The Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation (MACEF), the non-profit whose mission is to change the intentionally distorted and damaging Mexican-American narrative by educating the community and supporting film television makers and their stories that will change that narrative, is currently accepting submissions for its 3rd annual $5K Filmmaking Grants. In addition, applicants for the filmmaking grants will automatically be entered into a chance to be chosen for one of 10 available slots for the inaugural Filmmakers Masters Workshop Series: From Film to Career. The deadline to submit for the grant and, in turn, for the Masters Workshop Series is September 30, 2023.

“The MACEF’s Filmmakers Masters Workshop Series is the latest addition to our efforts to provide our filmmakers with the tools to succeed and thus fulfill our mission to change the distorted and harmful narrative by telling our real story and educate the community about the true Mexican-American contribution,” said MACEF’s Board President Dr. Jose Luis Ruiz.

The Masters Workshop Series: From Film To Career is an interactive workshop for ten selected filmmakers who are currently developing a short drama or feature-length narrative film project and who wish to receive mentorship and guidance from master filmmakers to produce higher-level projects and develop a sustainable career in the film industry.

This series of workshops will be offered annually and will take place over three days starting in the Fall of 2023 and will focus on 1) Story and Screenplay, 2) Building the Film Team, and 3) Casting, financing, and distribution.

The ten participants will be selected by the Mexican American Education Cultural Education Foundation (MACEF) from applicants who demonstrate exemplary film accomplishments and whose current film project indicates a high potential for success as determined by a committee of veteran film professionals. The workshops are intended to help participants bring their film projects closer to completion and encourage planning for a lifetime career in motion picture production.

The Faculty of this workshop series will be legendary producer Moctesuma Esparza (Selena) and pioneering film and TV director Jesús Treviño (Prison Break), and moderated by MACEF founder and director Dr. José Luis Ruíz. The workshops will include the participation of veteran writers, producers, and directors who will engage the ten selected participants on a one-on-one basis.

Eligibility and Submissions for the MACEF Grant and Filmmakers Masters Workshop Series are one application. Consideration for both will be decided from the application for the Grant.

Who Can Apply:

• Individuals already in the industry or starting out who need funds to finish their short film, a feature-length film, or a TV pilot to put it on the market.
• Film school students working on their thesis film are encouraged to apply.
• Filmmakers of any background can apply; however, the production team must include at least one producer, writer, or director and one main actor who identifies as Mexican-American or Chicana/o, of any generation or mixed ethnicity.

Qualifying:

• To qualify for this grant, the applicant must submit the script of the short film, feature-length film, or TV pilot and be in an advanced stage of pre-production, production, or post-production.
• Qualifying films will be assessed for the quality of the story, culturally positive content, the production team assembled, and the project’s viability. Non-stereotypical stories will have priority.

The deadline to apply is September 30, 2023. APPLY HERE. Grantees will have their film highlighted at the First Annual Mexican-American Film/Television Festival in May of 2024.

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The mission of MACEF is to address the negative image of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans/Chicanos who have been largely portrayed in the media through degrading stereotypes such as criminals, the help, lazy, illegal invaders, and uneducated, with devastating effects on the community. The mission includes The Mexican-American Film and Television Festival & Awards which was designed to provide Mexican-American/Chicano filmmakers, who represent 40 million Americans of Mexican descent, a venue to showcase, promote, and celebrate their work. to promote positive media content, as well as foster future Mexican-American Chicana/o filmmakers.

As films, TV, and media content online and on social media have a tremendous impact on the narrative, perception, and reputation of our community, MACEF launched the MACEF Filmmaking Grants with the intention of promoting a more accurate portrayal of our community.

The grants awards are part of MACEF’s overall three-pronged approach to achieving its mission which includes:

The MACEF Filmmaker Scholarship will further the education of aspiring filmmakers who want to enter the film/television industry.

The MACEF Filmmaker Grant. This year two $5,000 grants will be awarded to selected filmmakers.

The Mexican-American Film/Television Festival, Grants and Awards, a yearly event celebrating and sponsoring films, television, and streaming content made by Mexican-American/Chicana/os with positive and true-to-life stories, slated for May of 2024.

Eligibility and Submissions Process for the MACEF Film Grant

Who Can Apply:

Individuals already in the industry or starting out who need funds to finish their short film, a feature-length film, or a TV pilot to put it on the market.

