National Assoc. Of Latino Indy Producers Reached Milestone.

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) will reach its third year as a major advocacy voice for nearly 400 Latino producers nationwide in December 2001. “NALIP is the first organization of its kind,” says veteran Hollywood producer (Price of Glory, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge) and NALIP co-founder Moctesuma Esparza. “We’re organizing hundreds of producers from across the nation to share knowledge, pool resources, and speak as one in addressing the commercial industry and public television.”

“While Latinos make up around 12 percent of the national population,” says Kathryn Galan, NALIP’s Acting Executive Director, “their numbers in the film and television industry are dramatically lower. Closer to 4 percent, and even lower for the writers, producers and directors who play a significant role in shaping content. We’re trying to change that so that Latino producers will have a chance to contribute to our media culture.”

NALIP will celebrate its third year with a national conference, in collaboration with the Media Art Center San Diego, to be held December 6 – 9, 2001, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla (3777 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA). The theme for the conference is Storytelling in the Digital Age. The conference co-chairs are producer Bonnie Abaunza and “Resurrection Blvd.”‘s Executive Producer Dennis Leoni. Says Leoni, “The conference will include the ‘big names’ working in the industry — [UPDATE WITH APPROPRIATE NAMES] Edward James Olmos, David Valdes (The Green Mile), Phil Roman (Founding Producer of “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill”) and Raquel Welch — but it will also showcase the emerging and community-based producers, not to mention the digital artists who are five-to-ten years ahead of the industry itself.”

The 2001 NALIP conference will include renowned keynote speakers; expert panels on art, community, and industry-based productions; daily video screenings; exhibits and interactive displays; hands-on digital media labs; an awards gala honoring Roman; and, opportunities to meet over 300 producers, funders, distributors, curators and others working in public television, commercial media and the arts community.

NALIP’s mission is to promote the advancement, development and funding of Latino/Latina film and media arts in all genres. “In three years, NALIP has had some impressive accomplishments, which includes creating a space within which a cross sector of media producers can discuss, debate and exchange ideas about how to improve the landscape for media makers,” says Cynthia Lopez, Chair of the NALIP steering committee. “This year, two of our co-founders Chon A. Noriega and Moctesuma Esparza were pivotal in developing the 2001 policy recommendations for the U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus, thus strengthening our voice on Capitol Hill.” NALIP has also organized two highly successful national conferences: in San Francisco (June 1999) and in Miami Beach (June 2000), with a third coming up. NALIP commissioned The Future of Latino Media: A NALIP Sourcebook, edited by Professor Chon A. Noriega and published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. The book was disseminated free to over 1,000 people and institutions. NALIP designed and uploaded a website, www.nalip.org. NALIP has created regional groups in New York, Miami Beach, and San Antonio, and, as a service to its members, supported regional collaborative programs with other national media organizations such as the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, Independent Feature Project, the Sundance Channel and International Film Finance Conference.

The Steering Committee for NALIP includes the following individuals from throughout the United States: Bonnie Abaunza, J. George Cisneros, Moctesuma Esparza, Greg Gomez, Vangie Griego, Cynthia Lopez (Chair), Bienvenida (Beni) Matias (Secretary), Frances Negron-Muntaner, Chon A. Noriega (Treasurer), Sandra Perez, Raymond Telles, and Kathryn F. Galan (Acting Executive Director). Sponsors for the 2001 NALIP conference include Writers Guild of America, HBO Latino, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

For more information at http://www.sdlatinofilm.com.