Meet Sarah Shuman and David Ramos | Filmmakers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Shuman and David Ramos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah Shuman and David Ramos, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
We think of risk as a necessary source of pressure for our growth. We love challenging ourselves and each other throughout our creative process. In turn, we challenge our ideas, characters, & stories and with every progression comes a certain level of risk to be managed. More times than we’d like to admit, risk has been an obstacle for us. In our most doubtful moments we think to ourselves, “What if no one relates to our art?” “What if it’s not good enough?” “Are we ready for that next leap of faith creatively?”. We try not to circle these questions more than we need to, but they are acknowledged. After many risks taken, on the other side of all our doubts, have been some of the most gratifying work we’ve ever done. Our most recent short, TSEHAI, was a huge leap of faith and through hard work, amazing collaborators, and community support, we’ve bettered our relationship with risk. Now we view it as opportunity more so than fear. Recently, our short film TSEHAI had its World Premiere at the Oscar-qualifying film festival LA Shorts, and we feel all the risk and uncertainty was worth it!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Our art is inspired by our life experiences and the stories around us. An important aspect of creating is our commitment to the concept of “write what you know” and our willingness to delve deep and be vulnerable, wearing our hearts on our sleeves. We’re driven by a desire to bring more representation to media and to challenge perspectives, including our own. The journey to where we are today professionally hasn’t been easy, particularly in terms of embracing vulnerability – it’s scary! However, we’ve learned to listen to our intuition, allowing ourselves to move through self-doubt without letting it define us. Ultimately, our goal is to connect with and validate the experiences of others, and if our work touches even one soul, we are grateful for that impact.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sarah was born and raised in the South Bay, so let’s start there. Phanny’s in Redondo Beach is known for their delicious breakfast burritos, so that’d be a great place to start your day. Then head to Hermosa Beach which is a favorite beach in the area. It’s a chill beach that has fun shops around. You can walk/bike along the strand or relax on the sand and jump into the ocean. For dinner, make your way to La Villa or Bowl Thai, both restaurants in Gardena. Yumm..the meals are authentic and beyond delicious!

Now off to the valley! In terms of activities, there are many beautiful nature spots to explore. For lovely views, check out these two hikes: Glendale Peak in Griffith Park and Upper Canyonback Trailhead in Encino. Descanso Gardens is also a wonderful place to stroll through, a large garden with diverse vegetation. In terms of restaurants, head over to Pasadena for Sage Plant Based Bistro for delicious food and incredible vegan lentil ice cream (seriously, try it!). Also check out Amara Chocolate and Coffee, Venezuelan cuisine that’s so good you’ll continue stuffing yourself even when you’re full. And during the winter months stop by downtown Burbank to see twinkly lights and embrace the cozy, spirited feel.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We’d like to dedicate our shoutout to our parents. They have been a source of encouragement and support throughout our years of creative work. So much of our immigrant parents’ drive and authenticity has spilled into our artistic voices and we are so much better for it. Between the two of us, we’ve shared so many stories about the rich outlook on life granted to us by stories of our immigrant parents. Another group of people deserving recognition in our story are our many loved ones, especially our siblings. They’ve been our best friends, sometimes producers, and loudest advocates for our work. The name of our film, TSEHAI, actually comes from Sarah’s sister’s middle name.

Website: https://tsehaitheshort.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tsehai.theshort/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TsehaitheShort

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsehai.theshort/

Image Credits
Sam Reid