Film school students working on their thesis film are encouraged to apply.

Filmmakers of any background can apply, however, the production team must include at least one producer, writer, or director, and one main actor who identifies as Mexican-American or Chicana/o, of any generation or mixed ethnicity.

Qualifying:

To qualify for this grant, the applicant must submit the script of the short film, feature-length film, or TV pilot, and be in an advanced stage of pre-production, production, or post-production.

Qualifying films will be assessed for the quality of the story, culturally positive content, the production team assembled, and the viability of the project. Non-stereotypical stories will have priority.

Submission deadline: September 15, 2023

Grantees will have their film highlighted at the First Annual Mexican-American Film/Television Festival in May of 2024.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY 

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San Antonio’s original Latinx film festival returns on Tuesday, July 11 through Sunday, July 16, 2023, at the historic Guadalupe Theater with a greater-than-ever Texas filmmaker presence. Featuring 114 films, including 38 films from San Antonio and 40 films from the Lone Star State, the 44th CineFestival San Antonio continues to support local and regional filmmakers while offering a well-rounded program to local audiences that also includes national and international films that highlight artistic excellence and diversity.?

“We never know how many films will be submitted each year, but with a total of 312 entries this year, the amount of work being done by local and regional Latinx, and indigenous filmmakers is staggering,” said CineFestival Programmer Eugenio del Bosque. “Of course, the work varies in quality, and many of these films are short films, yet it is very encouraging to see young and veteran filmmakers in San Antonio and Texas are hard at work. We look forward to being a part of bringing an audience to these films and helping some of these voices mature, now and in the years to come.”

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center will add an extra day to the 44th CineFestival San Antonio to accommodate the high volume of submissions. This year, the festival will feature 31 screenings showcasing 15 feature films and 99 short films.

“The festival continues to grow in popularity and in fact, this is the second time in the past three years, that we extended the festival to another day. We wanted to make sure we were able to showcase as many local and regional artists whose unique voices need to be heard,” said del Bosque.

The festival will open on Tuesday, July 11 with a special 30th-anniversary screening of Blood In, Blood Out, directed by Taylor Hackford. This event will be hosted by Jesse Borrego, San Antonio’s own stage and film actor, and CineFestival artistic advisor. The screening will be free and open to the public and will be a unique opportunity to revisit this seminal work of the Chicano film cannon based on the true-life experiences of screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca and starring Borrego, Damian Chapa, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo, and Valente Rodriguez, among many others.

“CineFestival is an important vehicle to showcase the Latino narrative. It offers the community a unique chance to see authentic Latino stories being told, from Latinx filmmakers, whose work may not easily be found at the movie theater,” said Borrego. “When you feature a free screening of a movie like Blood In, Blood Out in the heart of the Westside, it’s hard to not miss the cultural significance of it being featured by the Guadalupe’s CineFestival,” he added.

The festival will close with the San Antonio premiere of the documentary Going Varsity in Mariachi, directed by Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn, which focuses on Edinburg North High School’s acclaimed Mariachi Oro in South Texas, as they rebuild their twenty-member varsity group and work on a shoestring budget to compete in the state championships and the winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Other feature films include:

El Equipo (Dir. Bernardo Ruiz, 2023, USA) – In 1984, an unlikely meeting between Texas native Dr. Clyde Snow, a legendary American forensic scientist, and a group of Argentine students who ultimately change the course of forensic science and human rights forever.

Gift (Dir. Alex Oviedo, 2022, Texas) – A young Esper must come to terms with his past and save the future for both him and a young woman.

Home Is Somewhere Else (Dir. Carlos Hagerman, Jorge Villalobos, 2022, Mexico) – An acclaimed Mexican animated documentary, it opens an intimate window to the hearts and minds of young undocumented Dreamers in the US.

Hummingbirds (Dir. Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, 2023, Texas) – A lyrical, intimate, and uplifting look at the lives of the two young directors in Laredo, Texas as they navigate the immigration process in a politically divided America. The film won the Grand Prix of the Generation 14 plus the International Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Martínez (Dir. Lorena Padilla, 2023, Mexico) – Another acclaimed Mexican film from newcomer Lorena Padilla who spent three years teaching film at SMU in North Texas. Martinez, a lonely accountant who prizes his daily monotony, must realize that his life is still ahead of him when he is pushed into retirement.

