Cecilia MeMor

Afro-Latina American Film Director with roots in El Salvador. She was born under the sign of Cancer. Raised by her Catholic grandmother, MeMor developed an interest in filmmaking in her early years. While she was growing up, she was a shy and introverted girl whose love for literature and movies prevailed. She moved to California in 2009 where she graduated with a BFA in Film & TV Production in Los Angeles. Her specialty is in production, screenwriting, and direction. During her years at school, she was chosen from a large pool of applicants to train as an emerging director as part of a unique program funded with money from The Academy. In 2019, she was nominated by Paramount Pictures to be part of a multitiered educational program founded by The Academy, the Gold Program. During her time at the program, she was mentored by people from the industry with large trajectories such as Felicity Abbott, Bobbie Banks, the legendary Marilyn Vance, Michael Goi amongst others. She became a Gold Alumna of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science the summer of the same year. MeMor formed her own company, Brown Girls Make Films after she graduated from The Academy. Her goal is to provide more opportunities to women of color working in the industry and diversify stories. In her filmmaking career, MeMor alternates between Spanish-language fantasy pieces. Her writing style appeals to Magical Realism. The influence of Magical Realism prevails in movies such as Anna After Midnight (development), The Dance of the Butterflies (2020), and more mainstream American dramedy movies, such as Cactus Patch (2018). MeMor attributes her influence of telling stories full of fantasy to her grandmother who raised her around bedtime stories. For her, filmmaking is a way of healing own memories and others. Filmmaking is a powerful tool that when it is performed by the right hands creates magic, she says.