Program Guide - Cleveland International Film Festival

34 FOCUS ON FILMMAKERS The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ® Presents
Focus On Filmmakers
The Cleveland International Film Festival is thrilled to be the
only 2011 recipient of a multiyear grant from The Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ® Thanks to the generosity
of The Academy, ® we are receiving a total of $150,000 over
a three-year period to introduce and develop our Focus on
Filmmakers program. Designed to showcase minority and less
visible filmmakers, Focus on Filmmakers will increase the
screening access of these filmmakers, while simultaneously
making the Cleveland International Film Festival more accessible
to under-served segments of the population.
This year Focus on Filmmakers will emphasize films and
filmmakers from the Latino community, featuring those with
roots in our neighboring Latin American countries.
As the fastest-growing and largest ethnic group in the United
States, the Latino community is full of vital, talented voices
that are already significantly advancing Latino Cinema. With
the continued expansion of Latino perspectives in the media,
we have brought to Cleveland a diverse collection of films
that exist under the commercial radar and inspire cross-cultural
exchanges without borders.
Through this program we hope to significantly strengthen
our commitment to bring to Cleveland an increased number
of the most sought-after films and filmmakers from varying
populations, while deepening our involvement in these communities
and igniting meaningful dialogue and interaction.
We look forward to presenting this program and inviting
marginalized filmmakers to Cleveland for years to come, and
we are profoundly grateful to The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences ® for helping us do so.
José Asunción [Director, Producer]
SICK MICK AND THE BOYS (USA, 2013) p. 131
José Asunción is a writer, cinematographer, and director from
Chicago who earned his M.F.A. in Film Production at the USC
School of Cinematic Arts. He is a two-time recipient of the
Graduate Filmmaker Scholarship from the National Hispanic
Foundation for the Arts. His works have aired on HBO, MTV3,
The Documentary Channel, and PBS. He is co-founder of
DocRiot, a Los Angeles-based production company dedicated
to cutting-edge documentary film.
Arí Maniel Cruz [Director, Producer]
UNDER MY NAILS (PUERTO RICO/USA, 2011) p. 136
Arí Maniel Cruz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After
receiving a B.A. in Communications, he moved to Mexico
City to study screenwriting at Centro de Capacitación
Cinematografica. Back in Puerto Rico he worked as a sitcom
writer, then started producing and directing for TV and film.
Most recently, he co-founded La Teta Productions LLC with
Kisha Tikina Burgos, the writer and star of his latest feature
film UNDER MY NAILS, which has won awards at several
international film festivals.
Michel Franco [Writer, Director, Producer, Editor]
AFTER LUCIA, Despues de Lucia, (MEXICO, 2012) p. 48
Michel Franco was born in Mexico City in 1979. After completing
his media studies, he began making award-winning short
films and commercials with his production company Pop Films.
In 2009, his first feature film, “Daniel and Ana,” was selected
for the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Michel
was honored at Cannes with the 2012 Un Certain Regard Award
and with the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International
Film Festival, both for AFTER LUCIA.
2014 Focus on Filmmakers:
LGBT
Participants in the 2012 Focus on Filmmakers – African Diaspora program were:
Sherien Barsoum, Jordan Coleman, Ava DuVernay, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Stephen Lloyd Jackson,
Eliaichi Sadikiel Kimaro, Michael King, Victoria Mahoney, Terence Nance
José Asunción
Arí Maniel Cruz
Michel Franco
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
Jorge Hinojosa