On September 27, the Latino Committee (LC) meeting featured the discussion, Latino Priorities: A DGA Conversation. In a conversation moderated by LC Director Category Representative Regina Ainsworth, DGA National Board Member Norberto Barba, Alternate Board Member Patricia Cardoso, Committee Co-Chair Eli Gonda, Alternate Board Member Phil Lord, Committee Co-Chair SJ Main Muñoz, Second Alternate Board Member/Committee AD/UPM Category Representative Chemen Ochoa, Alternate Board Member/Western Directors Council Alternate/Former Committee Co-Chair Ed Ornelas, Western Directors Council Alternate Patricia Riggen, Alternate Board Member Marcos Siega, Committee Co-Chair Jay Torres, and Second Alternate Board Member/Eastern AD/UPM Council Chair/Eastern Diversity Steering Committee Co-Chair Canella Williams-Larrabee spoke about the future of the Committee.
The LC Co-Chairs set the table for the conversation with a presentation of their priorities for the 2023 to 2025, introducing a term titled “LEG UP”— Lead, Elevate, Grow, Unify, Promote. It served as a jumping off point for the newly-elected Latino leadership of the Guild to share their hopes and goals for the Latino DGA community which include: prioritized representation, strength of voice, mentorship, Guild leadership, community building and bonding, increased visibility, statistical tracking, overcoming Latina underrepresentation, strengthening the voices ‘in between’, and increasing opportunities for craft enhancement — all vital steps towards paving a brighter future for current and the next generation of Latino members.
Some of the forward-thinking comments included Barba, who said, “We have to always think about strategy. And what I want to say to the Co-Chairs is ‘How can I help?’” Barba’s avowal to offer support and advocacy was echoed by all Latino leadership including Lord who suggested, “Through a list of action points, we can make a real dent.”
“We are the future,” stated Williams-Larrabee, who joined the conversation via video. “The minority is the global majority”
The panelists all agreed that creating awareness for the Latino community was important in paving a brighter future for the new generation of filmmakers and that the only way of achieving that goal is by getting more involved with Guild and being part of the Latino Committee.
About the Panelists:
 Director Regina Ainsworth (moderator)
Ainsworth’s directorial credits include the feature length documentary, Red Dog & Bates; episodes of the indie dramedy, Linked by Love; the independent pilots, The Project and Law & Order: The Musical; the dramatic shorts Better Together and Breaking Glass; and the award-winning short films, Recombined and Perchance to Dream and proof of concepts Unveiled and Stay. A DGA member since 2018, Ainsworth currently serves as the Director Category Representative of the Latino Committee and previously served two terms as Latino Committee Co-Chair. She is also a co-founder of los directores, a Guild-level collective of Latin Directors and Director’s team members who are dedicated to making the invisible visible, via equitable employment. |
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 Director Norberto Barba
Barba’s directorial credits include the feature films Blue Tiger and SOLO; and the Emmy-nominated movie for television Apollo 11: The Movie. He has directed over 100 hours of television including the pilots of Mayans MC and Lights Out; and episodes of Better Call Saul, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Preacher, The Strain, Chicago Justice, The Bridge, Fringe, Suits, NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI: Miami, The Mentalist, Numb3rs and Resurrection Blvd. He served as an Executive Producer and Director on the series Grimm and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and is the current Executive Producer/Director for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. A DGA member since 1994, Barba currently serves a member of the DGA National Board and has served as an alternate on Western Directors Council and is an active member of the Latino Committee.
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 Director Patricia Cardoso
Cardoso’s directorial credits include the feature films, Real Women Have Curves — the first film by a Latinx woman Director to be included in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry and to receive a Sundance Audience Award — and El Paseo De Teresa; the movies for television, Lies in Plain Sight and Meddling Mom; the pilot for the series, Harlan Coben's Shelter; and episodes of Party of Five, All Rise, Queen Sugar and In the Dark. Cardoso won a DGA Student Film Award for her 1994 short, The Water Carrier of Cucunuba. She has been a DGA member since 2001, was recently elected as an Alternate Member of the DGA National Board and is also a member of the DGA Independent Directors Committee.
