Meet Julia Muniz | Share Love’s Founder, Telly Award Winner Producer and Exhibited Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Muniz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
It’s not as glamorous as the industry’s early days made it
seem to be, but it has been transformative, to say at least,
since the advancement of technology and the urgency culture
made us hustle harder than ever, where just a small parcel of
the stakeholders enjoy the benefits of a successful project.
Currently, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on
their longest strike ever, alongside the Screen Actors Guild
(SAG) – Directors Guild of America (DGA) was also involved for
a moment – negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Pictures
and Television Producers (AMPTP) better agreements, directly
impacting the narrative world’s projects from development to
distribution.
Meanwhile, in the commercial world, more than 5,000 TV
commercial production assistants, assistant production
supervisors, production supervisors, line producers, and
bidding producers historically unionized with the International
Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) after the
Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP)
recognized the #StandwithProduction group, becoming the
largest contingent of production department workers and
entry-level production assistants within IATSE. Recently, major
studios’ VFX crew members also filed for an election to
unionize with IASTE’s backing for good-faith negotiations.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Currently working on some unscripted projects such as
documentaries, live event photography, programming film

festivals, and a lot of training to improve my work and try to
achieve that life balance.
I recently produced American Masters: Elsa Sjunneson, about
a Hugo and Aurora Award winner who wrote for Women of
Marvel #1. The documentary, directed by Cameron S. Mitchell,
received a Telly Award and is currently being distributed on 20
channels coast to coast through Public Broadcast Services
(PBS), which is a non-profit public broadcasting network in the
United States that provides educational, cultural, and public
service programming. It is known for its commitment to
producing and broadcasting content that serves the public
interest and is often associated with non-commercial and
educational television. The accessible version with Audio
Descriptions, Open Captions, and ASL interpretation can also
be found online.
My photography, on the other side, will be exhibited in Art
Market Budapest, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading
international art fair with artistic content originating from the
now emerging regions in and beyond Europe as well as the
progressive new generation of artists of the already
established West, from October 19th to 22nd, 2023, and at
FotoZA, a Fine Art photographic gallery in Johannesburg,
South Africa, from December 8th to 10th.

I also have been doing some MBS Illumination Training, a
program that seeks to provide individuals from traditionally
underrepresented communities with hands-on below-the-line
training on Grip & Electric with Local 80 and Local 728
members, and Half Initiative & Group Effort Initiative’s Camera
Department Workshop, a virtual two-part camera and
cinematography workshop led by industry professionals that
have worked on various union projects.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If it is your first time coming to Los Angeles, please make sure
to go to the tourist places on the weekday if your agenda and
budget permits, and other areas on the weekend – Side note:
the traffic here is so bad that it is better to spend a full day in
each area.
For instance, have you been to Santa Monica Beach on a
Monday, went through near the ocean to Venice Beach (or
vice-versa), enjoying the breeze and art show? Have you been
to Hollywood Blvd on a Tuesday and ended up at a speakeasy
with some great live music with like-minded people?
How about a quiet passage through Malibu’s Self-Realization
Fellowship Lake Shrine to contemplate and be grateful for life
on a Wednesday and an art walk at museums and pop-up
galleries on Thursday around the Art District?
By the weekend, you are probably tired (at least I would
possibly be), and that’s when people who work throughout the
week are about ready to enjoy the city. How do you feel about
a coffee in Silverlake or just staying in and binge-watching
some content – my best friend knows that’s my favorite
option after all). How about getting to know UCLA on Saturday
and enjoying some food fairs in DTLA on Sunday?
There are plenty of restaurants and experiences I want to try
– Fork & Films, Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure© LA, Van
Gogh Los Angeles Exhibit, to name a few. You got the vibes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are also several other incredible human beings and
organizations involved in my professional development that
have not been mentioned yet including but not limited to
Amanda Upson and Day Al-Mohamed, from FWD-Doc – a
global, intersectional community of disabled creators and
allies working in media to build a more inclusive, accessible,
and equitable entertainment industry – who constantly
encourage us to foster relationships, which led to the
production of Elsa’s documentary and many other projects.
The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors
Fund), which fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a
safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals
over their lifespan, is another great place to donate to if you
want to support entertainment professionals impacted by the
strike.
And if you are a disabled writer (statistically, <1% of all TV
writers), the Inevitable Foundation has been doing a wonderful
job supporting the community with resources, grants, and
opportunities to grow in the industry, providing the tools we
need to establish disability as a key part of DEI.
For me, it would have been nothing without the overall love
and daily encouragement from my communities, where we
mutually respect each other’s work and personal time. Finally,
I just wanted to say thank you for the space, Shoutout HTX;
and for you, who are reading this interview right now, thank
you for your attention.

Website: www.thisisjumuniz.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisisjumuniz

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/julia-muniz

Other: www.linktr.ee/sharelove.art // www.instagram.com/sharelove.art

Image Credits
Julia Muniz