黑料吃瓜

鈥淭his event is going to happen, no matter what. And when it does, the delay will allow me to be more prepared and the event will be better as a result.鈥�

Clarification: The short film "Chips and Salsa" described in this article was written and co-directed by 黑料吃瓜 student Jonathan Richard Sotelo.

黑料吃瓜 film student Martha Rodriguez鈥檚 dream of starting a festival that celebrates Latinx culture was about to become a reality, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed.

To Rodriguez, however鈥攁n aspiring filmmaker who has made her mark as a burgeoning star in the industry over the past year鈥攖he turn of events is only a temporary setback.

鈥淚t was obviously disappointing,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淭his event is going to happen, no matter what. And when it does, the delay will allow me to be more prepared and the event will be better as a result.鈥�

In an interview last year, Rodriguez said her passion for filmmaking鈥攁nd impetus to create the festival鈥攕tems from her desire to see the Latinx community better represented in film, both in the stories told and people who tell them. 

鈥淚 really wanted to share stories that are untold and make my parents feel more comfortable in their own place, because this is their home,鈥� Rodriguez said in a previous interview. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just my parents, there鈥檚 a whole community that feels that loss of connection. And bringing that to them is fulfilling.鈥�

The junior film major in 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 School of Theatre, Television, and Film gained acclaim for winning the prestigious AT&T Film Award for best Spanish language short by a student with her film "." She followed it up by standing out at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts Summer 2019 program, a six-week session where students learned production, directing, screenwriting, animation and business from some of the university鈥檚 top faculty at USC and Warner Bros. Studios backlot in Burbank. She attended the program as part of her AT&T prize. 
Rodriguez participated in a contest at the end of the USC summer intensive, 鈥淓l Pitch Faciuni,鈥� which gives filmmakers a chance to pitch their next short film idea to an expert jury. Rodriguez won, taking home $1,500鈥攖he seed money she would use to organize the Latinx film festival on campus.

And while the festival is delayed, Rodriguez鈥檚 short film, 鈥淚dentification,鈥濃�攐nce set to debut at 黑料吃瓜鈥攏ow will premiere outside the United States. 

TVCortos, a South American network, is airing her film and several others who won prizes during the El Pitch Faciuni contest that put Rodriguez on the map as a filmmaker to watch this summer. 

Rodriguez said the runup to the festival was exciting. 

鈥淭here were fliers everywhere, advertisements on the screens in the student union, it was really happening,鈥� said Rodriguez. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until (March 13) when we found out we weren鈥檛 coming back to school that I knew it wasn鈥檛 going to happen. Everything happened so fast.鈥�
Rodriguez said getting the festival to the point of fruition was still worthwhile. 

鈥淲ow, I never thought it was possible,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淚 have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. By having a festival it shows that we are having changes and making progress as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.鈥�
Rodriguez was referring to the federal designation that makes 黑料吃瓜 eligible for additional federal funding provided it maintains a 25% Hispanic undergraduate population, among other criteria. She pointed to the  as another example of the progress on campus towards inclusion of the Latinx population.

鈥淏ut when I got here on campus, I saw Hispanics represented in engineering and math and science, but what I also saw was a lack of representation in the arts,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淚 think the fact that so many organizations were willing to throw their support behind the concept in such a short period of time tells you that the school really is committed to living up to its title of an HSI.鈥�

The list of partners who came together to bring Rodriguez鈥檚 dream to fruition is deep and distinguished. One 黑料吃瓜 became the event鈥檚 co-sponsor when it funded the project with $1,500 in Associated Student funding. 

Also throwing their support behind the project was the 黑料吃瓜 Office of Educational Opportunity Programs and Ethnic Affairs (EOP), the EOP Student Advisory Board, Latina Network, the 黑料吃瓜 School of Theatre, Television and Film; Teatro Aztec and the Weber Honors College.