to Download Press Release - February 27, 2006 (pdf)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers’ Seventh Annual Conference
Presented by HBO®, Variety and the National Latino Media Council Takes a Sharp Look At the Progress of Latinos in Entertainment

HBO Films Colin Callender will open Conference 7 and Variety President/Publisher Charlie Koones along with Spike TV Executive Vice President Pancho Mansfield will provide keynote speeches. The star-studded gala will be hosted by Maria Costa and Mike Batayeh with special celebrity award presentations.


Los Angeles, CA (February 27, 2006) The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) hosts their 7th annual national conference, Latino Lens: Naked Truth, March 9 -12 at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, California. This conference provides a forum for Latino and Latina executives, funders, film, television and documentary makers to meet and address the professional needs of Latino/a independent producers. NALIP is committed to creating more images by and about Latinos through professional training and industry networking. Opening with a dynamic plenary, “Movies That Matter: What It Takes to Get Great Movies Made,” Conference 7 takes a critical look at the advancements of Latinos in front of and behind the camera, as well as the lack of executives in decision-making positions. “Making movies about vital social topics that grow out of critical community concerns is a great priority of NALIP members,” says conference co-chair Cynthia López. “This plenary will inspire and inform the weekend’s discourse. It will set the stage for the entire conference: some of the most talented, innovative, and creative filmmakers will have a chance to share experiences and knowledge about how to make socially relevant media.” The Conference program provides an opportunity to discuss the true successes and improvements in the television and feature industries through a stimulating weekend of seminars, workshops, provocative keynote speakers and networking events.

Long-time sponsor HBO and HBO Films’ President Colin Callender will welcome the Conference attendees with a sneak preview screening and Q&A session of the original HBO Film Walkout, directed by Edward James Olmos and starring Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Michael Peña (Crash) and Efren Ramírez (Napoleon Dynamite). “Through the years, NALIP has flourished and expanded their efforts on behalf of Latino filmmakers," says Olivia Smashum, Executive Vice President, Affiliate Marketing and Business Development at HBO. "And as a supporter since 1999, HBO is proud of its part in helping empower and inform new generations of talent. As a company long known for programs that have strong social relevance, we have been in a position to attract and support talent from diverse backgrounds. Key to our continued success as a company is being able to share our resources and visions as part of NALIP's efforts."

This marks the first year Variety joins NALIP as an official sponsor, though they have been a long-time supporter. “NALIP is a forward thinking organization and we are proud to sponsor and facilitate awareness for their national conference and initiatives,” states Variety Publisher Charlie Koones. In conjunction with Conference 7, Daily Variety will be releasing their first Latino Impact Report which will address the successes and progress Latinos have made in the entertainment industry.

“Should anyone question the importance of Latino creatives and executives over the past year, take a quick look at the dozens of dynamic personalities Variety has assembled for our Latino Impact Report,” suggests Steven Gaydos, Editor of Variety Specials. “In addition to the obvious point that Latinos have and are invigorating every corner of the entertainment business, it's also clear that this phenomenon has recently hit warp speed; an impressive number of talents on Variety's Impact list are also new names and faces.”

NALIP’s Latino Lens: Naked Truth conference will gather the best and the brightest of industry professionals and filmmakers. Among them are Keynote Speakers, Charlie Koones, President/Publisher, The Variety Group and Pancho Mansfield, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, SPIKE TV. The Opening Plenary includes Bordertown’s Barbara-Martinez Jitner and Voces Inocente’s writer Oscar Torres with director/producer Luis Mandoki.

Charlie Koones is President and Publisher of The Variety Group, the worldwide leader in entertainment Business information. Mr. Koones is responsible for the global business operations of The Variety Group, including Variety, Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Variety.com, Variety Careers.com and Variety China. Under Mr. Koones’ leadership, Variety products have become the market leaders in advertising pages, market share and global influence. Since 2001, The Variety Group has set records for revenue, growth and profit in each consecutive year. Mr. Koones was named Publisher in 2000 and joined Variety in 1990.

Pancho Mansfield heads up SPIKE TV’s new original programming department, where upcoming programs include the series “Blade” and the reality show “Pros vs. Joes.” As Senior Vice President of Showtime Networks Mansfield developed some of the network’s most provocative and popular projects, including “Hiroshima,” “Penn and Teller’s Bullshit,” “Red Shoe Diaries,” “Street Time,” “The Outer Limits,” “Resurrection Blvd.” and “Queer As Folk.”