Moe (Dir. José Luis Valenzuela, 2023, USA) – Based on the award-winning play Dementia, Moises is having a going away party because he’s dying of AIDS, but his plans go awry when unexpected characters from his past show up, all the while his alter ego, a torch singing drag queen, wants to take him for “the ride of his life.”

Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria (Dir. Joe Castel, 2022, USA) – A triumphant story of the human spirit, a hero’s journey of a man fighting unjust laws and uniting a fractured community. This is co-produced by Chicano actor Danny de la Paz. In 1961, Jose Sarria was the first openly gay man to run for public office in the US, and he ran in heels. When San Francisco city officials vowed to shut down all the gay bars in 1961, the 38-year-old female impersonator threw caution to the wind and campaigned for a seat on the board of supervisors.

On Guard: A Story of American Youth (Dir. Allen Otto, 2023, Texas) – Directed by San Antonio native Allen Otto and set in El Paso, Texas, this energetic documentary follows an all-girl team of high school students connected by their passion for the unheralded, all-American sport of color guard, as they compete in the wake of tragedy, navigate the universal trials and tribulations of adolescence and come of age in an era, unlike anything America has experienced before.

Seahorse (Dir. Rommel J. Eclarinal, 2022, Texas) – Emily is a young mother and heroin addict, struggling to maintain a relationship with her daughter and a grip on reality.

The Secret Sabbath (Dir. Daniel Goldberg, 2022) – A documentary in which individuals in Mexico and the United States converge towards the often-shunned junction, where Hispanic and Jewish cultures intersect, as they disentangle the fibers of deeply hidden family secrets handed down by generations past.

Summoning the Spirit (Dir. Jon Erich Garcia, 2023, USA) – A horror film directed by a native Texas director, Summoning the Spirit follows a young couple as they decide to escape the hustle of the big city, purchasing a home in the remote forest. The couple quickly realizes that they are on the land of a cult, and its leader claims a telepathic connection to a legendary flesh-eating beast deep in the woods surrounding them

Three local feature films are also part of Vistas de San Antonio:

Conjunto Blues (Dir. Joel Celestino Settles, 2020, San Antonio) – Local feature film Conjunto Blues is a stage play that was adapted for the screen in collaboration with Teatro Vivo and The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. The show explores social and historical conditions that led to the development of Conjunto music as an expression of cultural resistance and liberation. Written and performed by Nicolás Valdéz.

Heart of Glory (Dir. Jorge Lopez Ramirez, 2022, San Antonio) – Local feature film “Heart of Glory” trails the legacy of Ramirez’ father, local San Antonio boxer Jimmy “The Kid” Sanchez who endures life’s daily struggles while training to fight his way to the top in the boxing world.

Sacred Mask (Dir. David F. Mendez, 2023, San Antonio) –?This local feature film is the story of a young man, Jesse, who comes from a luchador family. He forsakes the family name and mask, and instead tries to follow his own dreams until one day a dark and mysterious shadow brings him back into the fold by hurting everyone close to him to get what he wants.

The 44 CineFestival San Antonio will offer 13 free screenings, including Family Day on Saturday, July 15 with a morning block presenting a selection of youth films made by artists, 19 years of age or younger, followed by On Guard: A Story of American Youth (Dir. Allen Otto, 2023, Texas) and Home Is Somewhere Else (Dir. Carlos Hagerman, Jorge Villalobos, 2022, Mexico).

Free screenings will also include Senior Cinema, on Thursday, July 13 at noon featuring Conjunto Blues (Dir. Joel Celestino Settles, 2020, San Antonio) dedicated to San Antonio’s elderly film and music community. Beginning on Wednesday, July 12, “Cine en el Barrio” presents four screenings featuring a selection of international short films from Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, and Venezuela; and a collection of short films showcasing Latinx and indigenous talent from around the US.

Three Texas short film showcases include a total of 17 short films from artists working in Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Edinburg, Kyle, El Paso, Pflugerville, and Weslaco among other Texas locations. ??

All 44th CineFestival San Antonio screenings will take place at the historic Guadalupe Theater, located at 1301 Guadalupe Street, San Antonio, TX 78207. Full festival schedule and tickets will be available Friday, June 23 at guadalupeculturalarts.org.

For more information visit www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/cine-festival/.?

