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 NALIP Grants 2008 Estela Awards Saturday at NALIP Conference 9
The Estela AWARDS honor talented Latino/a filmmakers who, either through a stunning debut or a steady rise in a relatively short period of time, have distinguished themselves through their work to date. This award is for filmmakers whose achievements reveal leadership, creativity, and tenacity, as well as vision and passion for their craft.
The 2008 Estela Awards were selected by a Blue Ribbon panel of professionals, and endowed by the McDonald's Corporation. Through their commitment to excellence and Latino media, McDonald's provides a $7,500 Filmmaker Grant to each of the Estela Award winners, one narrative and one documentary maker. The McDonald's financial contribution together with NALIP's recognition, will support each artist's next project, and their progress towards being a star. The 2008 Estela Awards were presented during our national conference on Saturday March 8, 2008.
 This year's Narrative Estela Award went to Patricia Riggen, director and producer of LA MISMA LUNA which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 and will be released by Fox Searchlight on March 19. Her first short film, LA MILPA, screened in over 30 international film festivals and received 20 awards, including the Student Academy Award. Her second short film, FAMILY PORTRAIT, won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at Sundance 2005.
 This year's Documentary Estela Award went to NALIP LPA Fellow Almudena Carracedo, the director/producer/cinematographer/co-editor and co-writer of MADE IN L.A.. Her film premiered at Silverdocs and the Los Angeles FIlm Festival in 2007, then went on to win numerous awards before its U.S. broadcast premiere on the PBS series P.O.V.. Her 2003 documentary short about Tijuana, WELCOME: A DOCU-JOURNEY OF IMPRESSIONS, received the Sterling Award for Best Documentary at Silverdocs Documentary Festival.
Both filmmakers received warm congratulations at the Saturday evening celebration, where they were awarded a beautiful statue designed by NALIP founding Board member George Cisneros of VuTure Arts, and they were awarded the grant by Max Gallegos of the McDonald's SoCal Marketing Team. Mr. Gallegos has presented the Awards for the past 3 years, since the NALIP Board created the rising star award and McDonald's endowed it for filmmakers. He made the exciting announcement that McDonald's plans to renew and increase its commitment to NALIP and to opportunity for Latino/a filmmakers. Thank you, McDonald's!!!!
 Creatively Speaking Celebrates the Work of Innovative Filmmakers of Color (Harlem)
Harlem Stage on Screen: Creatively Speaking presents the award-winning films:
- 6 THINGS I NEVER TOLD YOU BY 6 LEAGUES, WORLD-PREMIERE
- ANTONIA BY BRAZILIAN FILMMAKER TATA AMARAL AND PRODUCER OF CITY OF GOD, FERNANDO MEIRELLES
- 3 AMERICAS BY NALIP Member CRISTINA KOTZ CORNEJO
- AND A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE AND FILMS OF NALIP Mentor ST. CLAIR BOURNE
CURATED BY MICHELLE MATERRE AND PRODUCED BY NALIP Board Member NEYDA MARTINEZ
FRI-SUN, MARCH 14-16, 2008
THE HARLEM STAGE GATEHOUSE
Now in its twelfth year, Harlem Stage on Screen (formerly The Harlem Film Festival), will present Creatively Speaking, a weekend of engaging and innovative films including the premiere of 6 Things I Never Told You, an anthology of six shorts by the New York film collective 6 Leagues; the award-winning feature Antonia by Brazilian filmmaker Tata Amaral (produced by Fernando Meirelles, City of God); and 3 Americas by Cristina Kotz Cornejo. On Sunday, a special afternoon program will pay tribute to the life and legacy of documentary filmmaker St. Clair Bourne with showings of his films followed by a panel discussion and a reception.
Harlem Stage on Screen begins March 14 and runs through March 16, 2008 including evening and daytime screenings. Tickets are $12 (per program), Harlem Residents (walk up only) and HS and NYWIFT members: $9. For more information contact Harlem Stage at 212-281-9240 or log on to www.harlemstage.org.
