Giselle Bonilla graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a B.F.A. in Film and Television Production in 2017. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Giselle started out in the industry as a child actor before recognizing the limited opportunities for people of color to work as artists without being subjected to stereotypes. Her goal of portraying characters that accurately represented her community ultimately drove her to take control of her own career and pursue writing and directing. Her thesis film, Virgencita, has just wrapped post-production thanks to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation after winning the Horizon Award at 2018’s Sundance Film Festival. Virgencita, a dark comedy about the sexual constraints in a conservative Mexican-American household, will be at the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner and is set to compete in festivals for 2019. She is currently living in Los Angeles where she’s working as an actress again, while writing her next project.
Winning Project: Virgencita