This Restorative Justice Life

62. "Sippin'" on White Fragility w/ Gilbert Salazar and Rosa Navarrete

December 16, 2021 David Ryan Castro-Harris Season 2 Episode 7
This Restorative Justice Life
62. "Sippin'" on White Fragility w/ Gilbert Salazar and Rosa Navarrete
Show Notes Transcript

Sippin’ asks the question, what happens when you serve white fragility at the table?  This short film presents the encounter of four women of color who gather for celebration & healing with a ritual of tea & stories.

Sippin' is a project that presents the experiences of women of color, developed by stories of harm and impact. The purpose and intention of the film is to provide activation of emotion that provokes dialogue that is both reflective and critical.

Support Sippin': https://seedandspark.com/fund/sippin#team
Follow Sippin' on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sippin_short_film
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sippinshortfilm

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David (he/him)  
Hey y'all, David here. I know I know we're supposedly on break in hearing him posting again. But I promise this is a lot less effort than most of our episodes are to produce. This conversation that I'm about to share is a conversation that I had on Instagram Live last week with the creators of the new short film sippin.

David (he/him)  
 I've described sippin as a story of four women of color restorative justice practitioners sitting down to sip on some tea, while spilling the tea on white fragility that they've experienced in the work specifically from white women. As you'll hear in the conversation, this is based off of one of the chapters in color rising restorative justice, written by Gilbert Salazar. But you're gonna hear so much more from him, the director and one of the actors in this film, so let them share their perspectives and stories. 

David (he/him)  
Right up top, I want to let you know that they still need support to push this film past the finish line in post production. So if you want to learn more and support their work, the link to support is in the show notes. If you can't support financially, please tell a friend this is a really special film that so many people need to see. Enjoy this conversation. 

David (he/him)  
Well, hello, everybody. We are very, very excited to bring this conversation together. This thing called amplify RJ has been thinking about amplifying restorative justice work. And we're bringing a couple folks on Gilbert and Rosa to talk about a short film that they are producing. I'm also helping to produce and yeah, very excited. So Gilbert here. Welcome. I know Rosa, just messaged me. And she'll just be jumping on in a second. But, Gilbert, while we've got you here and we have some other folks in the room, do you want to introduce yourself? 

Gilbert Salazar  
Hey, David, what's up? How are you? Good to see you. Hey, everyone. Good evening, late afternoon. My name is Gilbert Salazar. I am the writer and executive producer of the short film sippin and also RJ partitioner, which I've spent many years working in RJ and yeah, I don't know if that's, that's That's all I've got for now. Let me know if you want me to say anything else.

David (he/him)  
 But yeah, that's, that's perfect. And Rosa right on time, I didn't know what account you're coming from. But welcome, welcome. We just had Gilbert introduce himself. And this is actually my first time meeting you face to face to face. But do you want to introduce yourself as well?

Rosa Navarette  
Sure. My name is Rosa Navarette a Peruvian mujer with ancestry in God knows where. But I'm Meztisa and I was raised in Los Angeles, I have a Chicano accent.

David (he/him)  
It's so wonderful. We're so grateful to have both of y'all here. And for those of you who are here in the chat, feel free to introduce yourselves and share where you're coming in from but we're gonna get started. 

David (he/him)  
Um, you know, I first learned about Gilbert's work. In his work around sippin from the book colorizing restorative justice, which is an anthology of essays, edited by Dr. Edward Valandra, written by a bunch of different restorative justice practitioners of color talking about their experiences doing this work. It's a wonderful book. If you haven't picked it up yet. Definitely, definitely should do that. But Gilbert's chapter was written in a play form, written as a script, detailing the experiences of women of color sort of justice practitioners as they navigated with training. Gilbert, you want to tell us a little bit about that? And what was your inspiration for making that your entry in the anthology? 

