20 Sep Letter from the New Editor-in-Chief

BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR

Dear Readers,

We hope you have had a wonderful summertime!

I am very proud to announce that I have been serving as the Interim Editor-in-Chief of the cinéSPEAK Journal since July. Over the past few months in this position, we have been able to focus on the sustainability of the journal by honing in on our commitment to Philadelphia. We can’t wait to share all of the incredible stories we have in the works!

I am so excited to announce the cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellowship, a paid learning opportunity geared toward Philadelphia-based cultural critics and writers —especially those who are new and emerging in the industry. Each of the fellows will be working on one of the following monthly columns: Philadelphia Artist Spotlight, Philadelphia Organization Spotlight or Philadelphia Monthly Arts Round-Up. The Philadelphia Artist Spotlight highlights local filmmakers and moving image artists you’ll want to have on your radar. The Philadelphia Organization Spotlight highlights a local film or moving image focused organization, business, or collective doing unique and impactful work. The Philadelphia Monthly Arts Round-Up showcases film and arts events in the city that you won’t want to miss.

Each fellow will learn how to write a consistent beat while having the opportunity to pitch other stories. We aim to provide an educational experience through cultural criticism workshops as well as through the support of the cinéSPEAK Journal staff. Our three inaugural cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellows are Gabe Castro, Andre Cherry, and Arta Barzanji. Here’s a bit more about each of the talented writers:

Gabe Castro (She/Her/They/Them)

Gabe Castro is a Philadelphia-based Latiné multimedia professional specializing in the horror genre. They work at Philadelphia’s public access television station as the Programming & Production Coordinator helping her community make people-powered media. Gabe is also the producer and co-host of the horror media analysis podcast, Ghouls Next Door. Gabe and fellow Ghoul, Kat, explore the unique and raw way society and culture influence film and media. Gabe believes media can be used as a tool to bring social change and works in all they do to create impactful and inspiring media. Gabe is also a co-host of the Black Tribbles, the award-winning geek talk radio show. When they are not hosting podcasts, Gabe directs short horror-comedies, designs terrifying soundscapes for the Black Women are Scary Podcast, and writes film reviews for the cinéSPEAK Journal.

Arta Barzanji (he/him)

Arta Barzanji is a cinephile, writer, filmmaker, and a current MFA candidate in Film and Media Arts at Temple University. His work, encompassing experimental, narrative, and documentary modes, always deals directly with the cinema itself, exploring the relationship between the viewer and the screen while engaging with the works of filmmakers as diverse as Stan Brakhage, Orson Welles, Kamran Shirdel, and Malcolm Le Grice. Arta’s critical writings and translations have appeared both in Farsi and English in publications like Photogénie, Filmkhande, and Film Matters, focusing on filmmakers such as Sohrab Shahid Saless and Straub-Huillet among others.

Andre Cherry (he/him)

Andre Cherry’s love of storytelling compels him to create art. He is a cineSPEAK Fellow, background actor, and writer. His screenplays have placed within the Austin Film Festival and Stowe Story Labs. Andre, who originally hails from the Chicagoland area, quickly grew to love Philadelphia after moving to the area in 2014. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Illinois State University. Andre is also an avid sports fan and hosts a college football podcast (The CherryPickin Podcast).

We are very excited to work with them to showcase the incredible work of film and moving image artists, organizations, and events in our great city!

In order to reduce barriers to access to press for local filmmakers, moving image artists, organizations, business, collectives, events, and more, we are making accessible forms to be in consideration for publication, included at the end of each article.

Moving forward, we aim to implement a quarterly “Letter from The Editor” to provide transparency into the mechanisms of the cinéSPEAK Journal, to inform our community about the work we are doing, and to spotlight the work of our hardworking staff. We can’t wait to share more information as we build out the journal!

Best,

Kristal Sotomayor

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Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual Latinx freelance journalist, documentary filmmaker, and festival programmer based in Philadelphia. They serve as the Editor-In-Chief of the cinéSPEAK Journal, Awards Competition Manager for the International Documentary Association, and Co-Founder/Journalist of ¡Presente! Media Collective.