a digital zine-

About a digital zine-

writing drafts, recorded conversations, &some music recommendations ..delivered to your inbox mostly on Mondays. it's a wittle experiment if you will.. emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Yohanna Baez

Category

society & culture · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Nov 2020

Latest episode

30 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

17 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Mar 2026

   Artists need tools!

   It’s what I was talking about here as well: Early access: https://artisttracker.co/ Follow: https://www.instagram.com/_artisttracker_ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   27 Mar 2026

   GAME PLAY

   Deli Scum is a PC game (https://allnightdeli.itch.io/deli-scum-demo-2) from the All Night Deli universe! It’s free on itch.io Podcast (https://linktr.ee/allnightdeli?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=6c22280f-afaa-4794-a89d-5a7e055d9519) for free everywhere Manga (https://allnightdeli.metalabel.com/record_efdbaandddvz292af?variantId=1) for $15 on Metalabel Short film (https://allnightdeli.metalabel.com/thesmugglersmemoirs?variantId=1)for free on Metalabel This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   25 Mar 2026

   Solobuilder

   Early access: https://artisttracker.co/ Follow: https://www.instagram.com/_artisttracker_ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

4. 

   18 Mar 2026

   Why am I doing this?

   Follow: https://www.instagram.com/_artisttracker_ Early access: https://artisttracker.co/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

5. 

   2 Feb 2026

   CARIBBEAN VIDEO GAME

   I BE OUTSIDE WITH MY GANG GANG (https://allnightdeli.itch.io/deli-scum-demo-2) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

6. 

   19 Jan 2026

   CARIBBEAN CYBERPUNK VIDEO GAME

   PLAY IT NOW HERE: https://allnightdeli.itch.io/deli-scum-demo-2 (https://allnightdeli.itch.io/deli-scum-demo-2) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

7. 

   15 Dec 2025

   DELI SCUM

   This episode discusses the video game "DELI SCUM" and its second demo release.

8. 

   8 May 2025

   Only Dominicana in the Room

   Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Growing up Dominican in Southern California was like living on mute with salsa playing in the background—our culture was loud and proud, but I rarely saw it reflected in the world around me. I was the only Dominican kid at my private Christian school in Garden Grove, a mostly white and Asian suburb best known for the towering glass sanctuary of the Crystal Cathedral (https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/the-crystal-cathedral-a-glass-tower-of-power-and-politics-in-orange-county). I didn’t just attend the church; I was part of the spectacle. Some Sundays, our children’s choir was broadcast across the country, our voices echoing through the cathedral’s massive organ pipes and TV screens. There I was in the opening credits, with my little singing face. I was the Little Drummer Girl in the Christmas plays, banging out rhythms that felt ancient and holy. Later, for the big Easter play, I played the Virgin Mary—controversial for two reasons: it was the first time the school play was held in the main cathedral instead of the smaller, older church. And I was Black. And I spoke Spanish. Okay, that’s three. It was tough. Beautiful, too, but tough. When you don’t see yourself anywhere—in the pews, on the playground, on stage, or in the lessons being taught—you start to wonder if you belong anywhere at all. But my parents made damn sure we never forgot who we were. They’d send my younger sister and me to New York or the Dominican Republic for the summers to visit family. For cultural maintenance upkeep, back home, they’d pack us into the car and drive an hour (each way) to wherever the community was: Panamanian family friends in L.A. are throwing a house party, we are there! A Dominican softball league in Long Beach, on our way! A Cuban festival in Echo Park (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-19-me-60380-story.html), dancing shoes on! My dad would hang the Dominican flag on the rearview mirror so anyone stuck next to us in traffic would know. And if the flag didn’t catch your eye, the salsa music blaring through the open windows definitely would. He was calling the community to us like a lighthouse. When my parents separated, we moved to L.A. proper. I thought I was going to be a basketball player—WNBA dreams were fresh and fierce—but by sophomore year, I knew it was time to pivot. Still, I stayed grounded. Shifting from sports to the arts, I graduated from Hollywood High (https://www.hollywoodhighschool.net/) with honors. It was the most glamorous public school you could imagine, with a kids’ talent management office, two theaters, and a museum filled with scripts, costumes, and posters of alumni like Laurence Fishburne, Brandy, and Carol Burnett. My first job was at the In-N-Out Burger across the street. I saved up, bought a car, and put a little Dominican flag on my mirror—just like my dad. And wouldn’t you know it—I started getting pulled over. By other Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and folks from the East Coast. By then, more and more folks like me were migrating west. Slowly, I started building my own pocket of Caribbean community. We'd go to that one roti spot off Centinela. We’d chase down the Dominican food truck (https://www.backyardbite.com/2011/07/lidias-dominican-kitchen-los-angeles/) wherever it was parked that week. We’d hit up Floridita’s with our parents, just like families do in Washington Heights or back on the island. We made it work. We made it feel like home. Sometimes I wonder what it would've felt like to grow up seeing myself. To hear my accent and not feel the need to explain it. To be Mary on stage and have it mean something instead of spark whispers. But then I remember—I wasn’t invisible. I was carving space. I was banging the drum. Still am. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