Gilbert Salazar  
Sure, um, I have spent many years as a restorative justice coach and strategist. And so I was in collaboration, training and coaching a lot of schools and school communities. And so I do a lot of trainings and coaching. And I noticed that very often white women in the room would treat me differently than they would my colleagues of color, which are also women of color, in terms of interruption or in terms of just asking if what the information that was just said was was valid or accurate. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And so there was choices and behaviors that were not happening on to me, but we're happy enough to colleagues and so an observation and the curiosity is To ask me more questions with colleagues and also just be more aware of what was happening in the room when I would co facilitate with with a woman of color. And as I was asking those questions and being curious, and receiving stories and experiences from colleagues of color, or women, I was, I was like, this is the I just, I was driving home today in traffic, because I used to live in Glendale, California and office. So I would go back from Long Beach, to wherever. And, you know, traffic can inspire a lot of ideas when you're sitting in traffic here in LA. And I just saw a group of women at a tea party as an image. And I was like, Oh, that's really and they kept, it was the image that just kept staying the multiple times. And so I was like, I have all of these experiences that I've heard. And so I asked all of my friends or colleagues if I could incorporate those into a play.

Gilbert Salazar  
 And I think I just sort of drafted a story first. And then I it was very apparent that it was for women. And they were at a Tea Party, talking about these stories. And so I you know, dialogue, I wrote the dialogue became a play. And then I was the, in a workshop production of my very first play called unmasking Hercules and our stage director lawanna, had asked if I had anything that a script that she could use, because she wanted to direct at a theatre festival or political theater, when I was like, actually, I do have to play and I told her the idea, and she was like, I want to, I want to direct that. So we submitted it, and it got staged. And so the before all of that happened, I asked consent for all of those friends and colleagues to feel to use their experiences and those became sippin the story. 

David (he/him)  
Yeah. And then submission to the book of essays. And, you know, the book colorizing restorative justice has had a huge impact on the restorative justice community, historically, restorative justice, the colonizer terms restorative justice and English, right. It's been white LED been very academic, even though we're talking about practices and principles that are indigenous and ancient that live within all of us and doing this work is remembering those things. It's been a shaking and a wake up call to many folks in the RJ community, especially practitioners who are white. And you know, it's great that things live in a book, but you decided to take it beyond that. And now we've got a short film on our hands. Tell us how you thought, take the idea to the next level and why you wanted to partner with Rosa.

Gilbert Salazar  
Yes, so the the play with I was at a I think the RJ conference in Oakland a few years ago. And that's when I saw the the the submission for the abstract for the book that became CRJ. And I knew I wanted to write something. And I had always at the end of each training written about, you know, what has happened in that training. And so a goal was always to write, it's so nice to write a book. But in that in the essay for the CRJ book, I was I was like, I want to write something, but I wanted to be creative. And so I remember sippin, and so incorporated that chapter around vulnerability and accountability. And then, you know, one thing leads to another until there was a beautiful gift and blessing of we had opportunity as the authors of CRJ, to apply for a grant to create something that would that would promote the book. And so I wrote my first grant for to create, you know, sippin was already a short play in the chapter. And so I was like, well, it would be an easy transition, I think, to create that as a short film, and to have an event with it and have a lot of the authors from CRG, written about whiteness, and white fragility and their impact as women. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And so the grant included that event symposium, which is still being planned for February, but the grant got accepted. And so, but the grant was like I wrote the grant, because my brother, my spiritual brother, Kieran Gopal, was like, you know, we should produce something you should produce something you should apply for that grant. And so out of his motivation, encouragement, coaching, I applied, and we got accepted. And so when that acceptance happened, there was only one person that I I really wanted to read to me in to invite as director. And that was Rosa, who I've known from work at sort of 0101 

Gilbert Salazar  
And it was really amazing. In that I was really mindful the Kieran and I are two male identifying people to men and the director had to be a woman. And, and so Rosa, I approached Rosa and Rosa said, yes and has been collaborator in all kinds of ways. And so I have been fascinated Rosa for to add anything else with the story.

David (he/him)  
Yeah, absolutely. Before you jump in Ross, I for those of you who are just joining us, we're talking to the to the creators behind the upcoming short film sippin, which I've been telling people has been a tea party where women of color are both sippin and spilling the tea on white fragility and how it's been playing out on them as the sort of justice practitioners of Gilbert wrote, it came to Rosa to direct it, Rosa, when this guy came up to you, and like, I've got this script with this idea of this tea party about white fragility centered around the stories of four women of color, what was your reaction?

Rosa Navarette  
Um, for most projects that have a lot of value, I would say and have a lot of substance, I'm always afraid. So the first initial feeling is fear of like, being charged with somebody else's words, which I always take very seriously. And then also somebody else's whose values are aligned, but also, you know, it's their work. And, and I've seen Gilbert's other work. And I know that it's always deep and meaningful. So that was my initial feel, which is natural for me. And then and then I was like, oh, okay, how are we going to do this, and it kind of evolved, because I had just stepped out of directing kind of like this hybrid, Zoom play film that was full length. And so the initial idea for this was also to do something on Zoom. 

