The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) launched the Latinx Inclusion Fellowship Series, which awards five Afro-Latino/a filmmakers twenty-thousand dollars each as a grant to be used to produce a short film. The LALIFF fellowship series, which is sponsored by Netflix, falls right in line with LALIFF’s 23-year focus on the discovery and nurturing of emerging Latino creative talent.
“We know that our first group of fellows will make a lasting impact on the industry and help to open doors for our future fellows,” said Academy Award®-nominated actor and co-founder of LALIFF and the Latino Film Institute, Edward James Olmos.
The inaugural fellows include: New York born and raised in the Dominican Republic Lorena Durán, is an award-winning filmmaker with several film festival recognitions; Write/director Justin Floyd, a Los Angeles native and an Inner-City Filmmaker Alumnus landed on stage at The Academy Awards in 2015 as part of Team Oscar for his short The Center; Kase Peña from NY she is a trans woman born the Dominican Republic. Her feature screenplay I Love Hate, the recipient of The Sundance Institute Launch Grant; director Monica Suriyage, is a biracial, blasian, first generation director who is a founding member of the all-female filmmaking collective Body Checker Productions; and artist/director Tamara Shogaolu is a 2020 Sundance New Frontier John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grantee
The cash award received by each Fellow of $20,000 is earmarked to produce a short film. Each of the recipients will receive individualized mentorship, one-on-one meetings with industry leaders, and various networking opportunities. Once completed, their films will have their premiere at the 2021 LALIFF. The Fellow will also receive full access to the festival and attend the screenings and panel discussion offered during Industry Week in addition to the networking opportunity that will lead to aid in the furthering of their professional careers. Netflix will help in the development of their films.
The selected Mentors who will help guide the Fellows with the production of their projects include executive producer Alicia Marie Agramonte, who got her start on the set of Netflix’s House of Cards during her sophomore year of college; director/producer/writer Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza born in Quibdó, Chocó (Colombia) who received international recognition with his feature directorial debut Chocó in 201; director/producer/writer Diana Peralta who was featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film”; Cisely Saldana producer/co-founder of Cinestar Pictures along with Zoe Saldana; Writer/producer Oscar Torres whose feature film credits include Innocent Voices, and Instructions Not Included.