Conference Agenda

Conference 7 is co-chaired by P.O.V./American Documentary Vice President Cynthia López and producer-writer Barbara Martinez-Jitner (“American Family”, Bordertown). The conference will feature an opening reception with preview screening of Walkout, two days of workshops, seminars and Latino Media Market meetings, an awards Gala with celebrity MC’s Maria Costa and Mike Batayeh and special Loteria cash prize to one lucky conference attendee. The conference ends with a plenary on Sunday. “Funders attend to meet talent, and makers attend to form collaborations,” says co-chair and founding Executive Board member Cynthia López. “NALIP brings together indie feature and documentary makers, community media artists and activists along with top level entertainment industry executives. We have a common vision: raising the voice and profile of Latinos.”

Executives scheduled to attend and participate represent the areas of producing, development and funding, distribution and broadcasting, as well as management and representation. Speakers include “Lost” head-writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Day without a Mexican writer/director Sergio Arau, “Kevin Hill” writer Jorge Reyes, CBS Casting Executive Fern Orenstein, Universal Studios Creative Executive David Ortiz, former Variety VP Madelyn Hammond, Man On Fire Producer Conrad Hull, Assassination of Richard Nixon Producer Frida Torresblanco, LPB Executive Director Luca Bentivoglio,


P.O.V/American Documentary Executive Producer Cara Mertes, HBO Films’ Walkout executive producer Moctesuma Esparza, Sheppard Mullin attorney Alexis Garcia, Si TV executives Dolly Romero, Jeff Valdez and Eyal Semtov, Mun2 exec Flavio Morales, CBS’ Josie Thomas, ABC’s Carmen Smith and Jose Martinez of Palm Pictures, among others. A complete list of speakers is available at: www.nalip.org/conference2006/speakers.html

NALIP sessions will include focused topics such as. “Latinos Running TV: Who Broke into Network Shows & How,” “Getting the Story Right: Develop a Sensational Script,” “Working From the Inside: How Movies Get Made in Hollywood,” “Inside Reality Television from Concept to Product,” “Maximizing Distribution and Revenue: State-of-the-art Distribution Techniques,” SAGindie presents “One for the Bank, One for the Soul: Actors as Indie Project Partners,” and WGA presents “Feature Pitch Workshop.” Edward James Olmos will hold a “Conversation with…Moctesuma Esparza.”

“Our Conference becomes more dynamic and relevant each year,” says NALIP Executive Director Kathryn Galan. “Industry execs like HBO’s Sam Martin and Mike Garcia, Warner Brothers’ Antonio Sosa and Felicia Bell, Paramount’s Nakeetha Mattocks, CBS’ Edith Mendoza, ABC’s Natalie Jaquez, WGBH’s Judith Vecchione and VOY’s Lourdes Diaz provide insight and access for our emerging and mid-career filmmakers. Composers like Joseph Julian Gonzalez and Richard Martinez, cinematographers like Mauricio Rubinstein and Rey Villalobos, along with writers like Josefina Lopez and Lighia Villalobos generate an environment of creative discourse and mentoring.”

NALIP, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, presents the second Latino Media Market™ at the conference. 40 select feature production and development projects, documentary works-in-progress and reality television series ideas will participate in a special executive meeting series designed to advance each producer’s project, arrange financing and attract broadcast licenses.

Comedic hosts Maria Costa and Mike Batayeh will MC the March 11th Gala where five pioneers and leaders in our field will be honored and presented their awards by Elpidia Carillo, Mario Molina and Congresswoman Hilda Solis. David Valdes (The Green Mile, The Assassination of Jesse James) will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in Producing, Helen Hernandez (Imagen Foundation) will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Advocacy Award and Moctesuma Esparza will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award for his establishment of Maya Cinemas, first-run multiplexes for indie and commercial films in communities with Latino concentrations. This year NALIP inaugurates a new award, the ESTELA, sponsored by McDonald’s, in order to celebrate two filmmakers whose work reveals leadership, creativity, and tenacity, as well as vision and passion for their craft. NALIP’s first ESTELA awards will be given to writer/director Rodrigo Garcia (Nine Lives, HBO’s “Carnivale”) and documentary director Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom). Each filmmaker receives a beautiful statuette designed by George Cisneros of VuTure Arts, and a $7,500 cash prize towards their next feature project.

