DGA member directors Ricardo Méndez Matta and Patricia Cardoso (
Real Women Have Curves) and DGA Special Assignments Executive Jon Larson recently spoke to young directors at an informal DGA–sponsored luncheon at Le Campanile Restaurant in Los Angeles' Mid-Wilshire District as part of the Emerging Filmmakers Conference organized by the Latino Entertainment Media Institute (LEMI).
Cardoso has been offered many projects since the buzz on Real Women Have Curves has gotten out and said, "I have passed on six projects. I don't want to be the flavor of the month. I want to do good work. Of the projects that I have been offered, about 30 percent were Latino and 70 percent were not Latino projects, which is encouraging, because they see me as a filmmaker and not just a Latino filmmaker."
She previously had won DGA Awards in student and women's categories and interned for a year with Milos Forman through the making of Man on the Moon starring Jim Carrey. Even with those encouraging credentials, it has been a tough climb. "I applied to the Sundance Directors Lab seven times," she said. "It had taken me six years to become a director. It was a slow process. But now I also teach directing and have gotten more confident."
Larson explained the Guild's Low Budget Agreements cover productions that are budgeted in four categories less than $6 million. "I want to dispell the myth that filmmakers can't do a film as a DGA film if they have a low budget," Larson said.
Matta concurred and cited his work as second unit director on
Happy, Texas, the directorial debut of his college roommate, Mark Illsley. "Mark had a budget of $1.8 million and 26 days to shoot it. But he couldn't make the schedule," Matta said. "So he asked me to shoot second unit. He qualified at that time for the lowest budget DGA contract. We worked out a contract and filed a DGA deal memo for me to be paid $1."
Another highlight of the Emerging Filmmakers Conference was Matta moderating a discussion with acclaimed director, DGA member León Ichaso about his career, and in particular, his latest feature, Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the Nuyorican poet/playwright.
