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Monica Sorelle

She // Her // Hers

Filmmaker and Artist

Miami, Florida

A Black woman with a short afro and glasses stands in a lush green wooded area with the leaves of a palm tree hovering over her. She wears a black shirt with text on it that says ‘In America Unfathomably… A Life Beyond Survival.”

Photo by Monica Uszerowicz.

“Motivated by a yearning to find a sense of belonging while existing between the identities of Haitian and American, my work centers around themes of alienation, displacement, and the preservation and celebration of Caribbean culture.”

Monica Sorelle is a Haitian-American filmmaker and artist born and based in Miami. Sorelle’s work explores alienation and displacement, and preserves cultural traditions within Miami and the Caribbean with a focus on the African and Latin diasporas that reside there.

Her feature directorial debut, Mountains, had its world premiere at Tribeca Festival, where it was awarded a Special Jury Mention in the US Narrative Feature competition, and its international premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. Mountains was nominated for two Film Independent Spirit Awards, with Sorelle receiving the Someone to Watch Award.

As a creative producer, her short films have won top prizes at Berlinale, BlackStar, and Miami Film Festival; been selected at Sundance, New Orleans Film Festival, and New Directors/New Films; and have been acquired by Criterion Channel and the Black Film Center & Archive. Her photo and video work has been shown in group exhibitions at various institutions including Pérez Art Museum Miami and their online platform PAMM TV, Oolite Arts, Art and Culture Center/Hollywood, and Augusta Savage Gallery. Sorelle’s work has been supported by Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute Artist Fellowship, the Princess Grace Foundation, and the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship.

Donor -This award was generously supported by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

This artist page was last updated on: 01.14.2026

Film
A Haitian man looks lovingly at a Haitian woman relaxing with her eyes closed as they sit on blue chairs in the middle of a backyard in the shadow of a palm tree. They are surrounded by plants, trees, and a wooden fence.

Still of Atibon Nazaire and Sheila Anozier from Mountains by Monica Sorelle, 2023.

Photo courtesy of Music Box Films.

Two Haitian women are spotlit, surrounded by darkness. One is bent over, beating a large mortar and pestle and the other leaned over to the side while sweeping.

Still of Albertte Petithomme in Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I by Monica Sorelle, 2022.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Thumbnail for Mountains.

Trailer for Mountains by Monica Sorelle, 2023.