and crew), the Picture Me Rollin' shoot churned forward like a well-oiled machine, from the writing of the treatment to the editing of the footage. The fluidity on the Picture Me Rollin' set proved that the magic of the Juicy Mangos shoot was no fluke.

They say there is no I in team, but, I'm now convinced that there shouldn't be one in director either. Does this mean that anyone can direct so long as she surrounds herself with a strong cast and crew? No, of course not. Like any other art form, it requires talent and discipline to master over time. However, no matter how intrinsically gifted a director may be, she cannot make any film - never mind a good one - if she cannot recruit and galvanize a team that is dedicated to her vision and true to the story she aims to tell.

And that's what we do at Sister Outsider for all our projects, and especially those of our clients. Now we agree with the industry-wide notion that a book trailer is not a film adaptation of one's novel. However, we are different from our peers in that we insist that a trailer can and should be a cinematic representation of the novel's essence. It can and should capture the essence of your story in a visually compelling way, exploiting the advantages of video to create interest in your novel. It should move. And as it moves, it should defy rather than rely upon the clichés that may pervade its genre in both the film and publishing industries.

Let the Sister Outsider produce your book trailer, and our talented team promises that our cinematic representation of your story will be anything but cliché.

Sincerely,
Sofía Quintero
President

JOTARIA – June 2008

“Your silence will not protect you…”
— Audre Lorde

JOTARIA (pronounced- hoh- tah-REE- ah)
Joto (HOH-toh) is an insult for a homosexual in Mexico, and certain parts of Central America. It has the same meaning that Pato does for Caribbean Latinos. But similar to the way the LGBTQI movement reclaimed queer, we have reclaimed "Joto" and added an "a" to reflect our experiences as women.

From June 23-29 of 2008, SOE will premiere JOTARIA, a show that is totally devoted to the Latina Queer experience. Opening during Gay Pride Week, - JOTARIA will celebrate love and peace and commemorate Latinos/as that have contributed to the queer liberation movement such as Sylvia Rivera, the transgender activist who incited the Stonewall Riots and others who still remain invisible.

JOTARIA is a collaboration between Sister Outsider Entertainment and Chica Luna Productions. It's a multi-media production that will combine film, music, dance and theater to present eleven monologues written by various members of the LGBTQI community. The characters are Dominican, Colombian, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Filipino, of different gender identities (Bisexual, Lesbian, Questioning, Transgender Male to Female and Female to Male, etc.), and of various ages and socio-economic backgrounds.

Through JOTARIA, the audience will experience a show that transcends the typical coming-out-stories and deals with homelessness, love, acceptance, the “don't ask; don't tell” policy, transgender identity, reparative therapy and more. These stories are compelling because they told by diverse Queer Latinas/os from across the country. This show will prove that Latinas are more than just eye candy or faceless workers as they are often portrayed in mainstream entertainment.

UPCOMING EVENT:
Save the date: there will be a JOTARIA fundraiser on February 7, 2008. At this time you will be invited to a special sneak peak of our show and we will also unveil our new name. While you mingle and make new friends, come learn why JOTARIA is such an important project.

Get a sneak peek at three of the eleven monologues featured in the show.

If you are interested in donating to the project beforehand or becoming one of our allies, please contact us at jotaria@sisteroutsider.biz.

See our website at www.sisteroutsider.biz/stage.php or www.myspace.com/jotaria2007