Meet Daniella.
Daniella is a Chicago-based culture writer, screenwriter, accessibility consultant, and performer, who has been featured in the Chicago Reader, Indiewire, Autostraddle, Slate, the Boston Globe, WBEZ Chicago, and more. She’s brought her passion for film to podcast appearances and as a moderator for panels about the state of the industry.
Featured Work
Chicago Reader:
Lowering the Curtain
Trump’s brutal cuts to federal arts funding demonstrate the vulnerability of a culture sector tied to state ideology. How will Chicago artists and presenters rebuild? July 16, 2025
“The idea of a ‘nonprofit industrial complex’ may sound like a metaphor, but the Trump administration seems hell-bent on making it bluntly literal. The Revolution Will Not Be Funded warned of the danger of getting in bed with the feds precisely because they can do what they’re trying to do right now. The slashing of federal budgets is explicitly intended to force nonprofits to conform to the administration’s ideology if they don’t want to risk losing the funds they need to survive.”
Palacios para la gente | Chicago Reader
Cover Story; Feature, Print & Online
Most of Chicago’s dedicated Spanish-language movie theaters have disappeared, but the histories and cultures that they encompassed are worth remembering. Read now
“While former movie palaces have often been the center of architectural preservation efforts in Chicago, initiatives to preserve the memories that occupy each theater are scarcer.”
Zoe Saldaña’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ Defense at the Oscars Raises Key Questions About Mexican Cinema: Hear from Those Fighting to Save It | Indiewire
Feature, Online
IndieWire speaks to Latin American programmers, curators, and filmmakers about the restoration efforts redefining Mexico's past cinema — and paving its future for films like "Sujo," rejected at the Oscars. Read now
The Best Theatre Films of 2024 Weren’t Musicals | Autostraddle
Feature, Online
For all these flashy celebrations of theatre on the screen, the resulting products are often empty sketches that are more interested in capitalizing on Theatre Kid Energy than understanding why the art form has persisted for centuries. Read now
Coming soon—to a theater near you? | Chicago Reader
Feature, Print & Online
Both chain and indie theaters are limited by accessibility and distribution, but the local scene is ready to adapt. Read now
“Movie theaters may not be an issue as detrimental as the inequalities that divide Chicago’s communities, but the waning of their presence mirrors larger issues of economic opportunity in the city, community investment, and access to recreation and culture throughout Chicago.”