Latinos lead the nominees for Film Independent's First Feature Award in the 24th Annual Spirit Awards nominations announced today. Nominees include "Afterschool" by director Antonio Campos; "Sleep Dealer" by director Alex Rivera; and "Sangre De Mi Sangre" by director Christopher Zalla. The award is given to both director and producer. Zalla, a Kenyan-born American with Bolivian relatives worked with Panamax’s Odell to bring this Spanish-language film to the screen under the title “Padre Nuestra.” He also received a Best Screenplay nomination.
The winners will be unveiled at Film Independent’s Spirit Awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009.
The Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition, comprised of the National Latino Media Council (NLMC), the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC) and the American Indians in Film & TV (AIFTV), today released its annual diversity “Report Card” outlining diversity performance grades for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX television networks. The report cards are based on statistical information provided by each network and measure performance in eight categories: diverse actors in regular and recurring roles, diverse directors, writers/producers, entertainment creative executives, program development, supplier diversity and overall network commitment to diversity initiatives.
“After nine years of assessing the diversity efforts of ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX, we strongly believe that network television diversity for the American Latino community is finally taking hold,” said Esteban Torres, National Latino Media Council Chair, “but there is still great room for improvement in the area of minority business procurement.” The retired U.S. Congressman went on to report measured diversity improvements for each network despite the devastating WGA writers strike that nearly crippled network television’s 2007-2008 season and congratulated FOX TV for being the only network to improve its overall diversity grade, earning a B+, versus its overall grade of B- last year.
The film submission period for the 25th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival is now open! The annual Festival promotes Latino culture in the United States by presenting the finest and most recent films from Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. The Festival stresses the importance of the artistic and educational value of film. The Festival is non-competitive; however, the most popular feature film is awarded the Audience Choice Award. The Chicago Latino Film Festival ispresented by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago in cooperation with Columbia College Chicago.
For more information and to submit your film, visit the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago website and download the application here.
The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest running film festival in the Americas, and the crown jewel of the San Francisco Film Society's year-round programming, is accepting submissions. Next spring's SFIFF52 runs April 23 - May 7, 2009, and cash prizes total nearly $100,000.
Submissions to SFIFF52 can be narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, youth-produced, family films and television works on film, video and digital media.
NALIP member Hugo Perez (LPA 2008) is currently featured as a success story in the Chivas Regal 18 "Spirit of Success" advertising campaign in November and December. Chivas 18 is proud to provide vital community support through “Espíritu De Progreso Latino,” a national movement highlighting the strong Latino values and work ethic, and their pursuit of progress.
In this month's issue of Hispanic Magazine, you'll be able to read a full page 'advertorial' in which he reveals the 3 Keys to Hugo's success (and yes, following the samurai code is one of them). The advertorial is available for download here as a PDF, or click here to read the Full Story.
Hugo Pérez may have been destined to own a film company, since age 6 he had a personal newspaper subscription where he would constantly “scan the horizons, trying to know and see the world.” Even his tíos always seemed surprised to find him at home when they visited, often asking “What is Hugo still doing here?” But once he finally left home to attend Yale University in 1989, he continued moving on, incessantly and passionately pursuing his career in screenwriting and filmmaking. No matter how far he traveled, though, his films always seemed to have a touch of the Cuban influence from home. His award-winning short films, “Betty La Flaca” and “Julieta y Ramón” have been presented on HBO, Showtime and PBS.
Perez, owner of M30A Films, was recently honored with the prestigious 2008 Tribeca Film Institute Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship for his next film project, “Immaculate Conception,” his feature directorial debut. Hugo credits NALIP’s training with allowing him to build upon this honor.
1. Follow your dream because life is too hard to do something you don’t love.
2. Stick to your guns. When making decisions follow your own instincts, go with your gut, and don’t listen to all the babble. Listen to your own voice.
3. Follow the samurai code: concentrate, give all your energy to what you’re doing in the moment, without regard to the outcome - that will produce your best work.
For more information about Hugo’s story visit his page on the Espíritu De Progreso Latino website.
NALIP member Roberto Arévalo, documentary producer and media educator, will present his Colombian Documentary Tejiendo Vida/Weaving Life at the Santa Fe Film Festival in New Mexico at Warehouse 21,1614 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM, at 7:15 PM Fri, Dec 05 and 4:45 PM Sun, Dec 07. For more information please visit the film's page on the festival website.
In central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera Central, Rubiel Velasquez, one the few basket weavers still practicing his trade in this coffee-producing region struggles to find the “bejuco” (bamboo Like), to make his baskets and provide for his wife and five children.
The fear of violence, the absence of public health, and the disappearance of a livelihood shadow their life. Rubiel’s oldest son 12-year-old Julian Antonio milks cows after school everyday of the week. In return he is paid with two to three bottles of milk to bring home to his family. Generations caught in a similar fold in a country mired in 50 years of armed conflict that has caused the world’s second-largest internal displacement crisis.
Unlike most stories about Colombia that focus on violence, drugs or coffee, the story of Rubiel Velasquez represents the struggle, endurance, and talent of most Colombian people. The way I tell his story, offers a unique perspective rooted in my own process of growing up in a poor neighborhood in Colombia, working in factories and restaurants in New York City, becoming a documentary producer and media educator, teaching for a decade documentary-making to inner city youth and completing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Digital Filmmaking and Art.
Actor and NALIP member Mike Gomez guest starred as the character 'Hector Anthony Garza' on the seventh episode of the Christian Slater-NBC series “My Own Worst Enemy,” on Monday, December 1, 2008. The episode, titled 'Down Rio Way', was written by Daniel Knauf and directed by Michael Watkins. “My Own Worst Enemy” stars Christian Slater, Alfred Woodard, Saffron Burrows, Madchen Amick, Taylor Lautner and James Cromwell.
Mike’s previous television credits include roles in such series as “The Shield,” “Prison Break,” “Shark,” “Bones,” “General Hospital,” “Desperate Housewives,” “X-Files,” “American Family,” among many others, and in the TV Movies-of-the-Week, “The Reading Room,” “Locusts,” “Return to Justice,” and “The Out of Towners.” MIKE was also seen as a series regular as 'Capt. Gallardo' on the NBC series, “Hunter.” His feature credits are extensive and include 'The Big Lebowski', 'Dance With Me', 'Heartbreak Ridge', 'Milagro Beanfield War', 'Born in East L.A.', 'The Border', 'El Norte', 'Zoot Suit', 'The Patriot', 'Road Dogz', 'Luminarias', to name a few.