Final Selection Awards Sixteen Projects for Funding
Los Angeles, CA (November 9, 2009) – Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, announced its eleventh annual Open Call newly funded programs. The funding initiative invites independent producers to submit proposals for funding on Latino-themed programs or series.
“LPB is very proud to support these talented filmmakers and is committed to bringing their compelling stories to public media,” said Edward James Olmos, LPB Chairman.
“From poets to revolutionaries, and from mothers fighting injustice to journalists defending the truth, these stories reveal how varied and relevant the Latino experience is to viewers across the country,” said Patricia Boero, LPB Executive Director.
Every year LPB invites independent filmmakers to submit proposals in various stages, from research and development, to production, post-production and outreach. All proposals are reviewed by a selected group of public television professionals, local stations programmers, independent filmmakers, academics, and executives from other funding organizations.
This year sixteen (16) proposals were selected for funding. Emerging filmmakers comprise 25% of total funded producers; mid-level producers make up 44%; and veteran filmmakers constitute 31%. Over half of the awarded programs have never been funded by Latino Public Broadcasting before – a direct result of an extensive outreach program for independent filmmakers throughout the nation.
The funding category breakdown is as follows: Research and Development – 19%; Production – 37%; Post-production – 44%. The final slate of programs represents filmmakers from different regions within the U.S. including California, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
The 2009 awarded projects (alphabetically) are as follows:
Borderlands
Producers: Ruben Martinez/Carl Byker
Category: Production; 1 Episode/120 Minutes
A historical road trip through the border region between the United States and Mexico, a fascinating landscape that has been disputed for over 500 years.
¿Donde Estan? The Disappeared Children of El Salvador
Producers: Maria Teresa Rodriguez/Kathryn Smith Pyle
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
A documentary about three children, now adults, who were separated from their families during the Salvadoran civil war and now search to reclaim their lost identities.
Farewell, Ferris Wheel
Producers: Miguel Martinez/Jamie Sisley
Category: Research and Development; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
An examination of the survival of the American carnival, and of Tlapacoyan, a small Mexican town that provides one third of American carnival labor.
Give Us Your Retired, Your Rich, Your Americans
Producer: Anayansi Prado
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
The fast-growing migration of American retirees and developers to the island of Bocas del Toro, Panama, brings conflict to its indigenous communities.
Granito
Producer: Paco de Onis
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
A documentary film, intertwined with Guatemala’s turbulent history, emerges as a crucial player in a present-day case against genocide.
Immigrant Nation
Producer: Esaú Meléndez
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes
Documents the journey of Elvira Arellano – from her arrest, her sanctuary in a Chicago church and deportation to Mexico – and the growth of the immigrant rights movement.
Invisible Murals/Murales Invisibles
Producers: Jonathan Bogarín/Elan Bogarín
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
A cautionary tale of the end of oil as told through the murals, myths and stories of a Venezuelan oil-boom town.
Las Marthas
Producer: Cristina Ibarra
Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
Chronicles the preparations of Mexican American teens debuting in the Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant & Ball in Laredo, Texas; a 113 year-old tradition.
¿Mas Bebes?
Producers: Virginia Espino/Renee Tajima-Peña
Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
The uncovering of a forgotten injustice: the forced sterilization of hundreds of Mexican-origin women at Los Angeles County’s general hospital during the late 1960s and 70s.
Pablo Neruda: The Poet’s Calling
Producer: Mark Eisner
Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
The life and work of one of the greatest poets of the 20th century: Chilean statesman, activist, Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda, a voice for Latin Americans.
The Plot to Kill Emilio Milian: The Death of Free Speech in Miami
Producer: Joe Cardona
Category: Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes
Traces the steps of a son searching for elusive answers in the terrorist attack on popular Miami radio host Emilio Milian, who lost both legs in the bombing.
Raça
Producer: Megan Mylan
Category: Post-Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes
A vivid and multifaceted look at Brazil’s unfolding struggle for racial equality.
Rainbow Coalition
Producer: Ray Santisteban
Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
The exploration of the rise and fall of a multi-ethnic political movement in Chicago comprised of African Americans, Latinos, and poor southern Whites.
Ruben Salazar: The Man in the Middle
Producer: Phillip Rodriguez
Category: Research and Development; 1 Episode/90 Minutes
The story of the life and mysterious death of one of the most prominent Mexican American journalists of the 20th century.
The Storm that Swept Mexico
Producer: Ray Telles
Category: Post Production; 2 Episodes/60 Minutes
The story of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the first major political and social revolution of the 20th century.
Untitled – Journalism and the Drug War in Mexico
Producer: Natalia Almada
Category: Research and Development; 1 Episode/60 Minutes
The look at the flood of violence that has erupted in Mexico through the life and work of a small town journalist in Sinaloa, the cradle of Mexico’s drug trade.
About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) supports the development, production, acquisition and distribution of public media content that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of interest to Latino Americans. These programs, including the series ‘VOCES’, are produced for dissemination to the public broadcasting stations. Edward James Olmos is founder and Chairman of the LPB Board of Directors.
For more information please visit www.lpbp.org and www.voces.tv.
CONTACT
Luis Ortiz, Managing Director
Latino Public Broadcasting
818-847-9656 ext. 3
luis.ortiz@lpbp.org