For ten years, the only annual gathering of the national Latino media field has been the NALIP Conference. The event is organized as a professional education and networking opportunity. Speakers bring analyses of Latinos in the film, documentary and television worlds while projecting trends of relevance to us all. Awards celebrate past triumphs and recognize rising talents. Artists hold intimate conversations about their craft. Workshops teach skills for emerging and mid-career makers. Pitch and screening events showcase talent. Meeting series like the concurrent Latino Media Market make matches between executives, funders and projects.

NALIP 10: A DECADE OF INFLUENCE will recognize the landmark status of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, our Conference and our member makers. So much has changed since NALIP first convened concerned artists and activists in San Francisco in 1999.

So much progress can be recognized, while so much more is left to do. HBO, Time Warner and the National Latino Media Council present this year’s Conference, by NALIP Board members Frances Negron-Muntaner and David Ortiz and writer/producer Ligiah Villalobos. Together they have programmed a dynamic weekend of plenaries and conversations, workshops and networking events plus a sneak preview screening all at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, April 17 – 19.

This year’s Pioneer Achievement Award goes to RAFAEL MONTAÑEZ ORTIZ, the renowned experimental filmmaker and artist considered the first U.S. Latino to make a film. He was a central figure in the international art movement of Destructivism in the 1950’s, and co-founder in 1969 of El Museo del Barrio, the first Latino art museum in the United States. In the 1980s, Mr. Ortiz turned to digital art. His work has been exhibited around the world, including a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1996.
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