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ABOUT USThe mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging the diverse CentralTexas community through film and media arts. Cine Las Americas is a multicultural non-profit organization based in Austin, Texas. HISTORY
CLA began in 1997 as a Cuban film festival retrospective sponsored by the Mexic-Arte Museum. While programming the initial festival, the organization realized that although Austin was building its reputation as a film Mecca, films made by and about Latinos were largely absent from the community's cultural landscape. The overwhelming success of the first festival proved that there was an audience for these under-represented voices. With community support, CLA made a commitment to become a vehicle for the inclusion of films from all of the Americas. Since 1998, the annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival has steadily grown to become an internationally recognized event. Each year the festival brings Latin American and indigenous films and filmmakers to Austin, creates business opportunities for industry professionals and provides a rich cultural experience for statewide audiences. Four years after its inception in 1997, CLA became a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. In 2001, soon after establishing its non-profit status, CLA partnered with the Austin Independent School District and moved its offices to Johnston High School in East Austin. There it established a Media Arts Center, implementing educational and mentoring programs to support the District's Dropout Prevention Campaign. During this time CLA offered Johnston High School students hands-on bilingual opportunities in multimedia production, event production, and non-profit organization management. CLA has since expanded its bilingual media arts curriculum to under-served student populations in Austin, engaging over 100 Hispanic and African American students. This curriculum is evolving with the needs of the students, and by demand of the students, CLA is creating CineLAB, a mobile after-school cross-cultural film program. The curriculum not only brings the production lab to the students, but also prepares them to produce the annual Emergencia Youth Film Festival, established in 2004. Since 2002, Cine Las Americas has presented more than 300 films at its annual film festival and at various screenings across the state of Texas. In the past three years, the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival has established itself as one of the most prestigious in the country, consistently growing its sponsorship and audience base, and offering artistic excellence, business and cultural exchange to audiences and film professionals alike. This growth inspired a new development phase that began in 2006. CLA found a larger home for its growing staff and programming in the heart of East Austin and invited Eugenio del Bosque to become the new Executive Director. Both the relocation and leadership transition have expanded CLA's vision by providing the necessary tools to further its mission. Increased staff, interns, volunteers, and office space will allow CLA to lengthen the film festival to 9 days, administer its educational curriculum to a larger population in and outside of Austin, and offer Hispanic filmmakers access to post-production facilities through a filmmakers-in residence program. These innovations will deepen CLA's devotion to cultural and artistic exchange between Latin America and the United States. CINE LAS AMERICAS MEDIA ARTS CENTER STAFF
10TH CINE LAS AMERICAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL STAFF
FILM SELECTION COMITTEE
YOUTH FILM JURORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ADVISORY BOARD
INTERNS
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This project is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. Cine Las Americas © 1997 - 2007 | ||
