2019 Awarded Projects

Broadcast

American Exile
John J. Valadez
Carleen L. Hsu

American Exile

Fifty years after they fought in Vietnam, two Mexican American brothers face deportation, and in the process of fighting for their rights, discover thousands of veterans who now struggle with the same fate.  The film will chronicle their journey as they fight to stay in the country they served, and wage a broader campaign to bring public attention and help to America’s veterans.

American Sons
Andrew Gonzales
Laura Varela

American Sons

American Sons explores the life and death of Marine Corporal JV Villareal, Jr. and the men who served and died with him in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Through verité, interviews, reenactments and recovered footage shot by JV himself, this film explores what these men endured during those years and their fight to adapt to civilian life in the country they fought so hard to defend.

 

And She Could Be Next
Grace Lee
Marjan Safinia

And She Could Be Next

In a polarized America, where the dual forces of white supremacy and patriarchy threaten to further erode our democracy, women of color are claiming power by running for political office. And She Could Be Next, made by a team of women filmmakers of color, asks whether democracy itself can be preserved — and made stronger — by those most marginalized. Set against the backdrop of the 2018 midterm elections, a defiant group of candidates including Stacey Abrams, Rashida Tlaib, Lucy McBath, Veronica Escobar, Maria Elena Durazo, and Deb Haaland, are participating in the contact sport of true democracy and changing the face of American leadership.

Borderland
Paco de Onìs
Pamela Yates

Borderland

Americans risk it all to stand up to inhumane immigration policies in Borderland. This powerful set of stories about “righteous persons,” motivated by moral conviction and compassion, shows how courageous actions can lead to mobilization and the defense of human rights in the face of hate and discrimination.

Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan
Ilse Fernandez

Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan

Exodus Stories is an interwoven portrait of three Central American migrants and their quest to be granted asylum in the United States. Fleeing from violence or political persecution, asylum is their last hope. Directed by Colombian-American filmmaker Ilse Fernandez, the film follows their arduous and dangerous 2,600 mile journey to a promised land, where a border separates their Central American nightmare from the American Dream.

Fruits of Labor
Emily Cohen Ibañez

Fruits of Labor

Fruits of Labor is Colombian-American filmmaker Emily Cohen Ibañez’s coming of age story about a California teenager traversing the seen and unseen forces that keep her family trapped in a cycle of poverty. What does it mean to live a dignified life as a working-poor young woman of color in the wealthiest nation of the world?

In the Pines
Noam Osband
Sebastian Diaz Aguirre

In the Pines

In the Pines follows Raymundo Morales and his crew of Mexican planters over the course of a season planting trees in the U.S. for America’s largest tree planting business. We witness with intimate detail the personal and professional struggles of men living and working together, each planting thousands of trees a day to support their families thousands of miles away in northern Oaxaca.

On the Divide
Maya Cueva
Leah Galant

On the Divide

On the Divide follows the story of three Latinx people who live in McAllen, Texas and are, despite their differences, connected to the most unexpected place: the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border.

Salud de un Pueblo (working title)
Patricia Benabe

Salud de un Pueblo (working title)

Puerto Rican filmmaker Patricia Benabe (Memories of a Penitent Heart, Councilwoman) explores the fragile health care system in Puerto Rico, currently on the verge of collapse. Unable to afford medical care, a growing number of patients are leaving the island to seek treatment on the U.S. mainland, leaving local hospitals and medical service providers struggling to meet mounting operational costs.

Setting the Word on Fire
David L. Brown
Raymond Telles
Louis Dematteis

Setting the Word on Fire

Through the life and work of writer Alejandro Murguia, Setting the Word on Fire explores the roles of activist writers and poets passionately involved with the social justice struggles of our times. Following in the footsteps of the Beat poets and inspired by the rich traditions of Spanish and Latin American literature, Murguia confronts with his work and his words many of the urgent issues of the day.

Troubled Water
Will Parrinello
Rick Tejada-Flores

Troubled Water

Three indigenous activists in Central and South America fight to stop multinational corporations from polluting their rivers and lakes, destroying their farming communities and threatening their way of life. The film follows as they brave death threats and murder and, in the process, reveals a troubling pattern of U.S. exploitation and political intrigue taking place throughout Latin America.

UNTITLED
Rodrigo Reyes
Su Kim

UNTITLED

Mexican American director Rodrigo Reyes works as a Spanish court interpreter. After befriending a client, a young Latino defendant, during a gang-related murder trial, Rodrigo and his new friend begin collaborating to craft a multi-layered story about how the failures of immigration and opportunity intersect with the criminal justice system

Digital Media

Con Sabor Ártico
Indra Arriaga Delgado

Con Sabor Ártico

Latinos in the arctic face unique challenges adapting to extreme environments where everything is foreign, remote, and sometimes inaccessible. Alaska ships in more than 90 percent of its food so, for the growing but still small population of Latinos in Alaska, this means that they cannot cook in their traditional ways or grow their own food. Con Sabor Ártico documents how some Latinos are adapting their rich culinary practices in the Arctic, using local ingredients, Arctic fish and fauna, and even meats like moose and caribou to hold on to traditions and pass them along to new generations of Latinos in Alaska.

Milly and Chilly
William D. Caballero

Milly and Chilly

This animated familial biopic features 3D modeled figures of the project creator and his infirm Puerto Rican parents, digitally inserted into a hand-built miniature reconstruction of their trailer home. Visuals are combined with an edited conversation between parents and son, touching upon subjects such as health, income, hopes/dreams, and identity.

On The Beat: Feeling Body
Karla Duarte

On The Beat: Feeling Body

On The Beat: Feeling Body is a poetic documentary short about women in search of empowerment and liberation by using their mind-body connection through the Afro-Mexican practices in music and dance.

About Us
Latino Public Broadcasting is the leader of the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to the public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. LPB provides a voice to the diverse Latino community on public media throughout the United States. Latino Public Broadcasting is a registered 501(c)(3), EIN: 95-4776447.
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