Latinx House Partners with Netflix to Mentor Directors

For all Latina and non-binary Latinx directors perfecting their craft, there is a new initiative to check out – The Adelante Directors Fellowship, a year-long program that supports the selected directors’ professional development. The fellowship is a joint force between The Latinx House, the Sundance Institute’s Women at Sundance program, Netflix, and Shondaland.

The Fellowship includes the opportunity to shadow an episode of a series, a grant to support the artist for the duration of a six-week period while shadowing, a two-day orientation with masterclasses, and bespoke support from The Latinx House. Shondaland will be providing other shadowing opportunities as part of the program on some of their productions as well.

“It’s essential that the industry dedicates the resources needed to develop a strong pipeline of Latina and non-binary Latinx directors. We are so excited to be working with Women at Sundance, Netflix, and Shondaland, allies who can help us build opportunities for talented creators. We believe it is critical to be working with like-minded partners in Hollywood to accelerate change in the industry. We hope that this Fellowship is just the beginning and will inspire even more studios and companies to open doors for Latinx directors,” said Olga Segura, producer, activist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Latinx House.

Eva Longoria at The Latinx House Event at Sundance 2020

“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with The Latinx House, Netflix and Shondaland on the inaugural year of the Adelante Directors Fellowship. Women at Sundance continues to support filmmakers from underrepresented communities and recognizes the impact that can be made by working together with our partners to build a more inclusive community of creators. Providing a shadowing opportunity is one of many ways we hope to increase access and exposure for Latina and non-binary Latinx directors,” said Adella Ladjevardi, Associate Director, Women at Sundance.

A recent 2021 study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that, of the 1,300 top-grossing films released between 2007 and 2019, there were only 12 individual Latinx directors represented – and only three out of the 1,447 directors were women of Hispanic/Latina origin, but Latinos represent about 18 percent of the population, so Hollywood, we need to do better.

Diane Guerrero at The Latinx House Event at Sundance 2020

Netflix’s support is part of the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, an effort to create more behind-the-camera opportunities for underrepresented communities within the TV and film industries.

“We know that great representation on-screen begins with who is behind the camera. We’re honored to be a part of this incredible coalition to help support Latina and non-binary Latinx directors who are looking for a pathway into television,” said Bela Bajaria, Head of Global TV, Netflix.

“Shondaland is committed to finding ways to ensure equal representation both in front of and behind the camera,” said Shondaland’s Head of Creative Production, Tom Verica. “We are incredibly excited to partner with The Latinx House and the Sundance Institute’s Women at Sundance to establish this wonderful program that will mentor and nurture Latina and non-binary directors.”

The three selected Latina and non-binary Latinx directors will be announced early this Summer. Stay tuned for more updates!