Rosa Navarette  
And then Gilbert just came back and said, Let's, let's do a short film, like things are opening up again. Let's be safe about it. And mindful. But also, can we do that? And, and so we did, we, we got all of our heads together and collaborated on ideas, and decided to make a short film on an actual like, location. And, and then Gilbert, and Kiran are just such phenomenal human beings that they had, you know, I've been in many other type of experiences with short content or films, where I've, I find myself doing most of the work and not because nobody wants to help me, but because I don't know how to ask for help. 

Rosa Navarette  
As a Latina, it's a thing they carry, and that I have to like shed. And so Gilbert and Kiran were really phenomenal. And always checking in and saying, Well, what else can we do? What else can we do? What else can we do? And so this idea just started blooming, and I was able to invite this amazing director of photography to be part of it. And then he said, Hey, this script is really beautiful. And I don't want to just, you know, guerrilla it, like we usually do, like, how about I bring my team and so then we had a light, a lighting gaffer, and we had, like, a legit professional team come and support and give us a fee that was, you know, digestible for independent bipoc content creators.

Rosa Navarette  
 And so we have, we hold them in our hearts as we're even in this process. Because we know a lot of people gave a lot of their skill and time. But that's how it happened. And it's been really wonderful, and actually kind of refreshing and new for me, too. I'm still, you know, like I said before, I'm used to doing things on my own. So now that I have people, the whole, like, holding of those things is new for me. And it's been really wonderful, and a learning lesson. And I'm glad I get to do it with Gilbert. And with Karen, and Sarah and Joanna gawadar. They're just an incredible team.

David (he/him)  
Yeah, it taking things from, you know, just a script, a chapter two, you know, this, this thing that's about to exist in the world as, as a production does take a lot of teamwork. And like, as I was talking to Gilbert, about the process, in which you all came together and went through shooting and all those things, I'm full transparency. I don't have background in Hollywood, I don't have background in film production. But from what I was understanding, this was a very different kind of production. I don't know who wants to take lead on this. But given this as a short film about restorative justice, how was it that infused in the way that you all went about approaching this project?

Rosa Navarette  
Wow. I mean, I'm new to the language for restorative justice. I feel like I've practiced restorative justice, but only because I I grew up in a community that my father was very mindful. And so I tried to carry that even though I, I failed many times, but I try to carry that energy with me. So when we started just started happening, I heard it through filbert, I heard it through Wendy quartersawn, another member of 0101 theatre, and learning about how to be accountable, but also make space for vulnerability was really impressive to me. 

Rosa Navarette  
And how that was enveloped in the filmmaking process. I mean, I've been on set. I was like on Tron Legacy, the remake of Tron, I've been on TV set. And it's very much like, do your job go over, you know, above and beyond. And yeah, we get taken care of and fed and everything, but it's very like, here are the departments don't touch anybody's stuff. You know, if your craft your craft, if your lights your light, safety over everything. But there was another element to this. And I feel like people on I hope people because I don't want to speak for anyone felt held, I felt very held by the community. Gilbert and Kieran created a system, I'll let Gilbert talk about it, a system of like how to invite people in onto the set, and how to make sure that people felt heard and that the process was, you know, in flow during the day. And there are things that I discovered there after this, that were like, Oh, this could have used that much. But this one was really great. And we did kind of make a post mortem, talk about it. But Gilbert Yeah, how was your experience?