About the Honorees & Hosts

David Valdes, Lifetime Achievement:

David Valdes is one of the film industry's busiest and most respected film producers. During the course of his long and diversified career, he has enjoyed successful collaborations with such noted filmmakers as Clint Eastwood, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank Darabont, Kevin Costner and has helped launch the careers of a number of popular actors. David most recently shot a western for Warner Bros. entitled The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt and directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper). Prior to Jesse James he produced another western (independent) entitled Open Range directed by Kevin Costner, starring Robert Duvall, Annette Bening and Sir Michael Gambon that was released domestically by Disney. In 2000, David received four Academy Award® nominations (including one for Best Picture) for The Green Mile. Other motion picture producer credits include The Time Machine, Turlulence, A Perfect World, The Stars Fell on Henrietta, The Rookie, Like Father Like Son, Pink Cadillac and The Dead Pool, which marked the feature film debuts of Jim Carrey and Liam Neeson. In total, Mr. Valdes has collaborated on seventeen films with Clint Eastwood. David served as the sole executive producer on Clint Eastwood's acclaimed revisionist Western Unforgiven, which won four Academy awards, including one for Best Picture; and Wolfgang Petersen's multiple Oscar-nominated hit In The Line of Fire. He was also the executive producer on Eastwood's critically acclaimed biopic Bird and White Hunter, Black Heart. Among the four movies he did with Francis Ford Coppola, most recently he served as the executive producer on the Vietnam War-era drama Gardens of Stone. Among his extensive television credits David cites his tenure as a director of the innovative series "Moonlighting", starring Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Willis, as his most challenging experience. He worked in all television formats; movies-of-the-week, series, commercials, and music videos before finding his niche as a producer of motion pictures.

Helen Hernandez, Achievement in Advocacy

Helen is the President and Founder of The Imagen Foundation. Prior to establishing the Imagen Foundation, Ms. Hernandez was the Vice President of Public Affairs for Embassy Communications (presently Sony Pictures Entertainment). Acting as this major television production company’s local and national liaison, she was most instrumental in developing and supervising various corporate programs that enhanced the company’s reputation in the national community for socially and culturally sensitive programming. The origins of the “Imagen” Latino Media Image Awards can be traced back to a 1983 meeting between Norman Lear, Helen Hernandez and the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It was at this meeting that the Imagen Awards were born. These Awards were designed to encourage portrayals of Latinos and Latino cultures in television and film. For the last twenty years, Ms. Hernandez has been the Executive Producer for the Imagen Awards. Over the years, the Imagen Foundation has honored such entertainment industry professionals such as Placido Domingo, George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Crisitina Saralegui, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek Phil Roman, Edward James Olmos, Bill Melendez, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Lopez and Hector Elizondo. Under her leadership, the Imagen Awards have become one of the most prestigious awards in the entertainment industry. These awards exemplify the best of what Hollywood can produce in portraying the image of Latinos and Latino culture.

Moctesuma Esparza, Outstanding Achievement

Moctesuma Esparza, award-winning filmmaker, producer, entertainment executive and entrepreneur is well known for his contribution to the movie industry and his commitment to providing access and opportunities for Latinos in Hollywood. A partner in the highly successful Esparza-Katz Productions, he has worked with stars such as Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen and Halle Berry. Most recently, he executive produced Walkout, an upcoming HBO Film based on the true-life events of the 1968 Walkouts that happened at five East Los Angeles High Schools. The film stars Alexa Vega, Michael Pena and Efren Ramirez. Additional Production credits include: Selena, HBO’s Introducing Dorothy Dandridge; Gettysburg; Cisco Kid; The Price of Glory; Selma, Lord Selma; The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez; and The Milagro Beanfield War. He has won over 200 awards, including an Emmy for Cinco Vidas and an Academy Award nomination for Aguenda Martinez - Our People, Our Country. In addition to his activist and cinematic achievements Esparza is an entrepreneur who acquired the franchise for the first all Latino owned cable company, Buenavision Cable TV in East L.A., which he built and operated. Moctesuma learned early on the business of art, he explains, “I learned that a movie has to be made for a market, and film is truly a marriage of Art and Commerce”. Today, in addition to producing films he has also established a chain of movie theatre complexes, called Maya Cinemas, which are mega-plexes in locations with a strong Latino presence.

Rodrigo Garcia, ESTELA

Critically acclaimed director Rodrigo Garcia’s next project will be the upcoming HBO drama series, “Big Love,” executive produced by Tom Hanks. Other directorial television works include HBO original series “Carnivale,” “Six Feet Under” and “The Sopranos.” Garcia’s feature film credits include Father and Sons, Nine Lives, Ten Tiny Love Stories and Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her. His credits as director of photography include HBO’s Gia and Mi Vida Loca, and Danzon. Garcia grew up in Mexico City and attended the American Film Institute.

