Carmen is a first-generation, Mexican-American, Writer/Director. Her coming-of-age series, Our Lady of the Nerds, is under option at AGC Studios with Emmy award-winning showrunner, Peter Murrieta (Wizards of Waverly Place, Mr. Iglesias), attached. The series is inspired by Carmen’s merdy adolescence (Merd: a Mexican Nerd) and growing up in inner-city Chicago. Her web series, BFFs, about Latinx, 20-something roomies, garnered a million views on YouTube and she won best directing at Miami Web Fest for that series. Carmen was also a 2018 ABC/Disney Writing Program Finalist, a 2018 NALIP Latino Media Market Fellow, and an NHMC Writers Program Fellow.
In my 20s, I felt so UNLOVABLE.
UNLOVABLE is based on a stream-of-consciousness scene I wrote in my early 20s, a period of my life that was defined by chaotic relationships with men, including one that was abusive.
Now in my 30s, I decided to revisit these writings, the abuse, and that state of mind that pervaded my 20s.
Although I gave my actors parameters, the film is entirely improvised. As a former dancer, I asked them to tell the story with no dialogue just through movement.
Idalia, my lead, had experienced abuse from a partner and we drew on those experiences.
This piece is non-linear, so it was really important for me to find an editor that could take these moments on set and help me tell a linear emotional narrative.
I was lucky to find, Angelica, a gifted editor from the USC MFA Film Program. A confident Latina in her 20s, she also confided in me her past with an abusive partner which further shaped our narrative.
I am proud to say that me, Idalia and Angelica told our stories of abuse, but more than that, the moment we found our power.
My hope is that anyone who has experienced violence in the name of “love” might watch the film and ask the question, “What does it REALLY mean to be loved?”
More than half of my cast and crew are female, 75% are filmmakers of color, and my DPs and Assistant Director are also Native.
