Lights, Camera, Community: Building Inclusivity in Film

Filmmaker, director, and producer Christianne Sykes is building community through storytelling. After transitioning from a career in tech following pandemic-era layoffs, she founded CeeWave Productions and began developing projects focused on representation and cultural storytelling. Sykes’s recent documentary on Filipino American history earned a Gold Telly Award, marking an important milestone in her filmmaking journey. Now, Sykes is launching the Rep’d Film Collective, an initiative designed to empower marginalized filmmakers and strengthen diverse representation in film, while organizing a community-centered event in Oakland that will showcase emerging voices and collaborative storytelling. In this interview, Sykes shares her journey, creative philosophy, and vision for building a more inclusive future in film.

1. Tell us about yourself.

Christianne Sykes: I’m a filmmaker, director, and producer with more than 12 years of experience in project and production planning across industries like employee experience, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives, creative management, and now film production.

I’m Filipino American, born in San Francisco and raised in the East Bay. I studied Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at San Francisco State University. At the time, there wasn’t much representation in film and media that made pursuing a creative career feel realistic, so I chose what I thought was a safer route.

But I’ve always been someone who loves both planning and creativity. Eventually those two worlds came together through filmmaking.

I recently made my directorial debut with a short documentary about Filipino American history and legacy, highlighting Filipino contributions as part of American history. The project went on to receive a Gold Telly Award in 2025, which was incredibly meaningful.

After a layoff in 2023, A few months later I founded CeeWave Productions, a media and film production company that serves clients from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., while also producing original content. I’ve also become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and right now, I’m continuing to develop several film projects and launch a new initiative called the Rep’d Film Collective.

2. What is the Rep’d Film Collective?

Christianne Sykes: The Rep’d Film Collective is an initiative designed to bring together marginalized filmmakers and strengthen representation in film and media. “Rep’d” is short for “represented”, but we also wanted something that felt modern and accessible. What started as an idea has grown into a collaborative team with more than 10 people involved.

We have circle leads representing communities such as women, disability and neurodivergent filmmakers, and Latino filmmakers, along with a marketing director, PR director, and advisors helping guide our nonprofit process.

The goal is to break down silos and create stronger collaboration between communities—Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, women, disabled creators, and more.

Our theme for 2026 is “Village Bayani.” Bayani means hero in Filipino, and the idea reflects how we ourselves are the heroes and together we can create and share more of our stories with the world. 

3. What inspired the creation of the collective?

Christianne Sykes: A big influence actually came from my experience in the tech industry. I founded a Filipino Employee Resource Group (ERG) when I worked in tech, and I saw how powerful those spaces could be for building community and advocacy.

The Rep’d Film Collective uses a similar structure. We have different “circles,” like affinity groups, that connect communities to the broader collective. Another motivation came from noticing that a lot of diversity outreach in film still centers around Los Angeles and I wanted to bridge our cities together to add to the pipeline. There’s incredible talent in the Bay Area, and I wanted to help build stronger networks here as well.

4. Tell us about the upcoming March 12 event.

Christianne Sykes: Rep’d Film Collective will be hosting the Community & Filmmaker’s Mixer, which is both a celebration and our first fundraiser to help establish the Rep’d Film Collective as an official nonprofit. We’ll be featuring six Filipino filmmakers, including New York Times bestselling author Abigail Hing Wen, whose short film The Vale Origins stars Lea Salonga.

Other filmmakers include Kiersten Villanueva, Joel Sanchez, whose film Versus was executive produced by Dante Basco; and Lyian David Soria and Sean Hein—all filmmakers with ties to the Bay Area. Even though the event highlights Filipino filmmakers, we’re also including projects from Latino and Black creators. The goal is collaboration and community support, and helping creators build momentum. 

Whether you’re a film enthusiast, a member of the Filipino community, or simply support diversity in the cinema world, this event offers a unique opportunity to connect and empower creation of more stories.

5. What can attendees expect from the event?

Christianne Sykes: We want it to feel more like a community gathering than a formal panel. There will be a red carpet photo opportunity celebrating community leaders and filmmakers, with screenings integrated with a mixer so people can connect and network.

The event will take place at Hella Bees, a community club near Lake Merritt in Oakland, and this venue creates a relaxed environment where people can do all of the above. 

6. What other film projects are you working on?

Christianne Sykes: CeeWave Productions is developing a short film to be released later this year, and a web series focused on women’s humorous and unbelievable experiences, told through short dramedy episodes. 

I’m also working as a line producer on a feature film and producing a short film set during the Loma Prieta earthquake, centered around a Filipino family in Daly City. 

7. What challenges have you faced in building this work?

Christianne Sykes: In typical filmmaker fashion, funds for projects will always be an issue, so we’d love support from those who can ultimately strengthen the initiatives or projects. However, in true “collective” fashion, challenges like that often push us to be more resourceful and collaborative, and we are still able to build something accessible and exciting. When I transitioned into filmmaking, I found networking and finding supporters to be quite daunting. With Rep’d Film Collective, I hope to create a space where filmmakers and communities can become more visible and collaborative—especially here in the Bay Area, which has such a rich history and culture that deserves greater attention and investment.

8. What values guide your work as a filmmaker?

Christianne Sykes: Collaboration, transparency, respect, and empowerment are at the center of everything I do. We’re human! In order to claim our space, we must and should do it together and that begins with being open to feedback, challenging one another in positive ways, and creating environments where others feel empowered. 

9. Where can people find you? 

Christianne Sykes: If you’d like to see more of my work or connect, please feel free to reach out on Instagram! I share updates there and have links to my website and projects as well, especially Rep’d Film Collective and CeeWave Productions.

The event is open to the public. For those in the Bay Area, we hope that you will join us on March 12th  to celebrate representation and diversity in the film industry. Here’s the link for more information on the event.