By April Wolfe

LA Film Fest

Allain is a shining beacon of hope in studio cinema, but she knows that creating and distributing truly diverse, original film and television comes down to the gatekeepers at those lower levels, the film festivals. As director of the Los Angeles Film Festival, she’s got some words of wisdom on how to find the up-and-coming filmmakers pushing the limits, because this is what she’s been doing her entire career.

April Wolfe: L.A. Film Fest tapped you to make their message of diversity more robust. What does that mean to you? What kind of film are you looking for?

Stephanie Allain: They didn’t tap me. I was already doing it. I’ve been in this space for years. Boyz n the Hood was my first movie. At Film Independent, our mission has always been to support artists who were so diverse. All these people scrambling to make fixes? This is what we already do, and it’s like the world has finally caught up with the movement. Last year, 40 percent of the films at L.A. Film Fest were directed by women. What’s exciting is we’re identifying all these women and directors of color who may not get the shot to be in the spotlight. Of course, the movie has to be good enough to go the next step, but that’s what we’re trying to do with our premieres. In the festival, we have six slots we call “Buzz,” and when I saw Equity [directed by Meera Menon], for instance, I was excited. It’s an alternate universe, because it’s Wall Street all from a female point of view. A world populated by women. The guys are the side pieces to the story. It’s a complete flip of the universe, and I felt like, wow, I have not seen this. These women are just killers from the inside, and that’s very, very … You just feel the power, and that’s fresh.

We also have a doc I love called Political Animal, the story of the four openly lesbian congresswomen, who during the course of the 15 years basically got the marriage laws changed. These women have to stand in the room in front of all these people who say they need to go to therapy to change who we are. It feels very important for the revolution and the incremental change and how we get to where we want to go. We also have Tracktown, from Alexi Pappas, who is an Olympic athlete who’s actually running in the Games. In the movie, she has to take the day off, and we get to see her life. When you make movies and you hire actors portraying runners or boxers, it feels a little off, but Alexi really is it, and it kind of blows your mind how authentic it is, and again, it’s her telling her story. 

If L.A. Film Fest has been so successful getting this diverse programming, why haven’t other festivals followed suit until recently?

I give all the credit to our director of programming and creative director, whom I brought in when I demanded we embody the mission in a fiercer way. I’m tired of waiting around for people to make the change. You have to challenge every area of the business, from the studios to the press. You can’t just wait until the Oscars to complain. We get like five or six thousand submissions, and there’s also the thing where we get calls from the agency, and every single one of those calls were people advocating for white men. You could tell in the voice when I ask about women — oh yeah, I do have a woman — and I was like, why didn’t you lead with that? We’re a mainstream festival that’s actually trying to be a diverse festival. It’s L.A. We’re culturally diverse. We’re opening with Lowriders [directed by Ricardo de Montreuil], about East L.A., and we’re closing with Desierto [directed by Jonás Cuarón]. Because L.A. is the most Latino city in the country, and I felt like the festival should really reflect that.

Where do you find these films? What’s the actual process for finding these movies if reps aren’t going to offer them to you?

With Boyz n the Hood, I read that story, I grew up in Inglewood. I knew these kids. It was so powerful to me. At the time, Columbia could make $5 million pictures like Boyz, but if I hadn’t been at the table, that wouldn’t have happened. First eyes matter. So at L.A. Film Fest, we have the most diverse programmers. We’re letting advocates advocate for their own passion. We wanted diversity across age, gender, sex, sexuality, and it wouldn’t just be a few people picking all the films. If you have a tiny swath of programmers who are all the same, that’s what you’re going to get in the end result. People always say, 43 percent women, and 38 percent women of color? How do you find them? It’s a system, a process. You can’t just rely on submissions. You have to call schools, colleges, groups like Film Fatales, and use Facebook to reach out. Most people don’t know I’m looking for this stuff. There’s a lot of outreach that goes on. It’s Roya [Rastegar] and Jennifer [Cochis]. I just direct them to do what our mission is, so they figured out a way to make it a reality and not just a theory. And guess what! Last year, 30 percent of our movies sold out their tickets.

But even if these diverse films are playing in the festivals, how do you get the industry to take notice and follow the lead? What are the next steps?

Last year we sold 20 films [to distributors] out of the festival. I think it’s a combination of fresh new voices and the call and the cry for diversity meeting up with all of these new platforms and distribution companies that are content-hungry. We try to connect the industry to these filmmakers. We ask the filmmakers, What’s your dream? Where do you want your movie to play? We have a festival retreat and invite every feature filmmaker to meet industry people. It’s how we were able to sell Meet the Patels [2014, directed by Geeta and Ravi Patel]. It’s a business of: Do I like this person? Do I want to hang out with them, and are they talented? We invited Helen Huang from Showtime, and she bought In a Perfect World (2015) from Daphne McWilliams. That’s how we make it happen in L.A. Folks are here, and we can make those connections and literally follow up. I call them and ask what they need.

