Yo No Soy Mi Mamá
Portland, Oregon | Film Short
Teen, Drama
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a story we don’t see enough. One that centers a young Latina fighting to define herself on her own terms. It’s raw, rebellious, and deeply personal. By supporting this film, you’re helping bring authentic first-gen stories to the screen, because representation matters.
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá
Portland, Oregon | Film Short
Teen, Drama
1 Campaigns | Oregon, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $20,300 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
128 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a story we don’t see enough. One that centers a young Latina fighting to define herself on her own terms. It’s raw, rebellious, and deeply personal. By supporting this film, you’re helping bring authentic first-gen stories to the screen, because representation matters.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a narrative coming-of-age short film that takes a peek inside girlhood in a Mexican immigrant household living in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon and captures what it feels like to be caught in the middle of tradition and rebellion. Set in the early 2000's this film channels all the eyeliner-smudged rage and raw emotion of that time. When a single burned CD could save your life.
We follow Ale, a 15-year-old Chicana punk caught between her family’s strict expectations and the pull of creative rebellion. At home, Ale is constantly reminded of who she’s expected to be, a “good daughter” shaped by Catholic guilt and gender roles. Her heavy eyeliner and sarcasm clash with her mother Marie’s efforts to mold her, while her father Reyes dismisses her as unladylike. Her older brother Martin enjoys a freedom Ale is denied, and her younger brother Jorge causes chaos without consequence.
When Ale secretly overhears that her favorite band, Puros Muertos, is playing a secret show that night, she takes action. Fueled by rage and a need for autonomy, she chops off her long braid, alters her school uniform, and sneaks out.
In the middle of the DIY punk show, crowd-surfing among sweaty teens and distorted guitars, Ale finally feels seen. The chaos of the scene is a stark contrast to the control at home. For a moment, she is free.
But when she returns, Marie is waiting. Their confrontation is raw, filled with guilt, misunderstanding, and an unspoken love that still binds them. It is not a resolution, but a beginning. A crack in the armor. A shift in the silence.
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a story about generational tension, cultural expectations, and the beauty of choosing your own voice. It is a love letter to the emo girls who never fit the mold and never wanted to.
Why?
Source: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, “Latinos in Film: Erasure On Screen & Behind the Camera” (2022)
Latinx representation in film is still painfully low, especially behind the camera. As Ana Valdez of the Latino Donor Collaborative said:
“Latinos are loyal to a point, but when they see that there’s no authenticity, they don’t stay… In order to have authentic content, you need creators that are authentic.”
That quote has stayed with me. It’s why I’m making Yo No Soy Mi Mamá. To tell a story that is real, rooted in love, and seen through our own lens. This film is about Mexican girlhood, emo rebellion, and the power of choosing your identity in a world that tries to define it for you.
I’ve worked for years in this industry as a production sound mixer, rarely seeing stories that reflect the lives of girls like me. In 2022, 42 of the top 100 movies didn’t feature a single Latino character. That kind of invisibility leaves a mark. Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is my response to that silence.
It is a bilingual coming-of-age story about a Chicana teen navigating family, culture, and resistance. It is a love letter to the emo kids who never fit in, to the girls who had to grow up too fast, and to the moms who loved us the best way they knew how.
I am telling this story with care, depth, and honesty, and with a team of talented artists from our own communities. But to bring it to life, we need real support. We’re building something powerful together, and every contribution helps us get one step closer.
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is for us, by us, and about us. And it’s going to take all of us to make it real.
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We received $10,000 from WIF-PDX. We are raising $25,000 more to make this film with care, quality, and community.
We believe in fair pay. We’re inspired by models like Sing Sing where every person on set earns the same rate. Our goal is a flat day rate for all production days. If we hit our full target, we will add honoraria for prep and wrap.
Every role matters. Our crew reflects the story we’re telling, bold, intentional, rooted in care and collaboration. These artists are shaping the future of film. They deserve fair pay.
CREW STATS
Womxn + Non-Binary: 80%
BIPOC: 73%
LGBTQIA2S+: 32%
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is made by the community it serves. It’s about what you see on screen and who stands behind the camera. Our mostly Portland-based team includes working-class creatives, BIPOC artists, and queer storytellers who rarely get the resources to lead. We are here to change that.
Your pledge invests in a better standard for indie filmmaking, built on equity, care, and community. It fuels a story about Mexican American girlhood, identity, and rebellion, told with artistry and respect. Representation is urgent.
Where we are currently
• Script locked
• Core team in place
• Casting in progress
• Portland locations secured
• Production plan set for a short, efficient shoot
What this campaign funds
• Crew, gear, insurance, meals, and location fees
• If we surpass goal, department head pay for prep and wrap
Call to action
• Pledge today
• Follow the campaign
• Share on your socials and the link with two friends
• Leave a comment to boost visibility
Help us cross the finish line. Help prove stories like Yo No Soy Mi Mamá matter, and that young Brown women belong in every frame. Loud, defiant, and fully themselves.