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 Director Eli Gonda
Gonda’s directorial credits include the feature films Sid Is Dead and The Outfield; and episodes of Freeridge, On My Block, ABC Discovers: Los Angeles Talent Showcase, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Husbands. He has been a member of the DGA since 2019 and currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Latino Committee. He is also an alumnus of the Disney | ABC Directing Program, and the 2021-2022 DGA Television Director Mentorship Program. |
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 Director Phil Lord
Alongside his directing/writing/producing partner Chris Miller, Lord’s directorial credits include the feature films 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street; the animated features The Lego Movie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; the pilot for the series Brooklyn Nine-Nine; and episodes of the series The Last Man on Earth. Lord has been a DGA member since 2011 and was recently elected as an Alternate Member of the DGA National Board. |
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 Director SJ Main Muñoz
Main Muñoz’s directorial credits include episodes of Manifest, The Cleaning Lady, American Horror Stories, Dynasty, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Chicago Med, The Rookie, Ordinary Joe and Chicago P.D.; as well as numerous short films. In 2020, Main Muñoz was the only Latina narrative Director to be invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A graduate of the DGA Television Director Mentorship Program, she has been a member of the Guild since 2020, currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Latino Committee and previously served as the Alternate Co-Chair of the Committee. |
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 1st AD Chemen Ochoa
Ochoa’s Assistant Directing resume includes features films such as Jonathan Watson’s Arizona and Gavin O’Connor’s Jane Got a Gun; mini-series including Thai Cave Rescue and Godless; and episodes of series including Big Sky, Outer Range, Bluff City Law, Daybreak, Manhattan and Midnight, Texas. She has been a DGA Member since 1992, was recently elected as a Second Alternate DGA Board Member, currently serves as the AD/UPM Category Representative Latino Committee and as an alternate on the Western AD/UPM Council.
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 Director Edward Ornelas
Ornelas’s directorial credits include the independent feature film, The Legend of Billy Fail; and episodes of Promised Land, Shelter, Fear the Walking Dead, Locke & Key, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, NCIS: New Orleans, Code Black, The Resident and Roswell, New Mexico. DGA member since 2009, he currently serves as an Alternate on the DGA National Board and the Western Directors Council, is a mentor on the DGA Director Development Initiative’s Television Mentorship Program and a member of the Diversity Task Force. He is a former Co-Chair of the Latino Committee. |
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 Director Patricia Riggen
Riggen’s directorial credits include the feature films, The 33, Miracles from Heaven, Girl in Progress and Under the Same Moon; the movie for television, Surveillance and Run for Your Life; the pilot for the series, Proven Innocent; and episodes of Dopesick and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. She received a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for her 2011 movie for television, Lemonade Mouth. Riggen joined the DGA in 2010 and currently serves as an alternate on the Western Directors Council. |
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 Director Marcos Siega
Siega’s directorial credits include episodes of Dexter: New Blood, The Flight Attendant, God Friended Me, Batwoman, You, Time After Time, Blindspot, The Following, The Vampire Diaries, Outlaw, Dexter, Cold Case and Shark. He began his directorial career with videos for music videos for bands such as Weezer, System of a Down and Blink-182. Siega has been a DGA member since 2001 and was and was recently elected as an Alternate Member of the DGA National Board. |
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 Director Jay Torres
Torres’s directorial credits include episodes of CeReality, Life, Desperate Housewives and Alias; the shorts Dead End, The Lost Archives of Quincy Taylor and Learning to Fly; as well as commercials for Walmart, Footlocker/Reebok, Skechers, Buick, Texaco, DirecTV, Universal Studios, and the LA Times. He was instrumental in helping the platform Vudu build their original content programming, which led to an adaption of Stan Dragoti’s feature film Mr. Mom as a streaming series where he served as Executive Producer/Showrunner. Torres is also the Co-Founder of iDENTITY, a production company dedicated to telling stories that focus on diversity and inclusion, particularly for the American Latino market. A DGA member since 1999, Torres was previously elected to three terms as a Co-Chair of the Latino Committee, and currently serves on the Special Projects Committee. |
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 UPM Canella Williams-Larrabee
Williams-Larrabee has nearly 20 years of experience in the film and television industry, her credits include episodes of series such as Evil, Raising Dion, NCIS: New Orleans and the DGA Award-nominated limited series, The Undoing. A DGA member since 2019, Williams-Larrabee also serves as the Chair of the Eastern AD/UPM Council, Co-Chair of the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee, a Second Alternate member of the DGA National Board, is a member of the UPM Committee and is the founder of the Diversity Coalition "New York Film and Television for Diversity and Inclusion" or NYFTDI (pronounced NIFTY). This is her second term as a Co-Chair of the EDSC. |
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ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:
The Latino Committee was created as a networking group to advance career and job opportunities for Latino DGA members by improving craft skills, networking, and making Latinos better known to the Hollywood creative community.