Filmmakers
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Elisha Miranda
Elisha is a Puerto Rican that was born and raised in the "Mission" district of San Francisco, California and has been residing in New York City since 1998. In 1991, Elisha graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a dual BA in Ethnic Studies and English. In 1997, she graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she studied in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and was the recipient of the prestigious Urban Fellows Award. For over fifteen years, Elisha has been an activist and educator around numerous issues effecting youth and the community. She was a co-founder and current Board Co-Chair of Chica Luna Productions as well as continues to be on the board of the Latino Educational Media Center and the Paul Robeson Fund at the Funding Exchange.
In 2003, Elisha earned her MFA in directing and screenwriting from Columbia University. Her short film CORPORATE DAWGZ and BLIND DATE have screened and garnered awards nationally and internationally. In 2004, Elisha was named by Hispanic Magazine as one of the "Emerging Latina Voices in Filmmaking" and Para Mi Magazine's "Latina Visionaries". She directed and co-produced the "original" acclaimed theater show JOSE CAN SPEAK, which was featured in the New York Times. Her script LOVELINES was the winner of the 2003 NALIP Writer's Lab. Currently, she is in development with her feature script OUTSIDE THE WALL about a Puerto Rican graffiti artist struggling to be the next Frida Kahlo as she deals with an abusive girlfriend. OUTSIDE THE WALL has garnered the 2005 Tribeca-All-Access Award, the 2004 & 2005 NALIP Producers Academy, An Astraea Foundation Grant, 2004 NALIP Writers Lab Winner, a finalist in the Sundance Feature Filmmaker's Lab and was a finalist in the 2005 Latino Public Broadcasting Open Call.
Elisha's essay, "Vieques, Puerto Rico: A Baptism By Fire" was featured in the anthology THE FIRE THIS TIME, edited by Viven Labeton and Dawn Martin, Anchor Press, 2004. Her debut novel, THE SISTER HOOD: ON THE MIC, about a multi-racial, all female hip-hop crew, is forthcoming from Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, June 2006. In 2003, she founded Chica Sol Films. LLC and was later joined by Sonia Malfa as a producing partner. She will launch Sister/Outsider Entertainment along with her creative partner, Sofia Quintero in the fall of 2005. Elisha is currently an adjunct professor in film at the City University of New York. She is represented by Jennifer Cayea at the Nicholas Ellison Agency.