Today we’d like to introduce you to David Ramos and Sarah Shuman.
Hi David Ramos and Sarah Shuman, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2020, quarantined in two different countries, we met in an LA-based virtual screenwriting workshop. Sarah was teaching in Costa Rica and David was working in post-production. We were both quietly scratching away at our ambitions to become filmmakers: reading, gathering stories, watching interviews of our creative heroes, and trying to find collaborators we aligned with. This writers’ workshop was our leap of faith in truly pursuing our goal of screenwriting. In the first pitch session of the workshop, we both clocked a similar sensibility, one that focused on validation of underrepresented communities. Coincidently, both of our screenplays centered around a woman of color growing up with immigrant parents. It was the first time either of us had pitched a story so personal and found a collaborator that truly resonated with the content.
After months of writing sessions together, in February 2021 Sarah was ready to create her first short film, Tsehai, a proof-of-concept based on the feature she wrote. The short film follows a biracial teenager in mid-2000s SoCal who tries to keep the peace between her clashing Ethiopian mother and White American father, as her auntie’s wedding approaches. Sarah knew that David, with his filmmaking experience and deep understanding of the story, would be the perfect collaborator to embark on this journey with. We quickly gathered our team: Athena Saxon, Grace Ramos, Hannah Roberson, and Sam Reid. In 5 months, we learned how to do things we’d never done before and ran through hurdles we didn’t expect. We were supported by our incredible community who contributed to our crowdfunding campaign and raised $11,000! What resulted was a BIPOC-led production, telling the stories we wanted to tell, how we wanted to tell them. This empowering experience reminded us that it is possible to carve our own space in this industry.
Currently, we are submitting to the 2023 film festival circuit to debut our first short film, Tsehai. We’re excited to experience our film on the big screen and look forward to soon making the feature!
We’d also like to honor our cast, crew, and supporters for all the incredible work they did to make Tsehai possible. Special shout to our team (mentioned above) and Will Ford-Conway (Editor), Jocelyn Chambers (Composer), Annie Liu (DP), Joel Wetterstein (Sound Designer), and Joseph Hartshorn (Production Sound Mixer).
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?
From the writing of Tsehai to the output of the final cut, we navigated a pandemic, changing workplaces, moving, and losing & gaining relationships. Amongst it all, we knew that making this film would take dedication and a concerted effort to somehow fit it into our daily lives. We definitely had forks in the road and a lot of unknowns that we tried our best to gracefully maneuver through. For both of us, this short film was a new beast. Neither of us had made a creative project of this scale (50+ person crew, 8 cast members). David had some experience directing short films and music videos while Sarah had never directed anything! Let’s just say there were many late-night Zoom calls we were deliriously pondering, “Soooo what’s the solution?” Of the many obstacles that come with filmmaking, the biggest challenge was figuring out funding. We had never crowdfunded for an artistic endeavor before, so it felt vulnerable to ask others for support, especially during a time of financial instability for many. We feel deep gratitude for our community as they encouraged us to keep going through the uncertainty. Our team planned out a social media campaign, casting a wide net, in hopes of finding those who’d connect to the story of Tsehai. We were eventually met with an overwhelming amount of support in our growing Tsehai fam!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We’re both screenwriters who are drawn to BIPOC, character-driven TV and Film. We both wear many hats as producers, writers, and directors. As of late, we’ve realized that Sarah’s innate superpower has been found in the screenwriting process and David’s is in directing. Working together has been a joy in sharing our crafts and how we manifest our ideas. Currently, we’re working on 30-minute dramedy pilots about some of our favorite concepts. David’s pilot in development is about a Filipino MBA student, struggling to make ends meet while working with an unlikely group of friends at the campus’ International Center. Sarah’s pilot is about a charming yet unfulfilled 28-year-old accountant who, after abruptly being diagnosed with ADHD, must reevaluate her choices in life alongside her two best friends in eclectic Long Beach, CA. When we’re not writing, we’re consuming all things Issa Rae, Donald Glover, Quinta Brunson, and Hiro Murai.
We find ourselves gravitating to stories we deeply relate with. Drawing from our experiences as BIPOC creatives and children of immigrants, we believe there’s a wealth of untapped stories within our underrepresented cultures. We have so many ideas ranging from outright genre pieces to stripped-down character studies. We’re most proud of our latest film, Tsehai, a love letter to our immigrant parents and our cross-cultural families. What sets us apart from other writers is our curiosity in how different cultures interact with each other. On the shoulders of all the BIPOC filmmakers, we look up to, we now feel empowered to explore how these cultures juxtapose on top of one another. We love mixing up characters in worlds we haven’t seen before in TV/Film because that feels most authentic to our experiences.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Sarah: Annual camping trips! Born and raised in LA, I’ve been exposed to a beautiful, culturally rich city. But as an anxious kid, escaping it once in a while was a gift. Getting away from the bright lights, blaring sirens, who-knows-what smells and trading it for a weekend in the wilderness calmed my overstimulated, neurodivergent mind. My family and I would go on camping trips with family friends, a group of 30 or so. I loved exploring with the other kids. We’d walk around in sandals all day, mother earth’s dust covering our feet. Skip rocks in lakes or body surf in the ocean. Devour Costco-sized bags of Cheez-Its and a tub of red vines. Ahh, and I had one of my first crushes there too! By the time night settled in, everyone would huddle around the campfire. Kids eating s’mores. Grownups cracking jokes over beers while oldies played on the radio. The cold air and toasty fire, sounds of nature, mystical darkness, yummy earth smells—all of it soul-nourishing. These trips were my peaceful place, where I could unapologetically be myself. To this day, I love escaping to the wilderness when I want to just be.
David: My favorite childhood memory is visiting family in the Philippines. One summer our family was celebrating my grandpa’s (Apo’s) 85th birthday and everyone across the globe had made plans to make their way back to Manila. All of my cousins grew up in different places as well, so each group of cousins had their own specific swag while sharing a goofy familial humor. It felt like my brain exploded the first time we all got together. We would clown each other, impersonate our Titas & Titos, play boardgames all night, and eat ungodly amounts of Jollibee. The night of my grandpa’s birthday, we all gathered in a hotel ballroom, threw cake, and danced the night away. It was my first time feeling like I belonged somewhere and everything just made sense. There was a whole lot of love in that room and it made such an impact on me. That sense of belonging and love is what I try to pay forward to all my friends and family here in LA.
Contact Info:
- Website: tsehaitheshort.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tsehai.theshort
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tsehai.theshort
- Twitter: twitter.com/tsehaitheshort
Image Credits
Sam Reid, Charlie Sands
