‘What is talent but the art of being whatever it is one happens to be?’ Henry James - (photo above at Emmys 2024). Strategic independent film - CEO Ciboney Productions - The Peterson House, film set Ciboney Prods.
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Contact Info
2K followers
500+ connections
About
Film Director
[Edited by editor par excellence Mengfang Yang and I from 12 hours of footage](https://vimeo.com/595074058/12109bec2b).
My work, which grapples with light and shadows, draws heavily upon expressionism to transport viewers into dreams brought to life. I am an awarded screenwriter and first-time feature-length filmmaker. As a Sundance alum, I proudly present Cuban talent in Hollywood through my latest project, ["When it rains..." (80 mins, 2021)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/migdia-skarsgård-chinea-23b2b524/).
Filming on a zero budget demands creativity, decisiveness, and the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities. Each challenge becomes a stepping stone toward completion and the next artistic endeavor.
I possess sisu, a unique Finnish concept roughly translated as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and rational action in the face of adversity. Sisu is not momentary courage but the sustained ability to maintain that courage.
[Watch my director’s reel (1 minute)](https://vimeo.com/509338377).
[Logo Ciboney Productions (20 secs)](https://vimeo.com/322544037).
I am my father’s daughter. WGAW, TV Academy, UCLA MFA TFT ’12.
My experience spans independent filmmaking, managing every aspect of the process from writing and directing to production, set design, post-production, marketing, and exhibition.
I wrote, directed, and produced my first full-length feature, "When it rains..." (2021). As a WGAW and TV Academy member, I have worked as a writer and story analyst, creating films both on studio assignments and independently.
Specialties — Writing, directing, producing, set design, developing, and packaging material with zero/low budget that delivers high production value. Expertise in narrative scripts across genres including comedy, drama, sci-fi, horror, and stories involving kryptonite and sexual attraction. I excel at depicting how the external world reflects a character’s internal conflict and directing the camera to suggest both optical and intellectual perspectives.
[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/CThdbU3BHW8/?utm_medium=copy_link).
Articles by Migdia
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Kenny Johnson -- Fred Haines -- my mentors.
Kenny Johnson -- Fred Haines -- my mentors.
By Migdia Skarsgård Chinea UCLA MFA Film, WGAW, ATAS EMMY
Contributions
Activity
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Today more than ever, we need the leadership of President Donald Trump. America needs a true leader who never stops fighting to preserve the freedom…
Today more than ever, we need the leadership of President Donald Trump. America needs a true leader who never stops fighting to preserve the freedom…
Liked by Migdia Skarsgård Chinea UCLA MFA Film, WGAW, ATAS EMMY
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A can-only-happen-in-MAGA-land trend emerged on the floor of the Republican National Convention: bandage-like ear patches. "It's in solidarity with…
A can-only-happen-in-MAGA-land trend emerged on the floor of the Republican National Convention: bandage-like ear patches. "It's in solidarity with…
Liked by Migdia Skarsgård Chinea UCLA MFA Film, WGAW, ATAS EMMY
Experience
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Director/producer
Ciboney Productions President - full length feature "When it rains..."
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Ciboney Productions
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President
Ciboney Productions
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Chief Executive Officer
Ciboney Productions
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Screenwriter/Director
Ciboney Productions
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Ciboney Productions
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Film Director/writer/producer
Ciboney Productions
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Film Director/writer/producer
Ciboney Productions
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Film Director/writer/producer
Ciboney Productions
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Filmmaker
Pentedattilo International Film Festival
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Film Director
Reykjavik Transnational Talent Lab
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Education
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UCLA
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Communication and Media Studies 4.0
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Activities and Societies: Film and Set Design Writers Guild of America, west, Television Academy of Arts & Sciences (EMMYs ).
UCLA MFA in Film m, TV and Digital Media Studies
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University of California, Los Angeles
Bachelor of Arts (BA) Poly Sci, Pre-Law, Classical Civilization
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Activities and Societies: Phi Sigma Alpha Society
Political Science opinion publication.
Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
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Academic Advancement Program - Counselor
UCLA
- 9 years
I have assisted the university in acceptance and awards with respect to diverse minority students
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Women's and minority issues
ACLU
- Present 8 years 11 months
Economic Empowerment
Assist in determining access for women directors in film and TV.
Publications
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Passages
See publicationA Cuban political prisoner arrives to Miami where he is reunited with his estranged wife and daughter.
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My Life as a Twofer
Newsweek/Simon & Schuster
See publicationMy experiences as a minority woman - hence a two-fer.
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My Life as a Twofer
Newsweek, Harper Collins, Wall Street Journal
Opinion
Courses
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Directing actors/UCLA Barry Primus.
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Final Cut Pro 7
Self-taught
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Photo Shop/Illustrator
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Projects
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When it rains....
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See projectThose cheated upon in Hollywood during a two-week rain storm. Wir synopsis.
Synopsis
Five-years in the making, portfolio feature film "When it rains..." (80 mins.) was completed by indie-in-residence Migdia Skarsgård Chinea post COVID19 2021 and awaits release.
