JULISSA CARMONA

DIRECTOR | PRODUCER | SCREENWRITER

Julissa Carmona is a film director, screenwriter and producer. In a career spanning over a decade, Julissa has experienced all aspects of the filmmaking process which allows her to continue mastering the cinematic art, as well as, rising within the industry ranks.

Born in Yonkers, New York to immigrant Costa Rican parents, Julissa’s love for cinema began early with her fascination of illusion and the magic of make-believe. After graduating Preston High School in the Bronx, the young ingenue began pursuing her dream of acting. Her great passion led to the opportunity to work on the film, Donnie Brasco. Through her involvement in this film, she became a member of the highly recognized Screen Actors Guild. The thriving actress built her resume by working on various films and television shows.

Julissa longed for a taste of Hollywood and in 1999; she drove across country from New York to California. In Los Angeles, she found her first job interning for Esparza-Katz Productions, whose films include Selena and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Here, under the leadership of Greg Gomez, Co-founder of NALIP, Julissa was responsible for screening scripts, supervising and managing a variety of projects. Through her internship, she learned valuable tools of screenwriting and started the development of a series of short films and “The Forbidden Chair” feature-length script.

Julissa returned to New York to continue her studies and later graduated from the legendary American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. From there, she furthered her education at Hunter College where she majored in Film and minored in Theater. Through formulating storylines and an increasing desire to focus more on cinema, Julissa began establishing herself as a director. It was evident that her natural transition into directing was only a matter of time. Her love for acting and screenwriting never diminished, they only evolved side by side with her directing Her early experimental work proved that this driven director has a sophistication for storytelling.

A style inspired by German Expressionism, she is always creating films that captures the fantastical depicted in the form of horror and suspense.