Diversity & Inclusion Program 2023

October 12, 2023

“Latin Filmmakers in America”

Saturday, November 4, 4 pm in the Raymund Room

What will help encourage a new generation of voices representing this diverse demographic? This is a historic time for Latin voices in U.S. mainstream society with recent wins such as Blue Beetle, Flamin’ Hot, and Wednesday. American pop culture and media saw a significant growth in Latin character representation and integration of Spanish language content, reflecting the U.S. population growth of Hispanic-identified citizens. This panel will discuss the sustainability needed in film and TV to provide content for the diverse Latin cultures in America. Beyond breaking into the entertainment industry, we will discuss what it means to maintain a career and how to use film and TV to contribute to the larger social dialogue of being a person of Latin/American heritage in the U.S. today.

Moderator: Luis Ramón Quintero is a bilingual first generation Mexican-American director, writer and producer from Pacoima, California. If David Fincher and Guillermo Del Toro had a secret love child, it would be Luis. Quintero loves Fincher’s cerebral approach to films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with sprinkles of Del Toro’s gothic romance sensibilities.

Luis is part of the Social Communications Department at the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, where he produces videos and events for the Ambassador, Carlos González Gutiérrez.

Luis dedicates his life to family, building community, and the entertainment industry. To him they represent integrity, awareness and catalyst for change.

He served on the Community Advisory Board at KCET / PBS for six years, 2007-2013, four as Chair of the Hispanic Heritage Committee, one as Vice Chair for the overall board and culminated with the final year as Chair. After KCET, Luis went to the board of directors for the Expediente Rojo Project for four years, 2012-2016. The Expediente Rojo Project is a nonprofit that bridges the gap between law enforcement and the Latino community. In 2019, He served as a mentor for Edward James Olmos’ Youth Cinema Program. In addition Quintero served as part of the Diversity In Cannes Film Festival screening committee, 2019-2021.

In 2020 Luis won the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) Television Writers Fellowship sponsored by ABC, Disney, and NBC Universal.

He currently volunteers for Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.), where he actively participates in the designated driver initiative program in partnership with the NFL and the Los Angeles Rams.

Panelists

Ben Lopez is an established leader in the global DEIB space. Born in Mexico City, raised in Tucson and based in Los Angeles, Ben developed data-driven solutions to help expand the talent pipeline and elevate Latiné and BIPoC communities in the entertainment, media, and tech ecosystem. Early in his entry into the industry Ben contributed to film festivals, labs and incubators as an independent producer, which gave him real-world insight into the challenges faced by Latiné and BIPoC filmmakers. As a prominent thought leader with a specialization in LATAM and Latiné-focused content as well as industry inclusion, he delivered speeches and talks at festivals and markets including: Cannes Lions, Outfest, SANFIC in Chile, MIP Cancún, Sundance, SXSW, FICG, and European Film Market in Berlin. Ben has been featured on national and international publications and media such as Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, the LA Times, and NBC Universal. In 2022 Ben launched L21 Consulting to help the Latiné and BIPoC community thrive in an increasingly complex entertainment and media ecosystem.

Roxanne Artesona, a lifelong New Yorker, grew up in the Bronx attending The High School of Performing Arts and was a scholarship recipient at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and Gallatin School of Individualized Study, she translated her passion for the arts into an aptitude for recognizing and championing creative talent. She sincerely believes in everyone she represents with a personal investment in their success. Roxanne is a proud MAIP Coach for the 2017, 2018 summer program. She sits on the Advisory Board for the CDDP Program – an initiative between the DGA and AICP. The CDDP’s mission is to foster awareness and increase directing opportunities for women and other historically underrepresented groups of people through a targeted program of outreach, mentorship and exposure. During the pandemic she has Executive Produced a special deployment of Covid-19 related films for Motionpoems. Also during this time Roxanne has been a guest speaker at USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Paola Tapia-Limón is a Mexican drama/dramedy writer from the San Diego and Tijuana border who spent most of her life between two countries and cultures. She’s a graduate of American University’s School of Communications and studied film and television in México and Prague. Paola started her career in New York City. She worked her way up to Writer/Supervising Story Producer for unscripted shows such as Ink Master and What Not to Wear, while writing and directing comedy web series, live comedy shows, and short documentaries. Since moving towards her lifelong dream of writing for scripted television, Paola worked on many shows including as Writers’ Assistant for Netflix’s Away and Apple TV+’s Acapulco, Script Coordinator for Shonda Rhimes’s Inventing Anna, and Showrunner’s Assistant for Jessica Goldberg on The Path. Recently she completed the 2020 National Hispanic Media Coalition Fellowship, the 2021 Disney Writing Program, and was selected for the 2023 Rideback Rise Circle for BIPOC creators. Her latest credit is as Staff Writer for ABC’s Home Economics. Surviving three brain surgeries made her a relentless optimist, and she credits it all to the stories of hope she grew up watching with her grandmother, of heroes that looked like her on Mexican television.