Marilyn Agrelo, ESTELA

Mad Hot Ballroom proved to be the perfect vehicle for first time feature filmmaker Marilyn Agrelo’s directorial debut. With over 15 years of experience in the world of filmmaking and production, she jumped at the chance to create this critically acclaimed film with her friend, writer/producer Amy Sewell. Far from being a movie just about kids doing ballroom dancing, the film represents a poignant, humorous and uplifting window into humanity, with its myriad points of view and its realities and dreams. Critics and audiences have felt the same way about Agrelo and the film. A surprise box office hit in the summer of 2005, this film took in $8 million dollars which placed it at #7 in the “Top Ten All Time Box Office Documentary” films list. Mad Hot Ballroom enjoyed a theatrical run of over 24 weeks in theatres - a feat unheard of for documentary films.

Prior to Mad Hot Ballroom, Agrelo worked on dramatic shorts Smash the Kitty, The Orbis Story and Us and Them. Future projects include Peck, a feature film about a teenage boy and his journey for self-realization. Peck is scheduled to shoot in the summer of 2006

Cynthia López, Conference Co-Chair

Cynthia López is Vice President for P.O.V. López's responsibilities for P.O.V. include marketing, branding, and strategic planning while contributing to the overall business development of the organization. In addition López maintains oversight of P.O.V.'s Communications and Marketing department. From 2000-2003, Cynthia López served as P.O.V.'s Director of Communications. Under her leadership, national coverage of P.O.V. documentaries in the media increased by 700 percent. Prior to joining P.O.V., López worked with Libraries for the Future as Advocacy Director from 1996 to 1999 and developed innovative strategies to serve some of the nations poorest libraries. Other work in the public telecommunications arena includes Acting Executive Director of Deep Dish TV Network and Executive Producer of Satellite University Network; both projects used satellite technology to distribute community and educational programming to national public, municipal and governmental access channels. Her production credits include Associate Producer of Labor at the Crossroads, an American Social History Project Production and Associate Producer of a 12-part series on Televisión Española, Madrid, Spain.

A respected voice in the field, Cynthia López has been invited to speak at major conferences and institutions, such as the 1997 White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce, (Little Rock, Arkansas); the 1993 Advocacy Media Conference, Benton Foundation (Washington, D.C.); the 1994 Channels for Change Conference, (Edinburgh, Scotland); and, Community Media 2000, (Cape Town, South Africa). Educational speaking engagements include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Graduate School seminar, MIT Technology and Policy Program; Women and the Art of Multimedia at the National Museum for Women, Washington, D.C.; and, the National Association of College Broadcasters
at Brown University. López has been an advisor to the Paul Robeson Fund, the Ford Foundation's Americans for the Arts initiative, the Rockefeller Foundation and Latino Public Broadcasting.


Barbara Martinez-Jitner, Conference Co-Chair

Barbara Martinez Jitner is the President of El Norte Productions and is the Executive producer of the film “Bordertown” starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas.

“Bordertown” is based on Martinez-Jitner’s real life experiences in 2000, when she posed as a factory worker to uncover the dark world of grueling poverty, abuse, and ritualized murder for her critically acclaimed documentary "La Frontera/The Border.” Ms. Martinez Jitner serves as the 2nd Unit Director of “Bordertown,” as well as the Executive Producer.
Martinez Jitner is also the first Latina ever to be nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Emmy® as an Executive Producer/Writer/Director of a television miniseries. “American Family-Journey of Dreams” is the ground- breaking series which garnered critical acclaim during its two seasons at PBS.

Martinez Jitner recently wrote, produced and directed, “Behind the Mask” a documentary based on the life of Joaquin Murrieta, which stars Antonio Banderas and Jesse Borrego. “Behind the Mask” recently aired on the History Channel and is being released on DVD.

Kathryn Galan, NALIP Executive Director

In her role as NALIP Executive Director since 2001, Ms. Galan has established NALIP as the preeminent national Latino media organization, by taking it from an NCLR special project with a steering committee to an autonomous and substantial advocacy and professional development organization. She has overseen the growth of its membership 5-fold, supervised four national Conferences, plus created and programmed four respected Signature programs: the 10-day Latino Writers Lab™, the Latino Producers Academy™, the Latino Media Resource Guide™ and the Latino Media Market™.

She has been responsible for all of the organization’s staffing and day-to-day management, raising millions in corporate and foundation funding, designing publicity strategies and branding, supervising regional programs and chapter development, plus overseeing the design of the www.nalip.org website and http://my.nalip.info members-only intranet. In addition, she has produced NALIP’s Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh National Conferences.

