#43-(Part 1 of 2 )#OscarsNotSoBrown: Filmmaking while Brown with Linda Yvette Chávez & Marvin Lemus

Summary: Its Oscar week 2018 and the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite is still painfully accurate, so the Tamarindo team decided to sit down with a pair of visionary #Latinx filmmakers who are breaking down barriers in Hollywood by putting Latinx stories and faces front and center. Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, the talented young creators behind the highly anticipated bilingual digital series GENTE-FIED (2017 Sundance Film Festival Selection, executive produced by America Ferrera & MACRO Ventures), join Melinna and Brenda to talk about their experiences as Latinxs in the industry, why representation and inclusion matter, challenging the status quo, and even their relationship to Instagram! The conversation was so rich that we couldn’t contain it to just one episode, so we decided to do a Tamarindo Podcast first- a two part episode! Part 1 focuses on their trajectories as filmmakers and Part two (dropping soon) will delve deeper into complex discussions around changing the status quo in Hollywood and making sure that #OscarsNotSoBrown becomes a thing of the past.  Guest Bios: Linda Yvette Chávez is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, director and a Xicana who loves to tell Latinx stories. Linda holds an MFA in screenwriting from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, and a BA from Stanford University. She’s a Project Involve Alum and the recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s McNamara Creative Arts grant. Her feature screenplay, Fieras, won USC Cinema’s prestigious Jack Nicholson Award for merit in writing and was selected for Film Independent’s selective Screenwriting Lab. Linda has written and produced for Univision, MiTu Network, Pepsi, and XO Group. Her work has received millions of views, featured everywhere from CNN to Good Morning America. Instagram.com/lindayvettechavez twitter.com/lindayvette Marvin Lemus is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer with a passion for telling nuanced Latinx stories. His work ranges between the film festival circuit and the digital world and has been featured on Funny or Die, Huffington Post, Gizmodo, Mitu, and Buzzfeed. Marvin was behind the wildly successful digital campaign for the feature film, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, which received over 8 million views. Lemus directed the short film, VÁMONOS, as a Film Independent Project Involve participant, and went on to screen this project internationally in over 40 film festivals. VÁMONOS won awards at NBC Universal Short Film Festival, Frameline40, and a prestigious Imagen Award. Marvin was selected for the 2017 Sony Diverse Director's Program. He is a Mexican + Guatemalan-American, and a self-described anchor-baby born in the hot AF desert of Bakersfield, CA.  www.elmarvinlemus.com Instagram.com/elmarvinlemus Don’t forget to [subscribe](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tamarindo/id1102882792?mt=2) to Tamarindo Podcast so you don't miss the second half of this two part episode! Keep in touch at www.tamarindopodcast.com