Alumna J. Sean Smith CC '16 Among 2021 Gotham Awards Winners
Alumna J. Sean Smith (CC ’16) was among the winners of the Gotham Awards’ Student Short Film Showcase.
This year marks the 31st year of The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Annual Awards. Among the numerous categories is the Student Short Film Showcase, sponsored by Focus Features & JetBlue. The program is designed to discover and empower a diverse group of emerging filmmakers and foster multi-platform distribution of their work. As a winner of this prestigious award. Smith will receive a $10,000 grant and have her film shown for twelve months on JetBlue’s seatback entertainment systems under the “Gotham Selects” movie category, as well as on Focus Features' digital streaming platforms. Throughout 2022, the winning filmmakers will also receive ongoing mentorship and workshopping opportunities from The Gotham.
Smith was awarded the honor in recognition of her short film, #Whitina. Inspired by coming of age cult classics, it is a film about the inner and outer struggles of being Mexican-American against the backdrop of a social media obsessed society. In #Whitina, after a confrontation with an ICE agent, a 16-year-old whitina (white-acting Latina) is forced to go on the run with two unlikely companions, becoming a social media icon along the way.
Watch a teaser trailer for the film here.
Born and raised in Texas, J. Sean Smith is an Indigenous and Mexican-American filmmaker who has a passion for culture connecting stories with a magical twist. Before transitioning into the film industry, she worked widely in music and fashion utilizing her talents to design wardrobe for tours and television events. In 2016, Smith received her BA in Film Studies from Columbia University in the City of New York. Smith is a recent graduate of The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts MFA program where she was the first Latina to be awarded the George Lucas Family Foundation Scholarship. Her thesis film #Whitina, starring Xolo Maridueña, Inde Navarrette, and Keyla Monterroso Mejia, is an award winning coming-of-age short film which she wrote and directed. Smith’s feature scripts have been recognized by the Sundance Institute and the Princess Grace Foundation. She is currently working on the script to her debut feature film, Small Town Warrior Princess.