We aim to begin principal photography in November 2025. This campaign closes the gap so we shoot on schedule and deliver a strong cut on time.
OUR STRETCH GOAL
Our stretch goal is an additional $10,000. That allows us to pay for critical prep and wrap days and ensure a proper post-production process. Prep days give our team time to plan, scout, and set up safely. Wrap days allow for smooth breakdown, returns, and rest. Post covers editing, color, and sound. The difference between an unfinished rough cut and a fully realized film. Reaching this stretch goal means we don’t burn out our crew. It means we can work with care and intention, from the first scout to final delivery.
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Sharing this campaign makes a huge difference. Tell your madre, padre, hermana, hermano, primo, abuela, abuelito, tu tatuador, tu barista, tu guitarrista favorito, tu roommate, tu ex (or maybe not?) about this film. The more people who know, the closer we get to making it happen!
Follow our journey on Seed&Spark and on Instagram: @joopjoop.creative
By supporting this crowdfund, you are literally making this movie happen.
There is no Yo No Soy Mi Mamá without you!
¡Gracias!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crafty and Meals
Costs $3,332
Fueling cast & crew with hot meals + snacks = smoother days, fewer hangry meltdowns. Help us feed the dream!
Art, Costumes, Hair & Makeup
Costs $1,356
From crucifixes at home to grimey punk venues, costumes & set design make Ale’s world real. Help us bring the rebellion to life.
Cast, Stunts and Travel
Costs $3,662
From Ale’s rebellion to the chaos at home, our cast makes it real. Help us put fearless faces on this punk Chicana coming-of-age story.
Crew
Costs $8,868
Our crew is the backbone of production. Your support helps us pay the talented people behind the camera who bring this story to life.
Lights, Camera, Action (and Gas)
Costs $5,816
The nuts and bolts—gear, trucks, supplies, gas, locations, and festivals. Everything we need to get the film made and seen.
Safety First (Insurance & Contingency)
Costs $1,966
Insurance + backup funds = less stress, more rebellion. This keeps us covered when the unexpected hits.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Writer/Director: Betty Alcaraz
Betty Alcaraz is a Chicana filmmaker and IATSE Local 488 member with 13 years in the sound department. Her credits include A24's First Cow, Hulu's Shrill, Amazon’s upcoming Criminal, and numerous indie projects. Stepping into the director’s chair with purpose, Alcaraz uplifts honest, rebellious stories from a Chicana perspective. With her second short, Yo No Soy Mi Mamá, she is making the film she wished existed when she was 15. It challenges stereotypes and embraces the messy, beautiful in-between. Her work is a love letter to her cultura Mexicana and a call to every brown girl who was told to shrink herself.
Producer: Fran Bittakis
Fran Bittakis is a Thai American indie producer and founder of JOOP JOOP, a radical creative production company. Since 2019 she has produced seven shorts and three features, including New Life, which premiered at Fantasia 2023, and Why Dig When You Can Pluck, which premiered at BAFICI. Her credits include Visions, directed by Karina Lomelin Ripper, which screened at 12 festivals and won Best Documentary Short at the Official Latino Film Festival. She also produced Ripper’s AFI DWW+ short There’s a Devil Inside Me, which premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this year.
Fran co-founded the CINE/SEEN film festival, sits on the Advisory Board for Portland Panorama, co-chaired the DEI Committee at OMPA, served on the board of Catalyst Film Collective, and is a member of IATSE Local 488. Her work centers equity, decolonization, and amplifying underrepresented voices.
Cinematographer: Evan Benally Atwood
Evan Benally Atwood is a nádleehí Diné photographer and artist born to Ta’neeszahnii, Áshįįhí, Naakai Dine’é, and Bilagáana clans, based on the lands of the Chinook peoples in Portland, Oregon. Their work is intimate and inviting, asking viewers to reflect and connect. Recently, their images appeared in TIME, Vice Broadly, and at the Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase in New York.
Their practice grows from the intersection of a queer identity and an honored Diné lineage. They work within queer and Indigenous feminist communities, documenting stories and uplifting marginalized voices through photography and film.
Production Designer: Adri Siriwatt
Adri Siriwatt is an award-winning production designer and a member of the Art Directors Guild, ADG 800, with more than 15 years in film. Her work has screened at Sundance, Berlinale, Tribeca, and SXSW. Most recently she designed Summer of ’69, which premiered at SXSW 2025, and she was selected for Berlinale Talents 2025. Past credits include How to Blow Up a Pipeline, named one of BBC Culture’s 20 Best Films of 2023.
