On Campus News
San Antonio Film Commission Brings California Filmmakers to the Alamo City
By StudentFilmmakers.com
posted Jul 1, 2013, 11:20
The San Antonio Film Commission recently announced the winners of the 2013 Student Film Project: Victoria De La Torre and Christian Contreras.
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
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