María Cristina, Writer
Fernando Morett Garza, Producer

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2024, Columbia University School of the Arts, Production Award

Project Type: Short

Synopsis: A young woman in rural Puerto Rico struggles to choose between pursuing her dream of becoming an agricultural scientist or leaving her father and heritage behind.

María Cristina is a film director, writer, and editor born and raised in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a concentration in editing and sound design. After graduation, María Cristina was a freelance documentary editor based in Brooklyn. She is pursuing her master’s in film at Columbia University with a focus on screenwriting, where she recently earned the Emerging Female Filmmaker Award.

Fernando Morett Garza is a Mexican producer, writer, and director currently pursuing an MFA in Film at Columbia University with a focus on creative producing. His most recent credits include SOMEWHERE ALL THE BOYS ARE BIRDS, which premiered at NewFest in New York City during the Fall of 2023, and 52 MINUTOS, a Mexican short film currently in post-production. Fernando was one of 50 students admitted to the 2023 Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Fernando spent five years at J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Real Estate Investment Group, where he worked on transaction closings totaling $1 billion.