Gilbert Salazar  
So I'm very new to film. And actually, my experience with film is through rasa, because Rosa is an amazing director and as a production company called matriarchy direct films. And so I was an actor in a film that also directed that a friend, but these are what I wrote. Maybe like, I don't know, three years ago or so a few summers ago. And, you know, I saw those that do like everything, and but Rosa do everything. And Lauren, who was also producer in the story, like hello, I found three of them do like everything. And so I was just like, well, I guess that must be what independent short film looks like. And so I had that imagery. When I when Kieran and I were, were, were getting ready for for production. And asking people, I mean, I just sort of I, you know, I knew Rosa. And we asked Rosa also who do you know, who do you want to bring on? And I have a lot of trust for, you know, the folks that Rosa named and the cast and crew is amazing. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And so but I had all those gaps of like, what a producer isn't what a producer does, I have to learn very quickly. And but in all those gaps. Each time I had a gap or a question, I was like, I don't have to do this. I just remember, I kept thinking of Oh, I know how to assemble a team, I know how to work with people or I know, if you don't know something to ask for support, or to add There's wisdom in the room. And so I was like, Oh, I know how to do this. And so it was it was very much like a coaching session or a training or working in a school because schools or workplaces and then I was like oh I what's happening is we're creating a work team and we're creating a workplace because a set is a workplace just like the school is just like the opposition. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And just just before the pandemic and the organization I was working with which is California conference for quality justice I was doing research around RJ in workplaces and so it was I remember some of the things that I was researching and some of the gaps in research around RJ and culture and community in workplaces. And so I just filled in what I knew from RJ and so what that looked like I mean there was a lot of things I didn't know like contracts and I learned how a film project is you know created through many many spreadsheets with Rosa I created many amazing Excel spreadsheets but um when folks were when we had nice to meet with folks are with rasa we can we will always begin with the check it and those check ins where have you know, uh, you know, we know that in RJ that a check in can give a lot of information, build culture and community build relationships. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And so I just went from what I know, but the day as we you know, everything from like, I don't know whenever we started to the spring to like the summer we shot one day in August, everything before that was all about the one day of shoot and it was all about Safety because of COVID. And it was all about culture. And also because of the story and the experiences that are real. It was also a lot about care. And I and I knew that Rosa understood that and was also very good. She took care of me when I was an actor in that project for that short film called buta and I, I just was like, I'm just gonna know, do what I know to do. And the day of the shoot, you know, we started I think at like, 6am here, and I showed up and he was five, I think it was like six and had about like, three minutes, because Sarah Kay Peters, who was our production coordinator, manager, was doing the safety talk. And we were doing names and roles, because it was the first time that everybody was had was in space together. And people had not met each other. And so I just knew what to do, which was, you know, I sent out the survey. And one of the questions was, what's the value that you need to feel effective or productive at work or under projects. And then, early on, I was like, I need it. We know where it's a film called sippin. It's women who are drinking tea. And so one question I asked on the survey was, what do you want to drink on a really busy day? And so I and I got that information. And, you know, got all those specific drinks. And all that was impactful. And I know that many folks who are in cast and crew who have way more experience on set and in their craft than I did, I remember our

Gilbert Salazar  
I remember folks talking about how sometimes they don't get water, and they'll be on a set for like, 12 hours. And KIeran and I were just like, how do you not take care of people on it? So you know, we the thing that RJ taught me was to take care of people people's needs are real. And yeah. 

David (he/him)  
Yeah, there are so many things that aren't about the what happened, who was impacted? And how and how do we make things right, a process of restorative justice, that, you know, go beyond that it's just human relationships? How are we taking care of each other? How are we, you know, making sure that we are proactively building those relationships, and then not just learning those things, but following through on those things. And when you told me that story about like, giving the drinks to folks providing those drinks, responding to people's needs, was like, Oh, wow, like, this is really different. This is really important. And I can definitely imagine how many of the folks involved in that project felt like really seen and cared for and considered in that process. In the process of the filmmaking, I also imagine many of the folks who are working on this project were excited about, you know, diving into this specific content, right? You know, you talked about how it's reflective of many of the people who you've worked with, and their experience with white women. Either dismissing the leveling, claiming it being turning on the tears, all these things you brought in for other women of color, who weren't these women. The stories didn't belong to them, but I'm sure there was some resonance. What was that process of bringing those stories to life? And I know you're not those actors and can't speak for them. But as the tree that was bringing those to life, Oh, what was that like?

Rosa Navarette  
Oh, I think even the audition process, which was done through zoom was really revealing in that a lot of people after they read or after they they did a we did ensemble work during the audition process would say thanks for writing this, or I you know, this has happened, but not in that specific way, but to them in a certain capacity. And that was kind of like a reminder for me to be like, Okay, this, this not only is based on real people, but also the universal message of how white fragility has impacted women of color is in will be part of the process the audition, the rehearsal. And Gilbert was really great and I'm very late access in my thought process. I'm very much like goal oriented. And I love people like Gilbert, who's very early in like middle Acts where they like to talk about the German domestication like let's get a little deeper let's let's talk about like Lomasa the math, and that's a constant reminder for me as a creative and so that was part of the process during our rehearsal is How does this relate it to you personally? And sometimes our actors? I don't want to speak for them either would share something personal? And sometimes they they would just say, Yes. Understood. And that was enough, because we don't also want to, you know, I didn't want to push and be like, Tell me your trauma. So much of that happens already, you know, every application process for grants, every application process for writing fellowship is like, tell me prom on and we don't want that. So I didn't want that on the set. 

