I just finished scoring a wonderful film for the Lifetime Movie Network called Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story. It will premiere on Sunday, August 17 at 8PM ET/9PM PT on Lifetime Movie Network.



Judy Reyes “Scrubs”, Ana Ortiz “Ugly Betty”, A Martinez “General Hospital” and Hector Luis Bustamante “The Shield,” “24” star in this Lifetime Movie Network original film, the incredible real-life tale of a mother’s (Reyes) intuition that never wavered throughout her six-year search for her daughter. The movie also stars Marlene Forte as Tatita “CSI,” “Real Women Have Curves” and introducing Jillian Bruno “Dexter” as Delimar.

Here is the Lifetime Page for the movie.

The big Hollywood premier was last week at the Director's Guild of America. It was a great affair.

I would like to thank all those who performed and worked on the score:

Paul Perez, Sax
Ken Bausano, Trumpet
Andy Mendoza, Percussion
Delia Rios, Voice
Pablo Mendez, Viola
Jon Michael Kooren, Score Mixer
J. Marcus Oliver, Orchestrator/Arranger

from Almudena Carracedo's blog, director of Made In LA:

We are thrilled to report that Made in L.A. has been nominated for an Emmy!!! The film is nominated as part of the 29th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards in the category "Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story, Long Form."
The nominees were announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards will be presented on Monday, September 22 at a ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City. We will of course, be there!
As one might imagine, this was very exciting news for everyone who has been part of making this film. A friend of ours wrote us to say: "A rockin' film about immigrant workers rights gets an Emmy nomination! I've died and gone to heaven." That's kind of how we feel...!

We are so happy to announce that Made in L.A. has been nominated for Best Documentary for the  prestigious Imagen Awards, which honors positive portrayals of Latinos and Latino cultures in television and film, and works to enhance opportunities for Latinos in front of and behind the camera. The awards will be presented on August 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

We are also proud that Made in L.A. is a finalist for the Alma Awards in the category of Outstanding Made-for-TV-Documentary. The Alma Awards are given by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. NCLR created the ALMA Awards in 1995 and "the show was named "Alma" (Spanish for "spirit" or "soul") to represent the determined spirit of the Latino people."

The Encounters team wish to inform you that your film, ANGELS IN THE DUST is the winner of our Audience Award for the
BEST International Documentary Film.
 
The Audience Award is based on a popular vote by festival goers in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Dan Guerrero perfomed his one man "Gaytino' back in June at non other but the Lincoln Center. According to an email he sent me it was a "hit" - standing ovations every night for 3 nights. Here's a review in the Washington Post.

from Almudena Carracedo' blog, director of Made In LA:

In a moving ceremony in Washington, D.C., Made in L.A. just received a Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media from the Council on Foundations. It's a great honor because the prestigious award is named for Henry Hampton, the prolific founder of Blackside, Inc., and producer of the legendary historical tv series "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965)". The event is part of the Council on Foundations' national conference and, when we got to the hotel, we were immersed in a sea of 3000+ participants who where there to attend the conference!



Lupe holds one of the clever centerpieces, which she nicknamed an "Oscarito". Out in the hall people looked at us as though it was a real Oscar!

You gotta love New York in the Springtime. It was a quick but wonderful trip - one of those trips were a lot of synchronistic things happened. The last time I was here was almost exactly a year ago for the screening of STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME at the United Nations.

The CHEVOLUTION premier went great at the Tribeca Film Festival. I saw a lot of old friends, went to see some Broadway shows and hear some of the New York underground music scene.


Columbus Circle



To my surprise William H. Macy was there for the premier of BART GOT A ROOM which started at 6pm. CHEVOLUTION premiered at 6:30pm that same night at the same multiplex theater on 19th and Broadway. This is the movie that also stars YouTube star Brandon Hardesty.



On the way over to the theater, I crossed the famous Strand Bookstore. This is the place made famous from the Donald Fagen/Walter Becker song "What A Shame About Me" off the TWO AGAINST NATURE album. It starts out:

"I was grinding through my day gig
Stackin' cutouts at the Strand
When in walks Franny from NYU
We were quite an item back then"


This is a clown.


This is MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO. My good friend Raz Mesinai opened for them at the Highline Ballroom. Notice the two video screens and all the laptops.

How did the iconic image of Che Guevara end up on beer bottles and bikinis? This inquiry into the ethics and aesthetics of appropriation investigates how the enduring symbol of Cuba's revolution skyrocketed to fame and was ultimately devoured by its own worst enemy: capitalism.



CHEVOLUTION

Director: Luis Lopez and Trisha Ziff
Principal Cast: Gerry Adams, Jon Lee Anderson, Antonio Banderas, Shepard Fairey, Gael García Bernal, Tom Morello
Writers: Sylvia Stevens, Trisha Ziff
Editor: Luis Lopez
Original Music Score: Joseph Julian Gonzalez

Premiers at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday, April 25, 6:30PM
AMC 19th East Theater 3
19th and Broadway

Sun, Apr 27, 1:30PM
Mon, Apr 28, 9:00PM
Wed, Apr 30, 12:45PM

I'll be at the Friday screening. Good luck getting tickets. It's pretty much sold out.

