Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) announced Monday (Feb. 1) that three broadcast and digital media projects have received funding through the Current Issues Content Fund after a donation from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation was made. Eleven of the projects were funded by LPB's 2020 Public Media Content Fund.
The projects depict poverty and inequality in the Latino community in the U.S. and abroad. Many Latinos have also been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recipients come from California, North Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela.
Every year, LPB invites independent filmmakers to submit proposals for production, post-production and digital support. Among the recipients is director Leandro Fabrizi Rios, Jasmin Mara López, and Ilse Fernandez.
Fabrizi Rios directed Bartolo, which takes place in the small Puerto Rican town of Bartolo and looks at how the town plans to repair itself after Hurricane Maria.
Mara López produced and directed Silent Beauty, an autobiographical piece that looks into the creator's history with childhood sexual abuse and her healing process through silence and the help of her family.
Fernandez directed and produced Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan about three immigrants on the Migrant Caravan looking to escape Central America and flee to the U.S. while also taking a massive risk during a global pandemic.
“In a year when the concept of ‘home’ has had more resonance than ever, one of the themes that unites these projects is an exploration of the yearning for home, whether it’s the immigrant’s complex connection to their native land (Lo Que Dejamos Atras, Los Desobedientes, Traces of Home) or the struggle of a community fighting to stand its ground in the midst of change (Bartolo, Slumlord Millionaire),” said LPB executive director Sandie Viquez Pedlow. “This year’s projects tell stories that explore complex and timely issues through a moving, personal lens.”
