Otessa Marie Ghadar
A DC native, Otessa has fond memories of its grunge-era. Her teen years were spent serenaded by Morrissey, with much singing into her hairbrush and creating new and marvelous mischief with her best friend. She remembers mix-tapes and Sassy magazines… missing the last Metro, and getting stuck miles from payphones. Her youth was full of teen magic. …and she remembers it as though in Super 8: warm and soft… and potentially set to Donovan music.
These are the things she tries to express in her writing and filmmaking. OJinBG.com
And now for the more "professional stuff":
As one of the web series medium's earliest adopters, Otessa Ghadar is a true forerunner of new media. Since 2007, she has been pioneering the web series format and establishing new ground in the wild west of the web. She completed her graduate film studies at Columbia University's film school in NYC. "Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden" started as her MFA thesis and is now one of the oldest and longest running web series online. Diving into web series production when the idea of internet television was still in its infancy, Otessa had to learn and to adapt to new and changing forms of new media as they were being defined. With her knowledge and expertise, she has now published the world's first new media textbook called The Wild West of Film.
Whether in film or fiction, at her core, Otessa is a storyteller. Returning to her D.C. roots, "Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden" is an example of "writing what you know." It's part recollection, part urban legend, part pure fiction, and completely inspired by her own memories of growing up on the cusp of the Internet era. Her stories embody the rebellion of the '90s grunge era while tackling social issues that surround youth. The first four seasons of OJBG are available in paperback and as ebooks online. Season 5 of the special edition "Director's Notebook" — which contains the script along with special illustrations, behind-the-scenes photographs, and director's notes — is also currently available. The director's notebooks for seasons 6 and 7 will be available soon.
Otessa and OJBG have won much acclaim and recognition, including:
1st Annual Washington, DC Web Series Festival Award Winner Innovator Award, Filmfest DC
DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development July Filmmaker of the Month
DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development
Official Honoree of the 18th, 17th, & 16th Annual Webby Awards in the Drama Category
32nd Annual Telly Awards – 2011 Bronze Award Winner
2013 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Outstanding Lead Actress, Ellen Winter
2012 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Best Supporting Actress, Donnis Collins
2011 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Outstanding Drama Series & Outstanding Cinematography in a Drama Series
2013 HollyWeb Festival Official Selection
Indie Intertube — Best of 2010 Nominee
2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards – Nominated Outstanding Ensemble
Showcased during the 27th Annual Washington, DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC)
Showcased during 2013 OUTlander Spring Festival at SXSW
2011/2012/2013 Dinah Shore Weekend – Battle of the Web Series Participant
Recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for making a positive contribution to the LGBT community
KoldCast TV distribution
Check out more at OJinBG.com
“It is immensely gratifying to hear from fans from around the world where being a gay or lesbian teen, having feelings for someone of your own gender is simply not acceptable. We noticed that our show fills a huge void for large audiences in many different countries. That’s why our choice of format for the show, the web series, is such a fortunate one as it allows viewers in those countries to feel acknowledged. While the series is not exclusively dealing with gay and lesbian issues, the fact that we don’t sanitize it gives us truly global appeal, especially with the gay and lesbian community. In fact, demand is such that we are subtitling the show in French and perhaps other languages to even better reach those audiences.”