who are we?
Welcome to the team behind "Kingsville" the Short Film' - a UT thesis project that is created by a talented group of UT alumni and graduate students.
Hannah Martinez
Director
Hannah earned a Bachelor of Architecture with a Minor in Film and Media Studies from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Originally from South Texas, Hannah spent the last two years of her undergraduate program combining both film and architecture. She worked on various projects including short, experimental films and documentaries exploring history and social issues. Most recently, she created, wrote, directed, and edited a documentary exploring the areas of Camaguey, Cuba and Pittsburgh, PA and the effect the urban landscape has had on minority populations.
Hannah now intends to continue creating documentaries and original stories that showcase the views of underrepresented people, places, and perspectives.
Hope Wager
Director of Photography
Born in Nebraska and raised everywhere but there, Hope grew up seeing a little bit of a lot of places. Since moving to Texas, Hope has experimented with her creative process, drawing from documentary and experimental filmmaking in addition to traditional narrative styles. She tailors her approach and visual style to the individual needs of each project, bringing every story to life in the most personalized and unique way. She has an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin.
An Chen
First Assistant Director
An Chen (they/them) is a non-binary rapper, filmmaker and visual artist who makes art about their emotional experiences. An graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in English Literature and went on to work as a small-town reporter before delving into documentary filmmaking. They contributed as a writer, archival researcher and associate producer on the documentary, "Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS," a film following the efforts of five HIV+ women activists while elucidating the untold history of women AIDS activism. Their work also includes “Memories of Chinese School,” a documentary exploring An’s relationship with their parents’ native language and the difficulty of cross-cultural communication; and “Walking Circles,” a short film about a Chinese American teenager trying to make peace between her parents.
Mary-Elizabeth Esquibel
Producer
Mary-Elizabeth Esquibel is a Texas-born documentary filmmaker dedicated to resilient storytelling. She’s focused on expanding Black and Brown representation in front of and behind the lens. Mary-Elizabeth thrives on collaboration and produced films that received Focus Features distribution and a DGA Student Film Award. Her documentary short film “biracial.” is featured in the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Memories for the Future series. She recently relocated to Brooklyn, NY from Austin, TX where she received an MFA in Film & Media Production from the University of Texas at Austin.
Danielle Kirklin
Line Producer
Danielle Kirklin is a music composition student at Austin Community College. She has worked as a Production Assistant on graduate and undergraduate thesis films at the University of Texas in Austin, and short films outside of the University. She has recently been focusing on associate producing beginning early this year. She is excited to be working on Kingsville short as a Line Producer!
Pamela de Marion Silva Diaz
Producer
​​Pam is a photographer and filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Born in Guanajuato, Mexico, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Austin in Radio, Television, and Film. She formerly studied Fine Arts Photography at Austin Community College. Pamela believes in the impact of stories and empathy. Her love for diversity, connection and collaboration helps her stay inspired in capturing the complexity and beauty of existing. Pamela's work is featured in Glaze Zine Magazine, Spark Magazine, POLITICO, and most recently in TIME Magazine regarding Texas essential workers' representation and rights.
