14 Sep Letter from the Editor: A New Season of Journal Programs

BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR

Dear readers,

This past year, we’ve been very excited about the success of our inaugural cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellowship, made possible by support from Critical Minded! We are so thankful for the work of our talented writers Gabe Castro, Arta Barzanji, and Andre Cherry who have expanded the cinéSPEAK Journal through their monthly columns highlighting valuable film work happening in Philadelphia. It’s been a pleasure to work with them as they’ve grown into strong and confident arts and cultural critics and reporters.

The Philadelphia Artist Spotlight from this past fellowship cycle spotlighted artists with 72% identifying as people of color (POC), 54% identifying as female/femme/woman and/or nonbinary, and 54% aged 40-59. The Philadelphia Organization Spotlight from this past fellowship cycle spotlighted organizations that are 72% minority-owned/led (POC, woman, LGBTQIA+) and 54% with organizational budgets of under $500,000. It’s important to us that we are highlighting the work of truly independent creatives who make up the diverse cultural landscape of our city.

We’re very proud to announce our second cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellowship cohort, who are starting this month. This year, we had a pool of 17 applicants with 52% identifying as POC, 52% identifying as female/femme/woman and/or nonbinary, and 35% identifying as LGBTQIA+.   While it was difficult to choose just two fellows, we are thrilled to have Ireashia Bennett and Erick Barragán Ramírez coming on board. Ireashia will cover the Philadelphia Artist Spotlight and Erick will cover the Philadelphia Organization Spotlight. We are excited for the new perspectives and creative ideas these writers will bring to the journal.

Ireashia Bennett is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker and writer whose work takes the form of new media and multimedia essays. They are currently pursuing an MFA in Film and Media Arts at Temple University. Read Ireashia’s recent article “Street Movies!: A Catalyst for Community” here.

Erick Barragán Ramírez is an immigration specialist at Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia, PA. In addition to being an avid cinephile he serves as a board member for the Association of Mexican Business Owners of Philadelphia. With a background in law studies in Mexico, he came to the US in 2017 and actively volunteers at various organizations supporting immigrants in Philadelphia, including the Welcoming Center, the Consulate of Mexico, and the online radio Philatinos. Read Erick’s recent article “Teatro Esperanza: Empowering the Hispanic/Latine Community Through Art and Belonging” here.

We are also very excited that Gabe Castro, former cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellow, will be writing an ongoing monthly column called “Reel Impact: From Screens to Streets.” The column explores contemporary film through conversations with Philadelphia-area community members and organizers. The column is funded with support from Bread and Roses Community Fund.

For Gabe’s first article as part of “Reel Impact: From Screens to Streets,” they wrote about Philadelphia’s Asian communities that are facing the threat of erasure. The article included interviews with organizers and community leaders united to fight for the places they’ve carved out for themselves for decades. Gabe wrote about how local groups Vietlead and No Arena in Chinatown are using storytelling and media to stake claims to their neighborhoods and garner widespread support. Read the article “Our Roots Are Already Too Deep: Fighting Systemic Erasure in Chinatown and Hòa Bình Plaza with Storytelling and People Power” here.

After spending a year building new internal systems and structures for the journal and trying out a new fellowship, we are able to take some time to appreciate how much we’ve grown. While there is still so much more we hope to accomplish–such as having full-time staff members, designing a new reader-friendly website, and increasing the reach and readership of our articles–we’re extremely proud of where we are right now. We are running a successful fellowship program where we can support local writers develop their skills while highlighting independent film artists and organizations in the city. We are launching a mission-aligned column, “Reel Impact: From Screens to Streets,” dedicated to connecting film with local socio-political issues.

Our mission focuses on providing Philadelphia-area writers paid writing opportunities and highlighting community film and social justice issues through our articles, and we are doing just that. If you are moved by our work and want to see us grow, please consider making a donation to help fund the journal. And if an article makes an impact on you, share it with your network, or feel free to let us know! We are building a unique publication that aims to be by and for the people of Philadelphia, which takes time and resources. But with your continued support, we will keep growing into our mission.

Sincerely,

Kristal Sotomayor, Editor-in-Chief

*Featured Image: Image from the end of fellowship celebration with inaugural cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellows and journal staff. From left to right: Kristal Sotomayor, Gabe Castro, Sophia Abraham-Raveson, and Andre Cherry. Courtesy of 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 and Programmer for True/False Film Fest, SFFILM, and Frameline.