Kase Peña
Directing
Biography
Kase is an award-winning New York City born filmmaker, a trans woman of color, the offspring of working-class Dominican parents. She’s fluent in Spanish and speaks intermediate Portuguese. She is the first Trans Latinx Woman to join the WGA. Kase is a filmmaking Fellow of the inaugural Film Accelerator Program by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Further, Kase is a One-Fifty/Warner Media Writing/Directing Fellow, as well as a LALIFF/Netflix Directing Inclusion Fellow. Kase has completed filming TRANS LOS ANGELES, an independent feature that is an anthology of three shorts regarding different Trans experiences. While this film was still a-work-in-progress, it was shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay by Variety Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis in late 2023. Emmy-award winning actor Billy Porter and Sydney Freeland serve as Executive Producers of TRANS LOS ANGELES. Her recently directed docuseries VISIONS OF US, a four part mini-doc highlighting the history of Latinx LGBT representation on Film and TV for Netflix YouTube is the recipient of a Gold Anthem Webby Award. She also served as a consultant on Season Three of A Million Little Things on ABC Network. HBO has picked up distribution rights to two short films written and directed by Kase: FULL BEAT and TRABAJO.
Known For
TRANS LOS ANGELES is an anthology of four stand-alone short films and their unifying theme is that they all feature a Trans character in the lead and they all take place in a different part of Los Angeles. These stories are character-driven/slices of life and they demonstrate the rich diversity within the trans community.
Trans Los Angeles
A trans teen reluctantly braces herself for court-ordered time with her unaccepting dad, but finds an unlikely ally in his fiancée.
Full Beat
Renowned Trans Dominican director Kase Peña thrusts herself in the middle of her own inspirational journey with Dr. Christine McGinn, the most sought after trans surgeon. An educational must watch especially for trans folks and their family, this visual feast was partially filmed with an iPhone. This investigative documentary closely examines the intimate journey of a trans woman of color researching vaginoplasty, the most invasive trans affirming surgery. This story has been approached with a no-holds-barred honesty and vulnerability.
Finding Hope in New Hope: The Transformative Journey of a Trans Woman of Color
Vanessa navigates life in Los Angeles as a transgender Latina struggling to keep her ice cream business afloat while dealing with greedy family members, a young neighborhood boy with a persistent crush, and a married lover.