About the film

Indonesian-American artist Cita Sadeli, a.k.a. MISS CHELOVE, begins work on a mural in a soon-to-open Indonesian coffeehouse in Washington, D.C. As she paints, Cita talks about her life in the DMV area, her cultural heritage, the influence of punk and hip-hop on her life, and how she came to fall in love with graffiti in the 1980’s when there were few women drawn to the art at the time.

About the Filmmaker

Sara T. Gama is an American of Arab heritage who was born in Beirut, Lebanon and has lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As a teenager she was educated primarily in America and England, and then became based in the Washington D.C. area after graduating high school. After working as a D.J. in the Washington D.C. alternative music scene and an assistant manager at a local punk rock clothing boutique, Sara worked in event management before a chance day as an extra on a local film shoot sent her on a path studying filmmaking. Sara graduated Magna Cum Laude from American University in Washington D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Visual Media and a minor in Art History. She also earned a Postgraduate Diploma in 16mm and 35mm Filmmaking from the London Film School, and a Master of Arts in Film and Video from American University.

Sara’s thesis film Drive about a Muslim-American teenage punk has screened at film festivals in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Rome and Amsterdam. Her latest film about the artist MISS CHELOVE developed out of the Muslim Women and the Media Institute fellowship of 2019 and has screened at Maryland Film Festival, Filmfest DC, Richmond International Film Festival and D.C. Shorts. In addition to being a screenwriter and filmmaker, Sara writes poetry and is a Fine Arts photographer. She is currently working on a collection of ekphrastic poems about cinema for her first poetry chapbook.

About Reel South

The people, culture, landscape and history of the South both captivate and bewilder. In the cherished tradition of Southern storytelling, REEL SOUTH reveals the South’s proud yet complicated heritage, as told by a diversity of voices and perspectives.

Reel South is a cooperative documentary series between the South’s PBS-member stations: PBS North Carolina, South Carolina ETV, Alabama Public Television, Arkansas PBS, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Texas Tech Public Media, and Virginia’s VPM. Support for Reel South is brought to audiences by the National Endowment for the Arts, Center for Asian American Media, and by South Arts.

Full Credits

MISS CHELOVE is a production of Sara T. Gama who is solely responsible for its content.

©2022 Sara T. Gama Productions. All rights reserved.