by Sammie Purcell
A month from now, a short film block curated by the organization Latinas in Media Atlanta will screen at the Peaberry Film Festival in Canton.
According to Denise Santos, this is the first time in the organization’s eight-year history that it has curated a block at a film festival, which will run from 1-3 p.m. on Oct. 4. Santos is one of the co-founders of Latinas in Media Atlanta, which has grown from a simple Facebook group in 2017 to an organization that works to empower Latine creatives within Georgia’s film industry.
Santos is an actress and producer, and has appeared in everything from television shows like “The Resident” to stage plays like “The Vagina Monologues.” Rough Draft Atlanta spoke with Santos about the formation of Latinas in Media Atlanta and how she thinks the film industry in Georgia can better serve the community moving forward.
How did you end up getting involved in the film industry? Did you always know that was something you wanted to do?
Denise Santos: My mom was actually a beauty queen in Ecuador [laughs], so she immediately put me in modeling schools. I don’t know if you remember, like John Casablancas, or Barbizon [Modeling and Acting School] – I was in those silly classes.
I think my mom’s hope was that I would learn there, but then I would be a doctor or something. I was like, yeah – that’s not gonna happen, mom! I like this pretending stuff. This is kind of cool. So it stems back from when I was a little, little girl. I did background work. I started off doing independent projects and not really fully understanding the community in South Florida – that’s where I’m originally from, born and raised in Miami. I moved here almost 17 years ago. So 17 years ago, I was already kind of doing it as much as I could, still with a day job, and realized that I really missed my community of people I would bump into in Miami. Miami is so intertwined culturally, especially with Latinos, and underrepresented voices. It’s just kind of part of the everyday. I realized that I didn’t see that here, and I missed it.
That’s kind of where Latinas in Media [Atlanta] started. I would bump into the same actresses and the same friends in the audition rooms. At one point, there was this one actress – her name is Viviana Chavez – and I was like, “I totally am stalking you. Please forgive me, but I want to be you when I grow up.” We started talking, and we both realized that we wanted to start a community. That’s where also Gabriella Ortiz, who unfortunately doesn’t live here anymore, started on that too.
In 2017, I started a Facebook group. I was kind of doing it by myself, just doing lunches. And then in 2018, we started doing showcases and readings, and being more interactive within the film community.
17 years ago, Atlanta was still on the up and up as far as its film industry. Why not New York or L.A.?
Santos:I like to say that I moved here before all the fun craziness happened. I’m very proud of that, but I didn’t move here for that. My husband was actually transferred here for work. The plan was if it didn’t work out here, that we would just move back to South Florida. Everything very quickly started picking up right before that wave hit. That’s when I started doing everything. I have three children, so my kids were born here. At that point, we were rooted in, and we were like, okay – we’re not going back. This is our home now. This is where we are, and I’ve been loving it ever since.
Serendipitous for you, that everything started popping off.
Santos: That’s the whole thing – I didn’t know. At that point, I was focused on being a mom. I have these conversations a lot of times with friends of mine who are parents. We have seasons where we plan on doing things a certain way, and then our personal lives kind of take a detour. That’s where my season was at that time – my focus was on my family and my children. I think the rest of the world and my friends were like no, no, no – you gotta come back. Let’s do something else. Let’s keep doing fun stuff. I’m like, okay! [Laughs]
When you started Latinas in Media Atlanta and started having those initial meetings, what came out of those? Did you find that people were feeling the same way you were, as far as the smallness of the community? What other issues arose out of those first initial meetings?
Santos: Yes – all of that, everything you said. Because everyone that I met here came from somewhere, whether being first generation like me, or from another city or from another country. Everyone that I bumped into that was from a similar background and culture as me kind of missed having that community and that family. A lot of people were here alone, without family, and so I think that really turned into something more than just having lunches together. People really bonded and really started to collaborate on a deeper level than just exchanging resources and working together. It was something really special, and that really encouraged and inspired me to want to keep doing more with Latinas in Media Atlanta, and see what else we can accomplish, so that it’s not only community building, but also helping us thrive.
Read in full at RoughDraft Atlanta
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