Chicas Fritas is a vibrant, colorful, fast-paced, and energetic coming-of-age, girl-meets-girl, girl-loses-girl story set in the modern-day Hispanic urban communities of Queens, New York. The main character, Sylvia, wrestles with the intimate feelings she harbors toward Maria, who doesn’t see her as more than just a friend. Plagued by the responsibility of taking care of her alcoholic mother, Cristina, Sylvia acts out impulsively while out on the town with Maria one night, only to distance Maria further from herself. What is most important to me about this story is that it explores the conflicting expectations young Latinas have of themselves within the context of their religion, culture, and traditional gender roles. This is my courageous attempt at breaking Latina stereotypes (thug, teen mom, etc.) by providing these characters with a complex narrative that reveals layers of subtext. (This film is not rated; 7 min.)
Amanda Nicole Reyes is a Tejana filmmaker, actor, and arts activist. After graduating with her master of fine arts degree with a focus on directing narrative cinema from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Steiner Studios in New York, Reyes uses film as a catharsis for the hardships experienced by her and the underrepresented communities she belongs to. Her narrative and documentary work focuses on progressive themes such as the exploitation of the Prison Industrial Complex, the confusing complexity of the Mexican American identity, racial injustice and the fight for women’s and LGBTQA+ rights. Her most recent completed work includes her thesis film, Rosa’s Esperanza, a very personal story about a mother trying to reconnect with her daughter after bringing her home from long-term incarceration. The film has screened at the Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, and San Antonio film festivals. Reyes was also interviewed by Remezcla magazine, NoFilmSchool.com, NY Worth magazine, and the New York Times for the work she’s done while attending Feirstein. She was interviewed as a New York Woman Warrior by the Woman Warrior Series and highlighted by Artes de La Rosa Theater for Women’s History Month 2021. She now resides in Fort Worth, where she is currently working on her latest film project, Going Home, which will be in production the summer of 2023. Reyes is acting in two upcoming stage productions: The Butterfly’s Evil Spell at Hip Pocket Theater in summer 2023 and The Visit at Amphibian Theater in fall 2023.
This program is part of our Pride Block Party. See the full schedule of events here.