On Campus News

The San Antonio Film Commission, a division of the City's Department for Culture and Creative Development, recently announced the winners of the 2013 Student Film Project: Victoria De La Torre and Christian Contreras. Both are students at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Contreras and De La Torre will begin shooting their graduate thesis film, "Para Ellos," in San Antonio in mid July. The cast will be comprised of mostly San Antonio actors. The film tells the story of two young siblings, Maria and Juan, who embark on a night's journey to find their father who has set out to cross the U.S./Mexico border in search of a better opportunity for his children. With the help of a few desert creatures, the siblings come to realize the importance of family and sacrifice.

"Victoria and I are thrilled for the opportunity to bring our USC graduate thesis film to San Antonio. Our hope is to make a movie that represents us as Mexican filmmakers, but also provides a glimpse into the relatively unknown world of child immigration," stated Christian Contreras. More information can be found on their website www.paraellosmovie.com.

"We're especially proud to bring to SA a filmmaking team from the internationally recognized film school at USC and we look forward to their interaction with our city's creative talent. We also hope Victoria and Christian will choose San Antonio for their future film projects," said Drew Mayer-Oakes, Director of the San Antonio Film Commission.

The Student Film Project began in 2012 as a unique marketing program that targets graduate-level thesis and pre-thesis student filmmakers to compete for a $25,000 grant to produce a film in San Antonio. As part of the grant requirements, the winner works with the San Antonio Film Commission to promote the city as a filmmaking destination by blogging about their experience with photos, video clips, and other updates at www.studentfilmproject.com. Last year's winner was Robert Brink from Columbia University. The grant is the largest of its kind in the U.S. and Canada.

With new technology, better access to equipment, and a greater sense of community, the San Antonio film industry has grown exponentially in recent years. More independent feature films were made locally in 2012 than any other year, partly due to the Local Filmmaker Grant, also sponsored by the San Antonio Film Commission. The San Antonio Film Commission, founded in 1985, is a full service agency whose mission is to promote the art and craft of filmmaking in San Antonio to positively impact the City's economy.

A Model City for all America

San Antonio San Antonio is a model city for the new face of America-a diverse, progressive and globally-competitive city with a solid vision for national and international economic development. In 2012, San Antonio was named an All-America City by the National Civic League. The City of San Antonio maintains a strong financial position with a "AAA" general obligation bond rating from all three major rating agencies. The Milken Institute has ranked San Antonio No. 1 on its Best-Performing Cities list. As the seventh-largest city in the United States, San Antonio is experiencing solid economic growth in 21st century industries such as bioscience and healthcare. Biotech companies and healthcare systems in San Antonio contribute billions to the local economy. The Aerospace industry remains a dominant economic strength in San Antonio with the presence of several aviation and aerospace corporations, including the military. The military has had a significant relationship with San Antonio for more than 200 years and is home to several military commands. The city is also a cybersecurity hub; nationally recognized as a leader in the field of information security. San Antonio is positioning itself to be at the forefront of the New Energy Economy in the United States, committed to investing and creating employment opportunities in green industries.

Resources:

www.sanantonio.gov