9. 

   5 May 2025

   poem

   Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. ether, ether. fake to your face friends make you weaker, weaker. hide your past & code numbers like a beeper, beeper. choose your better history today, reappear when I’m dreaming. I can only assume you don't believe me. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

10. 

    28 Apr 2025

    10 Random Thoughts I Ruminate

    Let me start by saying: these thoughts are coming to you unfiltered, unordered, and slightly caffeinated. I live at the intersection of imagination and execution—and that means my brain never really shuts up. So here are ten things I’ve been thinking about lately. 1. Should I add The Smuggler’s Memoirs to my IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4420145/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk)?It’s an AI proof-of-concept short. We’re not talking about a million-dollar budget or anything close. Like most indie shorts, no one got paid, including me. And honestly, I’m not here for that “work for exposure” hustle culture. Still, there’s a power in archiving your creative experiments. Pros? Visibility. Proof of work. Portfolio. Cons? Does it devalue my brand to showcase something built on zero dollars? Or is that the flex? 2. I am placing the Deli Scum game on IMDb.The podcast is there, and once the Queens of the Neon Underground manga is finished, it’ll go up too. This is a multi-platform world—we document the whole ecosystem. If Hollywood only respects a paper trail, then fine. I’ll make one. 3. How interesting do you have to be to get press?I consume interviews and behind-the-scenes content like vitamins. And when I stack myself up against who gets coverage? I feel competitive. Or am I delulu? Like… can I get signed or staffed without 100K followers and a verified check? I believe I’ve got the range. 4. I watched Women in Motion (https://woman-in-motion.com/) and cried.Nichelle Nichols didn’t just act—she altered history. Watching her advocate for women and BIPOC in NASA made me weep. That’s what legacy looks like. Sci-fi changed real life because she showed up. That’s the kind of impact I want my work to have. “Hailing frequencies open”. 5. I get far with no money. That’s not luck—that’s legacy.But I still wrestle with guilt over using AI tools. Should I? Shouldn’t I? The ethics are messy, yes. But when you’re Black and your culture has been stolen, sampled, and profited off of for centuries… isn’t it fair to use the tools that let you stay ahead? There’s a TikTok girl right now inventing the next dance trend that’ll be co-opted by brands and influencers. (https://www.google.com/search?q=Jalaiah+Harmon+renegade+choreography+stolen+by+charli+d%27amelio&sca_esv=74bce80ea0aca5bc&biw=1280&bih=800&sxsrf=AHTn8zrDoyK9NqP8N-mvejX7iudSxpwTaA%3A1743361832358&ei=KJfpZ5TLFaKp5NoP1rbI2Qk&ved=0ahUKEwiU_-31wLKMAxWiFFkFHVYbMpsQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=Jalaiah+Harmon+renegade+choreography+stolen+by+charli+d%27amelio&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiPkphbGFpYWggSGFybW9uIHJlbmVnYWRlIGNob3Jlb2dyYXBoeSBzdG9sZW4gYnkgY2hhcmxpIGQnYW1lbGlvSLmRAVCGBFi2jgFwBngAkAEAmAGzAaABmBuqAQUxMi4yMLgBA8gBAPgBAvgBAZgCJKACshvCAgsQABiABBiwAxiiBMICCBAAGLADGO8FwgIIECEYoAEYwwTCAgYQABgWGB7CAgsQABiABBiGAxiKBcICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIFEAAY7wXCAgUQIRigAcICBRAhGKsCwgIIEAAYogQYiQWYAwCIBgGQBgWSBwUxNS4yMaAHpYcB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#cobssid=s) Let’s talk about theft before we talk about guilt. 6. Capital is not the same as creativity.People think the work must not be good if no one’s backing it. I reject that. Sometimes the best ideas come from the broke and brilliant. AI, scrappy editing, voice memos as podcasts—I’m building worlds out of whatever tools I can grab. 7. I don’t believe in starving artists.I believe in funded artists. I believe in sustainable creativity. The myth of the broke genius isn’t romantic—it’s exploitative. Everyone deserves to eat and create. I want to work with people who feel the same. 8. Multi-platform is my blueprint.Always has been. Business mindset, really. Better marketing too. I’m building continuity across platforms because stories don’t live in one place anymore. Game. Manga. Podcast. AI short. Animation. Everything connects. And the audience wants to live in this world—they just need the entry points. 9. I’m not waiting for permission anymore.Placing things on IMDb. I’m submitting to festivals. I’m building partnerships. I’m done playing small just to get picked. 10. Every piece of content is a time capsule.So I’m putting this here, publicly: I am not done. I’m just getting sharper. More strategic. Louder when needed. Quiet when plotting. There’s a reason why I keep pushing. It’s not just ego—it’s survival, it’s purpose, it’s clarity. If you made it this far, thank you.This is the kind of post that might not go viral but will sit in someone’s soul. And that’s more than enough for me. Let me know if you’ve had any similar thoughts lately. Or if you're building your own universe. We might just be orbiting the same stars. Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

