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Elevating the Underrepresented

Representation matters to Puerto Rican filmmaker Rebecca Murga, M.F.A. ’23. The U.S. Army veteran draws on firsthand experience to tell the stories of underrepresented communities in the military in her upcoming Amazon series, which will be directed and produced by Academy Award winner Spike Lee.

The drama features a diverse group of young adults in an ROTC military training program. “I want to show something different and diverse,” she says. “Something that reflects my experience as a person of color and a woman in the military.”

Murga credits much of her success to LMU’s top-10 film school and its expansive network, where cross-pollination in various aspects of the industry – including creative, legal, business, and marketing – was integral. “What I learned in the program helped me sell this project,” she said. Murga also earned her first television credit for the Apple+ series “Swagger” through the referral of her professor.

“Going back to school helped me refocus and study the craft of writing,” she reflects. “And it set me up with professors who believed in me.”