Carlos Felipe is a filmmaker working internationally in commercials, music videos, and documentaries. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, raised in Warwick, New York, and currently based in Los Angeles, Carlos’s eye has been influenced by the combination of American culture and his South American ancestry. His narratives share a cohesive feel of an anthemic, modern, and youthful spirit. Carlos believes casting is the most important decision made and one that deserves special consideration. The sincerity in his work relies heavily on the quality of the performances and he believes some of the greatest work starts there. Carlos’s fuels his drive with a desire to explore the world, create compelling visuals, meaningful narratives, and meet new people along the way. He’s recently completed a series of Bi-lingual Commercials for McCafé, shot in Ciudad de México, and a series of short documentary portraits for wildxyz spotlighting emerging and established Artists as they learn, grow, and reimagine art while transitioning from the traditional and physical art world into the NFT and Web3 space.

“Growth for Female Filmmakers”

Saturday, November 4, 5:30 pm in the Raymund Room

What about gender politics makes the acceptance of women in leadership roles, such as Director, so difficult? This panel focuses on the growth of career paths for female identified filmmakers highlighted by stories from the panelists’ own experiences in the world of film and TV. At the advent of filmmaking early female storytellers made motion pictures for the sake of art before studios and financial business models overtook the creative imperative of cinema. This year a female helmed movie, Barbie, slam-dunked the box office, grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide. It is now one of the highest grossing films of all times, the highest grossing domestic release in history with the biggest opening weekend of 2023, and the largest opening for a female Director ever. What will the impact of this success mean for female filmmakers overall?

Moderator: Rosa Costanza worked in production for film and TV for over two decades, sharpening her knowledge of all aspects of media production. Her diverse roster of credits in various roles ranges from Producer to Screenwriter and Director. Rosa’s first short film, XING, screened at Cannes and gained global distribution with a French company (Gonella). She is currently producing a DocuSeries titled White Label, finishing the pilot episode on Dance Music history in NYC.

She won over fifty awards as an indie film producer, director, and screenwriter. Her Emmy nomination (2017) was for a PBS TV series produced with the LAUSD, SPOTLIGHT ARTS, highlighting fine art and performance as a proven rehab for inner city youth. Rosa spent over a decade gaining expert level knowledge of filmmaking as a Y-1 job class member of IATSE Local 695, with A-List production credits doing production sound and video coordination. Her credits include Sully, Teen Wolf, and Paranormal Activity.

Rosa participates in the upliftment of diversity and inclusion in our industry in many ways, not just as a female filmmaker in a gender minority. She’s hosted filmmaker panels for the Diversity & Inclusion Program at the Ojai Film Festival since 2021 and judges the award for “Social Impact & Vision” sponsored by Panavision. In 2023 she worked with the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) for the DGA & AICP; facilitated mentor and peer participation, and set up panel for workshops, plus judged entrants ahead of the selection of Finalists and Fellows.

Rosa feels passionate about mentoring, lecturing, and volunteering, and does so at: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Yale University’s Film Studies Center, and the Ojai Valley Film Society. She administered a $250K private donor grant program for individual artists, artAffect (2018-2019) with agency HAVAS Chicago. Rosa taught filmmaking master classes at Cal Arts and Orange Coast College. She formally studied Feature Film Screenwriting at UCLAx. She strives to inspire others in her industry to reach for greater creative enrichment and career growth.

Panelists

Emily Salveson is the CEO and Founder of Streamline Global based in Los Angeles and New York. Streamline Global is a U.S. based motion picture finance company with expertise in tax incentivized investments and unparalleled access to prestige independent projects.