11. 

    21 Apr 2025

    I don't try very hard

    Thanks for reading a digital zine-! This post is public so feel free to share it. Lately, I’ve been sitting with the idea of putting myself out there more. I’ve been doing it.. I think? Almost annoyingly so. It’s not my usual way of being—I’ve always been measured, careful, deliberate. I take my time. I work on something until it feels right, or at least close enough to what I envisioned. I do my best to explain myself clearly, to lay things out so there’s no misunderstanding, and then—I let go. Not with resignation, but with trust. Trust that what I made will land where it needs to. Trust that whoever is meant to receive it will find it. Trust that once it’s out of my hands, it’s no longer just mine. But I’ve noticed that this way of moving—this patience, this carefulness—isn’t necessarily received the way I experience it. It seems to bother people. Maybe because from the outside, it looks like hesitation, like I’m holding back, or like I’m trying too hard to make something happen. That I’m chasing something just out of reach. But the truth is, I’m not chasing. I really can’t. I don’t have it in me to force things, to make noise just for the sake of being seen. I move when I feel ready, when it feels real. And when I do? It’s not because I’m searching for validation. It’s because I finally know it’s time. And maybe part of that hesitation, part of that patience, is because I’m still figuring out how to market myself—when I know I’m an experience. When I know my "live version" is weirder, funnier, more layered than anything I put online. It’s strange to translate something so fluid, so unpredictable, into something digestible. How do you sum up a whole presence, a way of being, into posts and captions and neatly packaged updates? It feels like trying to describe a meal when the only way to understand it is to sit down and taste it. I’ve always felt like I was born on third base, but only in the knowing game—not in money, not in privilege. Not in access or advantage. Just in understanding. Some people move through life confused, unaware of their own trajectory, but I’ve always had a sense of where I was and where I needed to go. That awareness has been its own kind of wealth. But here’s the thing—if you start on third, you don’t just sprint home. You don’t rush to the finish. You have to pause. Take it in. Feel the weight of the moment, the wind, the stadium lights. Be present. Because if you’re not, you’ll miss the experience entirely. You’ll cross home plate before you even realize what the game was about. That’s how I move through life. That’s how I approach art. I try my best, starting from third. Not entitled to the home run, not expecting anything to be handed to me, but aware that if I play this right, if I stay in it fully, I’ll get there on my own terms. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else, but I feel grateful. Grateful to be a creative. Grateful for the ideas that wake me up at night. For the moments when something clicks and I can finally see the full picture. For the people who get it, who support without needing an explanation, who remind me that I’m not doing this alone. And lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how cultural presence—deep, undeniable presence—means more than any number attached to it. More than profit margins or potential earnings or industry approval. Cultural presence is what lasts. It’s what shifts conversations, what shapes the future. And I want to be part of that. But it has to be valuable for me first. It has to feel true, necessary, rooted in something real. So I’m showing up. I’m putting myself out there. Not for them, not for some hypothetical audience that may or may not care—but for us. For the ones building, creating, dreaming alongside me. Let’s show up for each other. Let’s make this matter. Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

12. 

