FILM BUG

For years I longed to do film. Though writing was my passion, it wasn't enough.  I wanted to express my ideas visually as well.  I took a photography class.  Then I went back to college to get a Master's degree in film.

My first job after getting my postgraduate degree was at The Rose School for Emotionally Disturbed Children. It was a great job.  I got to film children every single day.  Nothing beats seeing a child on camera. They are all beautiful.  Later, I would work with child actors, which is even more amazing.

While working at Rose,  I wrote a screenplay called Lily that Abraham Pulido, a Venezuelan colleague and I submitted for an award, and we won. The result was that the screenplay was used in the production of a feature film which was named the best Venezuelan film of that year, and was shown in theaters throughout the country. 

Next, I worked at the television department in the U.S. government.. Back then it was called the U.S. Information Agency.  They have since moved that activity to the U.S. State Department.

At USIA I was on-camera reporter and producer for a show called America Today, broadcast daily in English from Washington to 44 countries.  I taught me to work fast. Make quick decisions. Write to pictures rather than the other way around. Use short words, and even shorter sentences. I had to look good on camera.  I often covered the White House and Capitol Hill.  I wrote many feature stories.

While at USA I I also hosted a half-hour talk show on WETA-TV (local ABC) directed at the Washington Latino community. Fifteen minutes were broadcast in English, another fifteen in Spanish.  My guests were politicians, artists, CEOs, government officials, Latino leaders, whoever was on the news that week.

Then I became an on-camera reporter for Univision, a U.S. Spanish language television network.  I covered breaking news stories for the 6 pm national news.  I regularly did on-camera stand ups from the White House, and Capitol Hill.  

I loved the pace, the glamor, the hard work of hard news coverage. But after a while it didn't feel right. I wanted to delve deeper into stories, profile people, make lasting images. Covering hard news was run, run, run .  I needed to take a breathThink about what I wanted to do with my career.

So I created a production company.  Accent Media Productions. My husband became my partner. We would produce original, bilingual programs directed at the growing Latino community in the U.S. 

Since then, we have produced hundreds of programs, airing successfully in the U.S., and in Latin America.  And I have written, directed and produced several independent feature documentaries which have aired on PBS,  and on ABC-Australia, and Canal Plus in France.