Erika Valenciana

is a Chicana filmmaker from Chicago. She is a Film & Video graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Her award-winning short films have screened at festivals internationally, including Blackstar and Mountainfilm. Her recent recognition includes Jury & Audience winner Best Doc Short at Anchorage International Film Festival, and Honorable Mention Best Short at DC Environmental Film Festival. She also received Best Documentary Director at DTLA Film Festival & Festival Internacional Independiente Madrid, Best of Fest at Ocean City Film Festival, Female Filmmaker Best Documentary at Reading Film Fest, and Special Mention at Festival Internacional Cine de Quito. 

Valenciana won Chicago International Film Festival’s Industry Days: The Pitch and Columbia College’s Written Image Award. She participated in Cine Qua Non Lab and KTQ Labs. She has been a pitch finalist for Tribeca Film Institute’s IF/Then Shorts, Minnesota Film Festival, and DC Environmental Film Festival. Valenciana was a fellow for Kartemquin Films’ Diverse Voices in Docs, Chicago International Film Festival’s CIX: Cinema Exchange Lab, and Full Spectrum Features’ The Chicago Cinema Exchange: Mexico City. 

Valenciana was a Diverse Voices Fellow at Stowe Story Labs Fall Narrative Lab and a Development Grant Recipient for their Fall Writers Retreat. Her projects have been awarded grants from Puffin Foundation, Kartemquin Films, DePaul University, Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, and Illinois Arts Council. 

Valenciana amplifies the voices of her local community of filmmakers of color through the Mezcla Media Collective’s Leadership Circle and as a mentor for Kartemquin Films Diverse Voices in Docs. She uses film to share underrepresented stories building towards a media landscape where diverse experiences are visible and celebrated.