Today we’d like to introduce you to Doris Casap.

Hi Doris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

I have been on a several years pivot that is not close to done and is teaching me so much about myself, while I build new skills, enter into wonderful new communities. I launched MOTHER FILMS in 2020, after enjoying an incredible run at HBO, when HBO was the center of everything new in television and film. Leading a team of acquisition executives, I was in charge of film programming for the networks, negotiating with everyone from a producer with one film to major studios for years of their output. Attending film festivals, markets, premieres and conferences was a wonderful part of being in the thick of the film community and I developed deep and lasting relationships with every kind of film person. One of my greatest joys was programming HBO Latino for US Latino audiences, adding comedy and music to the mix, being Latina myself.

After leaving HBO, everything I have done, I have done for the first time. I now teach at NYU Tisch, I have several projects in development, I have consulted on the sale of several documentaries, the list goes on. My greatest joy has been my first start to finish production, a hip hop comedic short film entitled F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K , which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2022, has played in over 50 festivals and was acquired by Showtime. We are currently developing a joyful comedy series based in Baltimore, once again inspired by the star of the film, who had never acted on screen before.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Leaving a job and company where I felt so settled and expert without knowing exactly my next steps has been like jumping off a cliff. It has been scary to experience the loss of structure, and constant community. At the same time, my sons were taking next steps as teenagers and young adults and I felt more needed by them and challenged by parenting than ever. There have been long stretches where i have had to slow down and focus almost exclusively on family matters, all while trying to forge a new path. After a lifetime of uninterrupted forward motion in my schooling and then career, the destabilizing challenge of slowing down and allowing for periods of internal work, has been much harder than i could have imagined. One really has to learn and unlearn who they are without the base of structure, legitimacy and status of a giant corporation and brand, when one has spent a lifetime in that mode. Of course, along with the entire entertainment industry, my work has been challenged by COVID, strikes and industry contraction. There is so much we do not control in our lives and making peace with that is a day to day practice, while maintaining energy and faith.

As you know, we’re big fans of MOTHER FILMS. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

MOTHER FILMS is an independent film and television production company based in Brooklyn.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.motherfilms.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doris-casap-b007b04/