Major Support for Harlem Stage on Screen provided by HBO
Curated by Michelle Materre and produced by Neyda Martinez, Harlem Stage on Screen: Creatively Speaking, is a film series that features new and classic films that resonate with communities of color for their authenticity and diverse creative approach that have yet to reach the attention of mainstream media outlets, state Materre and Martinez. The series opens with 6 Things I Never Told You, Friday, March 14 at 7:30pm. 6 Things is an anthology of cinematic snapshots examining committed romantic relationships in flux. Each segment explores varied complex and pivotal moments often dealt with in intimate relationshipsissues of renewal, dominance, loss and control are explored. Created by 6 Leagues members Ed Durante, Rod Gailes O.B.C., Caran Hartsfield, Stacey L. Holman, Cinque Northern and James Richards. The collective are all award-winning NYU alumni of the Graduate Film Program.
Two enticing shorts from the Media That Matters Film Festival, produced by Arts Engine, will be shown in the Young at Heart program on Saturday, March 15 starting at 2:00pm, including By Standing, featuring spoken word artist Kelly Tsai who has had performances worldwide including three seasons of HBOs award-winning "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry; and I Am Not A Boy created by and featuring Julie Joyce, an intense, fast-talking, transgender sixteen-year-old New Yorker who wants what all young people wantto be heard. Other shorts in the program are Drawing Angel by Rosalyn Coleman Williams and Craig Williams, Still Standing, a short by Paola Mendoza, A Period Piece by Camille Holder Brown and Black Woman by Joyia Bradley. Black Woman, while pointedly funny, makes a razor-sharp sociocultural commentary on the role of Black women in North American society.
Saturdays feature film presentations include Antonia by Tata Amaral beginning at 4:00pm and 3 Amricas by Christina Kotz Cornejo, beginning at 6:30pm.
Antonia is the third feature-length film by Brazilian filmmaker Tata Amaral and Fernando Meirelles, the producer of City of God and Up Against Them All. On the outskirts of So Paulo, four young black women struggle to make their dream come true. The dream takes the shape and name of "Antonia" the rap group they form together. "Antonia is more than just a film on rap, on hip-hop culture or a chronicle on life as lived by those on the other side of the river. For me, it's a movie about women warriors."Fernando Meirelles.
Cristina Kotz Cornejos 3 Amricas, which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival last October, tells the story of 15 year old, Amrica Campos, who is sent to Argentina to live with her anti-American grandmother, Luca Amrica. Amrica struggles to find her place with a grandmother she has never known and to hold onto a friendship with Sergio, a neighbor twice her age. Kotz Cornejo is an award-winning independent short filmmaker. Raised in Argentina and the United States 3 Amricas, a 2004/5 Sundance Institutes Screenwriters Lab semi-finalist, is Cornejos feature film debut. 3 Amricas is presented as part of NYWIFT program, which pays tribute to Womens History Month and New York Women in Film, and will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and a reception.
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO ST. CLAIR BOURNE
The program on Sunday, March 16, 2:006:00pm, is dedicated to the life and films of American documentary filmmaker, St. Clair Bourne. Over the past 25 years, Bourne has been the producer, director and writer of over 40 documentaries, which have aired on major networks including HBO, PBS, NBC, BBC and National Geographic Channel. All his work has concentrated on cultural and political themes. Bournes break with traditional journalism and his move toward more narrative films started with Let the Church Say Amen!, which chronicled the maiden voyage into the secular world by a young minister. Bourne made his entrance into theatrical feature films as the co-producer of The Long Night, which premiered at New Yorks Museum of Modern Arts New Directors/New Films series. Based on Julian Mayfields novel, the film had an American theatrical release as well as foreign broadcasts. Bournes acclaimed narrative documentary about the making of Spike Lees controversial feature Making Do the Right Thing, was invited to many national and international festivals and received national theatrical distribution. Most recently, Bourne produced Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks about the photojournalist and filmmaker for HBO. Two films by St. Clair Bourne will be shown in their entirety, Let the Church Say Amen! and Making Do the Right Thing, followed by excerpts from Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks, and a panel discussion with scholars, actors and industry professionals who worked with Bourne.
Public support is made possible with a grant from New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
HOW TO ORDER TICKETS
Box Office: Located at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue
Harlem Stage: 212-281-9240 x 19
Online: www.harlemstage.org
MySpace: www.myspace.com/harlemstage
 Babelgum Invests $15 Million in Shorts
Investment to look into exclusive content
By ADAM DAWTREY, ALI JAAFAR
Internet TV network Babelgum has earmarked Euro 10 million ($15.4 million) fund that will invest in new, original and exclusive content. The coin will fund specially commissioned 15-minute documentaries and narrative shorts.
