Latino Filmmakers: Mentorship, Culture & Representation

Emerging Latino filmmakers find support and resources in the Mitú|Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program. Stories of identity, family, and cultural representation are brought to life, fostering a strong sense of community.

“2 Steps” by Eric Armando Ibarra: In 2005, a lovestruck 12-year-old obsessed with R&B and slick dance moves plans for his first quinceañera, determined to dance with his crush, but when things don’t go as intended, he locates self-confidence (and perhaps love) in one of the most unanticipated method.

Returning as coach was Oz Rodriguez, the Emmy-winning director, producer, and author best understood for his deal with Saturday Evening Live. His advice, the filmmakers stated, contributed in improving their narration and honing their craft.

This program promotes success, as past individuals have actually already gone on to guide brand-new films, win honors, and increase their imaginative effect. There’s skill– only assistance is missing out on.

“15” by Glenís Seeker: Fired on her 40th birthday celebration, Ana obtains a strange conversation message that moves her back to her 15th birthday in 1999, giving her one hour to reconnect with her more youthful self and the daddy she shed.

Drawing from her household’s abundant storytelling custom, her job fixate Latina representation and cultural identification. Her short film Excellent Cuban Girls premiered at the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts International Film Event and explores the complexities of being Latina. A previous baseball gamer, basketball player, and fighter, Sophia additionally champions women athletes through her storytelling.

Mitú|Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program

That’s what makes campaigns like the Mitú|Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program so important. Now in its third year, the program continues to highlight emerging Latino filmmakers while providing the resources required to turn creative visions into truth.

He’s created material for The FADER, Live Nation, and Sundance, and was selected for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today and Netflix’s 2024 Addition Fellowship. Eric is presently a writer at Rockstar Gamings and is establishing his first feature movie and an adult computer animated series.

Filmmaker Success Stories

They leaned on one an additional via creative challenges and due dates, fostering friendships in a market frequently specified by competition. She functioned on Netflix’s Gentefied as assistant to the showrunners and was a routing other in Movie Independent’s Task Involve, where her brief Calabaza screened at LALIFF, Palm Springs ShortFest, and NYLFF. Her short film Good Cuban Girls premiered at the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts International Film Event and checks out the intricacies of being Latina.

This season presented an improved 11-week sped up layout, supplying hands-on training, manufacturing tools, and access to Mitú Studios and the Walmart prop home in Los Angeles. Individuals– Glenís Hunter, Eric Armando Ibarra, Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez, and Sophia Costanzo– each produced an original brief film between 5 and 10 mins and got a $10,000 Walmart devices kit to support future jobs.

“Spill the Frijoles” by Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez: When brand-new parents, Paola and Fabian, make a decision to keep their switched parenting gender roles a trick from her big Mexican family members, they themselves in a web of lies that maintain worsening and worse till all of it undoubtedly takes off in their faces.

While Latino audiences constantly turn up at the box office, in document numbers, the neighborhood remains underrepresented both before and behind the video camera. Latino-led projects that do make it to air usually face brief lifespans, in some cases terminated prior to locating their target market. That limited assistance is too often misinterpreted as an absence of interest, bolstering a cycle of missed opportunity.

“Cups” by Sophia Costanzo: According to Little League baseball regulations, every player has to put on a mug– even the women. When Valeria, an identified nine-year-old Cuban American woman, chooses she intends to play baseball with the children, her and her father needs to discover a method to style a mug for her to be qualified to play regardless of these out-of-date guideline.

Latino-led jobs that do make it to air commonly face brief lifespans, in some cases canceled before locating their audience. That restricted support is as well usually misinterpreted as a lack of interest, perpetuating a cycle of missed out on opportunity.

Glenís Hunter is a Bronx-born actress, writer, and filmmaker based in L.A. After gaining levels in Psychology and Women’s Research studies, she sought acting in cinema and national ad campaigns before creating her own work.

Challenges & Community Support

Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez is a first-gen Latina writer/director from Inglewood, CA, understood for producing sincere, humorous tales. She serviced Netflix’s Gentefied as assistant to the showrunners and was a routing fellow in Film Independent’s Task Involve, where her short Calabaza evaluated at LALIFF, Hand Springs ShortFest, and NYLFF. In 2022, she signed up with Movie Independent’s Episodic Directing Intensive.

Throughout an almost hour-long discussion with the filmmakers, one word kept appearing: assistance. While filmmaking can be a separating procedure, each participant spoke about just how the program produced a real feeling of community– both emotional and logistical. They leaned on each other through creative difficulties and deadlines, cultivating friendships in a market usually defined by competitors. Walmart throughout this innovative journey.