Rosa Navarette  
And so I will say that there were also sidebars with the women, and sidebar conversations about how it is this. You know, it's a very, I would say to dialogue heavy piece, because there's a lot of narrative around the memory. And what you remember that how does that relationship connect with you when you're out in the world? Like, how can you connect whatever is on the world into this moment? And then I also had a real conversation with, you know, with relationships between different races, because yeah, we're all bipoc. But also like, how does an Asian person relate to a Latina? How does a Latina relate to a black woman? And like, what does that mean that you're all choosing to be together? And I'm sure I mean, I have friends from all, you know, demographics, but how does this How does this relationship what's the word? How does it surface, these really delicate stories? How are they gonna? How do they serve this in a safe way? 

Rosa Navarette  
In this town at this table, where you're all you know, bipoc or, you know, women of color, but you're also coming with different experiences, that are some some in some way connected to white fragility. They're also very specific to that, you know, individual's culture. So those conversations happened. They can sidebars or during the rehearsal, and sometimes they were private, and sometimes they were amplified. And I know our our character, Tanaka, Tina Contreras, had a very I would say, like visceral moment after one of the climactic parts of the film when we were filming it. And I remember that there was no need to say what happened, because we all kind of understood that she was tapping into spirit and tapping into like, a very deep memory. And so when it occurred, we just embraced, I asked her permission and like, do you would you like to be embraced and we hugged, we hugged it out? And we'll hit it. And then and then thereafter, you know, to check in? She said, It was a really great moment for her as an artist, and also as a Latina, like we checked in, but I don't again, Karina, I'm sorry, I don't want to speak for you. But. But yeah, that was for me as a director observing that and seeing how she tapped into spirit was really powerful. Like I didn't, I almost didn't want to touch her, because it was just like, whoa, you went there. And we all felt it. 

David (he/him)  
Yeah, yeah. Thank you for sharing that. And we'd love to have Karina on to talk about her story and her perspective, like, and the reason that I asked that, because sometimes, you know, we have we live in a world where there are so many things consume all the time, whether it's podcast, Netflix, YouTube, swiping on TikTok, whatever your your advice is, and I just want to highlight the the amount of care and intention that went into this project. And I'm so excited to have it be brought to life. So it's already been filmed at this point. And now we're in post production for the uninitiated. What all does that entail? And what do you all still need support with? 

Gilbert Salazar  
What I've learned and Rosa knows much more than me is that we know there's a whole just like we had to assemble a whole production team, and crew. There's a whole post production team, as well. And so right now the film is in the hands of our editor Equien and they are in the process of editing the film. We're also going to have seen the initial rough cut of it without any polish or process directly notes, without any music. ingest. All of the like all of the desires that I had in it I'd actually Rosa and I haven't even talked about it a bit through email, but all of the the hopes and desires that I had in the, in the tension and in the complexity of the of the story on the pages. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And because I knew three of the four women who were in a cast in different ways, one is my professors from grad school, one was a coworker. The other one, I was also in a scene partner in the in one of the films that also directed. And so there was multiple networks of relationships that day. And so there was multiple ways I knew them in different ways in different places. And so there was trust, and there was care that I have in faith in everybody in all of their roles, and so on. And going back to also will also share about care and intention, in spirit. 

Gilbert Salazar  
You know, I did with a, we shot in Ross's in law's house. And so Rosa, you know, also provided that, for us with that. And so, you know, I again, I was like I'm just gonna do what I know to do when I do circle, which is to bless the place and prepare it, which was also very similar to you know, and, and so we we did that with with Spirit and with intention. And it was powerful and beautiful. And we set up the day for that and for care and for the Unleashing and release that already on the pages. And that was asked of cast and crew. So when I saw the rough cut, all of that was there. And that was like with no music, no glass, no, like none of the other ideas that also has very specifically that that also contributed. And so it was really powerful. So it's in, it's been edited, but then it has to be have color correction. And then sound is a really important part of the filming of the story. Because essentially, what we're asking audiences to engage in, and witness is a ritual. And so ritual also often has sound to it. And so there's someone gesture, sound. And then a friend of mine, Erica, today is also my going back to community, my aerobatic coach, she is also a musician. And she's our music editor. And so there's all of these folks that will have their hands on it. And then a friend of mine who created my logo is the graphic designer, Pamela Chavis. And so we've assembled another beautiful, amazing team of folks within our communities that we know.

