NFA Founders Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Meret Julia & Felix Sanchez to Host, Musical Performance by Erica Ender and Feature Speakers Honorable Tony Cardenas and Linda Sanchez and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel
NHFA’s ” PITCH DC” Panel to Focus on Latinx Disruption in Film
NHFA Gala Black tie TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 6:30 P.M. RED CARPET – STATE ROOM 7:30 P.M. DINNER – BALLROOM Mayflower Hotel, Washington D.C.
Roberto Rodriguez
Washington, DC — The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts is proud to present the 2018 Raul Julia Award for Excellence to Robert Rodriguez‘s El Rey Network, in celebration of their five-year anniversary, and the 2018 the 2018 Horizon Awards to actor Diego Tinoco (On My Block) and singer, songwriter and actress Erika Ender (“Despacito”) at this year’s Noche de Gala on Tuesday, September 11, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. Additionally, NHFA will present the Spotlight Award to Isaac Lee and actress Alanna Ubach (Coco, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) and the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation will receive Leadership Awards.
Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, currently in his third and final year of the Acting MFA Program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, has been selected to speak on behalf of the 2018 Scholarship recipients The Noche de Gala dinner, underwritten by Ford Motor Company and co-underwritten by Charter Communications, will feature guest speakers, Congressman Tony Cardenas, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, as as a special performance by Horizon Award recipient, Erika Ender.
“The Raul Julia Award for Excellence acknowledges the person or institution who is making a critical difference for Latinos in media and/or entertainment,” said Felix Sanchez, NHFA Chairman, and Co-Founder. “We celebrate El Rey’s fifth anniversary, a major milestone for a national television network established to bring diverse and inclusive programming to America’s next generation of viewers.”
Robert Rodriguez working it for his El Rey Network
“At Ford Motor Company, we are proud of our commitment to the arts and education,”said Ford Fund President Jim Vella. “Today we are delighted to continue making students’ dreams a reality by our support to two of our longstanding partners, NHFA and the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. Ford has awarded more than one million dollars for students’ scholarships to NHFA during our two decades of partnership, and more than 6,000 music students have benefitted by Ford’s donation of over $300,000 in musical instruments to the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation.”
Each year the NHFA has hosted a “PITCH DC” session, providing the opportunity for students and future filmmakers to present their best ideas to various industry and network executives. The panel discussion, “Imagining Coco and Beyond,” will address the Orange Economy and how television and film production can serve as an economic engine to depressed areas of Latin America while elevating the profile of Latinos in the US and worldwide. Just as studios have shown great interest in the Chinese entertainment market, NHFA believes there are also countless opportunities for the film industry among the one billion Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America.
El Rey Network Celebrating their five-year anniversary, El Rey Network is a Latino-infused entertainment brand that revels in the courage, capacity, and creativity of ordinary people on extraordinary journeys. Launched by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and run by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, El Rey Network develops and produces linear and digital programming as well as integrated branded entertainment offerings.
National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Founded by actors Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Sonia Braga, Merel Julia, as well as Washington D.C. attorney Felix Sanchez, the NHFA addresses the underrepresentation of Hispanic-Americans in entertainment through education initiatives, audience and industry outreach, content and talent development, diversity and civil rights advocacy.
In keeping with their dedication to education and the arts, in their 21-year span, the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts has provided over $10 million in mentoring and outreach, including college scholarships to more than 375 Hispanic Students from eight elite universities and colleges. Such beneficiaries include young and emerging talent such as NYU’s award-winning director Alfonzo Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, 2015), and Yale’s Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, whose writing credits include television shows Glee, BigLove, Looking, as well as films Carrie (2013), The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) and Spider-man Broadway, NYU’s Rashaad Ernesto Green, Gun Hill Road (2011) and Reinaldo Marcus Green, Stop (2015) and Sundance Institute Grant recipient (2017).
The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts also honors those who have and who continue to directly influence the industry, furthering the presence of Hispanic-Americans in the entertainment industry. The Raul Julia Award for Excellence, named after the late actor and activist, is presented to the organization or individual whose work most advances the presence of Latinos in television and/or film. Rita Moreno, Lynda Carter, Benito Martinez, Demian Bichir, Roberto Orci, Robert Rodriguez, Sandra Bullock, Elizabeth Vargas, Gregory Nava, Kenny Ortega, John Singleton, Richard Parsons, and Cristina Saralegui have all received this honor. The Horizon Award was established thirteen years ago to recognize rising stars that are both redefining and directly altering the direction of the industry. Past recipients include actors Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ryan Guzman, Ana Villafañe, Juan Pablo Raba, Michael Peña, Gisele Itie, Wilmer Valderrama, Gina Rodriguez, Eva Longoria and Cristela.
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