Opinion | My experience at the Latino Media Fest
Attending the Latino Media Fest was an eye-opening experience that showed me there’s more than one way to make your way in the entertainment industry. Photo Courtesy of Emilia Cuevas Diaz
On Oct. 13, I got the opportunity to attend the Latino Media Fest hosted by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). The festival consisted of panels, a mixer and the screening of selected short films by Latinx creators.
Emilia Cuevas Diaz, opinions editor
When I first heard about the program, I just thought this was an excellent opportunity to learn more about my career and connect with other emerging creators. But, I didn’t realize how rare and precious this occasion was due to the lack of Latinx creators currently involved in the industry.
Despite the fact that the Hispanic community is one of the most crucial movie-going audiences, there is an incredible lack of representation. According to the Hollywood Diversity Report, less than 8% of all roles go to Latinx actors. Similarly, less than 8% of directors and less than 6% of writers are Latinx.
But the problem goes beyond just behind-the-scenes representation of our communities. Recently, there has been an increase in cancellations of Latinx shows, like Netflix’s “Gentefied” or HBO Max’s “Gordita Chronicles.” How well the shows are doing with audiences doesn’t seem to matter at all.
The problem is, in fact, so big that the cancellation of the show “The Baker and The Beauty” made news because it was the last Latinx show left on network television.
The panelists discussed this issue but didn’t just talk about it. They gave their perspectives and ideas on how to move forward and navigate these changes. I learned a lot from the panelists I had the opportunity to listen to. They had so many nuggets of wisdom that were so different from the master classes I’ve attended at Chapman.
As amazing as it has been to sit in and hear the advice from great actors, directors and writers like the Duffer brothers, Brian Cranston, Bong Joon Ho and many others, in every one of their master classes, I’ve had a sense of disconnect. As great as their advice was, sometimes I feel like it doesn’t fully apply to me because there’s no consideration for the fact that making it in the entertainment industry as Latinx is difficult and how that advice might not be as easy to follow as they make it sound.
That was not the case in the panels of the Latino Media Fest. The panelists ranged from directors to writers, producers and animators. They all had different stories of how they got into the industry, varying from going to film festivals and meeting people to getting a job in human resources and working their way into production.
In spite of all the different paths described, they all had one experience in common: the roadblocks they faced at one point or the other because they are Latinx. Whether this was having difficulty breaking out of the promotion side aimed at the Hispanic community or the aversion networks have towards greenlighting a project that focuses on a Latinx story, everyone who talked understood the extra challenges Hispanic people need to overcome.
Overall, it was such a refreshing experience to be able to not just hear the relatable stories from the panelists, but to be in a room full of other aspiring Latinx content creators who understand the type of stories I’m passionate about telling and the effort it takes to get them there.
