Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1339678
48 C I N E M O N T A G E G R O U P I N T E R V I E W there's no work for somebody like you." So I go, "Let me worry about that. Just please sign it." I take it downstairs to the theater department with this English- man from the Bristol Old Vic. And he looks at the paper and then he looks at me. And he goes, "You know, Miss Hoy, I think you should think about changing professions." Rosanne Tan: I've always felt that there aren't a lot of women editors to begin with, and being an Asian American female editor is even more rare. I've experienced some bias even among my own peers, which is disheartening. About three years into my editing career, I met up with an editor I had assisted in the past. I was excited to tell this editor I had landed a really big job. But their reaction and tone was sadly not what I had expected and their first words were, "How did you manage that?" Ruben Navarro: I am originally from Spain and I've been living here for 10 years. So I didn't grow up here, so to me, to listen to all of you is really powerful and such a learning experience to understand even better what people have gone through over the years in this industry. So, thank you for that. I haven't experienced any problems that I am aware of during an interview. I got jobs, and sometimes I didn't get them, and I never knew why. I don't know if it's something related to being from another place or having an accent or being queer. I haven't got the feeling that that was a problem though. But again, I don't know. Cathy Repola: I'm really, really grate- ful to be here, for lots of reasons. I have a great deal of affinity for the membership. So hearing these stories is sort of break- ing my heart on some level, because I hate that any of you experienced any of these things that you're describing. But I'm so grateful to be hearing them because I don't think we can change anything unless we have this kind of dialogue. So I'm happy to be here listening, partici- pating. I really thank you all for doing this because, you're putting yourselves out there, too, in a vulnerable place and doing it I think for the betterment…to help your fellow union members and the union to be better, and I really appreciate all that. Natasha Tony: Thanks, Cathy. In our industry, we need to incorpo- rate the fact that reprisal happens, that retaliation happens, and you've identi- fied very clearly, you know, the language around "artistic differences" -- that you can have one-week severance, for some YOU just don't get asked back. Have you seen some of that pushback, whether for yourself or for others, where there has been that retaliation for speaking up? Sabrina Gimenez: I am first gener- ation American, my parents are from Argentina. Me working in the film indus- try is like their wet dream [laughs]. I'm considered "the millennial in the workplace who opens her mouth all the time" and is idealistic and is told, "You know what, you think and you say these things, and it just doesn't work like that. Build a thicker skin." I get told I'm hypersensitive, and as it turns out, I am hypersensitive, it doesn't mean that I can't do my job. But I have brought up instances throughout my career where I have felt discriminated against for being Latinx or queer. I am very passionate about social justice issues, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable in the workplace. Do you want someone like that working with you when you're trying to lock picture? "Do you want that person in your office who's reminding you about real life stuff when you need to be hitting deadlines?" L i l l i a n B e n s o n : I d o n' t s p e a k u p unless I'm willing to be fired. So when I speak up, I know I could be out of work tomorrow, and I'm ready for that. Some- times I lose the job, sometimes I don't. I accept -- although I don't like the fact -- that sometimes people just don't want someone like you there. Rosanne Tan: This one incident happened much earlier in my edit- ing career. There was a producer who, before me, worked with two male editors on the show. When I got assigned to this producer, I automatically noticed an attitude change. He was completely rude in the way he delivered his notes and ended up yelling a lot. When I was done with the job, I thought about it hard and finally decided to tell my boss. I really was hoping for a positive outcome since I'd worked there for a while. Unfortunately, he wrote an email to everyone in the workplace saying that he would work with the [producer] client directly. It was kind of a knife stabbed in my heart moment because I thought my boss was going to defend me. Instead, he didn't say anything to the abusive client, and he told his coordinator to assign me easier jobs because I was "sensitive." At the end of the day, speaking the truth backfired on me. T r i c i a R o d r i g o : I w a s w o r k i n g on a show that is a very specif ically Asian-American-centered show. I was working on the pilot, and the company that had hired me had also hired me as 'I don't speak up unless I am willing to get fired.'