Kari is a (screen)writer, filmmaker & producer, tending to place-based and genre bending stories. A 90s Queens kid from the Colombian corner of the spacetime continuum, they create in the traditions of Immigrant communities resisting assimilation into the American dream and contributing to Native, Black, and Neuroqueer imaginaries that confront the U.S. nightmare. Kari came into movement as a youth producer with Global Action Project in 2004, where they grew into an educator, designing media programming with grassroots organizations and for public television. During this time, they also supported housing, education, and anti-police brutality campaigns as an organizer. In 2017, Kari founded macorina media: a small production company engaging artists with hyper-local to regional coalition work, including Just Transition, Cancel Rent, Amazon Out of Queens, DC Tenant Strike, Emergency Response Planning, and Alternatives to Policing. They enjoy curating excuses for experimentation, reflection and memory-making among working-class artists and organized communities.
Awards & Residencies:
New York State Council on the Arts Grant Recipient (2023)
Tow Research Fellowship, Brooklyn College (2019)
My short films and pilot scripts have received notice from the following industry-recognized competitions and film festivals:
First They Came for My Mother (7min, Short Film), Screenwriter. Awards include:
Official Latino Film & Arts Festival (2020)
Tides Film Festival (2020)
Indie Short Fest (2020)
Montreal independent Film Festival (2020)
Screen at Rooftop Films, Queens Drive-in Summer Series (2020)
The Taking of Lincoln Hospital (Pilot), Screenwriter. Awards include:
Launchpad Finalist (2021)
From Maintenance with Love (Pilot), Screenwriter. Awards include:
As a producer, I have supported grassroots organizations and public television in developing programming that aligns their media with their values, capacity and political strategy.
For a better sense of my approach, check out: