Going on 13

Kristy Guevara-Flanagan picked up her first Super-8 camera in middle school and hasn’t put the camera down since. She has produced and directed a number of short films including: El Corrido de Cecilia Rios, a documentary that chronicles the violent death of 15-year-old Cecilia Rios. The film won the Golden Spire Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival, was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and was subsequently licensed by the Sundance Channel. Since graduating with an MFA in film production from San Francisco State University, Kristy has worked as a filmmaker, an arts educator, and a film and video editor. She is currently an assistant professor in art, film and broadcast at Diablo Valley College and in production on a new feature (with Kelcey Edwards) entitled The History of the Universe as Told by Wonder Woman; a film about female superheroes, warrior princesses and other icons of women’s empowerment. Going on 13 is her first feature documentary.

After 20 years in the youth and social service field with a master’s degree in social welfare from UC Berkeley (’92), Dawn Valadez has stepped into the world of documentary filmmaking. Dawn has a long history of supporting and developing programs that serve children, youth, and families locally and nationally, as a successful fundraiser, former board member of Youth Together and eXcel Youth Zone, trainer and facilitator focusing on youth development, multiculturalism, cultural competency & leadership skills, and as a consultant to AmeriCorps, the Community Network for Youth Development, CalSAC, 4-H, Girls Inc, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and many other programs. As the development director at Davis Street Family Resource Center she is raising capital funds during the worst recession since the depression — successfully! Going on 13 is her first feature film.