Lourdes Portillo
Mexico-born and Chicana identified, Portillo's films have focused on the search for Latino identity. She has worked in a richly varied range of forms, from television documentary to satirical video-film collage.
Portillo got her first filmmaking experience at the age of twenty-one when a friend in Hollywood asked her to help out on a documentary. Portillo says: " I knew from that moment what I was going to do for the rest of my life. That never changed. It was just a matter of when I was going to do it."
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As you can see below, Portillo has had an extensive career, and has won many awards for her efforts. By clicking on the link you can read more about her accomplishments.
2004 - Collaboration: My McQueen (20 min. experimental documentary) the legacy of Steve McQueen in San Francisco after "Bullit" with Kyle Kibbe and Vivian Hillgrove for the School of Journalism at UC Berkeley.
2001 - Producer/Director Señorita Extraviada/ Missing Young Woman (74 min. Documentary film) on the mysterious killings of hundreds of young women on the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Funded by ITVS, MacArthur Foundation, Soros, and the NEA.
2001 - Video Producer Culture Clash: Mission Magic Mystery Tour (theatre performance at Brava Theatre) a satirical comedy about the Mission District in San Francisco. Funded by Flintridge Foundation, Rockefeller Multi-Arts Production Fund, The NEA, Fleishhacker Foundation.
1999 - Producer/Director/Writer Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (47 min. video documentary) on the impact that Selena Quintanilla had on her fans, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation Intercultural Film and Video Fellowship and Mexican Fine Arts Museum Center, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
1998 - This is Your Day Hoy es tu Dia Video installation funded by the U.S. Mexico Fund for Culture
1997 - Multi-Media Director for the Theatre Play, 13 Days a San Francisco Mime Troupe National Tour .
1994 - Producer/Director: The Devil Never Sleeps/EI Diablo Nunca Duerme (82 min. documentary ) Funded by the Independent Television Service and the National Latino Communications Center.
1994 - Producer/Director Sometimes my Feet Go Numb Experimental Video (2:23 min., performance video)
1993 - Producer/Director/Writer: Mirrors of the Heart (60 min. documentary ) Produced by WGBH in Boston PBS's series, "Americas" National Broadcast in 1993.
1992 - Producer/Director/Writer: Columbus On Trial (18 minute video). Funded by The National Endowment for the Arts Inter Arts . National Broadcast in 1992.
1989 - Producer/Director: Vida (lOmin. narrative) Producedby AIDSFILMS.
1988 - Director/Co-Producer/Writer: La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead (60 min. documentary ) Funded by the Corporation For Public Broadcasting.
1986 - Director/Co-Producer/Writer: Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (60 minute documentary ).
1979 - Director/Co-Producer: After the Earthquake/Despues del Terremoto. (27:00 min. narrative ) Funded by the American Film Institute Filmakers Award.
Although I have not had the pleasure of viewing any of her work, this research/blog post has conjured couriosity for her vision.