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Vidacreator and showrunnerTanya Sarachois acutely aware of her short television careers unusual trajectory.
I approve the budget?
she recalls asking her Starz bosses.
It was like that!
But you buck up.
People like us just buck up.
We figure it out.
(She moved to Hollywood permanently about four years ago.)
Last month, Starz renewedVidafor a third season.
When Fernandez offered her the job to create and trigger the show that would becomeVida,she was floored.
In her mind, Sarachos paying forward the chance that Starz took on her.
You cant fake that.
Starz took a risk on me.
Its super-important because we have not had the access to these opportunities.
Minority women directed 261 episodes.
Tanyas in a position of power, and shes empowering other people that are like her.
When they havent found the people, its because they havent looked, Saracho said.
Looking is not just going to our agent.
Sometimes you do have to search.
Like, they sent me this Russian-born woman who spent three years in Mexico.
Just make us a little extra responsible.
When Fernandez suggested she direct the finale, Saracho thought she meant for a future season.
I was so anxious!
I needed my hand held.
This is how you build people up and its how change happens.
At this point in her life, Lyn is ready to move past this kind of shallow experience.
If they were white people, you wouldnt give this to the girl who had done a family dramedy.
That would not occur to them because they share that experience.
Women, Mastretta believes, are the key to changing the representation issues plaguing Hollywood.
This is how we kill the empathy gap.
He said my first job would come from personal relationship, she recalled.
This was frustrating because LaMarque had filmmaking experience.
Four years later, she wrote and directedThe Feels.
It was sad, but then it was true, she said.
My first opportunity was definitely because of my close relationship with Mark Duplass.
So I was a natural fit.
I felt so excited and overwhelmed, LaMarque said.
Being atVidawas so rad.
At my first concept meeting, there were literally no men at the table.
The daughter of a white woman and a Mexican man, LaMarque says she connects withVidasexploration of identity.
Its always been a thing.
But she also meets Nico (Roberta Colindrez), a biker who becomes her first true friend.
Saracho says she imagined Nico as her personal dream girl, a detail not lost on LaMarque.
Over at video village, everyones just kinda checking Nico out.
Jenees such a jolly person, Prada said.
We had a lot of fun on her episodes.
I mean, that [warehouse] party.
To get to see that on TV was like,What?
The event had a carnival air to it with dozens of background artists in extravagant costumes milling about.
If you had been there, it was like Disneyland, Barrera said.
It was one of my two favorite scenes to shoot of the whole season.
Now that I think about it, its so stupid, Saracho said.
LaMarque is now writing and directing two more episodes ofRoom 104for its fourth season.
I dont think its as hard as people portray to find talented women.
Theres a ton of us!
I have a go at take an empowered view of it and figure out what I can do.
But then nothing happened.
I didnt realize there was a glass ceiling, Monteiro said.
NYU doesnt necessarily teach you that much about the industry per se.
Thats not the only contradiction Monteiro carries inside.
Brazilians have a very murky relationship with being Latino because Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country.
Monteiro hadnt seen the show but read the pilot script and immediately reacted, Holy shit!
This is so close to home.
Saracho loved Monteiros samples, especially a music video she shot in Brazilianfavelas, and hired her.
She has a very strong creative vision.
To be honest, getting your second gig is just as hard as getting your first, she said.
Its funny because I feel like the industrys in a transitional moment and Im in a transitional moment.
Change is manifesting in a real way.
I didnt think it was accessible.
When they felt comfortable, they told me Id be directing in season two.
The daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, Mejia was born and raised in Los Angeles.
Just because I grew up not far from the Hollywood sign doesnt mean I have more access.
I could not get into film school, so I just tried to hustle and find my own way.
Directors onVidahave five days to prep and five days to shoot the half-hour episodes.
Although that can seem like a tough workload, for Mejia it was bliss compared to filming shorts.
Id get to set and everythings professionally done and I just got to experience directing.
And thats what Nancy did.
I dont feel women directors are given the same benefit of the doubt as their male counterparts.
You constantly hear, you’re able to shadow.
I feel like youre always seen as an apprentice.
And I realize Ive just started.
Ive only directed one episode of TV, but its still a grind.
Its still a hustle.
Its more about the optics now, she said.
Regardless, its a step in the right direction.
I personally believe that I dont care how I got my foot in the door.
Once Im there, Im not gonna get out.
