SERIOUSLY
LOUD
SERIOUSLY
ENTERTAINING
Writer
Director
Actor
DANNY CHICON-
RAMIREZ
is a Latino screenwriter, director, and actor who writes about "characters finding their identity and community in strange places". Using his signature brand of comedy surrealism, Danny explores themes of cultural identity, hypermasculinity, and familial relationships inspired by his upbringing in the Lower East Side of New York City. He is currently attending The University of Southern California to get his MFA in Writing for Screen & Television.
Danny has been accepted to a number of fellowships within and has collaborated with media organizations such as Hook Arts Media, FabNYC, and Loisaida Inc. His most recent short film, The Good, The Bad, & Tio Umberto premiered at the Warner Brother's New York Latino Film Festival and previous film festival selected projects include JULIO: The Julio Irving Story About Julio Irving Starring Julio Irving (no, that's not a typo) and Have A Good Night.
Above all, Danny looks to connect audiences through laughter, tell stories of shared human experience, and create better representation for Latiné and other minority communities. He has a B.A in Media Studies from Hunter College, where he earned a reputation for being loud enough to be heard from three floors up. Since then, he has learned to use his inside voice at USC.
WHAT
IS NEW?
Last September my latest short film, The Good, The Bad, & Tio Umberto premiered at the Warner Bros. New York Latino Film Festival! It was a fantastic experience and culmination of tons of hard work accomplished by an incredibly talented team. I'm grateful for the experience along with the opporunity to showcase the stories of my people on the big screen!
THE JOURNEY
2024-25
We made the move! From NYC to LA to join up with the USC Mafia! In the Fall of 2024, I started the journey to get my MFA in Writing for Screen & Television at the world renowned, University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts.
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What's next? Well, maybe it's a project that involves YOU! Hit my line below!
2024
The Good, The Bad, & Tio Umberto premieres at the Warner Bros. New York Latino Film Festival! Following three cousins trying to accomplish the goal I never could-defeat their uncle in dominoes!
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I aimed to capture the feeling of the game played at all my family gatherings but also use it to represent a rite of passage for the cousins to prove their "Latinoness". As a third generation Latinos, we often find it difficult to connect with our roots and I saw this as my opportunity to represent that battle.
2022
My second outing as a writer/director, I made Have a Good Night as my final project for Hook Arts Media's Digital Connection Fellowship. It follows the story of Willy, a young boy whose Catholic School upbringing has left him anxiety ridden on the night he thinks he may lose his virginity.
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Inspired by the abstinence retreats I was taken to in middle school, I wanted to use humor to tackle the taboo subject of improper sexual education in religious education centers.
2019
The first short film I ever directed, created in response to the popularity of a sketch comedy character that garnered interest on my instagram, Julio Irving!
This is was my filmmaking initiation. Self-taught, scrappy, adaptable Danny teaching himself as he went. From a technical standpoint, you can tell I had much to learn. But this is really where I began to find my voice as a filmmaker, focusing on my larger than life characters and begining to mold my signature brand of comedy surrealism.
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2017
The Catholic Police: The second short film I wrote and acted in. This was actually my first attempt at writing a comedy and it was love at first write.
2018-19
Fists of a Nation: The first short film I ever wrote and acted in. The true beginning of my journey and the film that taught me about how far a scrappy attitude can get you and how important it is to call on others for create.
2018
2018-19 was a time for experimentation. I gained a bit of a following on Instagram creating comedic characters and writing/performing in sketches. This is where I hones my comedic voice and began to experiment with filmmaking itself from the other side of the camera!