We recently connected with Monika Estrella Negra and have shared our conversation below.

Monika , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am very happy as a filmmaker and writer, as well as being a student. I started my path as a filmmaker when I was a teenager, but due to some turbulent times, I was not provided the opportunity to pursue it in higher education. I have always had to have a “regular job” because I am primarily DIY, and lack the “proper” connections to break into the industry. I am currently a Medical Assistant with Planned Parenthood and a full-time student at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. My life has always been a balancing act of my art and “adulting”. I don’t have the luxury of a safety net or a trust fund. I have always had to work in order to finance my creative endeavors. I wonder what life would be like if I could create full-time. I believe I would progress at a faster rate, but I am grateful for the opportunities I do have currently.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2015, after ending my run with Black and Brown Punk Show Collective, I decided to create Audre’s Revenge Film Cooperative. This project would take on the same mission as BnB, but instead of centering around music, horror film would be its sole creation. Ideally, I wanted to pull together a group of amazing and talented Black and POC LGBTQIA, but it became difficult to centralize that idea and group of people. So, I decided to jump start the cooperative by filming my first short, titled Flesh.

Flesh was completed in 2016, followed by They Will Know You By Your Fruit, and Bitten, A Tragedy. These films are connected, a disjointed anthology. The common theme that threads them together are the unique and persistent horrors Black, queer women experience in subcultural spaces. I have always been in “alternative” circles, myself playing punk music and organizing with autonomous, political collectives. This is what Audre’s Revenge Film is about, proudly named after Audre Lorde, the great Poet and prominent Black, lesbian creative who blazed a trail for Black women in the world. The vision is to bring another kind of Final Girl to the forefront – one that defies odds, takes revenge and lives for herself. Primarily, this idea is what I tend to work with creatively. The hope is to bring in other filmmakers who wish to find their own inspiration to defy odds and create meaningful stories.

I am currently a student at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, majoring in Film. I never had the chance to go to film school, and I decided to fulfill that desire last year. I am primarily self taught, having lots of friends and mentors who have shared their skills with me over the years. My goal is to focus on exploration of different genres, and honing my editing skills. Once I am finished with school, I plan to find a space for a miniature studio, to teach and create more films.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was 19, I was outed by a family member, This resulted in homelessness, and a series of traumatic events, but despite this I strived to create because I knew that I was meant to do so. After finding stable housing, I enrolled myself in school and took up playing music, writing, painting. It was a turbulent time, but it kept me focused on the life I wanted to build for myself. Though I was exiled from my blood family, I found members of my own chosen family, and they were (some still are), the backbone of my success story. Had it not been for them, I certainly would have drowned in my own misery, distraught from being disowned by blood.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Grants! I had no idea that filmmakers relied heavily on public and private funding. Had I known the amount of grants that are available to filmmakers, I would have focused my attention on procuring grant funds, versus searching for investors and begging!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.audresrevenge.com
• Instagram: monikaestrellanegra
• Facebook: Monika Estrella Negra
• Linkedin: Monika Estrella Negra
• Youtube: Audre’s Revenge Film
• Other: Tik Tok – bellanegra1

Image Credits
Monika Estrella Negra Valerie Bah