Two weeks in Hollywood during a rain storm, this is an intimate look into characters who push their lives pre-social media.
Hollywood in neonoir post-sexual revolution revolves around Miranda Maar (Josie…Those cheated upon in Hollywood during a two-week rain storm. Wir synopsis.
Synopsis
Five-years in the making, portfolio feature film "When it rains..." (80 mins.) was completed by indie-in-residence Migdia Skarsgård Chinea post COVID19 2021 and awaits release.
Two weeks in Hollywood during a rain storm, this is an intimate look into characters who push their lives pre-social media.
Hollywood in neonoir post-sexual revolution revolves around Miranda Maar (Josie Martineaux), her lovers, friends, and their aspirations during two weeks of rain storms in LA, 1972.
It never rains in Southern California.
Meet Miranda, an actress with lofty dreams who hates driving to meaningless auditions. "You're not good at all," she hears. Sidelined, she instead observes. Shoots film.
Her skillset not being utilized, she eavesdrop on her husband, George (Guillermo Jorge), a has been composer, who cheats on her. She loses herself in her Minolta and cutting edge films talked about in '72.
When Miranda meets Ned (Carlo Mendez), he unlocks her. They enter into a voluptuous affair attacking the hypocrisy around them.
Miranda goes from a small supporting life-watching role into a private world stage with friend, Jenn (Jane Santos) and their own sexual energy and inadequacies.
A movie within a movie, Miranda and George pass each other on set. Nothing is real. Life happens to someone else - all the while, urban artist, Mixxxx (Sean Mali), contemplates his own graffiti throughout the mean streets of LA and marks his territory, as the rain goes on.
An example of guerrilla filmmaking, entire film (80 mins.) was shot without a production budget with a diverse cast and crew. -
"Old Havana and the Great Pimp of San Isidro"
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1910 Havana. During this time, one man rose to great power. His name was Yarini, the Pimp of San Isidro. During his ten-year reign, he brought inexorable joy to many, but to others he presented a great threat. In a story based on Yarini, the myth, the man, his women, and the beautiful city of Havana
Other creators -
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KNINTH FLOOR
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"Kninth Floor" - this is the prequel to "anonymous (street meat)" so the characters are the same and the story is segmented into two shorts. the lives of five strangers intersect in the elevator of a parallel world as they search for the truth. After they board the elevator, they're transported into another dimension where each individual pairs off with another. A couple argues whether morality is encoded into DNA. A psychiatrist and his patient) talk about a possible murder. A prostitute…
"Kninth Floor" - this is the prequel to "anonymous (street meat)" so the characters are the same and the story is segmented into two shorts. the lives of five strangers intersect in the elevator of a parallel world as they search for the truth. After they board the elevator, they're transported into another dimension where each individual pairs off with another. A couple argues whether morality is encoded into DNA. A psychiatrist and his patient) talk about a possible murder. A prostitute discusses political issues. In the end, it is revealed who and what they really are
Other creators -
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anonymous (street meat)
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Sci-fi. Set in a psychiatrist's office, Dr. Wolf (played by Ruben Rabasa), is conversing with an affordability accumulator (AA) suspected of being a prostitute, Megan McPherson (played by Josie Martineaux). The AA's name is anonymous, because the controlling corporates -- banks and pharmaceuticals —have stolen her identity and assigned her a number. 'anonymous (street meat)' is what people become when they drink Hellsy Sip branded to a small priestly caste of seers with access to the ultimate…
Sci-fi. Set in a psychiatrist's office, Dr. Wolf (played by Ruben Rabasa), is conversing with an affordability accumulator (AA) suspected of being a prostitute, Megan McPherson (played by Josie Martineaux). The AA's name is anonymous, because the controlling corporates -- banks and pharmaceuticals —have stolen her identity and assigned her a number. 'anonymous (street meat)' is what people become when they drink Hellsy Sip branded to a small priestly caste of seers with access to the ultimate source of knowledge. The future is now a digitally supercharged version of the distant past: ancient Egypt multiplied by the power of Facebook.
Other creators -
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My reel
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[Watch my director’s reel (1 minute)](https://vimeo.com/509338377). -
When it rains... (2020) 80 mins.
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When it rains....
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Two weeks of rain Hollywood and the people who live there.
Honors & Awards
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Cyprus International Film Festival
Cyprus International Film Festival
Best Short - "anonymous (street meat)"
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California International Film Festival
California International Film Festival
Special Mention "anonymous (street meat)"
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Cannes International Film Festival - un certain regard Special Mention
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Special Mention Short "anonymous (street meat)"
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O'Neil Fellowship for Screenwriters
O'Neill Fellowship
A Fellowship for MFA students of film, primarily screenwriters to help in their continuing graduate studies.
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Chelsea International Film Festival
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When it rains... the short (16.5)
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Official Selection at over 45 film festivals world-wide.
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Los Angeles, New York, France, Italy Spain, UK, Russia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Rumania, Korea, and various other festivals world-wide.
Languages
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English
Full professional proficiency
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Spanish
Full professional proficiency
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French
Professional working proficiency
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