Cherryl Siena Espinoza

Cherryl Siena Espinoza graduated from Brooklyn College-CUNY with a B.A. (Dual Majors) in Television & Radio and Film Production. While in college, she performed with a performing arts company, “Something Positive,” where she worked as an dancer, actor and sometime-stage manager and costume mistress. Cherryl also worked as an usher and in the costume department at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College. She has worked as a freelance Production Manager for numerous music videos for Warner Brothers, Sony, Atlantic, LaFace and MCA Records, and has worked with recording artists ranging from Boyz II Men and LL Cool J to Madonna and Brandy. Her commercial credits include Production Management on spots for the UNCF and Soft Sheen directed by Spike Lee. Before coming to AFI in September 1995, she produced nine short films whose subjects range from inner city life to the challenges faced by recent immigrants to this country. Cherryl interned on two feature films - PEN PALS and WHITE MAN'S BURDEN, and was the Assistant Director on a television pilot for Fox’’s Philadelphia afiliate. She worked on a national marketing campaign on RIDE FOR YOUR LIFE, an interactive film for Interfilm Technologies, distributed bt Sony Pictures, and completed field research on a documentary for NHK-Japan. During the spring of 1996 she was part of a mentorship program with IFP/West, and was given the opportunity to work in the Marketing and Publicity department of John Singleton's company, New Deal Productions at Universal Studios. Cherryl recently worked as a Producer’’s Assistant to A.B. Cooper in Los Angeles. She was the Line Producer on TRUE FRIENDS (winner of the Charleston International Film Festival), and 40 LARGE, both shot in Los Angeles. Additionally, she was the recipient of the Stan Kamen Fellowship Award at the American Film Institute in 1996, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences College Producing Awards in 1999 for her thesis film, A SHORT WAIT BETWEEN TRAINS. This film has garnered several awards: Martin Ritt award - $10,000 toward production, 1996; co-winner San Diego World Film Festival, 1998; Hamptons Film Festival - RKO Award, 1998; Rhode Island Film Festival, 1998; Angelus Awards - Patrick Peyton Award for excellence in filmmaking, 1998; Showtime Black Filmmakers Award - Grand Prize winner, 1998; a mention in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and screened at the Pan-African Film Festival. Cherryl is currently attached to two feature films as a producer and is negeotiating with a financial entity to fund her first feature film as producer. She is also developing a television project set in New York City.

The Woody Allen film that propelled me into filmmaking is CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, starring Martin Landau, Alan Alda, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Houston, Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterson.

FAVORITE AMERICAN FILMS: APOCALYPSE NOW and TAXI DRIVER

FAVORITE ITALIAN FILMS: LA STRADA andFellini’’s SATYRICON.

GREATEST AFI EVENT: Meeting Michelangelo Antonioni in November 1995 two months after I’’d been at AFI. I also found out from his wife that day that he actually can still speak, but simply prefers to keep silent. The official word was that he could not speak anymore since his stroke.

FAVORITE SPIKE LEE FILMS: SHE'S GOTT HAVE IT and DO THE RIGHT THING.

FILMMAKER’’S WORK I ADMIRE: Michelangelo Antonioni, Francis Ford Coppola, Frederico Fellini, Alfred Hitchock, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Euzhan Palcy [“Sugar Care Alley ; “A Dry White Season”] she reminds me that a woman from the Caribbean can aspire to make movies, John Sales, Martin Scorsese, and I love John Woo’’s work.

And yes Jimmy Hendricks rules!!!