Check out our Member News for the week of March 19, 2020!

Director Pascui Rivas Celebrates “Ordinary Gods”

A renowned Director of film, commercials and documentary, Pascui Rivas celebrates his labor of love, “Ordinary Gods,” currently captivating audiences through the festival circuit. Filmed in eight different countries over the course of three years, the first-time feature director offers a compassionate observation of the lives of six young professional soccer players, as they struggle with injury, homesickness, and the pressure of being a young talent on the international stage.

Since 2006, Rivas has been shaping the US Hispanic market, marking him as a trailblazing Director with long-lasting relationships with the likes of CA Lottery and Toyota, resulting in riveting national and international campaigns. He attended the World Premiere of "Ordinary Gods" at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last month, with screenings at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, Cinequest and more in weeks to come. 

For full story follow link: www.shootonline.com

Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz wins Tribeca If/Then Shorts Pitch 

Mexican-American filmmaker based in Southern California, Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz, recently won the Tribeca If/Then Shorts Pitch at the third annual Big Sky's Documentary's Film Festival. She was awarded $25,000 in project funding and a year long mentorship with the If/Then Shorts Program. 

Her film "Untitled Immigration Lawyer Documentary" (working title) is about a chronicle of the professional and personal lives of six first-generation immigration lawyers who call themselves “The Tribe” and who strive to help immigrants obtain safety and status in the United States. They keep each other supported and sane as their work is increasingly under attack by the current administration.

Her work focuses on first-generation and women’s stories and themes of displacement and identity. Priscilla recently earned her MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University, where she was awarded a Stanford Arts grant and curated the Latin American Cinema series Espejos.

NALIPster Director Fernando Lebrija Directs New Prime Original Series

Award Winning Director Fernando Lebrija will be directing a new Amazon Prime Original "El Juego De Las Llaves". It will be exclusively available on Prime Video in Mexico, Latin America, and the rest of the world, excluding the United States.

The provocative 10 episode comedic series in Spanish is situated in Mexico City. It highlights 4 long term couples who are friends and decide to be swingers within the group. The series follows each character as they go through the consequences of their decision in their relationships and with themselves. 

Fernando Lebrija was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and completed his Masters in Fine arts in Film at the American Film Institute. He also spent a year of postgraduate studies in Screenwriting at UCLA in Los Angeles. He has directed many films such as "Sundown", "Amar a Morir" and Netflix's Original series "#Reality High". He was a part of the #WeAreInclusion campaign.

Carlos Valdivia's "Ni De Aqui Ni De Alla" to Screen at Other Film Festivals

Carlos Valdivia's short 'Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla' screened at the 2018 Latino Media Fest. His short was a part of the Latino Lens: Beyond Graduation Showcase and was a 2018 Latino Lens finalist. He was recently selected to screen his film at "Outfest Fusion" this past weekend. Some of the festivals the short will be screening at are:

San Diego Film Festival on March 17 @ 3:30PM and Leeds International Film Festival.

Purchase tickets for San Diego Latino Film Festival here: https://2019.sdlatinofilm.com

Miguel J. Soliman's "Desde El Principio" is now available on HBO and HBO Go

Flavio Alves' film 'The Garden Left Behind' will be screening at SXSW

A total of 50 transgender actors and filmmakers were involved in creating The Garden Left Behind, set to premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival in March.

According to the press release, "it provides us with an intimate and realistic portrayal of the trans experience living in America, from activism and advocacy, to personal relationships with family, lovers and friends."

Directed by Brazilian filmmaker Flavio Alves, "in order to more authentically capture experiences from these specific walks of life," the roles in the film were accurately and precisely casted to ensure such authenticity. Latino performers were casted for the Latino roles, transgender actors were casted for the transgender roles, and bilingual actors in Spanish-speaking roles. 

'The Infiltrators' to be featured at SXSW Festival 

"The Infiltrators," co-directed by two alumni of the NALIP Latino Media Market, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, will be featured at the SXSW Film Festival in March.

The film is about a rag-tag group of undocumented youth – Dreamers – who deliberately get detained by Border Patrol in order to infiltrate a shadowy, for-profit detention center.

The film won two awards at the Sundance Festival: the Audience Award: NEXT & the NEXT Innovator Prize. 

Chelsea Hernandez' "Building the American Dream" set for world premiere at SXSW Festival