

Transmedia Writer & Story Developer
Josefina Valenzuela Cerda

As a Storyteller...
I am a transmedia writer with a focus on female-driven stories and speculative genres. I am a content creator, world-builder, and educator.
Artistic Statement
I seek to portray the voice of female anti-heroines who have been lost in the margins and color them in worlds of awe. Characters who dwell in fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural and historical realms, in dramas or dramedies. I am fascinated with trying different platforms to better serve the story that needs to be told; I have explored TV, Film, Virtual Reality, Theatre, Prose, Graphic Novels, etc.
"I dream into reality". I am not afraid to look into the darkness to see the light. I combine the escapism and strange wonders of fantasy, with the horrors of the social constructs that limit us and awaken our fears.
I seek to make a positive impact through collaborative creations, using new technologies to our advantage, and involving people in a hopeful revolution.
Professional Trajectory
I have always been an avid learner, I became a flight attendant to be exposed to different people and cultures, I worked in the far corners of Patagonia and have lived in 3 different countries. I enquire about the latest scientific findings and I ask questions, many questions. And I became a writer because it allows me to dive deep into research and wear many hats.
My academic trajectory has been focused on understanding the audiovisual medium through different perspectives. My undergraduate studies were about cinema theory and directing, having the eyes and mind of an author. My graduate and other studies were about learning how to tell the stories that wanted to burst out of my chest and how to use traditional and new media to do so.
My professional trajectory began as an assistant director for advertising, where I learned to have thick skin, how to work in a fast-paced environment, and how to communicate within hierarchies. Even though, I have always been organized and have had attention to detail, working as an AD showed me to use my attributes efficiently. Then I focused on screenwriting, learning as an assistant about the social importance of telenovelas and how to spin a story for a particular medium and target audience. Later on, I joined Demente Contenido Production Company -the first that worked with HBO when international programming was just starting- and I quickly climbed up from Assistant to Coordinator to Development Executive. I developed from scratch a diverse array of ideas for film, tv, and web; monitored their development; sought funding; and even produced prototypes.
My experience at the Production Company later gave me a job adapting an ABC show for the Chilean Audience as head writer. Parallelly, I never stopped developing other projects as a screenwriter, some saw the light and were nominated to awards, others didn't. But I saw my pages come alive on the screen and it was beautiful! And this realization, together with my passion for new technologies and academic trajectory, helped me to dive into directing, producing, and writing my first narrative experience for virtual reality that is available at the Oculus Go Store today.
EDUCATION...
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MFA in Writing for Screen + Stage. Northwestern University.
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BA in Social Communication and Audiovisual Directing. Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.
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EAP Film and Media. University of California Santa Barbara.
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Screenwriter's Workshops at Mega and Canal 13 Television Networks.
AWARDS...
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Writer/Director/Producer: "The Circle". VR Narrative Experience. Official Selection at Sci-Fi & Fantasy: Genre Lab And Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival 2020- Presented by Lift-Off Global Network
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Screenwriter: “Terra Incognita”. TV Pilot. Winner of Kevroy Screenwriting Prize. 2018. USA.
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Playwright: “Beneath the Andes”. Short Play. Selected by Chicago Dramatists. 2018. USA.
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Playwright: “Witch Trials”. Full-Length Play. Selected at Idle Muse Theatre Company’s Athena Festival 2017. USA.
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Screenwriter: “Come Sano Chile”. Docu-reality. Nominated for Effie Awards, Brand Experience & Engagement. 2015.
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Consultant: "Extraordinarios”. TV Series. Winner of Chilean Public Fund CORFO TV 2015.
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Development Coordinator: "Heroina". Historical mini-series. Winner of Chilean Public Fund CORFO TV 2014.
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Development Coordinator: “Spider Thieves”. Feature Film. Winner of two Chilean National Grants: CORFO 2014 and Audiovisual Fund CNCA 2014.
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DP, Co-Director, Co-Writer: “Steam View”. Short film. Official Selection at Memphis International Film Festival 2009, SANFIC 2008, and Valdivia International Film Festival 2008.
Professional info and resume at
Produced Work
Below is a sample of productions I have worked as:
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Screenwriter (S) or Screenwriter's Assistant (SA).
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Director/Producer for Virtual Reality.
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Development Executive (DE) and/or Grant Applications Coordinator (GAC).
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Director (D), Director of Photography (DP), Sound Designer (SD), Screenwriter (S) and 2D/3D Animator (A) for Student Films in Chile and USA.
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Assistant Director (AD) for Television ads for major brands in International markets.
Watch the latest release:
Watch Trailers:
(GAC) SPIDER THIEVES. 2017
Feature Film.
Three low-class teenagers decide to climb and rob residential buildings to, maybe, have a different and better life.
(DE) INES. 2015
TV Drama Series. Co-Prod. Chile-Spain.
1500's. In a world of "conquistadores" and propriety, a young woman begins a journey to the wildlands of South America seeking the man she loves.
Watch Branded Content Webseries:
(DE-S) SUELTA EL RAMO. 2014
Branded Content Webseries-11 Episodes
A wedding blogger now has to prove her own advice and plan her own wedding.
(S) PYME. 2014
Branded Content Webseries-Pilot (project)
Two friends begin their own business not knowing what they are getting into.
Watch Television Advertising:
(AD) Fortum Ad. 2009
Ad by Tantor Films and Bacon Productions
(AD) Unimarc Supermarket Ad. 2009
Ad by MCMcine Productions.
(AD) Tucapel rice Ad. 2009
Ad by MCMcine Productions and ProlamYoung &R.
Watch Student Work:
(DP) MIRADA A VAPOR. 2008
(Student Film PUC )
Documentary Short Film.
A scientist and a train fanatic finds himself disconnected from his family.
*Festivals Official Selection
(D) TERAPIA DE GRUPO. 2009.
(Student Project PUC)
Sitcom Pilot
An undercover journalist joins a group therapy where they make their afflictions worse while trying to help each other.
(S-AD) IT'S MY ART. 2016
(Student Film NU)
Comedy Short Film.
A misunderstood clown trying to find a place for his art.
(S) WORDS CRACKLE. 2008
(Student Film PUC)
Stopmotion poem Short Film.
A little ant with an impossible love.
(D-S-A) PANSPERMIA. 2017
(Student Project)
3D Animation.
A little ball of ice and rock wakes up alone in space... It is a small story with big consquences.
(D-S-A) GLASS HALF FULL. 2017
(Student Project)
3D Animation.
A tree is stuck underwater, a place where it doesn't belong, but finds freedom through dancing and the lack of gravity.
(D-S-A) RAINMAKER. 2017
(Student Project)
2D Animation.
A little orphan elephant sets on a journey to find what will help her to be part of her herd.
"I am always searching for innovative ways to tell stories and produce immersive experiences. I am fascinated with new and interactive media and all its unimagined possibilities. And I am eager to get other people excited."
COLLECTIVE MEMORY. 2017
(Student Project)
Unity&Twine game.
Three players collect the history of a broken world.

