Expired November 23, 2020 5:59 AM
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7 films in package
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: Panel
Closed captions available
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: Izel
A homeless teenager, Izel, has a difficult life but finds peace and wonder in astronomy and a telescope he builds. He shares this tranquility with his community.
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: 30
30 is an autobiographical experimental film that invites the audience to enter a meditative journey. 30 slithers into the artist’s intentional, intimate, and introspective voyage on the week of their 30th birthday that encompasses a ritual of philosophical shedding, prayerful cleansing, and playful celebrating, all culminating in a spiritual rebirth.
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: Episode 4 - Los Campos de Georgia
In the 1960s through 1980s, millions of Latinos started traveling through the South as migrant farmworkers. In this clip from the Nuestro South Podcast, our hosts, Bryan, Daisy, Axel tell us about Israel Cortez, who came to Georgia as a migrant worker during that time and worked hard to “fit in.” We also learn that in this time period the South was really not that anti-immigrant back then. The white folks were both conservative and pro-immigrant (we found it hard to picture, too). But was it out of convenience or was it genuine?
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: ZOILA
Despite her age, an elderly Salvadoran immigrant woman pushes her cart through the streets of Los Angeles, selling clothes to support herself and hoping to one day have her own stand.
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: Shaded Complexion
When Dante is given a chance to make a TV Short, he must go back to his hometown to reconnect with his past life and friends in order to narrate the untold stories, beauty, and scars of people of color.
Undocumented Filmmakers Collective: TENOCHTLI
An allegory to the Spanish conquest. Doña Marina is the madema of a brothel of underaged girls who service men high in power. After the death of the chief of police, Hernan is forced to see his empire crumble.

Runtime: 41 minutes


Imagine living in a place that values and invests in your brilliance. Oftentimes the places we call home deprive us of resources that could help us reach our highest potential by creating barriers and limitations through legislation and rules and regulations implemented by institutions. Join the members of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective Rahi Hasan, Dorian Gomez, and Wil Prada, as they explore the complexities that exist within the world of creatives.


Wil Prada


Wil Prada is a cinematographer and director that captures and creates stories through film. He was born in Peru. After obtaining his BA in Political Science from UCLA, he got involved in the grassroots immigrant youth movement, where he became a skilled media communicator after seeing the need to amplify marginalized undocumented voices. Prada discovered his love of filmmaking while using it as a tool for advocacy. 

Through years of experience in the non-profit and labor sectors, a lifelong involvement in science programs, and a dedication to the craft of film, Prada has developed a unique lens. His work has screened at NASA, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, San Francisco MoMA, LALIFF.


Izel 

A homeless teenager, Izel, has a difficult life but finds peace and wonder in astronomy and a telescope he builds. He shares this tranquility with his community.


Rahi Hasan


Rahi Hasan (they/them) is a formerly undocumented cultural organizer, impact producer, and multimedia documentary artist challenging power on all fronts to create space for healing and radical imagination. They immigrated to Queens, New York from Dhaka, Bangladesh before moving to Durham, NC 6 years ago. Rahi is currently the Program Coordinator of the Documentary Arts Continuing Education Program at the Center for Documentary Studies. They are Co-Founder of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective and on the board of Migrant Roots Media. As the Strategic Advisor for International Initiatives at Dhaka Doc Lab, Rahi is committed to supporting South Asian filmmakers get access to every tool they need to speak truth to power. Rahi is currently working as an impact producer for the documentary Coded Bias by Shalini Kantayya.


30

30 is an autobiographical experimental film that invites the audience to enter a meditative journey. 30 slithers into the artist’s intentional, intimate, and introspective voyage on the week of their 30th birthday that encompasses a ritual of philosophical shedding, prayerful cleansing, and playful celebrating, all culminating in a spiritual rebirth.



