Carmen Marrón is a self-taught writer, director, and producer whose debut hip hop indie feature, “GO FOR IT!” sold out at festivals coast to coast, won four Audience Awards, and was distributed by Lionsgate in theaters across the US. As well as writing and directing, she edited, cast the actors and co-composed the theme song for her dance drama. Carmen’s second film “ENDGAME”, premiered on HBO.
Filmmaking became an aspiration for Carmen while she was working as a guidance counselor for high-risk elementary school children. Carmen’s vision was to write and direct stories that her culturally-diverse students could relate to and be inspired. The result was her drama GO FOR IT! that was based on her experiences growing up as a street dancer in Chicago. The New York Times hailed the movie as “an unpretentious rite-of-passage drama, thanks to the supple script and capable direction of Carmen Marrón, the force behind “Go For It!” It was also Gina Rodriguez’s (Jane The Virgin) first film break.
Carmen’s second feature that she wrote and directed, ENDGAME, a coming-of-age story, premiered on HBO. It stars Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) and Justina Machado (One Day At A Time) and was based on true events about struggling middle-school students in Brownsville, Texas.
In March 2019, Carmen made her TV directorial debut on OWN’s hit series QUEEN SUGAR, created by Ava DuVernay. In 2019-2020, Carmen sold and wrote her one hour dramedy pilot, RX, for ABC Studios. It was based on her experience as a pharmaceutical rep. In 2021, Carmen directed the season six premiere of QUEEN SUGAR and is pitching other one-hour drama pilots, including a dance drama.
Marrón has been an international guest speaker for the US State Department in Latin American countries, promoting public diplomacy through her work in Latino Cinema and Education. She holds a BA of Science from DePaul University and an MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona. She was also part of the NBC/NHMC Summer Writers Program.