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Media Contact:
Rosa Navarrete
Justice for My Sister
Phone: (818) 723-9112
Email: operations@justiceformysister.org
Link to Press Images: https://bit.ly/3XsY3yx
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Justice for My Sister offers filmmakers of color a
career path through their Production Assistant
Certification Program
LOS ANGELES, CA (July 5, 2023) – For the second consecutive year, Justice for My Sister
( www.justiceformysister.org ) is making space for a one-of-a-kind Production Assistant
Certification Program exclusively for filmmakers of color. This year, they are welcoming the
second-year cohort with a total of 30 fellows who will participate in an 8-week curriculum
followed by hands-on training and job placement opportunities for participants based in the
greater Los Angeles area. The program offers a long-term support system to filmmakers of color
who are looking to gain hands-on experience in the production field.
“Justice for My Sister’s PA Certification Program serves as a direct response to the Supreme
Court’s untimely gutting of Affirmative Action. As filmmakers of color, we know the playing
field is not level, and initiatives such as ours are extremely needed in our industry, which
continues to be dominated by white men, despite strides in recent years. This program is
life-changing for emerging creatives of color looking to get their first job in the TV and film
industry that often turns their back on them.”
2022 Production Assistant Certification program graduate, Marlene Luna, wrote “I feel a
stronger sense of direction in terms of my career path and what I’d like to focus on going
forward. Thanks to the opportunity to work on set for Undocumented Tales, I am now extremely
interested in set designing and art department-related roles and actively pursuing those on
LinkedIn and StaffMeUp.”
The program is making strides to fill the gap in behind-the-scenes representation and equip more
people of color with the experience to take up space in the industry. 2022 PA graduate Desiree
Carcamo reported that all their production jobs this past year came to them as a result of their
participation in our program.
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The Justice for My Sister team is excited to guide participants in their journey while touching on
topics such as Trauma-Informed Storytelling and deconstructing hierarchical leadership roles on
set. The organization has produced high-quality video content for clients such as Netflix,
Descanso Gardens, and Las Fotos Projects. Graduates from Justice for My Sister’s PA
Certification Program will go on to obtain crew positions on JFMS-produced content, as well as
positions at studios such as Warner Brothers Discovery and media companies like PBS SoCal.
“We at Justice for My Sister are actively working to shift the culture in the industry itself, which
tends to be volatile. Communication can turn abrasive on-set after a 12+ hour day. We train
media companies who are in the position to hire our participants, so that high-profile
decision-makers may hold themselves to a higher standard and create healthy work environments
where communication between crew members is nonviolent and supportive,” said Kimberly
Bautista, Executive Director and founder of Justice for My Sister.
2023 Production Assistant Certification Program 2nd Cohort
April Blair
Andy Briseño
Andrea Briseño Millán
Diana Cervera
Christopher Chavez
Krystal Clark
Pilar de Haro
Audrey Egekeze
Tanya Flores Hodgson
Rae Gammage
Nathalie Gonzalez
Evelyn Gonzalez Hidalgo
Laura Gueta
Jacqueline Guido
Assata Rose Kweli
Gabrielle Lawrence
Sophie Garcia
Joseph Medel
Diana Moreno
Marco Antonio Muñoz
Mitzie Perez
Jose Ponce
Natalie Quintanilla
Grey Rain
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Gabriela Rodriguez
Kareli Rosas
Elizabeth Salazar
Sterling Stiger
Jazmynn Vazquez
Matthew Villarreal
For details on the cohort, please visit:
https://www.justiceformysister.org/pa-certification-2023
Additional Information
About Justice for My Sister organization
Justice for My Sister (JFMS) is a nonprofit arts organization with the mission to train women of
color, nonbinary youth, foster youth, and survivors of gender-based violence to make films with
a gender-inclusive and racial justice lens as a means to heal from trauma and overcome financial
barriers to entering the TV and film industry. JFMS was founded in 2011 by women of color
filmmakers and survivors of sexual assault as part of an international campaign to end all forms
of gender-based violence through the distribution of a documentary shot in Guatemala, titled
Justice for My Sister. Since our inception, we have been dedicated to imagining the world we
wish to live in by centering community-care, transformative justice, and healing for the arts in
our work.
To learn more about Justice for My Sister, please go to our website www.justiceformysister.org .
You can keep up with JFMS on Instagram @justice4sister.
More information:
Justice for My Sister
JFMS Website: www.justiceformysister.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justice4sister/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForMySister
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Justice4Sister
Link to Press Images: https://bit.ly/3XsY3yx
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