S.J. Main Muñoz

Summer-Joy "SJ" Main Muñoz (born 1978) is a director, writer and producer. Main Muñoz is primarily known for directing and producing award-winning short films and documentaries[1] and as a contributing writer to The Huffington Post on the subject of Latino Film.[2]

SJ Main Muñoz
Born
Summer-Joy Main Muñoz

(1978-08-28) 28 August 1978
Cambria, California
Alma materEuropean Graduate School (PhD)
Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA)
University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Occupation
  • Director
  • producer
  • writer
Years active2000–present
Spouse(s)
Derek Classen
(
m. 2011)
Children2

Early life and work

Main Muñoz was born in San Luis Obispo, California to a Costa Rican mother and Russian/Irish father and was raised in Cambria, California. At the age of eleven, Main Muñoz was featured on Star Search as a member of the dance group "Short 'n Sweet." Main Muñoz worked as a model for surf photographer Dan Merkel[3][4] in the Maldives. Main Muñoz also modeled for Seventeen at the age of 17.[5] Main Muñoz attended the UCLA Theater Department where she studied directing and acting for the theater.[6] While attending UCLA, Main Muñoz interned at DreamWorks SKG in the Feature Development (Amblin Entertainment), Story and Casting departments.

Early professional career

While completing a master's degree in directing at Columbia University, Main Muñoz worked for directors, producers and production companies including Michael Hausman of Cinehaus, and Ismail Merchant and James Ivory (director) of Merchant Ivory Productions. She has served as a Script Reader at Walden Media and Radical Media, and for other New York-based production companies. She was Executive Assistant to director Stanley Donen. Upon receipt of her master's degree in Film Directing, Main Muñoz moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a writer, director,[7] producer, line producer, and unit production manager.[8] Main Muñoz established the film and media production company Tica Productions in 2007.[9][10]

Television

Main Muñoz recently directed an episode of the series Chicago Med (on NBC).

Awards

Main Muñoz's film La Cerca (The Fence) (narrated by Edward James Olmos) won Best Cinematography from Rhode Island International Film Festival[11] and Temecula Valley International Film Festival,[12] among other awards.[13] It was named Best Film Honorable Mention from the Rhode Island International Film Festival and was a nominee of the Imagen Awards.[14] Main Muñoz's directorial works are often Western.[15]

Other

Main Muñoz completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree (summa cum laude) at the Media and Communications Division of the European Graduate School of Switzerland. Her doctoral dissertation presents philosophy for cinema production and the role of the American Movie Producer of narrative commercial cinema.[16]

Main Muñoz's great-grandfather is the Costa Rican musician José Daniel Zúñiga Zeledón, composer of "Caña Dulce"[17] and other Costa Rican national folk songs.[18]

Filmography
  • Dancer on Dance (2000) (Documentary) (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Love Relations (2001) (Short Film) (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Move (2002) (Short Film) (Director, Cinematographer)
  • Day in Summer (2003) (Short Film) (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Swan Dive (2004) (Short Film) (Producer)
  • La Cerca (2005) (Short Film)[19] (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Just A Girl (2005) (Short Film) (Producer)
  • Trust (2005) (Short Film)[20] (Producer)
  • Bitch (2006) (Short Film)[21] (Producer)
  • Luck of the Draw (2007) (Short Film)[22][23] (Director, Producer)
  • Three Minutes (2009) (Short Film)[24] (Producer)
  • Nice Guys Finish Last (2011) (Short Film)[25] (Producer)
  • The Carbon Collective (2013) (Documentary)[26] (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Reconnected (2018) (Short Film)[27] (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Requiescat (2018) (Short Film)[28] (Director, Writer, Producer)
  • Don't Say No (2019) (Short Film)[29] (Director, Writer, Producer)
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References
  1. Central Coast Filmmaker Gets "Luck"y. Linn, Sarah. SanLuisObispo.com The Tribune 27 August 2009
  2. "Latinos In Film" on The Huffington Post. Accessed: 10 January 2015
  3. Dan Merkel Media. Accessed: 22 December 2014
  4. Dan Merkel — Behind the Lens. Dick-Read, Alex. Surfer's Path. 10 January 2012
  5. IMDb.com. Trivia. Accessed: 29 December 2014
  6. Out of Darkness. Toussi, Sam. University of California Los Angeles Daily Bruin. 4 March 1998
  7. Photo: Director SJ Main featured at the Crystal & Lucy Awards. Crystal + Lucy Award 2014. Women In Film (WIF). Event date: 24 June 2014
  8. Film Independent Talent Guide featuring FIND Fellows. Film Independent. Accessed: 23 December 2014
  9. The Hero's Guide to Film Finance by Jeff Steele & S.J. Main. Film Closings. Accessed: 11 December 2014 "For the past ten years, S.J. (Summer-Joy) Main has..."
  10. Tica Productions [us]. IMDb.com Accessed: 1 January 2015
  11. RI International Film Festival News. Rhode Island International Film Festival. 13 August 2013 "La Cerca – Best Short Honorable Mention; Best Cinematography Grand Prize"
  12. My Big Fat Independent Movie best feature at Temecula. Morgan, Nesta. FilmFestivals.com 19 September 2005 "La Cerca – Best Short Honorable Mention; Best Cinematography Grand Prize"
  13. IMDb Awards for "La Cerca" (2005) movie. IMDb.com Accessed: 15 January 2014
  14. Imagen Award nominees. Variety. 17 August 2006
  15. LUCK OF THE DRAW comes to AFI DALLAS 2008. "Director SJ Main interviewed for American Film Institute Dallas International Film Festival." Dallas International Film Festival Film Society. Accessed: 2 January 2015
  16. S.J. Main, Ph.D. The Huffington Post. Accessed: 7 January 2014
  17. José Daniel Zúñiga Zeledón. Universidad de Costa Rica; Archivo Histórico Musical. 28 April 2012
  18. "Editus music group performs Caña Dulce." Editus. 20 May 2013
  19. La Cerca. Shorts International, Distributor. Accessed: 1 January 2015
  20. Trust Movie Premiere. Getty Images. Event date: 30 November 2005
  21. Lilah Vanderburgh, Bitch. Guerrasio, Jason. Filmmaker Magazine. 19 January 2007 "Bitch: Sundance Film Festival Coverage"
  22. Luck of the Draw. Shorts International, Distributor. Accessed: 12 January 2015
  23. The Actor's Corner James Duval (Luck of the Draw). Wildman, John. AFI Dallas Daily News. LeonChambers.co.uk 31 March 2008
  24. Three Minutes for PI City Stories. "Interview with S.J. Main on Post-Production" Banana Republic and Vanity Fair. VF Agenda. Accessed: 2 January 2015
  25. Nice Guys Finish Last; Screening News. LexiAinsworth.com 21 August 2011
  26. The Carbon Collective—Costa Rica. Eventbrite. 3 May 2013
  27. Reconnected at USA Film Festival Dallas Short Film Showcase. Angelika Film Center. 30 April 2018
  28. 11 August 2018
  29. 8 August 2019
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