The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) has launched the Inclusion Fellowship Series. This newly established program will focus on building a more inclusive and equitable industry for all members of the Latinx community. Each year, the fellowship will champion an underrepresented group from within the Latinx community. For its inaugural year, Netflix is sponsoring the program with a production grant for five visionary directors who identify as Afro Latino to create a short film that will have its world premiere at LALIFF 2021.
In its first year, the program will offer a production grant to 5 visionary directors who identify as Afro Latino to create a short film.
Each filmmaker will receive $20,000 cash and individualized mentorship, meetings with industry leaders and networking opportunities. The completed films will be premiered as a part of a special program during the 2021 version of LALIFF, where filmmakers will also have the opportunity to participate in the Festival’s Industry Week, to further develop their careers and gain industry access needed to succeed as working artists.
The 5 participating filmmakers will be selected through an open call for submissions. Applicants will be required to submit a short treatment, samples of their work and a director’s statement. Strong consideration will be given to those whose work samples and statements demonstrate talent, responsibility and collaborative effort.
For the purpose of the program, Afro Latino will be defined as any filmmaker from the United States that self-identifies as both Black and Latino.
Criteria for eligibility for the program:
- Applicants must identify as Afro Latino and be permanent residents or citizens of the United States.
- Professional Merit: Open to emerging filmmakers who have completed at least one short film, have not yet completed a feature film and are ready for the next step in their career.
- Artistic Merit: Have a clear vision of what they want to execute and accomplish, with a powerful voice.
Important Dates
Call for submissions: September 14 to October 14
Selected participants are notified: November 16
Public screenings of Fellow’s films: LALIFF 2021
For more information visit: https://latinofilm.org/fellowship/
