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DGA at Latin Heat
By Jose Martinez
Photos by Terry Lilly
Latin Heat's Resurrection Boulevard panel from left: Writer Dennis Leone, actor Daniel Zacapa, actor Mauricio Mendoza and
director Jesus Trevino.
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The Sixth Annual Latin Heat Entertainment Industry Conference presented by the Latino Entertainment Media Institute (LEMI), held October 12-14 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, was three days of informative panels, "conversations with..." networking receptions and workshops. For the fourth year in a row, the DGA was on hand sponsoring two panels and a filmmakers' brunch.
Kicking off the conference, Latin Heat publisher Bel Hernandez addressed the attendees. "This conference is about people coming together, gathering information and going out and creating."
Addressing a crowd of young directors, writers and producers, as well as established veterans, Hernandez added, "We're such a variety of different life experiences that not everybody is going to tell our stories. We need to tell our own stories."
Earlier in the day the Guild sponsored a filmmakers' brunch for the directors whose work was spotlighted during the conference's Mini-Fest Trailer Competition. Afterward, DGA Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth Stanley noted, "The brunch was a wonderful opportunity for us to get the chance to meet the filmmakers who should be in our organization, who will be in our organization and who represent the future of our organization, as well as filmmaking in our industry. I think the conference continues to be great for established and emerging Latino filmmakers, as well as other people in the industry who want to see where the talent of the future lies."
The "Diversity Report Panel," a hotbed of discussion on the lack of Latinos in the entertainment work force, included several Directors of Diversity from major studios and networks. Susan Leeper, Vice President, Current Comedy Series, ABC Entertainment, explained, "The difference I see now is that people are looking at things and they're not saying, 'We should [hire more Latinos] because this is a good thing to do, because this will make us feel good.' They're saying, 'We want to do this because it's what we should be doing and it's good for business. And it's good for creativity.' And I see that from the top to the bottom."
Guild member and DGA Latino Committee Co-chair Maria Jimenez-Henley addressed the panel and audience noting, "I would like to go away thinking that there will be a time when we're going to be allowed to change the formula; to reinvent the wheel."
During a Guild-sponsored panel titled "Building Your Director's Reel," moderator and Co-chair of the DGA Latino Committee Ricardo Méndez Matta stressed that "you can't wait for anything. You have to generate your own momentum and your reel has to look as best as it can."
Matta also pointed that "it really doesn't matter what the budget of your project is, your project can be made under the auspices of the Directors Guild of America, which offers great protection, services and resources for the director."
Independent filmmaker and panelist Michael Baez, who shot his latest film on digital video, noted that the conference "is a wonderful support system. I'm from New York and out there, there aren't a lot of up-and-coming Latino filmmakers. When I came to the conference the first time [three years ago], I met a lot of other filmmakers, actors and producers who I have, to this date, remained in contact with. Coming to the conference made me realize that there's a whole army of us who are trying to do something and make a difference in Latino films."
Fellow panelist and Guild member Bob Kronovet of 30 Second Films stressed, "The reel that you're sending is you in a box, from the labeling to the way it's delivered, to the quality of the dub to the graphic treatment of your name. The purpose of the reel is to get someone to say, 'I like your reel; let's talk.' Then you have a chance to make a creative deal."
Later that evening, a "Conversation With Jeff Valdez," executive
producer of The Brothers Garcia, was held. Two of the program's directors; and fellow Guild members, Mike Cevallos (who co-directs with his brother Gibby) and Joe Menendez, joined the creator of the Nickelodeon show, which premiered in July and received the highest ratings ever for the network.
Cevallos, who recently joined the DGA explained, "As we went through the membership process of the Guild, we actually got to meet the Western Directors Council and really got to talk to them about who we are, what we're doing and where we're going. The support they gave us was so overwhelming. They believed we had a vision and that we needed to be a part of this in order to make that happen."
As for the conference, Cevallos added, "I've been on the other side of the panel so many times and asking the question that they're asking, hoping one day that I can be on the panel and answer those questions. It's an evolution of sorts. And it's very gratifying as a Latino to be here with other interested, inspired Latinos."
Menendez, who has been a Guild member for a year, mused, "I'm one hair away from sitting in the audience. It's only because Jeff gave me the opportunity to do the show that I'm sitting on the panel, otherwise I'd be wondering, 'How can I get in there?' I think it's incredibly inspiring to hear other directors speak and say what road they took to get where they are today."
Latin Heat's Digital Director panel from left: DGA members Bobby Roth, Penelope Spheeris, Ricardo Méndez Matta and Christopher Coppola.
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A second Guild-sponsored panel called "Conversation With Digital Directors," moderated by Méndez Matta, included filmmakers Christopher Coppola (who only shoots using digital video), Bobby Roth and Penelope Spheeris.
A fan of shooting on digital, Spheeris said, "If you're really a good filmmaker now you have a chance to show it. The good news is that anybody can make a digital movie; the bad news is that anybody can make a digital movie. It's a whole new world and anyone who ever wanted to be a filmmaker can be one. And I'm really happy about that."
New to the conference, the veteran director [Spheeris] whose credits include The Decline of Western Civilization as well as Wayne's World, said, "I think (the conference) is great. It seems that they have a very large audience and I'm hoping some of them do programming and shows strictly in Spanish because there's such a big audience there."
The conference's last panel was a discussion titled "Resurrection Boulevard: A Case Study From Pitch to Premiere." Moderated by Dennis Leoni, the series' executive producer, the panel included two of the show's leading actors as well as supervising producer/director Jesus Trevino.
Out of 18 original one-hour shows, Latinos directed one dozen episodes of Resurrection Boulevard this year. One of the first-ever Latino shows run by Latinos in front and behind the camera, Trevino noted, "One of the things that we strive to do is to create an opportunity for Latinos on the show. We think that's what the show is about. In addition to telling the story, it's also about providing opportunities to talented Latinos."
Inspired by the successful turnout of the conference, Méndez Matta noted, "I'm encouraged that people who were at the first conference are still here and they haven't lost faith. I see people who were fledging filmmakers then who now have a show or are working on a show. I'm also encouraged because I see a lot of new faces."
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