Miss Hot Mess

She looks good on paper, but between the lines — she’s f*cked. 20-something Maya Rosari juggles a life of pageantry and debauchery. When there's nowhere left to run to, she’s forced to finally face the truth: she’s a hot mess.

  • Amyra Soriano
    Director
  • Amyra Soriano
    Writer
  • Jerico DeGuzman
    Director of Photography
  • Raisa Donato
    Producer
  • Rommel Conclara
    Producer
  • Gabrielle Maalihan
    Key Cast
    "Maya"
  • Darren Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Rocko"
  • Paula Vercudia
    Key Cast
    "Annie"
  • Danielle Mendoza
    Key Cast
    "Bella"
  • Elaine Young
    Key Cast
    "Kami"
  • Aaron Orpilla
    Key Cast
    "Len"
  • Romeo Abasolo
    Key Cast
    "Pablo"
  • Derrick Wong
    Key Cast
    "James"
  • Gelli Pascual
    Production Design
  • Amyra Soriano
    Executive Producers
  • Margela Cruz
    Executive Producers
  • Michael Mappala
    Executive Producers
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy, Coming of Age, Offbeat
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 11, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    13,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition
    New York
    United States
    Honorable Mention (Screenplay)
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Gold Award (First Time Director); Official Selection
  • Visionfest NYC
    New York, NY
    United States
    Finalist (Screenplay)
Director Biography - Amyra Soriano

Amyra Soriano (she/her) is a Filipino American writer and filmmaker based in the Bay Area. She is the writer/director of Miss Hot Mess, which won Best First Time Scriptwriter at Script Awards LA and Gold Award for First Time Director at Independent Shorts Awards. The film’s screenplay received Finalist at SF IndieFest, Finalist at Visionfest NYC, Quarter Finalist at New York International Screenplay Awards, and Honorable Mention at Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. The film screened at Diwa Filipino Film Festival in Seattle and the Bay Area. In 2022, she was a recipient of Balay Kreative’s Artist Grant.

Her short film, between the lines, premiered at CAAMFest Forward 2020 and screened at SF Indie Fest. In 2019, she edited The Filipino Channel’s re-imagined cut of ABS-CBN’s On the Wings of Love — streaming on MYX and Amazon Prime Video. As a journalist, her features have been published in KQED Arts, East Bay Express, and Hella Pinay.

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Director Statement

What if the worst of you is the best of you? Miss Hot Mess explores identity, growth, and intersectionality. How the various parts of who we are coexist while we're still in the process of healing. Familial expectations played a huge role in my adolescence, creating a spiral into perfectionism and self-sabotage. Grief and death. Life and guilt. I wanted to look at family and the way things go unsaid. Or what happens when you've said too much. Can a black sheep still be the golden child? And what do you do with the draining pressures of societal norms? At its root, the film dives into what it means to honor yourself and your truth. The good, the bad, the little things we forget about, and the shit that leaves a mark. It's about showing up — and continuing to — regardless of what the world has to say.