Tell the story of a trailblazer living at the intersection of multiple identities—a queer, first-generation Cuban-American woman fighting for her place in the male-dominated culinary world, while exploring how culture, career, and identity collide and ultimately strengthen each other.
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As co-director (with Odette Santos), writer, and cinematographer, I crafted an intimate portrait as layered as Chef Tatiana Rosana's cooking. The film explores her multiple "comings out"—as a chef in a family of professionals, and as a lesbian in a traditional culture—revealing how authenticity became her greatest strength.The story unfolds through two interwoven elements:
Past and Present in Dialogue: Modern cinematic vérité blends with nostalgic home videos, creating a visual conversation between the child who was a picky eater in a food-loving Cuban family and the woman who became a Chopped champion
Contrasting Worlds: The harsh realities of kitchen sexism juxtaposed with the warmth of chosen and biological family, showing how love and support transformed obstacles into strength
Queer Made reframes the immigrant dream through a queer lens, showing how one chef's determination to be authentic is transforming toxic kitchen culture. It's a story about food as a language of love and the radical courage it takes to be soft in a hard world.
By following Tatiana from taking over the very kitchen where she was once dismissed to building a family of her own, the film proves that our greatest strengths often come from the parts of ourselves we were once told to hide.