NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival audience at AT&T Center in Downtown LA.
The face of Los Angeles independent filmmaking is changing, and it has been for a while. More and more festivals showing short and experimental films are popping up in the capital of the Hollywood machine. Young and new filmmakers are not scared of sharing their vision with others, and different programs provide them with an opportunity to put that vision on the wide screen.
My first encounter with NewFilmmakers LA (NFMLA) was in 2011 when I participated in the inaugural program for On Location: The Los Angeles Video Project with the director with whom I produced a Women In Film LA PSA, Journey to Safety (winner of a 2012 Silver Telly). My team’s film won that year’s NFMLA jury and the audience awards. But I got so much more out of the competition than just awards. The producing team that developed while working on this project is still alive and strong and collaborating four years later, the cinematographer has been tapped to shoot a documentary that benefited from the prize’s in-kind donations, and other professional relationships blossomed.
This year I was invited to chair the Events and Programming Committee for NFMLA, an opportunity that I couldn’t refuse. I felt I had to give others a chance to get the experiences I received when working with NFMLA. Since joining the organization, I’ve learned how tedious the process to secure a perfect program is, how complex getting that elusive sponsor can be, and how exciting meeting local, national, and international filmmakers has become to the LA community.
The strength of NFMLA for me resides in their encouraging, approach to hear the voices of often-overlooked groups in the film industry: the female auteurs with stories that range from standard genre approaches to “out-there” ideas, the LGBT community, veterans, international filmmakers, and many others. Everyone is given a chance.
I encourage anyone who wants to be a part of a supportive film community to check out NewFilmmakers LA. We have monthly film festivals without hard deadlines, offer a yearly On Location competition, and acknowledge the NFMLA alumni in our yearly “Best of” awards.
Join us in celebrating the art of film, and submit your short, documentary or feature!
— MARINA VISCUN
Marina is a freelance film, television, and commercials producer, film festival organizer, and avid chocolate enthusiast.
(Edited on Dec 17, 5:39 pm EST.)
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Ashley Bacon
Welcome to NYWIFT, Ashley Bacon! Ashley is an actor and producer in New York. She leads the 80s thriller Something of a Monster which was released in December on AppleTV, and her claim to fame is a recurring arc on Orange is the New Black. She was nominated for Best Actor at Cindependent for her work in The Flip Side (2023). Upcoming projects include leading the film A Matchmaker’s Christmas, a star-studded community fundraiser of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and raising her small child. She lives in Brooklyn with - in her words - "two cats, one daughter, and one husband." We welcome actor and producer Ashley Bacon to NYWIFT! In her New Member Spotlight, we discussed the famous RDJ scene that inspired Ashley to become an actor, the community garden motivating her next project, and her favorite film she’s worked on so far.
READ MORENYWIFT at Sundance: In Conversation with Louis E. Perego Moreno
For NYWIFT Member Louis E. Perego Moreno and the team behind TheyDream, the road to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival was 18 years long. The feature documentary is a deeply personal tale from Writer, Director, Producer, DP, Animator, Editor and fellow NYWIFT Member William D. Cabellero. After 20 years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family, Cabellero and his mother face devastating losses. Through tears and laughter, they craft animations that bring their loved ones back to life, discovering that every act of creation is also an act of letting go. Consulting Producer Moreno has been with the project since it started as a short film nearly two decades ago. And there is extra sweetness to the team’s Sundance success: TheyDream, which debuted in the Next category, won the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression. He spoke to us about TheyDream’s journey to Park City and its timely cultural message.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Ginelle Bamfo
Welcome to NYWIFT, Ginelle Bamfo! Ginelle is a talented young filmmaker and recent graduate from NYU Tisch’s Film and TV school. With a background in acting and theater, Ginelle has expanded her creative pursuits into many realms of the filmmaking industry. Having won NYU’s Best Undergraduate Film award for her project Talk Yo’ Shit, her talents and ambitions have quickly proven worthwhile. Ginelle is a staunch advocate of amplifying diverse voices. Her role as President of The Collective at NYU – a club which connects and highlights the work of Black students – is only one example of her commitment to this goal. Ginelle is a flexible and dynamic creative, drawing inspiration from ever-evolving sources. Always excited to learn and collaborate, she is an exciting addition to the entertainment industry. In our interview, Ginelle discusses what her journey to filmmaking has looked like and her current artistic ambitions.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Gabriela Coronel
Welcome to NYWIFT, Gabriela Coronel! Gabriela Coronel is an up-and-coming filmmaker and visual artist who recently graduated from Ithaca College. Driven and inspired by the diversity of the human experience, Gabriela tells stories through various mediums. Her talent and vision has been appreciated by the likes of Westchester Magazine and Tiny Studios, where she worked on a variety of creative projects and events. Gabriela strives to push herself creatively. She draws from her personal experiences throughout each project she pursues, allowing her to continuously explore new ideas and challenge old ones. In our interview, Gabriela discusses her background and the origins of her creative inspiration.
READ MORE