Her honors include a Sports Emmy nomination and the Therese DePrez Award for Outstanding Production Design. She is committed to nuanced Asian and Asian American representation and brings bold vision and intention to every frame.
Why this team?
This is a union-strong, festival-tested, community-rooted team. Your support puts resources directly into artists who are building an equitable set and a powerful story. Every contribution moves this film from intention to impact.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a narrative coming-of-age short film that takes a peek inside girlhood in a Mexican immigrant household living in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon and captures what it feels like to be caught in the middle of tradition and rebellion. Set in the early 2000's this film channels all the eyeliner-smudged rage and raw emotion of that time. When a single burned CD could save your life.
We follow Ale, a 15-year-old Chicana punk caught between her family’s strict expectations and the pull of creative rebellion. At home, Ale is constantly reminded of who she’s expected to be, a “good daughter” shaped by Catholic guilt and gender roles. Her heavy eyeliner and sarcasm clash with her mother Marie’s efforts to mold her, while her father Reyes dismisses her as unladylike. Her older brother Martin enjoys a freedom Ale is denied, and her younger brother Jorge causes chaos without consequence.
When Ale secretly overhears that her favorite band, Puros Muertos, is playing a secret show that night, she takes action. Fueled by rage and a need for autonomy, she chops off her long braid, alters her school uniform, and sneaks out.
In the middle of the DIY punk show, crowd-surfing among sweaty teens and distorted guitars, Ale finally feels seen. The chaos of the scene is a stark contrast to the control at home. For a moment, she is free.
But when she returns, Marie is waiting. Their confrontation is raw, filled with guilt, misunderstanding, and an unspoken love that still binds them. It is not a resolution, but a beginning. A crack in the armor. A shift in the silence.
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is a story about generational tension, cultural expectations, and the beauty of choosing your own voice. It is a love letter to the emo girls who never fit the mold and never wanted to.
Why?
Source: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, “Latinos in Film: Erasure On Screen & Behind the Camera” (2022)
Latinx representation in film is still painfully low, especially behind the camera. As Ana Valdez of the Latino Donor Collaborative said:
“Latinos are loyal to a point, but when they see that there’s no authenticity, they don’t stay… In order to have authentic content, you need creators that are authentic.”
That quote has stayed with me. It’s why I’m making Yo No Soy Mi Mamá. To tell a story that is real, rooted in love, and seen through our own lens. This film is about Mexican girlhood, emo rebellion, and the power of choosing your identity in a world that tries to define it for you.
I’ve worked for years in this industry as a production sound mixer, rarely seeing stories that reflect the lives of girls like me. In 2022, 42 of the top 100 movies didn’t feature a single Latino character. That kind of invisibility leaves a mark. Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is my response to that silence.
It is a bilingual coming-of-age story about a Chicana teen navigating family, culture, and resistance. It is a love letter to the emo kids who never fit in, to the girls who had to grow up too fast, and to the moms who loved us the best way they knew how.
I am telling this story with care, depth, and honesty, and with a team of talented artists from our own communities. But to bring it to life, we need real support. We’re building something powerful together, and every contribution helps us get one step closer.
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is for us, by us, and about us. And it’s going to take all of us to make it real.
We received $10,000 from WIF-PDX. We are raising $25,000 more to make this film with care, quality, and community.
We believe in fair pay. We’re inspired by models like Sing Sing where every person on set earns the same rate. Our goal is a flat day rate for all production days. If we hit our full target, we will add honoraria for prep and wrap.
Every role matters. Our crew reflects the story we’re telling, bold, intentional, rooted in care and collaboration. These artists are shaping the future of film. They deserve fair pay.
CREW STATS
Womxn + Non-Binary: 80%
BIPOC: 73%
LGBTQIA2S+: 32%
Yo No Soy Mi Mamá is made by the community it serves. It’s about what you see on screen and who stands behind the camera. Our mostly Portland-based team includes working-class creatives, BIPOC artists, and queer storytellers who rarely get the resources to lead. We are here to change that.
Your pledge invests in a better standard for indie filmmaking, built on equity, care, and community. It fuels a story about Mexican American girlhood, identity, and rebellion, told with artistry and respect. Representation is urgent.
Where we are currently
• Script locked
• Core team in place
• Casting in progress
• Portland locations secured
• Production plan set for a short, efficient shoot
What this campaign funds
• Crew, gear, insurance, meals, and location fees
• If we surpass goal, department head pay for prep and wrap
Call to action
• Pledge today
• Follow the campaign
• Share on your socials and the link with two friends
• Leave a comment to boost visibility
Help us cross the finish line. Help prove stories like Yo No Soy Mi Mamá matter, and that young Brown women belong in every frame. Loud, defiant, and fully themselves.
We aim to begin principal photography in November 2025. This campaign closes the gap so we shoot on schedule and deliver a strong cut on time.