Here's a review.

Here's an article by Trisha Ziff, co-director/co-writer

Angels in the Dust is a story of hope and healing in the face of a staggering crisis. AIDS is leaving entire South African villages decimated and thousands of children orphaned, with no adults to raise them. The inspiring story of Marion Cloete, a university-trained therapist who— with her husband and three daughters— fearlessly walked away from a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to build Botshabelo, an extraordinary village and school that provides shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children.

Please  come and support this very important film about the AIDS  epidemic  that is ravaging South Africa.  I co-composed the score with the  South African vocal sensation Simphiwe Dana, who was flown directly  from Johannesburg to LA to work with me on this score.  It has only  been in two film festivals yet has won major awards from both  (Audience, Special Jury).  Both troubling and inspirational, Angels  is a documentary you don't want to miss.  My wife and I will attend the 7:20p screening at the Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills tonight.  The director, Louise Hogarth, will be available after for Q&A.  Come join us!  Sorry for the late invite, we just got in from Peru.


Starting Sept. 28 - Oct. 5, 2007
Los Angeles
Laemmle’s Music Hall
9036 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310.274.6869
Fri, Mon-Thu: 5:00, 7:20 & 9:55
Sat & Sun: 12:00, 2:20, 5:00, 7:20 & 9:55.
Q&As: Fri (28th)/Sat (29th) following the 7:20 pm show. Sun (30th) following the 2:20 pm show.

Also, in Berkeley, San Francisco and Seattle.

Starting Oct. 5 - Oct. 12, 2007
Boston, Washington D.C, Philadelphia
Starting Oct. 19 - Oct. 24, 2007
Portland
Starting Nov. 02 - Nov. 09, 2007
Dallas
Starting Nov. 02 - Nov. 09, 2007
Atlanta

Angels has been extended an extra week because of popular demand.
Extended dates: Sept. 21 - Sept. 27
New York City

All information is on the Dream Outloud Website.

See the Trailer.

Alicia Witt (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Upside of Anger")is the spokesperson for the film and the orphanage.  See her introduction to the film.



Reviews:
LA Weekly
LA Times
New York Times
Bay Area Reporter

Made in L.A. has been picked up by an overwhelming number of press, TV and Radio outlets! Here's a selection. More to follow!

"Almudena Carracedo's debut docu relates a rousing true story of solidarity, perseverance and triumph... Deftly interweaving legal battles, national boycotts, group dynamics and individual empowerment, pic offers a personalized history lesson in class struggle."
-Ronnie Sheib, VARIETY

"Labor protest is not dead. Nor is it futile, according to "Made in L.A.," an excellent documentary tonight on the PBS anthology series "P.O.V." ... Congress may not be able to decide how to process the nation's illegal immigrants, but the film understands that they're simply here, an integral component of the economy. Rather, the documentary is about basic human dignity."
-Andy Webster, NEW YORK TIMES

"Shot and directed with a sympathetic ear and eye by Spanish filmmaker Almudena Carracedo, who co-produced the documentary with Robert Bahar, it is a valuable and moving film -- and entertaining as well -- not merely for what it says about the continuing need for organized labor, and of the difficulty of keeping it organized, but also about how that process affects individual lives in ways beyond the wage. And that the lives it explores are not the sort that get much of a shake on television makes it all the more precious... Completely bilingual (there are English subtitles when Spanish is spoken, and the reverse), the film is not a white paper on, or an exposé of, abuses by the garment industry, but a document of an experience... Where other filmmakers might take snapshots of home lives for a bit of color and context, Carracedo spends time with them, so that domestic decorations and rituals become the fabric that supports the larger action."
-Robert Lloyd, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"If you've ever been annoyed or inconvenienced by a picket line of illegal workers without empathizing with their plight, then you should really tune in for P.O.V.'s "Made in L.A.", a moving documentary which explores the lives of three garment workers in Los Angeles ...As Maria and Maura and the other women gain confidence and hope in the future, the power of activism becomes clearer, and next time instead of stepping around a picket line, you might just find the time to stop and listen."
-SALON.COM

"Sí, Se Puede... Forever 21, founded in Los Angeles...is an American H&M, selling inexpensive-O.K., cheap-clothing whose built-in obsolescence is timed to the speed of the broadband generation."
-NEW YORKER BLOG

"Un estremecedor e inspirador documental sobre la incesante lucha de costureras indocumentadas contra una poderosa compañía de Los Angeles." [A heartrending and inspiring documentary about the constant struggle of undocumented garment workers against a powerful company in Los Angeles"
-LA JORNADA