Born in Manila, Philippines, raised in a convent in Guam, and having lived in Japan, Hawaii, and California at different stages in her life, CELIA ESGUERRA experienced a diversity of culture growing up. She majored in Theater Arts at California State University, Los Angeles, and began her career in the music industry as a protege of hip-hop tastemaker Violet Brown. Esguerra has since gone on to work in nearly all aspects of film, from makeup and location management to story development, film financing, and marketing. Her credits include working with cinematographer Carlos D. Demattos, director Curtis Hanson, editor Lee Harry, and Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson. A self-taught screenwriter, Esguerra’s first feature-length screenplay, A Band of Angels, about Ella Sheppard and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a rag-tag group of ex-slaves who raised today’s equivalent of $60M by singing Negro spirituals along the route of the Old Underground Railroad, has been optioned by independent film producer Richard Kiratsoulis. Esguerra is currently producing Represent, a short film written/directed by her Project:Involve mentor, Iris Yamashita (Letters from Iwo Jima) and executive produced by Justin Lin (Fast & Furious, Better Luck Tomorrow). A longtime resident of downtown Los Angeles, Esguerra founded the Downtown Writers Group in 2007. She has written for the Downtown News, writes a column for DTLAX Magazine, and authors the popular blog 5thandSpring.com.