STAY ALIVE. 2017
(Student Project)
Twine Game.
A survival simulator. Can you stay alive?
NOT ALL THAT IS GOOD GLITTERS. 2017
(Student Project)
Virtual Reality Animation, hand-drawn with Tilt Brush.
About what we see and what really is, our passions and our ambissions.

LAST DROP. 2017
(Student Project)
VR Experience.
Instructions: Use VR headsets and click on the green objects to explore dimensions.
(Android Mobile preferred)

Upcoming Productions

A young dancer prepares for the most important audition of her life, but instead finds a reflection that awakens an ancient ritual.
THE MIRROR is a multidisciplinary horror-drama narrative experience for Virtual Reality with original choreography and music, in the realms of "Suspiria" and "The Witch".
A Virtual Reality Short Film >

A Dark Fantasy Series >
Waybrel
Waybrel is a Disney Princess-kind of girl, sheltered in a magical yet weird world until she realizes that she is the monster of her nightmares. Repulsed by her dual form, she will do whatever is necessary to stop the killings. As she struggles to find the light in the darkness of an origin she can't remember, she falls at the center of “The Nehtu Sisterhood”, an obscure movement that is old as time and has its own agenda.
WAYBREL is a dark fantasy series for print and screen that deals with the aftermath of abuse and trauma.

WITCH TRIALS
An immersive theatre play & VR Experience >
Two young women are brought together by strange circumstances in a Psychiatric Hospital. Locked inside their prison-bedroom, they will try to find a way to escape, while the boundaries between time and space, fantasy and reality fade away to reveal the truth about themselves, and maybe grant them the power they so desperately need.
WITCH TRIALS is a coming-of-age fantasy drama in the form of an immersive play for theatre and an experience for Virtual Reality that deals with how we learn to be ourselves in a society filled with contradictions.
CONTACT
If you want to talk further, ask for a resume or writing sample, send me a message.
