La Bailarina, a short film written and directed by alumnus Samuel Harwood '19 and produced by alumna Arlene Fernandez '19, runs virtually at the New York International Film Festival from April 21 to May 5 2021. The film shows as part of the Narrative Shorts selection. La Bailarina has also been accepted into the Queens World Film Festival, where it will run from June 23 to July 3 2021, with both virtual and in-person screenings.
La Bailarina follows Rosalia, a bailarina in a Jackson Heights bailadero club where Latino immigrants pay women, immigrants themselves, to dance with them and where she works to manage the emotional expectations of her clients.
Samuel Harwood grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2015. He worked afterwards as a journalist and as a research editor on former Congressman John Dingell's memoir, The Dean (HarperCollins, 2018). His writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Taco. In 2019, he received his MFA in Film from Columbia University. He currently lives in L.A. where he works as a script reader and editorial consultant.
Arlene Fernandez, has 15+ years of experience as a broadcast producer. Her experience includes working as an Executive Producer for Spike Lee’s Ad Agency, SpikeDDB, and as a Senior On-Air Producer for The Cartoon Network. In 2019, she completed the MFA in Film program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Her first short film, Shepherds, screened at various film festivals in the US in 2005.
NYCIFF, New York City International Film Festival was founded in 2009 to celebrate the arts of film. It serves the purpose to promote up-coming and established filmmakers in the US and offers a door for international talents to bring their creativity to New York, giving them the New York City platform to showcase their creativity.