Gilbert Salazar  
And just like we were able through the initial grant to pay folks or production, we want to pay folks for their effort and their labor, because everyone's hands on it will have impact and intention. And, you know, we live in a we we live in capitalism. And because of that, we want to honor folks for the skill and the talent that they've gone to school for that they've had the experience for, and also took that to contribute to their own abundance in their own field and in their own work. And so So post production is the final final stages, which includes also a lot of work and a lot of trust in, in in artists. Is there anything else that I missed Rosa?

Rosa Navarette  
Um, no, I think that's that's sound design, sound mixing, which takes is going to take process and time. Our original score with Erica, and Q Nygen, I'm going to shut out right now they're an editor of our editor. And one of the films that another project that they're doing just got into Sundance, a documentary, so we're in really good hands, but we want to make sure we honor their skills and pay them. And there's also goals for festivals and other plans in the future. So we're making sure that we're not thinking with what does that call, when you're thinking small, we don't want to think small, we want to think big. So we know what, what can happen. We want to just want to be prepared for the things that will happen in the future, in addition to paying our artists and a couple of crew members also who were on set, who came on last minute for us, and worked for free and to people and they're still in our hearts and in our minds. Because, you know, to do that at this time during COVID during the pandemic, like you must really love what you do. So they're also going to be paid for their time. It's there after but you know, with a lot of love from our hearts because we know that the times are hard right now and people making art. I mean it feels like a revolutionary act for sure.

Gilbert Salazar  
Yeah. And we also have containers. For the film, we know we really want to, we want to, I want to activate folks in dialogue, conversation from the conversations that are happening with these four women in the story. And to activate folks, there needs to be a container to hold that. And so like dialogue has triples or panels. And so really a dream of mine. As the writer, part of me is to be in space with people, and to listen to people and to ask people's question. And when I watch the rough cut, you know, there's all of these complexities. There's all of these questions that will be asked, there's a question that's asked at the table in the film. And so I want to hear what people's responses are. And in order for that to happen, in order for people to be witness to it, you know, we need to present it in a way that is true and authentic to the way in which I was told the stories and given the consent. And the way in which I think at this point, like 15, 16, people will have worked on it when it is presented. And so because this film was created, through consent and through community through relationships, and create creating collaboration, in the final product in the in the, in the the readiness of it, it still requires community, but I think even more abundant than the 16 people that worked on it, the production team. And so that that requires folks to to support it as well. 

David (he/him)  
Yeah, absolutely. And how can people support 

Gilbert Salazar  
people get support, we have a crowdfunding campaign at this point to pay for post production and also to pay for the little bit leftover that we have for production. And so I'm on our Instagram is our the link to our seed & spark page. And so we've raised about half of our amount or campaigners for 12,000, we're near at half of that. And so we need, we need more funds and more support from from folks. So folks can support it through that website. On that campaign, I want to say that all amounts equal, add up to abundance abundance, as as a person of color. As an artist, I have spent many, many years just picturing 50, 50 people in a small theater to watch something that I wrote of stories that I collected. And so I had to do a lot of spiritual work to be able to visualize that, compared to have the capacity to be able to handle that. 

Gilbert Salazar  
So through all of this process with Ross, and we carry on with all of the folks that worked on it. We worked in intentional abundance. And so we are asking for folks to give whatever that they whatever that they can but all amount equal to abundance and for us to be able to present this to folks. 

David (he/him)  
Yeah, absolutely. This gets pushed and amplified into many spaces, the more people know about it. So money is a huge part of this, for sure. But there are lots of other ways that you can support and right now I'm just referencing a Instagram post that y'all put together a little bit ago, asking your communities and networks to follow in support, both on Facebook, on Instagram, and, you know, support the campaign because this is only going for a limited time, the funding window closes January 3, January three. So, you know, this isn't like 501 C three tax deductible. But like, if you're thinking about the end of your giving, this is the time if other people are thinking about and if you're giving in your spaces, this is a worthy, worthy project. 