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Presented by the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, the ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest has served as a springboard for emerging Latino/a storytellers, creatives, and filmmakers since its inception in 2021. The festival has opened doors and provided the opportunity for new and rising talent to showcase their work to a wider audience and earn visibility and recognition at a time when Latino/a voices continue to be underrepresented in the film and entertainment industry.

According to the Hollywood Diversity Report 2023, with the exception of total streaming film actors, people of color remained underrepresented across a variety of employment sectors both in front and behind the camera in 2022. Despite the fact that Latino/as are avid moviegoers and represent 19% of the total U.S. population, this demographic is continually underrepresented on the big screen. In 2022, theatrical film leads who were white constituted 78.4% of roles while Latinos accounted for only 2.3%. On streaming platforms, 66.7% of streaming films featured white leads while only 6.1% featured Latinos.

“We are steadfast in our commitment to nurture and promote emerging Latino/a talent in the film industry,” said Luis Alejandro Molina, ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest Director. “The younger generation of up-and-coming filmmakers and storytellers have the power to impact the narrative at an unprecedented level. Their work carries the mission of amplifying our community’s stories and providing visibility for the underrepresented. We have worked hard to build a platform for Latinos/as filmmakers to communicate their vision and unique perspectives.”

Leading up to the film festival, the ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest team will present a series of virtual film chats and “Cafecito” social media live broadcasts featuring industry experts and professionals who will be sharing their stories and insights to help emerging filmmakers looking to grow in the industry.

The ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest submissions must feature a Latino/a in a creative lead position, be it in front or behind the camera. English or Spanish-language works are welcome. Films must be 30 minutes or less in length.

• Filmmakers are asked to submit their work under one of these categories:
• Music Video
• Animation
• Sci-Fi
• Politics Today (Politics or Climate Change)

Submission fees are structured as follows:

• Early Bird Entry: Free from May 1 to May 31, 2023
• Standard Entry: $20 submission fee from June 1 to July 1, 2023
• Late Entry: $25 submission fee from July 2 to August 2, 2023
• Special fees apply for student films:
• Early Bird Entry: Free from May 1 to May 31, 2023
• Standard Entry: $10 submission fee from June 1 to July 1, 2023
• Late Entry: $15 submission fee from July 2 to August 2, 2023

Eligibility Criteria:

• Winners will be selected only by judges.
• Films must be 30 minutes or less in length and related to one of the above-mentioned categories.
• Only films completed after Jan. 1, 2020, are eligible for this festival.

The top selection of films for the ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest will be announced on Sept. 11, 2023. Visit www.cineyouthfest.org for a complete list of rules and eligibility criteria.

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In its fifth year, The Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles brings Panafest 2019, a celebration of cinema, culture, and community, to The Downtown Independent Theater Los Angeles on October 18, 19, and 20. The three-day event includes cultural activities, panels, and films. A new addition to Panafest 2019 is a prestigious judging panel that includes Juan Escobedo, Juan Agustin Marquez, Angela Ortiz, and Sabrina Precario.

The Panafest 2019 film selection is brought to life through films with inspiring themes like immigration, profiling, diversity, and identity. The films range from heartwarming comedy to a technologically sophisticated thriller, to a horror film based on a Panamanian folk tale.

“The Latino community is under attack and the creative community is striking back against stereotypes and marginalization,” said Carlos Carrasco, Artistic Director of The Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles. “Panafest 2019 will share the work of a vibrant group of innovative storytellers whose fresh voices and perspectives illuminate things that matter to us all.”

