Grad student Midgia Chinea's film 'anonymous (street meat)' selected for Cannes Short Film festival
Brittany Taylor / Daily Bruin
Midgia Chinea's short film, "anonymous (street meat)," inspired by a mortgage scam Chinea experienced during her fall quarter at UCLA in 2009, was selected as an official entry into the Cannes Short Film festival. A still from the film is pictured above.
Courtesy of Midgia Chinea
In mid May 2011, I flew to Nice and stayed at the Western Madrid hotel -- this is because I couldn't find any accommodations in Cannes. The trip was nice and I met some very nice people, including a great Algerian family who invited me to a wonderful dinner at their home. However, because of my busy UCLA schedule, I could not stay in touch with anyone -- all I have is pictures, I took a couple of side trips while there -- to Monte Carlo, Eze and Frejus -- although I had been there before I found the experience totally absorbing and beautiful. Afterward, my film was selected to a number of film festivals including the Student Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia -- I wish I had been able to attend.
However, it was AFTER I got back that things changed when people at UCLA started to act totally weird with me and kept taking down any other festival announcements from the UCLA TFT Facebook page. I have never bragged about any of my accomplishments in my life, but I was accused of being a self-promoter. My situation was really awful at school. All in all, Cannes was great, but not my experiences here and the lack of support were mystifying.
Migdia Chinea UCLA MFA TFTDM - Screenwriting/Directing 2012