OUR STRETCH GOAL
Our stretch goal is an additional $10,000. That allows us to pay for critical prep and wrap days and ensure a proper post-production process. Prep days give our team time to plan, scout, and set up safely. Wrap days allow for smooth breakdown, returns, and rest. Post covers editing, color, and sound. The difference between an unfinished rough cut and a fully realized film. Reaching this stretch goal means we don’t burn out our crew. It means we can work with care and intention, from the first scout to final delivery.
Sharing this campaign makes a huge difference. Tell your madre, padre, hermana, hermano, primo, abuela, abuelito, tu tatuador, tu barista, tu guitarrista favorito, tu roommate, tu ex (or maybe not?) about this film. The more people who know, the closer we get to making it happen!
Follow our journey on Seed&Spark and on Instagram: @joopjoop.creative
By supporting this crowdfund, you are literally making this movie happen.
There is no Yo No Soy Mi Mamá without you!
¡Gracias!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crafty and Meals
Costs $3,332
Fueling cast & crew with hot meals + snacks = smoother days, fewer hangry meltdowns. Help us feed the dream!
Art, Costumes, Hair & Makeup
Costs $1,356
From crucifixes at home to grimey punk venues, costumes & set design make Ale’s world real. Help us bring the rebellion to life.
Cast, Stunts and Travel
Costs $3,662
From Ale’s rebellion to the chaos at home, our cast makes it real. Help us put fearless faces on this punk Chicana coming-of-age story.
Crew
Costs $8,868
Our crew is the backbone of production. Your support helps us pay the talented people behind the camera who bring this story to life.
Lights, Camera, Action (and Gas)
Costs $5,816
The nuts and bolts—gear, trucks, supplies, gas, locations, and festivals. Everything we need to get the film made and seen.
Safety First (Insurance & Contingency)
Costs $1,966
Insurance + backup funds = less stress, more rebellion. This keeps us covered when the unexpected hits.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Writer/Director: Betty Alcaraz
Betty Alcaraz is a Chicana filmmaker and IATSE Local 488 member with 13 years in the sound department. Her credits include A24's First Cow, Hulu's Shrill, Amazon’s upcoming Criminal, and numerous indie projects. Stepping into the director’s chair with purpose, Alcaraz uplifts honest, rebellious stories from a Chicana perspective. With her second short, Yo No Soy Mi Mamá, she is making the film she wished existed when she was 15. It challenges stereotypes and embraces the messy, beautiful in-between. Her work is a love letter to her cultura Mexicana and a call to every brown girl who was told to shrink herself.
Producer: Fran Bittakis
Fran Bittakis is a Thai American indie producer and founder of JOOP JOOP, a radical creative production company. Since 2019 she has produced seven shorts and three features, including New Life, which premiered at Fantasia 2023, and Why Dig When You Can Pluck, which premiered at BAFICI. Her credits include Visions, directed by Karina Lomelin Ripper, which screened at 12 festivals and won Best Documentary Short at the Official Latino Film Festival. She also produced Ripper’s AFI DWW+ short There’s a Devil Inside Me, which premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this year.
Fran co-founded the CINE/SEEN film festival, sits on the Advisory Board for Portland Panorama, co-chaired the DEI Committee at OMPA, served on the board of Catalyst Film Collective, and is a member of IATSE Local 488. Her work centers equity, decolonization, and amplifying underrepresented voices.
Cinematographer: Evan Benally Atwood
Evan Benally Atwood is a nádleehí Diné photographer and artist born to Ta’neeszahnii, Áshįįhí, Naakai Dine’é, and Bilagáana clans, based on the lands of the Chinook peoples in Portland, Oregon. Their work is intimate and inviting, asking viewers to reflect and connect. Recently, their images appeared in TIME, Vice Broadly, and at the Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase in New York.
Their practice grows from the intersection of a queer identity and an honored Diné lineage. They work within queer and Indigenous feminist communities, documenting stories and uplifting marginalized voices through photography and film.
Production Designer: Adri Siriwatt
Adri Siriwatt is an award-winning production designer and a member of the Art Directors Guild, ADG 800, with more than 15 years in film. Her work has screened at Sundance, Berlinale, Tribeca, and SXSW. Most recently she designed Summer of ’69, which premiered at SXSW 2025, and she was selected for Berlinale Talents 2025. Past credits include How to Blow Up a Pipeline, named one of BBC Culture’s 20 Best Films of 2023.
Her honors include a Sports Emmy nomination and the Therese DePrez Award for Outstanding Production Design. She is committed to nuanced Asian and Asian American representation and brings bold vision and intention to every frame.
Why this team?
This is a union-strong, festival-tested, community-rooted team. Your support puts resources directly into artists who are building an equitable set and a powerful story. Every contribution moves this film from intention to impact.