S.J. Main

S.J. Main
Born	Summer-Joy Main (1978-08-28) August 28, 1978 Cambria, California
Other names	S.J. Main Muñoz
Ethnicity	Costa Rican American
Alma mater	European Graduate School (Ph.D.) Columbia University School of the Arts (M.F.A.) University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.)
Occupation	Writer, film director, producer

Summer-Joy "S.J." Main (born 1978) is a writer, video and film director, and film producer. Main 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]

Early life and work

Main 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 was featured on Star Search as a member of the dance group "Short 'n Sweet." Main worked as a model for surf photographer Dan Merkel ^[3][4] in the Maldives. Main also modeled for Seventeen (American magazine) at the age of 17.^[5] Main attended the UCLA Theater Department where she studied directing and acting for the theater.^[6] While attending UCLA, Main 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 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 moved to Los Angeles where she currently works as a writer, director,^[7] producer, line producer, and unit production manager.^[8] Main established the film and media production company Tica Productions in 2007.^[9][10]

Awards

Main'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's directorial works are often of the Western (genre).^[15]

Other

Main 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 is a Founder of The Latino Film Fund.^[17]

Main's great-grandfather is the Costa Rican musician José Daniel Zúñiga Zeledón, composer of "Caña Dulce"^[18] and other Costa Rican national folk songs.^[19]

Filmography

• Dancer on Dance (2000) (Documentary) (Director, Writer)
• Love Relations (2001) (Short Film) (Director, Writer)
• Move (2002) (Short Film) (Director)
• Day in Summer (2003) (Short Film) (Director, Writer)
• Swan Dive (2004) (Short Film) (Producer)
• La Cerca (2005) (Short Film)^[20] (Director, Writer)
• Just A Girl (2005) (Short Film) (Producer)
• Trust (2005) (Short Film)^[21] (Producer)
• Bitch (2006) (Short Film)^[22] (Producer)
• Luck of the Draw (2007) (Short Film)^[23][24] (Director)
• Three Minutes (2009) (Short Film)^[25] (Producer)
• Nice Guys Finish Last (2011) (Short Film)^[26] (Producer)
• The Carbon Collective (2013) (Documentary)^[27] (Director, Writer)

References

External links

• S.J. Main at the Internet Movie Database
• Huffington Post profile
• Director Robert Rodriguez Talks Moviemaking Outside of Hollywood: The Road Less Traveled