Yokairy Tavarez

Born and raised in the Bronx, Yokairy has been writing since childhood. She credits the film "Good Will Hunting" with inspiring her to turn to film. Always leaning towards eccentricity, Yokairy knew at a young age she'd either grow up to be a lawyer or a writer. After twelve years in catholic school in the Bronx, she obtained her degree in legal studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan while simultaneously expanding her work experience. She married her long time boyfriend and moved to Miami in 2001, had a daughter and began work on her first novel. She completed it shortly thereafter, had a son and immediately began work on a several more manuscripts that would inevitably lead her to film. In 2008, Yokairy moved back to New York with her family and furthered her education with training in Child Custody and Visitation Mediation. She also began work on a compilation of short stories entitled, "This Is Everything." In the summer of 2010 her first official manuscript, The Blue Brotherhood, was published and released. In 2011 Yokairy discovered the Bronx Film Festival was accepting submissions and decided to realize her life-long dream of turning her books into movies. With the help of friends and family, a video camcorder and a few Apple programs, Yokairy turned her stories into screenplays and made five short movies in two weeks, submitting the films to the festival in the nick of time. Yokairy continues writing and creating with the ultimate vision of the big screen in mind. Friends have commented that her books and stories read like fast-paced movies, something she sees unfolding as she writes each line. Her ultimate goal is to see the very words she creates come to life before her on screen in the not-so-distant future.