Background

NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) is a national professional membership organization that addresses the professional needs of Latino independent producers. NALIP's mission is to promote the advancement, development and funding of Latino/Latina film and media arts in all genres. NALIP's values are:

• Commitment to Latina/Latino media and filmmakers, regardless of the form or content of their work.
• Commitment to a code of ethics which respects diversity including gender, geography, color, class, age, ethnicity, language, sexuality, religion, genre or physical abilities.
• Commitment to solidarity and accountability, applying our code of ethics to the selection, funding and mentoring processes.
• Commitment to raise the question of historical and cultural relevance and awareness of Latinos and Latinos.
• Commitment to solidarity, alliance building and multiple visions of Latina/Latino experiences within the local, national, international, and global contexts.

In less than two years, NALIP has had some impressive accomplishments. It organized two highly successful national conferences: the first in San Francisco with 250 people attending and the second in Miami Beach that attracted 300 participants. NALIP commissioned The Future of Latino Media: A NALIP Sourcebook, edited by Professor Chon A. Noriega and published by UCLA's Chicano Studies Research Center. The book was disseminated free to over 1,000 people and institutions. The Association designed and uploaded a website, nalip.org. NALIP has created regional chapters in New York, Miami Beach, and San Antonio, and, as a service to its members, supported regional collaborative programs with other national media organizations such as the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, Independent Feature Project, the Sundance Channel and International Film Finance Conference.

Like the Latino community itself, NALIP's membership is diverse yet inclusive: veteran feature film producers working in Hollywood, actors working in Spanish and English venues, emerging video artists using new digital technologies, scholars studying Latinos, media activists in community settings, and curators of museums and festivals. Still in an embryonic phase of its organizational life, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers has over two hundred paid members throughout the country and the membership is growing as regional chapters consolidate.

Organizational Development

In 2001, NALIP's Steering Committee took the organization to its next stage of development. After a national search, NALIP hired it first acting executive director, Kathryn Galan, who will bring together a professional staff that will strengthen the organizational infrastructure and program development. Under the leadership of the acting executive director NALIP will consolidate regional chapter formation, expand membership, and evolve its website into an interactive membership communications tool. 

NALIP's Steering Committee is in the process of transitioning itself from a working steering committee to a Board of Directors. The present members of the committee have created a rotation timeline that will replace them with new members by 2002. This will bring emerging leadership from the chapters, new energy and ideas from the field to the organization while observing the need for organizational memory. By 2002 NALIP will create a process for members to elect the national board members. NALIP has already begun the process of developing a national advisory committee, composed of founding organizations, which will guide it in its organizational development.

NALIP’S advocacy agenda will continue to work through the National Hispanic Media Coalition, that successfully collaborated with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to pressure the networks to increase the number of people of color in front of and behind the cameras. The Association anticipates that the new acting executive director will provide leadership to the NALIP advocacy committee and identify new arenas.

Program Development

NALIP collaborates with other professional organizations to increase opportunities for Latino producers. For two years, the NALIP New York Chapter has worked with the Independent Feature Project to increase the presence of Latino producers within the annual Independent Feature Film Market by participating in panels and seminars. It also organized networking opportunities to bring distributors and buyers together with Latino producers. NALIP in San Francisco collaborated with International Film Financing Conference to increase Latino participation. In Texas, NALIP collaborated with the South by Southwest Festival to increase the participation of Latinos there as well. 

NALIP will continue to develop programs to advance the professionalism of its members. The association is creating a comprehensive National Latino Producers Development Program to enhance skill development and capacity- building for Latino producers at all levels of career development. This program will include grant writing and pitch workshops, a mentorship program, and a national scriptwriting and director's workshop based on the Baniff Center for the Arts' Aboriginal Arts and Sundance Institute professional development models. In these workshops, emerging artists are provided with the opportunity to work intensively on their feature film scripts with the support of established screenwriters. Participants engage in one-on-one problem solving story sessions with "Creative Advisors," engaging in individual dialogues that combine life lessons in craft with practical suggestions to be explored in the next drafts. For feature film producers, professional development activities will take into consideration the fluidity between television and dramatic long form production -- many producers move from feature film to creation of episodic television. It is anticipated that a pilot project will be undertaken in New York and then modified for replication where regional chapters exist. 

NALIP's history

In 1999, for the second time in US history, Latino producers from across the country met at "The Future of Latino Independent Media" conference. Over 250 participants discussed the concerns and potential of Latino independent productions. Out of this creative interchange the National Association of Latino Independent Producers was born. A steering committee was selected and charged with building on what had been accomplished. The second NALIP conference, "Latino Media: Challenges for the New Millennium," was held in Miami Beach during early summer 2000. Attracting 300 participants, the conference featured opening remarks from veteran actress Raquel Welch and comedian Paul Rodriguez. Performance artist Margo Gomez followed with an invigorating presentation and the conference boasted over twenty panels, two spirited Town Hall meetings, a pitch session and a host of side bar networking events. Panels and plenaries, the cornerstones of the conference, varied in focus from Latinos in cyberspace, to negotiating with unions (SAG and AFTRA), to identifying and working with agents, to Spanish language venue opportunities.

NALIP's position in the Latino media organizations ecosystem

There are only a handful of service organizations dedicated to Latinos in film, television and digital technologies -- Cine Acción, Latino Public Broadcasting, National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, National Latino Communications Center, and the Hispanic Media Coalition. Each of these organizations has their area of emphasis: Exhibition and distribution -- National Latino Communications Center, Latino Broadcasting Project, Cine Acción; Lobbying -- National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, National Latino Media Coalition; and Funding -- NHFA and LBP. NALIP is allied with these organizations to provide professional support and advocacy yet none of them have NALIP's focus.

NALIP is a national professional membership organization whose mission is to promote mentoring, networking and advocacy for independent Latino producers, and brings a much-needed vision to the Latino media landscape. NALIP starts from the perspective of the creative independent producer and seeks ways for them to survive in an era of deregulation, decreased funding for the arts and the expansion of media across cable, digital, and satellite. With digital convergence, traditional boundaries which separate producers of audio/music/radio, print media and moving images are collapsing daily. NALIP is poised to provide support and services to this growing body of media makers.

Conclusion

NALIP is in a unique position to promote the work of Latino independent film, video and new media makers. To this end, it partners with foundations, corporate and industry funders, along with its membership to build organizational capacity, develop long-term sustainability and self-sufficiency, and increase its impact on a national basis.

Steering Committee Members

• Bonnie Abaunza
• J. George Cisneros
• Moctesuma Esparza
• Greg Gomez
• Vangie Griego
• Cynthia Lopez (Chair)
• Bienvenida (Beni) Matias (Secretary)
• Frances Negron-Muntaner
• Chon A. Noriega (Treasurer)
• Sandra Perez
• Raymond Telles
• Kathryn F. Galan (Acting Executive Director)

For additional information and/or to become a member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, please visit www.nalip.org