Today we’d like to introduce you to Sienna Serrano
Hi Sienna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I’ve always been a storyteller. I was that kid who would round up the cousins and create little shows with them to perform in front of our family… Which, of course, would probably go awry the second we got up on our “stage,” aka the middle of the family living room. But that never stopped me from creating, and as luck would have it, I continued that spark of storytelling through the medium of dance.
Starting at the age of three, I trained in various styles such as tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballet, etc. Yet, no matter the style, when it came to performing, I always shone the best when there was a storytelling aspect. Now, did I get in trouble sometimes for mouthing the words from our competition piece’s song a bit too much? Maybe! Nevertheless, the older I got and the more opportunities I had to choreograph, my style as a choreographer shaped itself around that love for telling a story. Yet, it wasn’t until college that I had the opportunity to work with dialogue, provided by a skit competition through my service organization, Circle K International. Looking back at it now, I do believe this was the moment where I knew I wanted to pursue storytelling as a career, as I truly felt in my element working alongside the cast and crew. However, it took a few years and graduating college, before I actually made the push to do so.
The beginning of my career, unfavorably, started off slow due to my lack of a network in the industry, resulting in fewer opportunities available. Nonetheless, just like the sense of determination I had as a child, these current limitations still didn’t stop me from creating. From the internet to even my mistakes, I kept at it and slowly, my network and opportunities grew as I was attending film festivals, joining fellowships, and fortunately being mentored under Ilana Peña, an influential showrunner and creator in the Latina community. I am thankful for how my journey has shaped itself so far and I can’t wait to see what more lies ahead.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As much as I wish it was, my career journey has not been easy. First, it took me a while to understand where I wanted to be in the entertainment landscape. I started as an actor yet quickly realized I wasn’t a fan of the acting roles pigeonholing Latina characters. This led me to change my trajectory towards writing, hopeful to one day broaden the narration of Latina stories. However, as mentioned previously, I didn’t know where to start as I didn’t attend film school nor have the network to ask. So I began interning at companies invested in highlighting BIPOC individuals in the industry. These positions led me to be a fly on the wall, learning how to aid underrepresented creatives in front and behind the camera. Any free time I had I spent it writing and learning what I could. Then the pandemic came and as a shocker (not really) it was really tough to navigate as a newbie trying to break into the industry. However, I pivoted and invested my time creating with small theater companies and, with the help of the pandemic pushing opportunities like fellowships online, I was able to explore another avenue of entertainment, directing. As my portfolio grew, I managed to nab a production assistant job, and the promise of creating my own work, with a small indie company. Unfortunately, that dream was cut short due to a car accident, leaving me with a concussion and no job. This was probably one of the lowest points in my journey, not only losing a promising job but also having my overall health affected. But as they say, “If you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up.” That’s when the process for my first future award-winning documentary short started. Day by day, I worked on the film as best as I could with my situation and eventually, it led me to amazing opportunities, like this interview! To keep it real, encountering bumps on the road isn’t fun in the moment, yet they are necessary obstacles that contribute to the growth of an artist and their craft.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a filmmaker and choreographer who explores her Mexican-American culture and San Gabriel Valley roots through film, dance, and theater. While starting out as a filmmaker, I experimented a lot with mixed media as a way to get around a lack of funds, however, the experimental aspect is something I love to come back to for any project. I would say my favorite combination lately has been intertwining animation and live action together as I feel the two medias complement each other and bring forth a fun, whimsical aspect that we don’t get to see as much with Latino stories. An example of that would be found in my first short film, “A Bear-Able Life” a short documentary based on my life growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, which also happens to be one of the projects that I am most proud of due to its impact it had on others and, of course, myself. Seeing audiences connect and react positively to my experiences of feeling like “An outsider to your own culture,” reconfirmed my goal as a filmmaker, storyteller, and overall human being of sharing my own stories to help marginalized communities feel seen.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice would be to just do it! Seriously, I spent so much time thinking I couldn’t do anything on my own, spending the first few years of my journey chasing this idea that to gain experience I had to wait on others to give me those opportunities. But in reality, we live in a time where we have more tools available to us to create at home and make our own “experience”. For the short film “A Bear-Able Life” a majority of the film was shot with iPhone footage and was edited with the help and instruction from YouTube and TikTok videos. Then during the film’s worldwide debut at the Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival, it won Best Short Film Documentary and has continually been shown at many festivals nationwide. Since then I’ve been constantly reminding myself to not let my limitations hold me back and to move forward with an open mind and a positive outlook.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.siennaserrano.com/
Image Credits
Headshot by Danny Kim, Image 1: Leticia Serrano, Image 2: Still from UC Irvine performance with the Santiago Rivera Dance Company, Images 3 and 4: UC Irvine Circle K International, Image 5: Still from “A Bear-Able Life”, Image 6: Poster for “A Bear-Able Life”