Panafest 2019 Line Up

• Migrante by Ezequiel Dalinger and Daniel Iezzi (Argentina) 
• And the Brave Shall Rise by Adam Schlachter (USA) 
• There Goes the Neighborhood by Angelique Molina (USA/Panama) 
• Chico Heron and the Last 42 by Alberto Serra
• Turnover by Linda Palmer (USA)
• Raúl Julia: The World’s a Stage by Ben DeJesus (USA)
• Hope of Pineapples by Jorge Cajar (Panama) 
• Darién, Vienen o Van by Andrea Victoria Calderón (Panama)
• Truth in Silence (Nadie nos quita) by Juan Daniel Pinzón (Panama)
• Banalities by Rafael de Andrade (Brazil)  
• The Serpent’s Skin by Adrian Cruz García (Costa Rica)
• Chronicles: Sol & Javi (Crónicas: Sol y Javi) by Ernesto Gutierrez (Costa Rica) 
• Deliver by Ricardo Farias (Cuba)
• El Uniforme No Se Esconde by Juan Quirós (Panama)
• Arnold by Mona Lisa García (Panama/USA)
• Juan Melgar Junín by Sebastian Touma (Panama)
• Sundae by Halsam Ortega (Panama)
• Frog Boy (Niño Rana) by Laura Zenobi and Lucas Altmann (Argentina)
• Against The Stream (Contracorriente) by Carlos Asse (USA/Mexico)
• A Wish by Agustina Claramonte (Argentina)
• Processing Station by Rodrigo Espinosa (USA) 
• Blue Cape (Capa Azul) by Alejandra López (Puerto Rico) 
• Chimpanzees (Chimpancés) by Ull Galindez (Argentina)
• Los Riders del Rufina by Elvira Gálvez Límaco, Dara Nicole Ríos, José Daniel Cerdas, Obed Samudio (Peru/Nicaragua/Costa Rica/Panama)      
• What Are You? by Anayansi Prado (Panama) 
• Alpharaoh by Lidieth Arevalo (USA)
• Jeremy by Enrique Rico Diaz (USA) 
• American Dream, Music Video by Los Rakas
• Intolerance No More by Sergio Guerrero (Mexico/USA)
• The Art of Devils (El Arte de Los diablos) by Benjamín Liao (Panama)
• Diablo Rojo/PTY by Sol Moreno (Panama)
• Panamá Radio by Edgar Soberón (Panama)
• Hunter by Shashank Varma (USA)
• Wall (Muro) by Alejandro Irias Leiva (Honduras)        
• In Colors (De Colores) by Stephanie Willis (USA) 
• The End (Fin) by Sabrina Macchi (Argentina) 
• Final Frontier by Stephen Cervantes (USA/Panama)
• Un Polvo by Renzo Arteaga (Panama)  
• Bite! by Danny Arroyo (USA)
• Home For Mom by Emiliana Ammirata (Venezuela) 
• Four Women Away From Home (Cuatro Mujeres Lejos de Casa) by Pablo Riesgo (Spain)
• The Fur Day by Camille Sloan (Panama/USA)
• Honey, I’m Home by Gabriela Méndez (Panama)  
• A Period Piece by Silvia Ray (US/Mexico)
• Papi Papilloma by Juan Escobedo (USA)
• Venus de Macho by Danny Hastings (USA/Panama)
• Jalisco by Kayden Phoenix (USA)
• To Play With Fire by Gabriela Paciel (USA/Cuba/Mexico)
• The Girl Next Door by Donna Bonilla Wheeler (US/Peru)
• Pozole by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros
• Control/Option/Escape by Gandja Monteiro (US/Brazil)
• Shy & Ketchup by Teresa Romo (Chile)
• Alejandro Busca Ayuda by Rafa Leonard (Panama)
• Kid Miguel (Chico Miguel) by Maximiliano Subiela (Argentina)
• Our Quinceañera by Fanny Véliz (USA)        

Tickets for Panafest 2019 are available for purchase on www.eventbrite.com. For more information about The Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles visit www.piffla.com.

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The ninth annual FICG in Los Angeles (Guadalajara Film Festival) begins Friday through Monday, September 20th – 23rd with its inaugural screening of more than 20 Mexican and Ibero-American feature films takes place at the Egyptian Theatre and The Chinese Theater complex in Hollywood. 

The films that will have their festival US premieres include Midnight Family a US/ Mexico co-production, The Rodriguez Family and The Far Side a Sci-Fi comedy, The Wall Of Mexico starring Esai Morales, One Taxi Ride, and Intolerance, No More in which local media artists Yennifer Behrens, Mauricio Mendoza, and Dewayne Cox served as producers.

These films are rarely seen theatrically outside of Mexico and represent the best of contemporary Mexican and Ibero-American cinema. It is an extension of the Guadalajara film festival made possible by the Fundacion de la Universidad de Guadalajara en Estados Unidos y el Consulado General de Mexico en Los Angeles. 

It makes perfect sense to bring the film festival to Los Angeles, a city where Latinos make up the majority of the population in the center of the entertainment industry. 