Longer-form docs on specific themes -- the environment is one major area of focus -- may also be tapped, although these are likely to be produced in 15-minute sections for easy viewing online.
Babelgum is "transforming into a digital media studio," spokesperson Andrea Giannotti said of the company, which uses peer-to-peer technology to deliver professionally produced content, instead of the user-generated clips of sites such as YouTube.
All the content will be exclusive online to Babelgum users, although execs at the web platform are also looking into other ways to monetize the material, including the possibility of selling longer versions on DVD or to TV broadcasters.
Babelgum has also formally opened its online film festival by making more than 1,000 shorts available for public viewing and voting.
The winners in seven categories will be announced May 20 at a gala awards ceremony in Cannes, during the Cannes Film Festival.
Babelgum users will vote for the nominees. The winners, who will each receive $30,700, will be chosen by an industry jury chaired by Spike Lee.
The Babelgum Online Film Festival is a showcase for new filmmaking talent. Entries have been submitted from 86 countries, and a quarter of them have not previously been seen. The U.S. provides 31% of the entries, with 22% from the U.K. and 10% from Italy.
Fest winners, and those filmmakers whose clips are the best ranked during selection, will be in prime position to apply for the Babelgum coin. Productions will be fully financed by Babelgum.
Babelgum's financial independence is largely due to founder Silvio Scaglia's deep pockets. In April of last year, he sold his majority share in Italian telco Fastweb to Swisscom. Forbes magazine estimated his personal wealth at $1.2 billion.
Thanks to Daily Variety (read the article online)
 Harvest of Redemption Gives to Charity
Producer and CEO of converage entertainment and NALIP member LAURA PEREZ and filmmaker JAVIER CHAPA have made it their mission to contribute $3 from the sale of each DVD of HARVEST OF REDEMPTION to four charities: The National Farm Worker’s Ministry, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Action Against Hunger, and Chrysalis – The “Change Lives” Organization.
The $3 donation is available when you purchase the film, anytime in 2008, on their website @ www.harvestofredemption.com.
HARVEST OF REDEMPTION, which marks the directing debut of Javier Chapa, and is written and produced by Chapa and Laura Perez, explores the value of family and ability to forgive in the face of unspeakable tragedy and to embrace all that love and forgiveness delivers. According to statistics, the BIBLE is the number one purchased book in the world highlighting moral suggestions to help all people live a better life. One suggestion from the Bible in particular, is a simple but powerful statement: “Forgive each other, just as Christ forgave you,” ancient words of wisdom that have surprised many, but still require the energy of souls today.
converge entertainment (a LLC based company in Los Angeles) is a film sales, representation, and consulting firm solely focused on supplying high quality, English and Bilingual Latino themed film content across domestic and global multi-dimensional content distribution platforms. converge entertainment recently made their debut as a sponsor of the 2008 Sol Dance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which was a compliment to the Sundance Film Festival.
CEO Laura Perez states, “The goal of Converge entertainment is to empower Latino independent filmmakers and help them avoid costly mistakes often made by independent filmmakers in Hollywood. Our job is to guide and nurture a new generation of filmmakers.”
Added Co-CEO, Katharyn Bond Márquez, “There is a great demand for Latino films that express the rich diversity and multi-cultural experiences of Latinos. However, Latino independent filmmakers often have two very big hurdles—accessing capital to make films and securing representation for distribution. We want to narrow those gaps by being the nexus that brings together independent Latino filmmakers and content distributors.”
To learn more about converge entertainment’s services filmmakers should contact kbondmarquez@convergent.com or lperez@convergeent.com.
 Boston Latino TV Launches Online Programming
Each week, Boston Latino TV will take you to new places, introduce you to interesting people and get you special access to exhibits, festivals and concerts that enrich our community. Don't be left out!
Current videos include coverage of El Mundo's 35th Anniversary Gala, an interview with Don Omar, belly dancing Latino-style, and the return of the Puerto Rican baseball league.
Watch the videos at www.bostonlatinotv.com
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