Prior to NALIP, Ms. Galan worked as an independent producer (French Kiss, Squanto, Daybreak), new media consultant and studio executive. She has been head of production for Atlantic Entertainment Group and a production Vice President at Walt Disney Studio’s Hollywood Pictures, then ran Meg Ryan’s Prufrock Pictures and her own consultancy firm, EKR Strategies. In addition to the management and development responsibilities of these film and television production companies, she arranged for over $60 million in international co-financing. She is a graduate of Amherst College, and did initial media studies in video art at SUNY Buffalo, then Masters studies in film history and criticism at UCLA, specializing in World Cinema.

Maria Costa, Gala Co-Host

Maria, also known as ‘The Mambo Queen of Comedy,’ is the beloved star of acclaimed one-woman show, “Macho Men and the Women Who Love Them” which is currently running monthly at the LATC. She is also filming Rumbero, a
biopic film about the life of slain Cuban Music legend Chano Pazo, in which she portrays the young Pazo’s loving but abused mother. Other credits include, series regular roles on Bravo’s, “The It Factor” and ABC’s, “Dangerous Minds” as well as recurring and guest roles on “Joan of Arcadia” and “Strong Medicine” amongst others. With credits on both
screen and stage from comedy to classical drama, Maria is establishing a career that defines categorization.

Mike Batayeh, Gala Co-Host

Mike Batayeh is the co-writer of “Macho Men and the Women Who Love Them.” As a comedian he performs at such clubs as, Laugh Factory, The Improv, Comedy Store and the Ice House in Pasadena, where he filmed Latin Loco Fiesta vol.8. As an actor Mike has guest starred on several shows for all major networks, such as, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “JAG,” “The Bernie Mac Show” and “The Shield” as well as a recurring role on “Sleeper Cell,” airing on Showtime. His film credits include, Urban Jungle, GAS, Sorry We're Closed and the soon to be released American Dreamz, starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe and Mandy Moore.


NALIP ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Since its inception in 1999, NALIP has emerged as the premiere Latino media organization addressing the most underrepresented and largest ethnic minority in the country. NALIP has four national initiatives:

• The National Conference – Latino Lens: Naked Truth is NALIP’s seventh national conference. This year the conference inaugurates a new award, the ESTELA, to celebrate a filmmaker whose work to date reveals leadership, creativity, and tenacity. The conference will also offer a Loteria which is a special cash prize awarded to a conference attendee for project development or completion. The Latino Media Market will again be on the agenda selecting top film, television and documentary projects for targeted one-on-one meetings with executives, representatives and funders in order to facilitate more business deals and steps to production.
  
  
• The Latino Writer's Lab™ -- The fourth lab is presented in collaboration with Time Warner and the Writer's Guild of America East in New York City, May 4 - 7, with a second session scheduled for Santa Monica in September. This 10-day intensive program attracts Latino/a film and television writers from around the country. The curriculum advances their screenplays through work on craft, as well as through direct mentoring; the program also introduces writers to agents, managers, producers and funders in order to expand their professional network and further their projects and careers.
  
  
• Latino Producers AcademyTM – Feature, television and documentary producers and directors attend this ten-day intensive seminar in Tucson, Arizona by special selection and invitation. Producer/director teams participate in seminars on advanced professional skills development and in-depth mentoring that support all aspects of their project development, production skills and marketing understanding as instructed by top industry professionals. Feature casts and crews are provided so that scenes can be rehearsed, shot, edited and scored. Presented in association with Time Warner and Nielsen Media Research, the UCLA Film and Television Professional Certificate Program and the University of Arizona Media Arts Department, the fourth LPA will be held August 8- 18, 2006.
  
  
• Latino Media Resource Guide™ – A printed directory of Latino/a writers, directors, producers, crew members, executives and production companies, including their contact and credit information, plus deadlines for diversity initiatives, film schools and funding opportunities, distribution companies and Hispanic American films listing. This book is provided free to members, as well as to all studios, networks, production companies and agents in order to enhance employment and build community. The database is also available and updatable online, along with additional resources, links, and connections. The third edition will be available at Conference 7.
  
  
• NALIP has 14 regional chapters that provide professional development workshops and support in project development, fundraising, proposal writing and other essential media skills.

About NALIP:
Founded in 1999 by a group of Latino producers, educators and media activists, NALIP’s mission is to promote the advancement, development and funding of Latino and Latina film and media arts in all genres.

NALIP is committed to improving access and opportunities for Latino/as at all points in the media production pipeline, including the training of our next generation of media makers, and the support of emerging and mid-career professionals. It is a national organization of industry, independent and community producers dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of images by, for and about Latinos in the media.

For the latest information about NALIP Conference 7, or to register online, go to www.nalip.org.
Those interested in exhibiting, please contact Conference Coordinator Tery Lopez at 310.395.8484.


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