Aeolan Kelly has 29 years of professional experience working in film and television. She writes, directs, produces, and the bulk of her work over the last two decades has been as an editor. She has worked on over 120 filmed projects in production and on-set for nearly every major studio and countless national brands. Her experience includes feature films, episodic television, commercials, trailers, on-air promos, animation, animatics, and documentaries. She worked as Lead Editor on three different television series for major networks. As a director she made several short films, including the 35mm award-winning Under the Bed. She’s currently in production on her next directing project, Memory In November. She taught classes at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios, where she served as Head of Post-Production for two years. She is a featured expert speaker on editing and post-production for the Academy of Film Composers, For the Love Of Film, Sac Film Geeks, and the Scriptwriter’s Network.

Alabama Blonde worked in the film and TV industry for over ten years as a Casting Director, Costume Designer, and Artist Mentor in Melbourne, Sydney, Berlin, London and New York. Alabama is a proud member of the Costume Designer’s Guild (Local 892) and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Currently based in Los Angeles, her most recent work includes Francis Galluppi’s debut feature film The Last Stop In Yuma County, which premiered at Fantastic Fest 2023, followed by screenings at Sitges 2023. Other recent work includes the Kate Bosworth and Emile Hirsch thriller The Immaculate Room, winning at Mammoth Film Festival 2022 for Best Film and Best Actor. Down Here, directed by Omer Ben Shachar, won the 2023 Webby Award for Avant Garde short and was featured on Nowness, Film Shortage, Directors Notes, Directors Library and Vimeo Staff Pick and Short of the week, as well as the GG Hawkins feature debut An Island, Jennifer Massaux’s Recall and RATS!, the feature debut from the creators of 2020’s With Pleasure. In 2017 the Casting Guild of Australia nominated Alabama for the Achievement in Casting Award, specifically for her project Testament which placed a large emphasis on diversity and inclusivity.

Tamika Lamison is a graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, The American University and Howard University. She is an award-winning writer, director, actor and producer who produced, written, and directed many shorts, features, and documentaries including Ferguson Rises, Last Life, and Hope. Her first script, The Jar By The Door, was a Sundance Finalist and won several awards including IFP’s Gordon Parks Indie Film Award. She was the Director and DP on BET’s first reality show, College Hill. As a Research Consultant at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tamika helped to develop their Academy Gold Inclusion Program; Executive Director of the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) in which she built an Inclusion & Diversity Program under the umbrella of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). Tamika also created and founded Make A Film Foundation (MAFF), a nonprofit that grants ‘film wishes’ to children with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. Currently Tamika is Staff Writer and Supervising Producer of the Amazon Prime/ALLBlK series Monogamy and the Tribeca Audience Award winning feature documentary, Ferguson Rises. Tamika is pitching her original one-hour dramedy series, B.E.E.S., a finalist for the Producer’s Guild Power of Diversity Award. The Baron Jay Foundation honored Tamika with the Trailblazer Award for her various levels of impact on the entertainment industry.

GG Hawkins is a writer, director, and podcaster. Her writing and directing work was showcased at the Nantucket Film Festival, Hollyshorts, Salute Your Shorts, Sonoma International Film Festival, Dances With Film, and more. She received the Channie Award for Best Directing for her web series, Kinda Flakey. GG’s short film An Aspirational Space received the Robert De Niro Scholarship. She is a fellow of the Film Independent Episodic Lab and the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge Pilot Accelerator. GG hosts the No Film School Podcast, interviewing filmmaking talents such as Kelly Fremon Craig, Ray Romano, Chris McKay, and Stephen Williams. GG wrote and directed “G.U.F.,” an episode of You Feeling This? which premiered at Tribeca in 2023. Her forthcoming feature, An Island, shot in Bocas del Toro, Panama, stars Madison Lanesey, Arta Gee, and Travis Quinton Young, was cast by Alabama Blonde and produced by Elle Roth Brunet.

Social Impact and Vision Award

Look for films related to the Diversity & Inclusion theme sprinkled throughout the festival’s screening blocks. The film that best represents the category will receive the Social Impact and Vision Award, sponsored by Panavision, at the Festival Awards Brunch on Sunday, November 5.