While I was shopping at Long's last night, I received a text message from Almudena Carracedo from New York that MADE IN LA had just won the Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long Form. It just said "we got the emmy". I replied "really" and she said "yes".




The 29th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences last night at a gala ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York City, including the Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long Form Award presented to Made in LA, adding to the 18 Emmys awarded to PBS. Nine hundred media industry executives, journalists, and producers attended the event which honors outstanding achievement in television journalism by individuals and programs, distributed via broadcast, cable and broadband.

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."

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!

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

To all my New York friends or people who will be in the Big Apple at the end of July, my latest score, MADE IN LA, will be shown July 26 at 3pm with an additional screening July 29 at the New York Latino Film Festival. Oye chicos, ven a gozar la musica!

It will also air September 4th on PBS. More on that later.

Standing ovation for MADE IN LA at the Mann in Westwood




With the crew and people in the film

A new documentary I scored, MADE IN LA, will have it's world premiere at the Silverdocs documentary film festival in Washington D.C.
It will screen Friday, June 15th at 7:30p and Saturday, June 16th at 12:45p.



MADE IN LA
Directed By: Almudena Carracedo
Producers: Robert Bahar, Almudena Carracedo
Cinematographer: Almudena Carracedo
Editors: Lisa Leeman, Almudena Carracedo
Music: Joseph Julian Gonzalez

This was another wild ride into film scoring madness with lots of late nights with little or no sleep.

I'd like to thank Almudena and Robert for this opportunity score this important documentary.

Once again, the Simple Music Production team pulls through:

Keith Stark, score mixer, recording engineer and all-around music dude; Leticia Sierra, violinist , Pablo Mendez, viola , Elizabeth Wright, cello, Emiliano Herrera, conjunto accordion


Visit my myspace page to hear a preview of the score.

A new documentary I scored, MADE IN LA, will show at the LA Film Festival Saturday, June 23 at noon at the Mann Festival Theater in Westwood. Admission is free!



In 1946, French poet René Char wrote, “He who joined the Resistance, found himself.” Something similar happens to the garment workers in this documentary when they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from mega-trendy clothing retailer Forever 21. In intimate vérité style, filmmaker Almudena Carracedo chronicles the lives of three Latina sweatshop workers who endure 14-hour days and soul-crushing conditions in L.A.’s Fashion District. The drama lies in the length of their struggle. As their initial euphoria gives way to fear and frustration, Carracedo perseveres with them, revealing the incredible courage it takes to bring about real political change.

Directed By: Almudena Carracedo
Producers: Robert Bahar, Almudena Carracedo
Cinematographer: Almudena Carracedo
Editors: Lisa Leeman, Almudena Carracedo
Music: Joseph Julian Gonzalez