    14 Apr 2025

    The Smuggler's Memoir's

    I did a thing. I took all these fragmented ideas, scraps of AI-generated video from SORA, eerie voice-over from Descript, unsettling sounds from Epidemic Sounds, and I stitched them together with the clunky, free, desktop version of CapCut (a UX desktop nightmare, by the way). My computer is practically prehistoric, so every frame was a battle, but somehow, I pushed through. And now, The Smuggler’s Memoirs exists. An AI sci-fi horror short, rough and unpolished, yet tangible. A visual storyboard that needed to escape my brain and exist in one piece, even if it’s not quite there yet. Is it scary enough? No. The music does the heavy lifting in the creep factor, but AI “acting” can only do so much. But here’s the thing, this short works. It plays like a legitimate extended cut, horror trailer, unsettling in ways I didn’t fully anticipate. From beginning to end, it pulls you in, evoking the kind of dread that lingers. It surprised me. Hell, it even gave off Jordan Peele vibes (Get Out, Us, Nope). And I’m not mad at that. Set within the All Night Deli universe, The Smuggler’s Memoirs introduces a new cousin, one forced to deal with the consequences of Federica’s actions. It expands the world in ways I hadn’t planned, opening doors I now want to walk through. This was just an experiment, but I think I’ve created something worth exploring further. The bones are there. Now, it’s time to put some flesh on them. Watch it. Feel it. Let me know if it haunts you. Because I think this story isn’t done with me yet. - Synopsis: The Smuggler’s Memoirs is a sci-fi horror thriller set in the neon-drenched underbelly of a city, where shadows whisper and reality bends. It follows Javi Montes, a low-level cartel courier who’s spent years running product with clockwork precision until he stumbles upon a shipment that shouldn’t exist. It breathes. It murmurs names in dreams. It shifts when no one is watching. Javi’s discovery shatters the fragile order of his world, pulling him into a labyrinth of secrets that threaten not just his survival but the cartel’s foundation, his family. As he digs deeper, every truth unravels into a lie, every ally feels suspect, and the line between the living and the otherworldly blurs. Something is waiting on the other side of a portal, something patient… and hungry. A gripping descent into cosmic horror, paranoia, and betrayal, The Smuggler’s Memoirs is the first side story expanding the All Night Deli universe. It blends the tension of a family-run cartel with an eerie, creeping mystery, where the price of knowledge may be more than Javi is willing to pay. *(trying to do these voice posts all in one take!)* Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

13. 

    10 Apr 2025

    That Time Argentinian Strangers Lived with Us

    I want to talk about the things we're not supposed to talk about.The things that feel sticky in your mouth.The things that make your face hot when you remember them.The things you only admit out loud when you're drunk, or heartbroken, or both. Like the time my mom saw herself in a woman she'd just met.A battered Argentinian woman with grown kids and a broken home trailing behind her.And how my mom, never rich, never reckless, never one for small gestures, said:“Come in.” We were already cramped in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. Our extended family visited us. Visited often (cousins from New York, our famous Basketball playing uncle). This one time, my dad’s little sister lived with us after her relationship ended in an all-out fight. While putting her hair in rollers, my aunt detailed how the fight went.. ‘I threw a lamp, and he grabbed my neck and threw me across the room. And then, and then I grabbed his balls..’ I remember my aunt pausing mid-sentence, looking at my mom, looking for the go-ahead to finish. My mom looked at my sister’s and I said, ‘I think they’re old enough’. My aunt pinned a bright pink roller, curling her bangs, looked us in the eyes, and through her teeth she said.. ‘I squeezed his balls so hard and twisted them, they almost popped! He cried and let me finish packing my stuff! HA!’ But for four months, we made room for peaceful Argentinian strangers: * A woman with bruises she didn’t always hide * Her two almost-adult children (one finishing high school, the other dragging themselves through college) * Her elderly father * A Great Dane the size of a small horse * And a cat who hated everyone It was wild.It was loud.It was beautiful in the way only chaos can be beautiful. The grandfather made fresh bread almost every day.Dense, warm, sour loaves that made our cramped kitchen smell like a fairy tale.He'd pass us slices, thick with butter and cheese, and pretend he wasn’t watching us eat them like wolves. They drank gallons of mate, passing the same gourd between them like a secret.I learned words like boludo, che, and how to properly curse someone out in Buenos Aires Spanish.We made chimichurri sauce the way they make it.not the greasy sandwich Dominicans call by the same name,but the green kind, the kind that clings to grilled meat like it belongs there. It was fun.It was heavy.It was a lesson in what happens when you choose people, even when the system says you shouldn't. Eventually, they found a place of their own.We helped them move.We cried a little.Then, months later, the grandfather died. I remember the sadness was sticky. Not just because he was kind.But because he had been a strangerand then, somehow, not. They were grateful, I think.As much as shame would let them be. Because shame does that, right?It strangles your thank yous,makes you mad at the people who helped,makes you snap at the hand that fed you because you hated needing the help in the first place. I saw that.My mom saw that.And she never took it personally. She once told me, “Helping someone means you can. If you’re ever in the position to help, it’s because someone helped you too. I’d do it again..” This story isn’t neat.There’s no moral.Just memory.And the feeling that maybe we were the ones who got the gift. If you write like this, if your sentences come out like secrets and your paragraphs feel like confessions, tell me in the comments. I want to connect with the writers who make words feel dangerous. Not polished. Not pretty. Just true. Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

