Dvd double feature available for purchase coming soon!

One of my projects this summer is to make my short films “Solidarity Baby” (7mins) and “The Last Word” (27 mins) available for distribution to institutions and for personal use. Please send a message to lunamaya at sfsu dot edu to reserve a copy or come back in June for an update!

*Thanks to Rio Yañez for the Dvd cover design.

SOLIDARITY BABY (7 mins.2009) The poetic journey of a child of the Central American solidarity movement who uses words and imagery from Los Angeles, Central America and the San Francisco Bay Area to build bridges between her family history and present day immigrant rights struggles. “A ground breaking work of Latina cross-border feminist cultural imagination. Chinchilla’s Solidarity Baby is a visionary piece that speaks to a growing US Central American history of creative, cultural resistance and resilience.” Ana Patricia Rodriguez PhD. Professor of U.S. Latina/o Studies, University of Maryland, College Park

THE LAST WORD: Las Manas (27 mins. 2008) Working for years in co-ed artistic spaces, a Bay Area group of women felt a need to develop a unique space where their stories could be heard and developed into creative works. The result was Las Manas a diverse female spoken word/theater spitfire circle. This documentary shows their mix of the creative word and fuerte flavors with stories of struggle, identity and the challenges that come along with being a woman. “The voices of Las Manas are powerful at a personal level and socially revolutionary. In short, I was blown away.” Alberto Ledesma, Writer and Coordinator, Other Voices at UC Berkeley

Maya Chinchilla is a Central American/Guatemalan poet, performer, video artist, and educator. A two-spirit humble diva, she is a founding member of Las Manas and is a Lecturer in Latina/o Studies and English Composition. She has been an artist in residence at Galeria de a La Raza, La Peña Cultural Center and her awards include: the Film Arts Foundation STAND Grant, aJury Award Nomination for the SF International Latino Film Festival, and the Oakland Grant for the Arts with Las Manas Tres.  Featured in: San Francisco Latino International Film Festiva,l UC Santa Cruz Women of Color Film Festival, Boyle Heights Latina Film Extravaganza, SFSU BECA FEST, MCCLA San Francisco Video Fest, QWOCMAP Film Festival, Dividing the Isthmus: Central American Transnational Histories, Literatures, and Cultures.