Although the films selected to screen at the Sundance Film Festival every year don’t have nearly enough Latinos represented (and usually more Latin American talent than U.S. Latinos) there have been breakout Latino filmmakers and stars throughout its 31 year history. This year continued the tradition as Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (in this case not a breakout but highly regarded filmmaker in his own right) took home the two highest awards given at Sundance the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for his film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
Past Sundance films with a Latino twist that have gone on to launch careers have included Hanging With the Homeboys (1991), El Norte (1981 Dir. Lab, 1999) The Blair Witch Project (1999), Real Women have Curves (2002), Raising Victor Vargas (2003), Maria Full of Grace (2004), Mari and Mosquita (2012), and most recently Filly Brown (2012) which definitely helped launch star Gina Rodriguez who is now a Golden Globe winner for her starring role in the CW’s Jane the Virgin.
While the films reign king at Sundance every year, the networking events are the next big thing at Sundance because they provide access to high profile talent and executives which can boost a career. There have been efforts in the past to create special events where Latinos filmmakers can converge, however they have been spotty to say the least.
This year two Latino networking events bowed at Sundance that seem to have staying power, Latino Reel and the Latino Filmmaker Mixer.
Latino Reel (http://www.latinoreel.com/) a Sundance Film Festival sanctioned event was held on January 23rd. Created by Ross Romero, a banker in Salt Lake City, Utah with a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, he also sits on the Advisory Board of the Sundance Institute. He is on the board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and is also an advisory to the Latino Victory Fund (LVF).
The official Sundance Film Festival website has this description of the organization: “Latino Reel “is an event held during the festival where Latino film is celebrated in a forum of networking and storytelling. The annual event features panel discussions on a variety of topics from industry leaders and trailblazers, who share their experiences, expertise, and advice. The purpose of Latino Reel is to provide a forum in which aspiring and established Latino artists can network and share their knowledge and experiences while working to hone their filmmaking skills”.
Gina Rodriguez and Lucinda Martinez at Latino Reel panel
“As our inaugural event, featuring Latino film and film makers, we are setting the bar high by including some of the best and brightest Latino talent in the film world today,” said Romero.
The event consisted of two panels, one a sit down conversation with Gina Rodriguez focused on examining her journey to Golden Globe success with Lucinda Martinez, Senior Vice President, Multicultural Marketing, HBO, HBO Latino, Cinemax and Max Latino lead the conversation.
The topic of the other panel was Changing the Image of Latinos in Film. Points of discussion focused on demographic shifts, increasing financial influence and power, and the role awards play, all pointing to a new reality for Latinos on the screen. The panel will include content creators, championing real representations and a new perspective on a wide-reaching community.
See Remezcla’s full recap of the panel HERE
Edward James Olmos, one of the persons that was there to help in the creation of the Sundance Institute, along with Robert Redford enthusiastically Latino Reel saying, “It’s crucial that we have organizations like this that can foster the next generation of Latinos in film.”
Also making its debut at the prestigious film festival was the Latino Filmmaker Mixer co founded by actress/filmmaker Maylen Calienes and actress Liliana Gomez. Described as a “carefree, family like environment” whose main focus was to bring together Latino filmmakers creating an opportunity to network with a diverse group of professionals, in the hopes that the networking would develop into tangible projects and/or business relationships. The attendees included a confluence of writers, directors, producers, talent agents, actors, journalists, photographers, app developers, professors, and cinephiles and sponsored by Hizpanicize 2015 (http://www.hispanicize.com/), the trending event which takes place in Miami March 16-20, 2015, LatinHeat Entertainment (latinheat.com) and Dama Tequila.
The organizers for these two events attended each other’s event, a great example of the collaborative, inclusive mindset of the filmmaking community. “We must support each others successes and applaud other like minded organizations,” shared Liliana Gomez.
It was a good year for Latinos at the Sundance on several fronts. For more info on the presence of Latinos at Sundance this year check out LatinosAtSundance.com which covers “all things Latino and more at the world’s preeminent indie film fest… and beyond” which is exactly where U.S. Latinos are headed this year.
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