14. 

    7 Apr 2025

    Oh you write? Write what?

    Thanks for reading a digital zine-! This post is public so feel free to share it. Hi. I’m Yohanna Báez—a rom-com realist, a climate punk, and a speculative storyteller. I write what I call rom-coms with teeth—love stories that flirt with politics, culture, and the impossible choices we all make in this burning world. I also love writing weird Sci-Fi stuff. We contain multitudes. I’d say my writing journey started with a documentary. A few years back, I made an experimental short documentary (https://vimeo.com/user4234646) about climate change and the tourism industrial complex. I remixed that doc into a fictional rom-com called Americana, set in New York and the Dominican Republic. Same environmental message, but wrapped in something warmer, funnier, more accessible. Lots of mainstream appeal. It got some attention—coverage at WME, and a well-known actor attached, even—and that was the first time I let myself believe I might actually be good at this. LOGLINE: Belkis Castillo, a lonely exec, freaks out when her free-spirited younger sister announces she's getting married first. A string of mishaps leads her to Oscar, a quirky environmentalist who opens her eyes to more than just love. When friends, managers, assistants, family, and agents told me my audience was most likely on the East Coast, I listened. I moved to New York. I gave myself five years to:- Win a film festival- Build a project from scratch- Get into a major residency I hit 2 out of my 3 goals in the first two years. * Won the Urbanworld Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay for Y Los Hipsters Que?. * Secured grants, residencies, and fellowships. * Traveled to France for the 1st European Performing Arts & Transmedia Lab for the theater/participatory art version of (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOEFVGH8vfDND1kezI3rnQ)Y Los Hipsters Que? (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOEFVGH8vfDND1kezI3rnQ) Y Los Hipsters Que? is a transmedia, participatory art project and feature film that addresses issues most 3rd worlders face. LOGLINE: A one-night stand turns into something more in this eccentric love story between two young ‘third-worlders’ trying to make sense of their lives in a developing country. I kept pushing. Winning awards and getting into residencies didn’t get me signed. I got a lot of meetings. I pitched a lot. I was a ghost writer for a little bit. But the industry isn’t about merit or even ‘who you know’. You can know a lot of people, can your work make those people money? Do those people WANT to make money or maintain the status quo to keep their jobs? You can’t blame anyone, it’s a collection of so many things. I just knew I had to keep going. Keep collecting. I pivoted from rom-coms to a wild-card idea: a sci-fi family saga. The working title was Bodegas, later renamed All Night Deli (https://www.google.com/search?q=all+night+deli+podcast&oq=all+night&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgAEEUYJxg7MggIABBFGCcYOzINCAEQLhjUAhixAxiABDIQCAIQLhiDARjUAhixAxiABDIPCAMQLhgUGIcCGLEDGIAEMgYIBBBFGDwyBggFEEUYPDIGCAYQRRhBMgYIBxBFGEHSAQgxMTI4ajBqNKgCALACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). I got fiscal sponsorship from IFP (later acquired by The Gotham), recruited a special effects crew, and secured my corner store bodega where we’d shoot, late at night, early morning. The block knew, and I even had YN ‘security’ for a few hours. I bought some green screens and green tape. I talked to a few possible actors. I raised money. Then COVID hit. Everything stopped. Except me. All Night Deli refused to die. It transformed into a podcast—my proof of concept. I kept writing. Kept building. Short stories. Game Demos. Got into more film festivals and residencies. A whole transmedia universe. Some of the things I’ve written recently: * A short story about an older woman coming out for the first time. * A horror sci-fi tale set (https://emelindabaez.substack.com/p/the-smugglers-memoirs-clip?r=49y2y) in the All Night Deli universe. * More rom-coms (because I’ll never stop believing in love... or jokes). My niche?Love stories with a global conscience. Sci-fi rooted in your corner store. Political satire you can cry-laugh to. I’d like to share more of these drafts, process notes, behind-the-scenes stories, and maybe the occasional late-night rant. If you’ve ever wanted to peek inside the mind of a filmmaker who blends art, magic with the mundane, then you’re in the right place. Hit subscribe. Let’s build something weird and beautiful together. Thanks for reading a digital zine-! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

