Applying to Sundance Collab’s Cultural Impact Residency

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, Alejandra has a knack for social and political content. Of documented Taíno descent, she's a mix between the action-thriller genre of Kathryn Bigelow and the nuance and delicacy of Jane Campion. Her short film "The Blue Cape", which she wrote and directed, has screened at ten Oscar® qualifying film festivals, including Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Guadalajara International Film Festival, Aspen Shortfest, among others, and was acknowledged with an Honorable Mention in the category for Best Live Action at Cleveland International Film Festival. 

Alejandra became the first Latina to direct for Marvel Entertainment: a narrative podcast titled "Wolverine: La Larga Noche" starring Joaquin Cosío. Then, she directed a narrative podcast for Telemundo: "Tejana" starring Stephanie Beatriz. She has also directed Bad Bunny for W Magazine. Now, she's shadowing Lesli Linka Glatter on the pilot of Apple TV+'s "Imperfect Women". An avid traveler herself, Alejandra has visited over thirty countries in four continents, including war zones.

Alejandra has been selected for the Warner Brother's Discovery Access Director's Program, the Women In Film Directing Fellowship, the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative, the Alliance of Women Directors #MentorLatinaDirectors Fellowship, and was a finalist on the Disney Directing Program. As a writer, she's been staffed on Sony Pictures Television's "Startup" and participated on the Starz #TakeTheLead Writers' Intensive and Rideback Rise Circle. She's currently a fellow at the Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency with her feature "Salmon Run". Alejandra went to acting school; hence, working with actors comes as a second nature. Based in LA, her pantry is often filled with rice, beans, and plantains.

Caitlin McCarthy’s notable projects include the upcoming feature film Little Audrey, directed/produced by Michael Mailer and starring Aidan Quinn, Emily VanCamp, Jennifer Esposito, and Josh Bowman. She is co-writing Wonder Drug with Lori Singer and writing/creating the TV series Gaels with Lynsey Murdoch (BBC Scottish Voices), with funding support from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery via Creative Scotland. 

An inaugural Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Fellow, Caitlin has earned recognition as a Top 10 Female Writer in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, a “Featured Script” on The Black List, and a Mass Cultural Council Dramatic Writing Fellowship. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. As an American citizen and proud member of the Métis Nation of Canada and the Métis Federation of Canada, Caitlin honors her heritage through storytelling that bridges cultures and generations. Learn more at www.caitlinmccarthy.com.

Fueled by unrelenting curiosity, Jennifer Huang is rethinking conventional practices of ethics, consent, and protecting vulnerable protagonists. She’s worked on productions for PBS, Anonymous Content, and Lucasfilm, and co-founded Hyphen Magazine. The Long Rescue is her first feature-length film.

Soheil Rezayazdi is a Digital Course & Event Producer at the Sundance Institute, where he produces multi-session courses, master classes, filmmaker Q&As, and other digital programs for Sundance Collab. Prior to Sundance, Soheil served as the Nonfiction Programs Manager at the Gotham Film & Media Institute. He oversaw the Gotham’s core documentary programs: the Documentary Feature Lab, the Spotlight on Documentaries project market, and the Documentary Development Initiative in partnership with HBO Documentary Films. Soheil has worked with emerging filmmakers since 2015, when he began a seven-year tenure at the Columbia University MFA Film Program. At Columbia he managed the Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF), the Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival, and the Carla Kuhn Memorial Speaker Series. 

Soheil is also a freelance writer on film and pop culture with articles in Indiewire, McSweeney’s, Vice, Filmmaker Magazine, Documentary Magazine, Paper, Paste, and elsewhere. He has also served as an external reviewer for artist programs operated by Creative Capital, Kartemquin Pictures, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and the International Documentary Association. A native of Iran, he holds an MA in journalism and a BA in film studies from the University of Iowa.