ABOUT ME

My name is Marianne “Kusa” Amelinckx. I’m a queer Venezuelan Writer/Director based in Los Angeles, dedicated to telling female-driven and LGBTQ+ stories.

My short film, Salta, received the Jury's Mention at the Tribeca Festival 2017 and won Best Short Film at the Pink Apple LGBTQ+ Film Festival. These recognitions, coupled with Venezuela’s political situation, prompted my relocation to Los Angeles.  Then in 2021 I directed Mustache Mondays, a PBS SoCal documentary spotlighting queer nightlife in Los Angeles. The film premiered at Outfest Fusion 2022 and earned the LA Press Award for Best LGBT Feature. In 2022, I co-Directed Blessed and Highly Favored, a proof of concept short film winner of the NALIP Women of Color TV Incubator and the Yes and Laughter Lab for Social Impact Comedy.

Most recently, I was honored as a finalist in Shondaland’s Women Directing Mentorship Program 2023. Currently, I am producing my first feature documentary, Dear Uncle, and concurrently developing La Barca de La Ilusión, a feature narrative inspired by a story from New York Times Bestselling author Lucia Berlin.