15. 

    31 Mar 2025

    The Smuggler's Memoirs - Trailer

    Money is tight, so I had to get creative. I took fragmented AI-generated visuals from SORA, voiceovers from Descript, and sounds from Epidemic Sounds to produce a proof-of-concept. Pieced it all together on the clunky, free version of CapCut (which, by the way, is a desktop UX nightmare). My prehistoric computer fought me, but somehow, I made it. - Synopsis: The Smuggler’s Memoirs is a sci-fi horror thriller set in the neon-drenched underbelly of a city, where shadows whisper and reality bends. It follows Javi Montes, a low-level cartel courier who’s spent years running product with clockwork precision—until he stumbles upon a shipment that shouldn’t exist. It breathes. It murmurs names in dreams. It shifts when no one is watching. Javi’s discovery shatters the fragile order of his world, pulling him into a labyrinth of secrets that threaten not just his survival but the cartel’s foundation—his family. As he digs deeper, every truth unravels into a lie, every ally feels suspect, and the line between the living and the otherworldly blurs. Something is waiting on the other side of a portal—something patient… and hungry. A gripping descent into cosmic horror, paranoia, and betrayal, The Smuggler’s Memoirs is the first side story expanding the All Night Deli universe. It blends the tension of a family-run cartel with an eerie, creeping mystery—where the price of knowledge may be more than Javi is willing to pay. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

16. 

    7 Oct 2024

    Deli Scum - Demo Trailer

    What a fantastic journey this has been! I am very excited for the full game! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

17. 

    10 Nov 2020

    TOO MANY TIMES

    Hi, hello! This is a funky sad story I’m working on, with funky instrumentals.I’m grateful you’re here. -This has happened to me way too many timesI’m invited to a place. a dinner party. to hang out in the park or to go to an event or museum and I think that we’re hanging out. Because that is the default unless you say otherwiseBut. The Person that invited me, thinks that we are on a date. They act like a date during a hang. It gets very awkward and so uncomfortable at the end where we are saying our goodbyesThis has happened to me way too many timesIt’s shocking and I’m always surprised in the beginning when I ask ‘where is everybody?’I’ve brought wine, Rosewater ice cream, Hennessey and flowers to a dinner partyWhere I thought there were going to be guests and a music playlist and maybe a low key intense game of UnoI thought I needed to catch up on the newsI try and not linger in the kitchen too longI get stuck physically and with dead-end topics in the kitchenWhy can’t folks ask me out on a date instead of a hang?This has happened to me way too many timesRejection yes I know. But is it Better than this emotional bait and switch?Also, I’m a way different person on a date. I’m wearing lingerie under this not my regular panties.What I’ve been doing lately is bringing weed to the hangout. And wearing lingerie ANYWAYS.I’m also very bold and have said: Is this a date? Did you think this is supposed to turn into a date? What haven’t you said the word date?This has happened to me way too many times *INSTRUMENTALS NOT MINE* This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emelindabaez.substack.com (https://emelindabaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Podcast Authority Score: 4 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

8

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact a digital zine-

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.