Less Vanilla, More Risks, Says LA Screenings Independents Panel on Latino Production in U.S.
variety.comAnna Marie de la Fuente LA Screenings Independents hosted a panel of leading U.S.-based Latino producers who held forth on the challenges of creating Latino projects from the heart of Hollywood.
Organized by C21 Media, the panel kicked off with Axel Kuschevatzky, director-owner of Infinity Hill, a producer of the Oscar-shortlisted “Argentina 1985,” who pointed out the asymmetry of the Latino experience in the U.S.
entertainment biz, a persistent conundrum where 19% of the U.S. population is Latino, contributing an estimated $3.2 trillion to the economy, but where its representation on TV, streaming and theatrical hovers between 3%.and 5%. “We’re earning a lot of money for a lot of people but we’re not reclaiming the business that comes along with it,” Kuschevatzky asserted.
They all acknowledged that Hollywood was undergoing a significant transition, given the writers’ strike and the reset among the streaming services, among other factors. “The business is undergoing a kind of existential crisis,” said Nando Vila, executive producer, Exile Content Studio, adding: “This makes many nervous and it is understandable, but it also opens up opportunities for us to search and find new models of content, financing, production and revenue.” Augusto Rovegno, SVP of content at new Spanish-language streamer ViX, concurred: “I think that if it is a moment of transition, it is very clear.
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