Bio

Vanessa A. Cruz is a writer-director and award-winning documentarian. With 2+ years experience in the entertainment industry, she has worked with HBO, Fulwell Entertainment, Roku, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, Reel Works & Hearst Television. She is deeply committed to storytelling and social justice.

Her first film, THE MAKING OF A MATRIARCH  premiered at Paramount Global in Manhattan (August 2024) & was awarded Best Documentary Film at Reel Works Film Festival at SVA Theatre (Nov. 2024), before she went on to win the F. John Outcalt Award for Outstanding Filmmaking (May 2025). Her work has been screened at numerous festivals and theaters.

As a Dominican-American filmmaker, she aspires to tell dramedy, coming-of-age stories that center around Dominican culture & minority experiences. She values education and is a graduate of Brooklyn College’s School of Visual, Media and Performing arts, earning her B.A in Television and Radio with double minors in Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies and Sociology. With themes of community, empowerment and coming-of-age at the heart of her work, Vanessa aims to shed new light on immigrant, minority and women's experiences.

HONORS & AWARDS: F. John Outcalt Award for Outstanding Filmmaking, Best Documentary Film, William E. Macaulay Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa Inductee, YellowBrik Film Scholarship, International Radio & Television Society (IRTS) Workshop.