Dorian Gomez


Dorian Aidee Gomez Pestana is a Mexican filmmaker and storyteller based in Durham, NC. Her voice and lens intend on telling stories of inclusion and belonging. With very little formal training, Dorian has immersed herself in her local filmmaking community seeking every opportunity to practice her craft. She is a founding member of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective and hopes to help find access to sustainable careers and resources for undocumented artists and storytellers. Her more recent work includes being the creative director and editor for the Nuestro South Podcast which explores the history of Mexican immigrants in the South during the Jim Crow Era and compares it to the immigrant experience of today.


Episode 4 - Los Campos de Georgia

In the 1960s through 1980s, millions of Latinos started traveling through the South as migrant farmworkers. In this clip from the Nuestro South Podcast, our hosts, Bryan, Daisy, Axel tell us about Israel Cortez, who came to Georgia as a migrant worker during that time and worked hard to “fit in.” We also learn that in this time period the South was really not that anti-immigrant back then. The white folks were both conservative and pro-immigrant (we found it hard to picture, too). But was it out of convenience or was it genuine?


Marcos Nieves


Marcos Nieves is a queer and Mexican immigrant director, producer, and editor. He began his work as an immigrant activist and social justice filmmaker. He directed and co-produced his first documentary, Almost American (2010), which screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival. He was a fellow at Brave New Films where his short digital documentary, Preying on Puerto Rico (2016), went viral within hours and reached over 7 million views. He went on to creating other viral videos that have reached over 30 million views. In 2017 he directed The Right to Thrive: Immigrant Voices in Healthcare, a three-part documentary series commissioned by The California Immigrant Policy Center. In 2018, he directed “Police Brutality” a short documentary in the Decolonize Justice series funded by Latino Justice. His most recent work, Zoila (2020), had its premiere at the Asian Pacific Los Angeles Film Festival. He is now working on his next project My Queerceañera (2021).


Zoila

Despite her age, an elderly Salvadoran immigrant woman pushes her cart through the streets of Los Angeles, selling clothes to support herself and hoping to one day have her own stand.


Paolo Rein


Paolo Rein (born November 24, 1997), is a Writer, Director, Actor & Organizer in this industry of filmmaking. Since his early highschool life, Paolo has been working with marginalized communities to create films that challenge social & political norms revolving around but not limited to representation on and off-screen and colorism. Throughout his filmmaking journey, he fell in love with books, films, and stories with complex worlds and characters that challenged ideals and inspired growth. These mediums helped pave the heartful passion for his filmmaking journey taking him to graduate from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor’s degree in Filmmaking with a concentration in Production. Being exposed to a school that is heavily involved with social justice paved the way for him to utilize his craft to offer folks worlds with different lenses. He’s directed student short films such as Shaded Complexion, a narrative that focuses on your identity being a commodity, that has gone to showcase at the Image Movers UCLA Festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film festival. From being a PA for Nike commercials to Assisting a director through various music videos and narrative feature works, Paolo aims to direct and write the stories that offer folks a form of salvation from the chaotic world.


Shaded Complexion

When Dante is given a chance to make a TV Short, he must go back to his hometown to reconnect with his past life and friends in order to narrate the untold stories, beauty, and scars of people of color.


Mario Torres Torres


Mario Torres Torres (they/them) is a Purepecha Indigenous filmmaker and activist based in Tongva Land, Los Angeles, CA. Born in Mexico and immigrating at the age of six has shaped the stories they tell. From a very young age they have had a strong passion for filmmaking and storytelling. Sitting around a campfire drinking café de olla and listening to elders pass down their stories sparked their curiosity in the art of storytelling.


Now, they are pursuing a career as a film producer and sound engineer to continue the work of great creatives that push the boundaries of media. Their aim is to provide a restorative platform to dismantle the lack of diversity and amplify representation in visual culture. In 2018, Torres Torres received a B.A. in Television, Film and Media Studies from Cal State LA and is currently a leading member of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective.


Tenochtli

An allegory to the Spanish conquest. Doña Marina is the madema of a brothel of underaged girls who service men high in power. After the death of the chief of police, Hernan is forced to see his empire crumble.

When Dante is given a chance to make a TV Short, he must go back to his hometown to reconnect with his past life and friends in order to narrate the untold stories, beauty, and scars of people of color.

    • Director
      Paolo Rein