fiction.wikisort.org - Director

Summer-Joy "SJ" Main Muñoz (born August 28, 1978) is an American filmmaker primarily known for directing television and award-winning short films[1] often of the Western genre or featuring Latino themes.[2]

SJ Main Muñoz
Born	Summer Joy Main (Muñoz) (1978-08-28) 28 August 1978 (age 44) San Luis Obispo, California
Alma mater	European Graduate School (PhD) Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA) University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Occupation	Film director Screenwriter Producer
Years active	2000–present
Spouse	Derek Classen ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	2

Early life

Main Muñoz was born in San Luis Obispo, California to a Costa Rican mother (Muñoz) and Russian/Irish father (Main) and was raised in Cambria, California. At the age of eleven, Main Muñoz was featured on Star Search as a member of the dance group "Short 'n Sweet." Main Muñoz worked as a model for surf photographer Dan Merkel[3][4] in the Maldives. Main Muñoz also modeled for Seventeen at the age of 17.[5] Main Muñoz attended the UCLA Theater Department where she studied directing and acting for the theater.[6] While attending UCLA, Main Muñoz interned at DreamWorks SKG in the Feature Development (Amblin Entertainment), Story and Casting departments.

Early professional career

While completing a master's degree in directing at Columbia University, Main Muñoz worked for directors, producers and production companies including Michael Hausman of Cinehaus, and Ismail Merchant and James Ivory (director) of Merchant Ivory Productions. She has served as a Script Reader at Walden Media and Radical Media, and for other New York-based production companies. She was Executive Assistant to director Stanley Donen. Upon receipt of her master's degree in Film Directing, Main Muñoz moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a writer, director,[7] producer, line producer, and unit production manager.[8] Main Muñoz established the film and media production company Tica Productions in 2007.[9][10]

Awards

Main Muñoz's film La Cerca (The Fence) (narrated by Edward James Olmos) won Best Cinematography from Rhode Island International Film Festival[11] and Temecula Valley International Film Festival,[12] among other awards.[13] It was named Best Film Honorable Mention from the Rhode Island International Film Festival and was a nominee of the Imagen Awards.[14] Main Munoz's follow-up Western short film Requiescat also garnered awards,[15] including the Clairmont Camera Filmmaker Grant.[16]

Other

Main Muñoz completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree (summa cum laude) at the Media and Communications Division of the European Graduate School of Switzerland. Her doctoral dissertation presents philosophy for cinema production and the role of the American Movie Producer of narrative commercial cinema.[17]

Main Muñoz's great-grandfather is the Costa Rican musician José Daniel Zúñiga Zeledón, composer of "Caña Dulce"[18] and other Costa Rican national folk songs.[19]

She was formerly a regularly contributing writer to The Huffington Post on the subject of Latino Film.[20]

Main Muñoz was the only Latina narrative director invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in June 2020.[21][22]

Filmography

Television

•  Manifest (Netflix)
•  The Cleaning Lady (Fox)
•  American Horror Stories (Hulu)
•  9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox)
•  The Rookie (ABC)
•  Ordinary Joe (NBC)
•  Chicago P.D. (NBC)
•  Chicago Med (NBC)

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
2019	Don't Say No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2018	Requiescat	Yes	Yes	Yes
2018	Reconnected	Yes	Yes	Yes
2017	Ordinary Lovers	No	No	Yes
2013	The Carbon Collective	Yes	Yes	Yes
2011	Nice Guys Finish Last	No	No	Yes
2009	Three Minutes	No	No	Yes
2007	Luck of the Draw	Yes	No	Yes
2006	Bitch	No	No	Yes
2005	Trust	No	No	Yes
2005	Just A Girl	No	No	Yes
2005	La Cerca	Yes	Yes	Yes
2004	Swan Dive	No	No	Yes
2003	Day In Summer	Yes	Yes	Yes
2002	Move	Yes	Yes	Yes
2001	Love Relations	Yes	Yes	Yes
2000	Dancer on Dance	Yes	Yes	Yes

References

External links

• S.J. Main Muñoz at IMDb
• Huffington Post profile
• Director Robert Rodriguez Talks Moviemaking Outside of Hollywood: The Road Less Traveled

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