La Frontera Film Lab

Haga Clic AQUÍ Para Español

Film still from Grown Without Water, directed by Xochitl Rodriguez. Photo by Ryan Smith. Grown Without Water was an official selection of the 2020 Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase.

La Frontera Film Lab

…made possible through the support of the Perspective Fund!

As part of our ongoing effort to amplify more stories told by people born and living in the U.S.+MX border region, we have designed a new program for one filmmaking team to create one short documentary together.

How does it work?

Now in its second year, Femme Frontera’s La Frontera Film Lab will select a filmmaking team to receive support for their project from conception through distribution in 2023-24. The team, comprising one filmmaker or artist/crew member from the American border region and one filmmaker or artist/crew member from the Mexican border region, is asked to complete and submit our online Lab application below. Both filmmakers must have a lived connection to and relationship with experiences of women and nonbinary people from the border region. The selected team will demonstrate relevant previous filmmaking experience (at least one team member should have filmmaking experience), provide a compelling and complete documentary treatment, will demonstrate an understanding of and connection to life along the U.S.+MX border, and will articulate their intent to use film as a way to dismantle stereotypes about border communities.

The selected team will collaborate in the exploration of a topic of their choosing to complete a documentary about life on the border. Throughout the course of the Lab, the team will meet monthly, via Zoom, with a facilitator and mentors, attend workshops and networking sessions, and will participate in a work-in-progress screening session. The film will automatically receive entry into the Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase in 2024.

Purpose of the program:

Femme Frontera was created as an antithesis to rhetoric about the border and immigrants, perpetuated by political powers and mechanisms. While we exist to challenge current narratives that demonize immigrants and border communities around the world, the Lab focuses on rectifying and claiming narratives along the U.S.+MX border. When we provide support for stories told by the people who were born, live, and/or work along the U.S.+MX border, we actively dismantle false narratives by replacing them with stories that actually and accurately portray the day to day realities of this region.

The goals of the program are as follows:

  • A story told about the border by people from the border.

  • Provide two people from the U.S.-Mexico border who have first hand experience navigating border issues faced by women and nonbinary people with the resources and support to collaborate on a documentary short film about the border, told from each filmmaker’s perspective.

  • Create a safe space to ensure that both voices are supported, represented, and valued equally.

  • Support filmmakers’ artistic visions in a way that fosters, encourages, and champions the story they choose to tell.

The selected filmmaker team will receive:

  • A $15,000 budget for their documentary short not to exceed 15 minutes.

  • A highly experienced facilitator to support the creation of their films from inception through distribution.

  • A border film representative from Mexico who will support the team by connecting them to documentary resources and logistical, safety, and security information as it relates to the border region and bridge crossing times/restrictions and key connections as needed.

  • Four mentorship sessions given by prominent leaders in documentary film. The filmmaking team will select from a range of workshops that they feel will best serve their needs and goals to create the best film possible.

  • A work-in-progress session with industry professionals.

  • One full color correction session with El Paso’s own Cheeky Monkey Post.

  • Impact distribution planning and implementation sessions.

  • Automatic entry into the 2024 Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase.

DEADLINE PASSED.

2023-2024 LA FRONTERA FILM LAB FELLOWS

Meet Celina Galicia and Sara González - two artists and filmmakers from our US-Mexico border region. They will be developing a documentary about the El Paso-Juarez border for which they will receive mentoring and support from Femme Frontera. This Film Lab is possible thanks to the Perspective Fund!

Conozcan a Celina Galicia y Sara González, dos artistas y cineastas de nuestra región fronteriza entre Estados Unidos y México. Desarrollarán un documental sobre la frontera El Paso y Juarez para el que recibirán tutoría y apoyo de Femme Frontera. Este laboratorio de cine es posible gracias al Fondo de Perspective.

Celina Galicia

Celina Galicia, a filmmaker from Ciudad Juárez, Mx, now thriving in El Paso, Tx. She studied Communication and Digital Media at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Ciudad Juárez. Passionate about storytelling, she has been part of film collectives in both cities, contributing her talents as a DP, Editor, and Director. Over the last 7 years, she independently crafted various projects, including music videos, short documentaries, and narrative films. In 2020, her directorial debut, "Cenicero de Dios," earned recognition in multiple film festivals, securing 2nd place at Plaza Classic Film Festival in 2021. Celina has been actively contributing to the film industry for three years now, working on projects for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount Pictures, and HBO. 

