Today we’d like to introduce you to Maylen Calienes.
Maylen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Cuba and raised in Miami. I started in the Arts from a young age. In high school, I made it into the exclusive Drama Team and started competing in tournaments. I was also performing in theatre all over South Florida and writing and directing theatre too. I love movies and in college, I decided to take a trip to LA through my school where I took some Media classes at UCLA. It was a great way to visit Los Angeles and explore the world of cinema and dive into the history of filmmaking and Hollywood. While taking these classes at UCLA we had two speakers I never forget, one of them was A.C. Lyles a long time producer at Paramount Studios who worked himself up in the studio system and spoke about his journey. The other speaker was Luke Perry. Being a fan of the original 90210 it was such a treat to see Luke Perry in person talk to us about his journey, he was so kind and that is when I knew I was in the heart of the entertainment industry, Los Angeles, CA. After spending some time in LA that summer and experiencing great weather I knew that LA is where I belonged. I had worked hard for many years since the age of 16 in the performing arts field and I saved up some money I was ready to spend to make my move from Miami to Los Angeles. In LA I started out acting. I didn’t know too many people in the entertainment industry when I moved to Los Angeles so I had to figure everything on my own. After getting representation as an actor I started booking many commercials and industrials. Getting theatrical representation for tv and film was much more difficult but I was able to secure it. During that time reality, shows were hot and there weren’t too many opportunities for acting in scripted shows especially for people of color. Sadly, I quickly realized I was placed in the Hispanic box for auditions because I happen to be Latina. Coming from a theatre background being Latina wasn’t an issue the best role simply went to the best actor. I performed in theatre shows like “Anne of Green Gables.” In Hollywood however, the few roles I had the opportunity to audition for were very stereotyped as in the maid, the girl from the hood or the over sexualized loud speaking Latina. As an actor sticking to just playing those specific roles is not fulfilling.
As a Latina seeing that the hollywood “stereotypes” existed and that those are the only roles you can get is a bit insulting. I started working behind the camera and after making my first short film “The Dance of Death” which premiered at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood as part of the LA Shorts Film Festival I decided that I was going to put my focus behind the cameras as a writer, director and producer to create better narratives for people like me. I have continued my career as a writer and a director and these past few years I have been producing a lot. Last year I had two award winning films doing their film festival run, both Oscar contenders. A short film narrative “Esta Es Tu Cuba” a multi award winning film, also the winner of a Student Academy Award, Directors Guild award & Emmy. I was the Executive producer on that film and we got distribution with HBO & HBO Latino where you can watch it now. My other film, a short film documentary “And The Brave Shall Rise” did it’s premiere last summer at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood as part of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and it has gone on to many other film festivals where it won the International Humanitarian Award at the Rhode Island Film Festival. “And The Brave Shall Rise” continues it’s film festival run and I played the role of Associate Producer in that film. Which brings us to the Latino Filmmakers Network, an organization I founded in 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival to bring visibility and opportunities to our Latino community. We host a yearly event during Sundance our next one will be Monday, January, 27th in Park City, UT where the film festival takes place. LFN’s mission is to connect, inspire, educate, and create opportunities for the Latino community while also promoting diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. In Los Angeles we produce a monthly event called The New Normal Reading Series which is an evening of live music, stand up comedy and stage readings by emerging artists of color. We have a Latinx, African American, Asian, South Asian, Native American and Middle Eastern teams.
