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Film by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar Looks Inside Los Angeles’ Garment Industry Through the Eyes of Immigrant Workers
A co-production of the Independent Television Service (ITVS). A Diverse Voices Project Co-production. A co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting.
Sept. 23, 2008 — The documentary Made in L.A., which had its national broadcast premiere on the PBS series POV in 2007, won an Emmy Award at the 29th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards on Sept. 22. Director/producer Almudena Carracedo and producer Robert Bahar accepted the award, given in the category of Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story — Long Form, at the ceremony in New York.
Now in its 21st season on PBS, POV has won 20 Emmy Awards, including a 2007 Special News & Documentary Emmy for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking. POV has won many other coveted industry awards and honors, including 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, eight duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, three Academy Awards®, three Independent Spirit Awards, the Prix Italia and the Webby.
Five years in the making, Made in L.A. is Carracedo’s first feature documentary. The 70-minute film follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate observational style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life. Compelling, humorous and deeply human, it is a story about immigration, the power of unity and the courage it takes to find your voice.
“Made in L.A. introduces viewers to a group of people who largely go unseen: the immigrants who make the clothes we see in stores and shopping malls across America,” said Simon Kilmurry, POV’s executive director. “The women go through intense personal transformations as they summon the courage to ask for basic workers’ rights, and the filmmakers captured their stories beautifully.”
“This film started as a small, grassroots project to tell the story of three brave Latina immigrants and their struggle for their rights and their personal dignity,” said Carracedo. “We are thrilled that POV and PBS were able to bring the film to such a wide audience, and hope that this award will help put a human face on the issues of immigration, low wage work and the everyday struggles of immigrant workers, and that it will engage communities in essential dialogue around these issues.”
The film received significant support through POV’s Diverse Voices Project, a co-production initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that mentors emerging filmmakers and brings greater diversity to the national PBS schedule. “CPB’s support has been critical in bringing Made in L.A. to a national audience,” says Cynthia Lopez, POV’s vice president. “This award validates the investment in new filmmaking talent.”
“Labor protest is not dead. Nor is it futile, according to Made in L.A., an excellent documentary.”
—Andy Webster, The New York Times
About the filmmakers:
Almudena Carracedo, Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Co-editor
Trained in film production in Madrid and Paris, Carracedo worked as a television director in Spain, directing programs for broadcast on Canal+. In 2000, she came to the U.S. as an international scholar to work on her doctoral dissertation on U.S./Mexico border documentaries at UCLA. Her documentary on Tijuana as a border town, “Welcome, A Docu-Journey of Impressions,” received the Sterling Award for Best Short Documentary at SILVERDOCS and screened in numerous national and international festivals. Carracedo is the 2008 recipient of NALIP’s (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) ESTELA Award, and was a fellow of the Latino Producers’ Academy. She has served on the jury of several international film festivals. She and Bahar are currently working full-time on outreach and community engagement around Made in L.A. in the U.S. and abroad.
Robert Bahar, Producer
Bahar is director and co-founder of Doculink, a grassroots organization for documentary filmmakers. He previously produced and directed the award-winning documentary “Laid to Waste,” and has line-produced and associate-produced several independent films including ITVS’s “Diary of a City Priest,” which premiered at Sundance, and “Pittsburgh,” which premiered at Tribeca. He holds an M.F.A. from The Peter Stark Program at the USC School of Cinema-Television and recently served on the Board of Directors of the International Documentary Association.
Made in L.A. is a co-production of Semilla Verde Productions, Inc., Independent Television Service (ITVS) and POV’s Diverse Voices Project. It is a co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting. For more information, go to http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/madeinla/index.html and http://www.madeinla.com.
ABOUT POV
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and celebrating its 21st season on PBS in 2008, the award-winning POV series is the longest-running showcase on television to feature the work of America’s best contemporary-issue independent filmmakers. Airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., June through September, with primetime specials during the year, POV has brought more than 250 award-winning documentaries to millions nationwide, and now has a Webby Award-winning online series, POV’s Borders. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues. More information about POV is available online at www.pbs.org/pov.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Educational Foundation of America, The Fledgling Fund, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The September 11th Fund and public television viewers. Funding for POV’s Diverse Voices Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston and Thirteen/WNET New York.
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CONTACT:
Cynthia López, Cathy Fisher or Karen Reynolds at POV: 212-989-7425, clopez[at]pov.org, cfisher[at]pov.org or kreynolds[at]pov.org for interviews with the filmmakers and more information about the issues explored in their films. Visit pbs.org/pov, POV’s award-winning website and amdoc.org, featuring a pressroom with news releases, artwork, transcripts, critical acclaim and more information.
