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Fall 2003
¡Viva Cinema!
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"The great
thing about Latino moviemakers at UCLA is how we have evolved," Barboza
explains. "In the early '90s, when I arrived as an undergraduate, our goal
was primarily admissions — increase the amount of students in the department.
Once that was fulfilled, we decided that it was time to showcase our work and
bring the community over to UCLA. The Chicano/Latino Film & TV Association
accomplished that with the many film festivals we've held almost every year.
Now, we are thinking about creating an alumni association that will help with
networking jobs after school, and perhaps create an archive of films from these
great filmmakers who came before us. Latinos at UCLA want to feel connected
to the past."
Barboza chaired
the Chicano/Latino Film & TV Association in 2000. He feels that the identity
of Latino moviemakers at UCLA has solidified and the need to rekindle the sociological
films of the 1970s is no longer present. "Now it's all about personal storytelling,"
Barboza relates. "I'm amazed when I see movies about Los Angeles and there
are no Mexican faces. I have an extended family of 150 from my community who
work on all my films and rally behind every project. A film is not just about
the director; there's a band of artists — actors, designers, writers,
costumers — who are holding me accountable. After training at UCLA for
the last 10 years, they tell me I have to continue to make films and tell people
about my experiences."
As M.F.A. candidates
like Barboza indicate, Latino moviemakers are as diverse as the stories they
bring to the screen. Their work tends to share a deep humanism — a respect
for people that often waltzes hand in hand with the magic of nature and dreams.
Episodes from real life, handed down through the core of Latino culture —
the family — take on the quality of a darkened movie theater and an audience
hungry to be told a story.
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