What do you think about the diversity programs that aim to help women and people of color with a leg up in the industry?

We don’t need more diversity programs. We need jobs. The only way people get better is through working, through practice. When these traditional male white directors do one thing, and the studios say, OK, now you can direct this $100 million movie, they’re going to get better, because they’re practicing. But if we don’t get these other filmmakers those jobs, they’re not going to become better. Ten thousand hours means you’re a master. Our idea is to get these filmmakers actual jobs.

What do you think is the responsibility of a film festival to change the system?

We’re programming films we want to puncture you, that change your point of view. That’s what happened with Boyz. After we made it, I got a call from a 50-year-old woman who said, [emotional] I never knew those boys were so real. We changed this woman’s life. This woman probably had a whole different idea of kids in urban areas doing drive-bys, and now she sees them as people. That’s huge. We’re trying to get these other voices out into the conversation. The most important thing is every day in L.A., though, there’s a premiere, a concert, a play. We’re building something really special here, and I just want people to take the time to come out and watch some movies and experience the festival. I’m moderating a conversation with Nate Parker on The Birth of a Nation and how his dream project ended up breaking all the records. How many filmmakers can say that? He found a way to get it done. Ryan Coogler (Creed) is coming down to do a master class in sound. Ava DuVernay (Selma) will be here. The industry comes here to buy movies. I knew it was happening a couple of years ago when HBO bought Nightingale (2014), and I saw David Oyelowo’s face all over. You don’t have to fly to the snow to see a movie. Come to Culver City. It’s fun. And, hey, it’s on the Metro line.

Check this out on laweekly.com

Award-winning NALIPster film LOOKING AT THE STARS has announced its premiere at the LA Film Festival this June.  

The project, directed by NALIPster Alexandre Peralta, with cinematography by NALIPster Alejandro Ernesto Martinez B. started as a short film but received recognition in 2014 when it was presented the HBO/NALIP Documentary Filmmaker Award along with a $10,000 grant at the 2014 NALIP Media Summit, which allowed them to continue filming for the feature-length version of the film.

Now, the main cast is planning to travel from Sao Paulo during the Festival, to take place June 1 to June 9.

LOOKING AT THE STARS is a touching documentary that follows two dancers from the world’s first and only ballet academy for the blind located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Geyza, the company’s prima ballerina and an instructor at the school takes center stage in this film that was shot in Brazil over a period of three years. She is joined in this remarkable cast by her protégée, Thalia, a teenager with the dream of overcoming her disability and become the best version of herself.

Congratulations to the filmmakers! NALIP is a proud supporter of LOOKING AT THE STARS. Projects like these are what drives NALIP to continue with its mission of diversifying the entertainment industry to bring more Latino filmmakers to success.

We look forward to the premiere!

 

For more information, go to www.starsdoc.com

 

Tickets: LAFilmFestival.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/starsdoc

Instagram: @Lookingatthestarsmovie

Twitter: @BalletStarMovie

The LA Film Festival returns June 1 through 9th as a premiere platform for the exhibition of select new works from emerging and established independent storytellers with unique voices and innovative visions. Don’t miss the premiere of NALIP-supported "Lupe Under the Sun," filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes's moving portrait of a laborer in California's Central Valley. Learn more and buy tickets here: http://bit.ly/1TOOaUI

 

CBS Corporation is committed to the creation of opportunities that encourage variety in people, ideas, stories, and cultural backgrounds. It’s no wonder CBS Corporation continues to be at the forefront of increasing diversity and has been a loyal supporter of NALIP for well over a decade. We are thrilled to continue collaborating and thank Barbara Matos, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion for CBS Corporation and member of the Board of Trustees of NALIP, for her integral role in expanding diversity efforts.

“Recognizing its influence as one of the world’s leading media companies, with assets that include national television networks, local TV and radio stations, interactive and outdoor media and a publishing house, CBS Corporation strives to use its power and reach for the public good. Its commitment to quality news coverage, community outreach and support, public service announcements, diversity efforts and socially responsible content across all its divisions has earned CBS the distinction of being a public trust.”

Check out CBS HERE

A Special Thank You to all of our Sponsors

NALIP sincerely thanks all of our generous sponsors for their continual support.  Because of their financial involvement, our organization continues to be very successful in helping content creators further advance projects and matching industry leaders with talent. We have exciting plans for our upcoming NALIP Media Summit, which would not be possible without the contribution of our sponsors.

If you have questions regarding your sponsorship or would like to know how you can support NALIP, please email Karla, NALIP’s Outreach Coordinator, at [email protected]

aerogrammestudio.com

These rules were originally tweeted by Emma Coats, Pixar’s Story Artist. Number 9 on the list – When you’re stuck, make a list of what wouldn’t happen next – is a great one and can apply to writers in all genres.

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Check this out on aerogrammestudio.com