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Women in Film LA Launches Showcase of Socially Conscious Movies From Female Directors

Curated series taking place Sept. 26 recognizes two recipients of Film Finishing Fund grants

| September 23, 2019 @ 1:12 PM
Women in Film Film Finishing Fund Recipients

Women in Film

Women in Film, Los Angeles is set to host its first showcase of socially conscious films from female directors who are recipients of its long-running Film Finishing Fund grant program, the organization announced.

Though Women in Film has awarded grants for 34 years running, this is the first such curated event the organization is hosting to further recognize the filmmakers and their projects. The hope is that the showcase can become an annual event.

The films “Santuario” and “United Skates” will screen as part of an event on Sept. 26 at the AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles, and the screenings will be followed by a panel and reception featuring the filmmakers, cast and crew of the two movies, as moderated by Women in Film’s Maikiko James.

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Both films were among those by four filmmakers that received $25,000 grants as part of the Film Finishing Fund grant, which is funded by beer company Stella Artois, which is also co-hosting the event.

The evening’s theme is “On Community and Impact,” and both films are meant to lift up critical issues around immigration and protecting communities. The event will also feature a conversation with the filmmakers, subjects and community advocates working towards vital social change.

“Santuario” is directed and produced by Christine Delp and Pilar Timpane, and the documentary short follows a Guatemalan grandmother who takes sanctuary in a North Carolina church after she’s threatened with deportation despite living in the U.S. for 25 years. The film won the jury prize for a documentary short at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2018 and was also a winner of the 2017 Tribeca Film Institute IF/Then Shorts American South Pitch.

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“United Skates” is directed and produced by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown and is a documentary about some of America’s last remaining roller rinks across the country. The film delves into a community of thousands engaged in a racially-charged battle to save one rink from closure and save an underground subculture.

The movie won a number of words, including most notably the documentary audience award at Tribeca in 2018.

Timpane and Winkler will speak on a panel discussion alongside the subjects of both “Santuario” and “United Skates,” Lesvi Molina and Phelicia Wright. They’ll be joined by “United Skates” composer Jongnic “JB Bonemps, and Rev. Deborah Lee, the executive director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity.

The showcase is free and open to the public. RSVPs are requested at https://wif.org/fff-showcase-2019.

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