Sara González

Industrial designer and multidisciplinary artist from the border of Ciudad Juárez Mx. and El Paso Tx. During the first years of her career, she focused on research of Design and obtained a Master's Degree in Design and Innovation at the Autonomous University of Querétaro. 

In 2019 she started working at FabLab Juarez, a digital manufacturing laboratory where she developed projects combining art and technology. That same year, she began working on film projects as an associate producer for "América Asimetrica" directed by Rodolfo Wox Rincones, where she developed the production binder for funding on several grants. She also worked for "Cenicero De Dios" directed by Celina Galicia as a production assistant and for "Los años de Otto" directed by Persia Campbell in the art department. She has also worked on different music videos as a director and producer. 

During the pandemic, she had the urgency to develop her personal creative side and "Creadora Studio" was born, an art and design studio focused on stained glass, mirror, mosaic and art framing techniques. At the same time she’s generating didactic workshops where he teaches the main techniques used in the art of glass. She wants to continue exploring more techniques and different art forms that can merge each of her passions.

PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS

2021-2022 LA FRONTERA FILM LAB FELLOWS

Mariana Góngora-Reyes(Las Cruces, NM, USA) and Analaura Cardenas(Chihuahua, MX) created the documentary short film, La Bi-vencia. Drawing on images from a non-existent border between Santa Elena, Chihuahua, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. La Bi-vencia explores the reunion of a ghost town next to the Rio Grande that was abandoned after 9/11. This particular Film Lab was possible thanks to the Sundance Institute.

Mariana Góngora-Reyes(Las Cruces, NM, USA) y Analaura Cardenas(Chihuahua, MX) crearon el cortometraje documental La Bi-vencia. A partir de imágenes de una frontera inexistente entre Santa Elena, Chihuahua, y el Parque Nacional Big Bend en Texas. La Bi-vencia explora el reencuentro de un pueblo fantasma junto al Río Grande que fue abandonado después del 11 de septiembre. Este Laboratorio de Cine en particular fue posible gracias al Instituto Sundance.

Mariana Gongora-Reyes

Estudié cine en Chicago en 2011, desde entonces, he buscado hacer video registros audiovisuales desde la memoria colectiva, mas específico, en documental y video periodismo. Mi trabajo ha sido mostrado en Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala y partes de Estados Unidos. Así mismo, he colaborado en espacios como Democracy Now! en Nueva York, TeleSUR en Ecuador y The Guardian en Londres. Mi mayor enfoque es hacia la violencia de género, la resistencia y autonomía de las personas. Durante mis primeros 17 años, viví en Ciudad Chihuahua, lugar donde normalicé desde chica los feminicidios y cárteles. Mi trabajo ahora explora todo el proceso de desnormalización de la violencia después de mudarme a Estados Unidos, lugar “relativamente seguro” para procesar mis propias experiencias en la frontera, donde llevo alrededor de 10 años explorando y encontrando similitudes dentro de la identidad Chihuahuense, binacional y México-Estadounidense, pero que por resistencia ante el Estado, decido posicionarme e identificarme como Morrx Fronterizx, como muchxs de lxs personas que se encuentran en el espectro y la vivencia binacional. Me inspira Audre Lorde y también el sabernos que entre fronteras hay apoyo, la fortaleza de quienes acompañan mis dolores a pesar de los suyos, las bi-vencias en resistencia y la idea de un futuro más justo hacia con todxs.

Analaura Cardenas

Mi interés/ experiencia en el cine se derivó de la práctica de la fotografía, para más tarde tomar una clase de cinematografía en la universidad de Artes visuales en la Ciudad de Chihuahua. A raíz de ello me pareció muy interesante el poder ver una imagen en movimiento, el tener más campo y posibilidades al trabajar o querer registrar algún interés visual.

Mi trabajo está enfocado principalmente en mis vivencias, pensares, y sentires respecto a la sociedad que me rodea, ya sea en mi estado, o de mi país. Por medio de ello busco formar comunidad o lazos con otrxs, el hacerles saber por medio de algo visual que no estamos solxs, que nos podamos identificar lxs unxs con lxs otrxs y poder crear resistencia a estas vivencias al formar vínculos y espacios basados en el cuidado y empatía entre nosotrxs.