Part of Changing the Picture (2019)
Friday, June 28, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Museum of the Moving Image - Bartos Screening Room

The Kat Call is a viral digital series debunking Latino misconceptions and taboos hosted and created by Kat Lazo. This program features a discussion with Lazo exploring the making of The Kat Call and the importance of tackling conflicts within the Latinx community relating to race, xenophobia, and privilege. Joining the conversation will be Lorena Russi, Julissa Contreras, and Gabe Gonzalez.

The discussion will be followed by screenings of three separate episodes, each with its own Q&A:

“Why Are Novelas So White?” (2018, 3 mins.)
“Can Latinos Benefit from White Privilege?” (2018, 7 mins.)
“Are You a Real Latino If You Don't Speak Spanish?” (2018, 5 mins.)

Kat Lazo is a director, producer, and host. The half-Colombian, half-Peruvian New Yorker has made a name for herself for being a no nonsense Latina who tells it how it is both in front of and behind the camera.

Her digital work has been featured by Buzzfeed, Upworthy, Daily News Latina Mag, and HuffPost to name a few. She has also collaborated on projects with MTV Decoded, Bustle, and UbyKotex. As a video producer for the Latino digital platform Mitú, she is most known for her series The Kat Call, which she directs, produces, writes,and hosts. The Kat Call series debunks Latino taboos and misconceptions about the Latino community. The series as a whole has garnered over 15 million views. Kat attended NYC's prestigious LaGuardia High School of The Performing Arts where she studied classical theater and began auditioning at 16 yrs old. But after years of casting directors asking her to "say it a little more urban" or "can you give us a neck roll" she decided to take things into her own hands and make her own media. Learn about Kat Lazo here.

Watch The Kat Call trailer here.

Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / Free for members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above. Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

Ticket purchase includes same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.

About the other speakers:

Queens native Lorena Russi (AKA “La Rata”) is a Queer-Latinx comedian and filmmaker now selling out in Brooklyn. Her eight year background in comedy, news and education ranges from hosting Chipotle’s Snapchat channel to writing on The Late Show w/ Stephen Colbert digital team to Head Writer for Spotify’s web series. Lorena’s bilingual Dad jokes have performed at BAM and been featured on Comedy Central, Refinery29, the Oscars and Time Out’s “LGBTQ POC Comedians We’re Obsessed With.”

Julissa Contreras, Dominicana from the Bronx, is a creator of the YouTube hit Shit Spanish Girls Say and creator of the Ladies Who Bronche podcast. Julissa is a playwright, actor, director, and current member of The Middle Voice at residence at Rattlestick Theater. Currently Julissa is working on her new play La Greña which was part of the MLK Festival at Teatro LATEA. She was a writer The Kat Call Season 3, and recently wrote an episode for Lenny Says as part of the Spotify Spotlight program. Julissa has also worked in the nonprofit industry for over ten years both in theatrical and youth development capacities. Julissa continues to bridge the two worlds to create art and dialogue that reflects society's overlooked voices.

Gabe Gonzalez is a Puerto Rican comedian, writer, and video producer living in Brooklyn. He studied comedy at Second City and has written for places like Flama, Into, and NBC Out. When he isn’t busy scrambling to pay off an insurmountable debt to Brown University, he enjoys playing with other people's cats and doing standup at bars with a nice wine selection. You can find his video work at places like Mic and MTV or check him out on the HBO Latino doc Habla y Vota.