(image from her short video "Jitters")

Education:

San Jose University Honors Humanities Program Attended 1983-1985
University of California, Los Angeles BA in English Literature Graduated in June 1987
City College of San Francisco Photography, Graphic Design and Film Production (currently enrolled)

Artistic Statement:

My path to filmmaking began as a strong desire to tell stories. As a child I was obsessed with books and constructed several of my own with story lines and illustrations. As an undergraduate in college, I continued to study literature and grew increasingly fascinated with myth, folklore and fairy tales in particular. Soon after college, I began to explore several visual mediums including painting, still photography and graphic design. During this time I collaborated with musicians in various multi-media performances which involved slide projections and live music. I also designed several promotional materials such as posters, flyers, CD/tape covers and band photos. My experience with doing sequences of still images inspired me to go into moving pictures.

At City College of San Francisco, I was able to further develop my skills in photography, graphic design and ultimately in film. I have experimented with a variety of formats including Super 8, DV and 16mm. In all of my films, I try to incorporate a strong element of design and color. In the future I plan to continue to direct and produce my own animation and live action films as well as serve as Art Director/ Production Designer for other filmmakers.

Filmography:

"Plan B"
Format: BW Super 8 film, stop- motion animation
Duration: three minutes Story: Various toys and objects come together and dance in a landscape of black and white blocks

"Baba's Feast"
Format: BW Super 8 film - silent
Duration: three minutes
Story: The witch/crone Baba Yaga searches the forest for food. Along the way, she comes across several oversized insects which she chases and triumphantly consumes in the end.

"Mary"
Format: Color Super 8 film
Duration: three minutes
Story: Inspired by Patty Griffin's song "Mary." A visual exploration on the idea/myth of Mary as the eternal nature-mother goddess. The film incorporates various images of gardens, hills, flowers, water, open skies, tombstones, cemetery statues and angels.

"The Stranger From Beyond"
Format: Hi 8 - color
Duration: four minutes
Story:A beautiful 50s' babe is kidnapped by an alien and taken back to his spaceship for experiments

"The Disrespectful Summons"
Format: Digital video - BW
Duration: eight minutes
Story: Based upon a short story by Edward Gorey. A lonely spinster is courted by the devil. He sends an minion to tutor her on "92 entirely evil things to do." Once fully corrupted, the devil returns to collect her soul and throw her into the pits of hell.

"Jitters"
Format: Digital video - color
Duration: three minutes
Story: A bride-to-be has a nightmare. In the dream. she explores a house which is haunted by her own personal fears and anxieties about getting married. Screening: SFCC Film Festival 2002

"The Money Pig"
Format: 16mm film- color, stop-motion animation
Duration: ten minutes
Story: Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen. A subtle and playful tale of class relations involving a group of toys in a child's playroom Screenings: BAVC in San Francisco, CA- June 2002 New Voices and Visions Film Festival in Oakland CA- July 2002 Future screening: Film Arts Festival of Independent Cinema in San Francisco, CA - November 2002

Works In Progress:

"Los Esqueletos" - a stop-motion animation piece using Day of the Dead skeletons as the main characters Scheduled to begin filming in March 2003

"Bampinay" - Art Director for a cyber/horror film written and directed by Matthew Abaya

"Soledad is Gone Forever"- Art Director for a film written and directed by Mabel Valdeviezo Scheduled to begin filming in Fall 2003 Website: www.soledadforever.com