The third edition of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) Inclusion Grants is underway. In 2022, the program will benefit five Afro-Latino directors and five indigenous Latino directors with $30,000 each to produce short films.

Aware that parity and equality are battle flags in the short and medium term for each of the Latino talents seeking to break through in the competitive entertainment industry, LALIFF has been expanding quotas from 5 to 10 beneficiaries in its second call, and in this third one it has decided to increase the subsidy by $10,000 for each of the beneficiaries. This has been possible thanks to the support of the Fund for Creative Equity of the Netflix streaming platform, which is committed to empowering narrators from groups that have historically been excluded in front of and behind the cameras.

In addition to the $30,000 grants, selected fellows will be individually mentored by experts from the audiovisual world on topics ranging from production to distribution to networking and exploring collaboration opportunities.

Netflix mentors will also be available to the ten Latino directors before they premiere their own short films at the upcoming LALIFF in 2023.

DEBUT IN ONE OF THE MAIN LATINO FESTIVALS

In 2021, William D. Caballero, Evelyn Lorena, Nicole Mejía, Sebastián Rea, Kristi Uribes, Elyssa Aquino, Jeanette Dilone, Gabriela A. Moses, Alexis García and Eli Vazquez were selected for the LALIFF Inclusion Scholarship.

The program, according to the beneficiaries, is not only relevant for its financial support, but also because it values ​​the voice of talent that, until then, may not have had the opportunity to be heard. "I didn't expect how much support, care and trust I was going to get with the LALIFF Inclusion Fellowship. It truly made me feel that my authentic voice mattered. All they did was try to elevate it and make it better, make my story better,” said Eli Vázquez to AL DÍA.

In addition to successfully premiering her short films at LALIFF 2022, Mónica Suriyage's “La Ciguapa Siempre” qualified for the 2023 Academy Awards® and screened at 16 film festivals. The short "Quinceañero" by Justin Floyd, meanwhile, was on tour at four film festivals, including the Cannes Short Film Festival, one of the most renowned in the world.

HOW TO APPLY TO THIS SCHOLARSHIP?

All filmmakers who self-identify as indigenous to any Latin American territory or as Chicano/ Xicanx or Mexican Native American and those who self-identify as Afro/Black Latino may apply for this scholarship.

Those interested in applying must be of legal age, must currently live in the United States and  be allowed to work in the United States. Selection criteria can be found on this website.

The call is open until September 30, 2022.

ABOUT LALIFF

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) is a premiere international event dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latino perspective, whether through film, television, digital, music, art, or any other vehicle, regardless of platform. 

LALIFF is presented by the Latino Film Institute (LFI), a nonprofit organization with the mission to showcase, strengthen, and celebrate the richness of Latino lives through the audio-visual event. In addition to LALIFF, the Latino Film Institute promotes the Youth Film Project (YCP), and Latinx in Animation (LXiA).