As part of the Festival, a program of selected short films will screen at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles

FICG will give a posthumous tribute to the late Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), a friend of the festival who had traveled to Guadalajara and presented various seminars. Also set to receive a Tree of Life award is US-born filmmaker Gregory Nava who will be given an in-person tribute for his film work that spans more than three decades that includes such classics as El Norte, Mi Familia, and Selena. Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera will also receive an in-person tribute. 

The poster for this year’s festival features a symbolic image of legendary Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernandez who posed for the Oscar statuette in its formative design stage in 1927 when he worked as an extra player in Hollywood.

For more information on films, schedules, and ticket information visit www.ficginla.com.

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“Each year we strive to expand our programming slate to expose stories, themes and characters that have been underrepresented in our world. This year is no exception,” said Gabrielle Glore, Festival Director & Head of Programming, Urbanworld Film Festival. “What is most exciting to see is the continued elevation of quality manifested across our content creators’ work, as we celebrate their creativity and craft.”

Latinx focused films of the festival include:

The East Coast Premiere of Vandal (USA), directed by Jose Daniel Freixas (Friday, September 20^th at 8:15 PM). “Nick, better known as “Damage” in the streets of Miami, is the young leader of an infamous graffiti crew that leaves its mark wherever it goes. As they grow larger in fame and number, problems start arising–Nick’s personal life goes on a downward spiral; the illegal nature of his passion is bound to get him in trouble with the authorities, and, on top of that, he has to learn to fend off the local rival crew.” 

The World Premiere of Release (USA), directed by Adel L. Morales (Thursday, September 19^th at 8:45 PM). “Maverick” comes home to the Bronx, after twenty-one years. Suffering from the traumas of abuse and neglect that go hand-in-hand with our American prison systems, he’s become a loner, hardened over his lengthy sentence. Layers of frustration and fear, lie underneath his heavy penetrating stare. He’s a changed man figuring out his place in a family he barely remembers while dealing with the pressures of a changing world and a twenty-one-year-old daughter he doesn’t know.” 

The East Coast Premiere of By The Name of Tania (Peru), directed by Bénédicte Liénard & Mary Jiménez (Friday, September 20^th at 5:00 PM). “The Amazon flows lazily through the goldmine-gashed landscape of northern Peru. Using real eyewitness accounts, directors Bénédicte Liénard and Mary Jiménez tell the story of a young woman who winds up forced into prostitution when her initially hopeful attempt to escape the stifling limitations of village life goes wrong. Step by step, she is robbed of her moral and physical integrity. The film reconstitutes a space of dignity and returns voice and identity to that which has been formally rendered name¬less. With its powerful imagery, the girl’s traumatic odyssey embodies the horrific devastation visited upon the natural world by contemporary industrial society.” 

The New York Premiere of Bakoso: AfroBeats of Cuba (Cuba), directed by Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi (Saturday, September 21^st at 9:30 PM). “What does “Está Rico” by Marc Anthony, Will Smith & Bad Bunny have in common with “Made For Now” by Janet Jackson x Daddy Yankee? They both high-jacked AfroBeats and did not give the genre’s origin props. Bakosó is a film that does the opposite, following DJ Jigüe to his hometown of Santiago de Cuba to find inspiration from the new sounds. He finds Afrobeats has helped create a new genre called Bakosó, which itself is beautiful proof that the exchange between Cuba and Africa did not end with the Transatlantic slave trade.” Jacobs-Fantauzzi will also participate on the ‘A League of Their Own: Creating Beyond The White Gaze’ panel at this year’s Urbanworld Digital on Thursday, September 19th. Urbanworld’s Closing Night Party will feature a set by DJ Jigüe on Saturday, September 21st. 

Short films include: Maria (Zoe Salicrup Junco), Message Erased (Alain Alfaro), Wonder (Javier Molina), Ruda (Maria Victoria Ponce), What Bitch? (Julian Acosta), The Night, Unsheltered (Iñaki Velásquez ). 

The Music Video category includes: Who Are We Now? By Synacure (Vagabond) and Convencete by Princesa Alba (Marialy Rivas). Princesa Alba will also perform at Urbanworld Live Music Showcase on Thursday, September 19th. 

Founding partner HBO is joined by key supporters including BET Networks as prestige partner and NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. and Screen Gems as premiere partners. Industry partners include ARRAY, MPAA, ABC Studios, UMC: Urban Movie Channel, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America and Writers Guild of America East. The Root, Essence, WNYC and Power 105 are media partners. 

For more info: www.urbanworld.org

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