San Jose filmmakers create space to support women

In a male-dominated broadcast industry, two people are working to shift the power dynamic by establishing a production and event space for women.

Farran Tabrizi Chevallier and Tricia Creason-Valencia are the co-founders of PowerHouse, a vibrant Victorian home in downtown San Jose that serves as a podcasting, co-working and community event space. The two have been intentional about creating a space for women to feel welcomed and empowered.

“We’re very, very clear and forward about this being women owned and operated,” Creason-Valencia told San José Spotlight. “Because what we have found as we’ve started doing this podcasting and production studio is people are coming in feeling traumatized from being in male-dominated studios.”

Throughout their lives, the two co-founders have been working to uplift and highlight women’s stories. Creason-Valencia, 56, boasts decades of experience in documentary filmmaking, including work for PBS. Tabrizi Chevallier comes with a background in corporate film production. Together, their expertise in media and filmmaking helps guide women to tell their stories.

PowerHouse was a dream Tabrizi Chevallier, 41, hid in her heart for years. She owned the home at 684 S. Second St. and was renting out rooms for supplemental income. In 2022, when one of her tenants moved out of the front room, she decided to take the leap, turning it into a co-working space for women.

It wasn’t until Creason-Valencia jumped on board in 2024 that what they could do with the space — and the vision of PowerHouse — became fully realized.

Other tenants began to move out as they slowly took back the house. Last July, they revamped one of the rooms into the Unmuted Studio, allowing people to host their podcasts or shows. The last remaining tenant moved out in December, and the house became a full-time gathering space for women. They turned it into a home that exudes warmth with colorful walls, vibrant art, big airy windows, plush couches and cheetah and zebra printed carpets.

“It was a huge leap,” Tabrizi Chevallier told San José Spotlight. “We were also terrified, because we were taking on the cost. We’re starting to feel comfortable about it. There’s still a lot to do, but we also can step back and go, ‘There’s a lot to nurture that we’ve already built.'”

Partnership is central to their model. They convene women together through events such as movie nights, production workshops, monthly clothing swaps, mixers, panels and more.

PowerHouse operates like an incubator with a monthly membership fee for access to the studio, co-working space and social events.Creason-Valencia and Tabrizi Chevallier want women to feel empowered to own the space and use it to get their ideas off the ground. Women are encouraged to utilize their talents, teach workshops and host their own events.

Mia Perez, 48, was drawn to become a member because she felt PowerHouse’s mission aligned with hers. Perez is a transformational consultant who helps women master their confidence and step into their power. Perez wanted a space to produce and launch her podcast, “The Soft Power Life,” on how high-achieving women can succeed and avoid burnout.

It’s a joint effort with her 18-year-old daughter, who is helping Perez produce the show and other content for her consulting business. Having Creason-Valencia and Tabrizi Chevallier there as resources is a huge plus, she said.

“It’s very essential to have this space. And even more importantly, because it’s women doing it for women, there’s a comfort level there that you’re not going to get with a man,” Perez told San José Spotlight. “We need to express and we need to create because there’s so much going on in the world. There’s always a power behind being able to get your voice out.”

Creason-Valencia and Tabrizi Chevallier are fostering a community of women that uplifts each other, learns from each other and shares resources as a counterpoint to the expectations, roles and limits society has placed on women, they said.

“It’s a range of why people are drawn to the space, but all of that is about validating, empowering, pushing professional development amongst our own community,” Creason-Valencia said. “This house is a treasure trove of skilled women.”

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.