Our reading series is a great place where writers from each of those teams get to workshop their scripts, read live by actors of the same group. It is a free event and it is very well attended by industry executives, agents, producers and colleagues. This brings us to Atlanta where we launched our first New Normal Reading Series last year at the Areu Bros. Studios. Now we have the New Normal Reading Series ATLANTA every month our next one will be on January 15th at the Park Tavern from 7 pm-10 pm. We hope to see the same good vibe and results in Atlanta that we see in Los Angeles in our efforts to continue to push diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. The beautiful thing about our reading series is that it also brings communities together and partnerships and collaborations to tell our stories. I have spent a lot of time advocating for diversity and inclusion in entertainment because our stories are a reflection of our world and we need stories that look like the world we live in. I am very excited to continue to produce work made by talented filmmakers and to tell my stories that I have been working on both film and tv projects.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The entertainment industry is one of the hardest industries to be a part of I would say for anybody but especially for women and people of color. Being a woman and a Latina there are not too many opportunities I quickly noticed but that was not going to keep me away from doing what I am most passionate about. So I started creating my opportunities and also started creating opportunities for others, I have been in this industry close to twenty years now and the struggles are always there but it is all about growing, learning and overcoming those struggles by finding solutions to the problem. I have personally come a long way since I started my career here in Hollywood especially coming into an industry I was not born into and not surrounded by it so having to learn everything on my own.
Almost twenty years here and I am still learning lots of things. Recently having two movies as Oscar Contenders I had to learn about that whole process too. It has been a constant growth but I always envision myself climbing that ladder and never turning back. The entertainment industry is not built as a steady industry in many aspects so it is a way of figuring out the industry, keeping up with the times and the evolution of entertainment and making it a steady gig for you. You get more rejections in our industry than in any other but that rejection is what should make you stronger in proving why it is that we belong. There are ups and downs, it is a very moody industry but after every fall you need to get up and keep going. You do need to develop some sort of thick skin and make sure your spirit is healthy and strong. Being in this industry I have applied a lot of what I have learned to live, such as finding solutions to problems, as an artist having an open mind and changing the negative into positive by putting it into the work.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a filmmaker and a producer so I am constantly working on new projects. I’m also a humanitarian and activist at heart so the Latino Filmmakers Network helps me fulfill that every day allowing me to give back to underrepresented communities and create a positive change for us in the industry. Storytellers are like superheroes we educate people on different subjects and bring entertainment into your life. I am very proud that through Latino Filmmaker Network I have created an important voice for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. I am also very proud that it has been serving its purpose. Writers, Directors, Producers and Actors have been getting opportunities. Most importantly I am very proud that Latino Filmmakers Network is a platform that brings our community and other communities together. Together we are a force! It is bringing people together regardless of their skin color or ethnic background but as artists. This is a platform where you find collaborators and we are not waiting around, we are creating our own stories, building relationships and bridging the gap. A lot of success stories are coming out of this platform and our New Normal Reading Series.
The most important thing is to continue doing so without stepping on one another but with a more genuine positive and passionate vibe to get the work done. With that said we have been hosting in Los Angeles the New Normal Reading Series which is a monthly event and we kick started it last year in Atlanta so if you want to be a part of it make sure you follow us on social media, Latino Filmmakers Network on Facebook or @latinofilmmakers on Instagram and if you are a writer submit any 10 pages of your film and tv scripts featuring more than two characters to LFNAtlanta@gmail.com If you are an actor submit your Headshot/Resume/Reel. Directors can submit their bio and reel if you have one. We hope you get a chance to check out our event in Atlanta and participate in it too. The goal is to build community amongst the artists in Atlanta and to help create opportunities for them and also bridge both coasts.
What were you like growing up?
I was very shy as a child but the performing arts whether it was acting, dancing, modeling or singing brought me out of my shell and on stage I became alive. But I have always been good at heart, a giver and a very passionate person that follows her heart. I love the arts that have always been my world even when I was playing with dolls I was creating stories. I’ve always also had a strong personality in making sure I accomplish things and not giving up. I am a loyal and honest person and always hope that others are the same but what I have learned is that many are not and you can’t change people but you can only continue to be true to who you are. I have a lot of integrity and respect too. I’m not in this industry to be famous, what I always desire though is to be respected for my work.
Contact Info:
- Email: LatinoFilmmakersNetwork@gmail.com
- Instagram: @latinofilmmakers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latinofilmmakers/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: @RoyalLatinicity
Image Credit:
These are my photographs
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