David (he/him)  
So asking your communities and networks to support amplifying any of the posts is definitely helpful. Even sending prayers for abundance setting intentions for abundance for this campaign for this project is beautiful, of course you yourself following snippet on Instagram and Facebook. And you know, like if we're gonna make a hard ask that concrete ask right now to the 11 of you who are still here. And to those of you who are gonna watch this later on IG TV and to those of you who are gonna listen to this with it re airs on the podcast This Restorative Justice Life.

David (he/him)  
you know, yes, donate yourself. But since it's a five people, you know, who would really be impacted by this project, send this to your local Karen, send this to the person at work who like deeply resonates with the work with the words of the women of color and those experiences so they feel saying some of this to the men in your life you're like, I know that there are things that I don't have insight into that I can learn from this project. There's So many people who can and will be impacted by this project in the future, we're going to make one more call for support at the end. But you know, we're talking, I'm really excited about, you know, this coming to life. And when is this going to be shown? When is this going to be premiered?

Gilbert Salazar  
If you go to our students bar and follow or subscribe there, then you can receive the update of the particular date this winter that we are working towards. For this online symposium. We still have four panelists from the CRJ, the colorizing, for restorative justice book, and we are also working towards screening the phone for the first time on that event. So to get that date, please go to our accident, Spark and subscribe and follow there. Nice. Oh, love it at the amount of creation, which were at the $50 bound if you can, and you will get a specific invitation for that date, as well. But we asked for folks to go on seed & spark.

Karina  
You look beautiful Karina, I was just talking about you about our experience on that. I said that you tapped into spirit, but I didn't want to speak for you. So we're wondering if you wanted to share that experience? I mean, yeah, whatever you want to ask?

Karina  
yeah. Hi, I'm Christina. She, her I played Donna in sippin. And I was very, very fortunate to be able to work with such a great cast and crew. And it was such an amazing experience. It was actually so I was actually talking to my girlfriend about this just earlier, it was the one of the most positive and amazing experiences that I've had on set. Because I'm a theatre actor. You know, that's what I do. That's what I know. And so what I'm very I'm very limited in my film experience. But this was the most positive experience I've ever had on a film set. Everyone was super professional, everyone was super just talented, and just very giving and open up the space. And so yeah, it was just such a great experience to be a part of. And yeah, that's it was just such it was an honor to be part of this film. And I'm so excited to see where it goes and just to see how many people it reaches. So yeah.

David (he/him)  
And it reaches so many more people. When y'all have support in all the ways that we've mentioned whether that is financially link in the bio, in the sippin bio, by just spreading the word on social media and you know IRL, y'all see people now who world is back up little by little are really just sending well wishes and intentions to folks who are continuing to work on this project to put on the finishing touches and to you know, continue to amplify restorative justice work and film by queer folks film by women owned by people of color. This is so needed any closing words from from all y'all before we close this time together 

Gilbert Salazar  
wow not me Not yet.

Rosa Navarette  
Thank you. I know Gabby and I just joined and she's like what happened? No, no. Thank you for jumping on. I Want to say and I don't think I've said this yet. But I'd love to dedicate the project to my mom and my mother, my Auntie's. There's a line in the film that says that too. And it resonated with me. Because sometimes, you know, I see a lot of memes these days, sometimes people are like, Man, I parents didn't do this, I kind of didn't do that. And I messed up and looks like good. And then I have to reflect back on the things like my mother was 23. She flew into Panama with a five year old and four year old. And then she crossed multiple borders up into Mexico to the US. And survived with two young daughters, including myself. 

Rosa Navarette  
And sometimes I think about that, and I'm like, woah, women of color are so strong, mujeres, you know, we endure so much, especially our parents, I would say they've endured so much. And yet, they get up every day with a smile on their face, and they keep going. And that just teaches me resilience. But also, you can take away and my dad would say this, too, you can take away my house, you can take away my car, you can take away can take away, whatever, you know, like, the keys to my Ferrari, but oh, you can't take away my integrity. You can't take away my ancestry and you can't take away my culture. And so he always would say that whenever I felt like I wasn't enough. He's like, that stuff doesn't matter. I just wanted to, I guess, dedicate the project to my ancestry, the people in my life who helped me, help me get up every day and remind myself of how blessed I actually am and how much privilege I do have. This is a privilege to be able to voice the things that are problematic in our communities. And how do we amplify those problems through art?

