by Sherif Awad
-My background consists of lots of schooling from business courses to everything films. I come from a big Puerto Rican family of three brothers, Felix Ramos Jr, Jose Ramos and Ricardo Hernandez. My father Felix Ramos passed away when I was five years old from a car accident and my mother Virginia Santos recently passed away from Pancreatic Cancer.
-In High School, I was asked to audition for a school Theater play when I landed the lead role of a skater for a musical theater performance modeled after the movie “Footloose” where I got to act, sing and skate on stage for the High School play. I loved it so much that after I finished college, I enrolled with a local modeling and acting agency along with lots of acting courses and workshops which later helped me land speaking lead film roles.
-My role models for cinema and theater are “Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren”. For dance, I always did like Paula Abdul. For TV shows I remember growing up with “Saved by the Bell” sitcom.
-Studying and continued education along with rehearsals are a must in order to be a good artist. I recommend for anyone interested in being a successful artist to take classes in the area you excel most in. Hone in your talent by doing what you feel most comfortable with until you can explore other ranges of acting and push yourself to the next level. For example; if you want to be a singer you would study the art of singing and with acting for films it offers many different options for talent such as acting, singing or voice over along with stunts for action films. Talent should focus in one area of their talent to develop it first and once talent is mastered if you wish to go from singing to acting in front of the camera, just know that it takes work to put it all together and continued education from certified and well known instructors can help. Some of the best instructors are the ones that are successful in the area you wish to study.
-For me, I am satisfied doing what I love most in entertainment and have studied almost all of my life to achieve my goals for each film project I’m involved in. Be it in front of the camera as an actress or behind the scenes as producer or director and writer. Of course, all talent wants to be recognized worldwide, but as I always say “If you’re in it for the stardom, you may have well killed your career before it began”. I am in it for the long haul and any recognition worldwide is a plus and well received.
-Yes, as a woman in entertainment I have faced and continue to face many challenges including lower pay than most men in entertainment. However, recent movements in the entertainment world have opened doors to all women in films and many of us working quietly under the radar are being successful at it. There will always be obstacles in my life no matter what I do for a living and it’s up to me to make it happen. I feel that no one but myself is responsible for my success and I do not entertain negativity or people with an agenda of their own. Hard work deserves focus and determination to succeed.
-Well, as we all know since COVID-19 hit hard this year worldwide, it has unfortunately affected the entertainment business greatly. It has shut down all major studios in Hollywood and major cities, along with top networks having to play reruns for TV shows and cutting back on job positions or working from home until they can reopen again. As an independent filmmaker myself currently producing my own projects, it has only slowed down the process of onset production filming but has not shut me down completely. When one area of filming cannot happen for unforeseen circumstances such as the Pandemic Virus, I work on other areas of projects such as writing, editing and what we call pre-production stage in preparation for the filming process called “production”.
-The work offered to me I approach carefully, consulting with my manager to make sure the project is a good fit for my talents no matter the pay. The film projects I currently foster, with my writing, producing and directing are also carefully planned with my chosen crew and team for each project.
-My current project in production now is “I Used To Be Your Neighbor” a documentary film working with people, children and pets in need. The homeless situation in the US has risen since 2008. We are now facing an even bigger crisis with the Coronavirus affecting many areas of our lives such as work, housing and feeding due to the government closing many businesses, churches and forcing many to quarantine and stay home. I am fortunate to have made connections with many volunteers that continue to help and put themselves at risk but of course taking precautions as best as they can in accordance with the Covid-19 rules and regulations recommended by the government. We make sure to take hot meals to the homeless in back alleys, side streets when they cannot come to our event locations. Working closely with homeless advocates such as Paul Read hosting the I Used To Be Your Neighbor documentary film, private companies and non-profit companies alongside the government programs already in place and ready to help. I myself love to feed those in need and get involved in any way possible such as handing out water, food and personal hygiene products and offering education along with transformation programs to people ready to come out of homelessness. You can visit our website https://iusedtobeyourneighbor.com/ for more information about the project. I am also currently working on two animation stories, one a short film fairy tale story and the other will be a TV show with titles currently being worked on. I am also excited to be writing my first feature horror story “Billy The Shadow” based on suspense and drama, currently in pre-production and expected to start filming in 2021.