Gilbert Salazar  
I don't know if Karina knows this last I shared this with Rosa at the end of the end of that day of shoot. But there was a I, what I think will be my favorite moment is the the moment that Rosa was speaking of earlier that Rosa did which is the beginning of the film story. And I was in we shot that in the living room of Rosa's In-laws, shout out to them, thank you and I was in the the dining room where we would shoot the rest of the story and I was in the corner and I was adjusting plans because I was also the CO set dresser that day it's always like looking at plants like being sugars we had a high there was a mirror behind where the actor so we have like you know be switched to be strategic about it. And then I I look over and you know, shooting was happening but it was a we were recording audio and so I look over in Karina is, is in front of the this altar that I we had had just created addressed. 

Gilbert Salazar  
And I we had talked about this months earlier that the habit the word that we're gonna have a monitor, and but I forgot that conversation. And so I saw Karina and then a crushing me, I looked and there was like a big ass monitor and I like I see Karina's body, and I see Karina's face. And I had this moment of like, oh, shit, we're making a movie. And the immediate thought after that immediate like voice was of course you are. And it has taken years to like, get to this question of oh, I'm doing this. Am I doing this? And then a longer pause of like an affirmation of Yes, you are. But that moment and seeing Karina seeing the monitor immediately was like of course you are and so was Justice like deep deal ation. 

Gilbert Salazar  
So the other thing that I don't think Karina knows, is in the there was a painting that we put in front of like the altar of it was on the mantel. I don't know if I told you but I painted that years ago because I wanted to create a painting to do a homage of the woman in my family. And so the face in that it's a woman that's praying and there's for Paolo, the channel represents a woman that's creating an act of labor, essentially. And so but the face is a woman a Posta Fina who my very first job I was the dishwasher. And so I worked with her, and I saw how some of their staff treated her as a dishwasher and sort of like didn't respect the labor that she was doing. And I was a dishwasher and a server so I was back and forth and kind of both worlds. And so I drew her face for the painting, but the hands or the hands of my grandmother holding a rosary my grandmother passed about two years ago. And when I witnessed Karina and what I what I what I It just again in the rough cut that some of us that Rosa and I saw. There's layers of what I witnessed there. And so I my dedication to the film is to my doubt that I worked so much in making the making smaller and still am acknowledging it. But the other the other dedication is to my grandmother who was very present and like her hands were in front of Karina. So that was just a deep, beautiful moment when the scene in that moment. And so, yeah, it was powerful.

Karina  
Oh, my God, I didn't know that. Yeah, that's amazing. I guess in closing, even though I just joined at that moment, and like Rosa said, she didn't want to speak on it. But that opening moment, I it was so surreal, because I kind of just sat at that altar. And as soon as I like, kneeled in front of it, and they said, you know, action. It was like, both of my grandmother's were right there with me, they were both like, I could feel both their energy. So everything that happened in moments, was them just talking speaking to me. It I don't even know how else to describe it, they were just there with me. And I, I guess I would like to dedicate that performance to them, because I just, I channeled them and they were with me and I just thought of all of the things that they struggled with, and everything that they grew just as immigrants and as women of color and everything that they had to do to raise their families and just be able to, you know, exist basically. It was just such a powerful thing. And I know, again, they were there with me, and they they just guided me through all of that. And were able to, to get me through all of that. So yeah, I I love them and I I hope that they love what I did. And I know they're gonna be guiding me through, you know, the rest of my journey here. So yeah.

Gilbert Salazar  
I was laughing that I don't know who's on the sipping Instagram right now, but it's true. They were there. They were sippin.

David (he/him)  
 All the grandmas. All the ancestors have been blessing this project will continue to bless this project. And we're inviting you all to continue to support this work, again, follows sippin on Instagram On Facebook, donate to the campaign, share with family friends, and you know even Karen at work about all this. All this goodness that's coming up this short film that's going to be premiering early next year. So stay tuned for all of it. Thank you all so much for being with us this evening. And you know, we'll be in touch. 

Gilbert Salazar  
Thank you David for hosting this space for repeating this container and thank you also David for your contribution. It's much appreciated.