2024 Inclusion Fellowship Fellows

The youngest son from a Mexican immigrant family of nine, Daniel Eduvijes Carrera achieved the highest honors in Film and English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley, studied Cinema and Mexican Culture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship for an MFA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts. He received the SFFILM Screenwriting Grant for “Invoking Juan Angel”, which won Best Screenplay at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival where his subsequent film, “Soledad de los Incendios” was also awarded Best Short Film. His latest work, “El Paisa”, premiered at Outfest Los Angeles 2023, and has gone on to garner Audience and Jury Awards at the Long Beach, Highland Park and East LA Film Festivals. Following its festival tour, it will air on PBS channels nationwide. His films have also screened at the Tribeca, Guadalajara and Morelia Film Festivals, at numerous art museums and on international television broadcasts. He won Top Prize in Ovation TV’s “Search for the Next Revolutionary Filmmaker,” received the Garcia Bross Award at the Morelia International Film Festival, the Imagen Award for Excellence in Entertainment and Best Latine Film Director by the Directors Guild of America Student Film Awards.

Gianfranco is a Boston native and Los Angeles-based writer and director, who earned an MFA in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. His work explores wrought relationships that survive, even when stifled by the weight of responsibility, purpose and uncertainty. Often representing characters of diverse backgrounds, Gianfranco believes that culture, race, and tradition should be integral to a character's identity, but always second to story. He is one of five selected finalists of the 2023 HBO Short Film Award for his work on "Jerome" and was selected as winner of the inaugural Flip the Script Short Film Fund for emerging BIPOC filmmakers. “Jerome” also received an Honorable Mention for Best Short Film at the Urbanworld Film Festival. His satirical horror short SABORRRR! premiered at Fantastic Fest and had its Los Angeles premiere at LALIFF. His feature script Summer of Mercedes is a Sundance Lab Second-Rounder and was a Nicholls Fellowship quarterfinalist.

Stacy Pascal Gaspard is passionate about sharing her rich, vibrant Afro-Latino and Caribbean culture and her passion for dance on the big screen. In 2021, Stacy was selected for the inaugural class of Indeed’s Rising Voices Program, which culminated in her latest short, “Soñadora”, Executive Produced by Lena Waithe and which had its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. She was also selected as the inaugural winner of Paxeros’ Women of Color Commercial Directing Program, where she directed a narrative spec car commercial for Subaru, winning a Shinny Award. She holds an MFA in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. Navigating the dual uncharted waters of being a first generation immigrant and the oldest sibling of five, Stacy thrives in creating a vibrant and heartfelt world for dreamers, with a dash of magic and a glimpse of hope.

Eric Armando Ibarra is a Chicano filmmaker from the Mexican border town of Chula Vista, CA. After studying film in New York City, Eric began creating video content for clients like The Fader, The Sundance Institute, and Live Nation. His original works, from short films to feature scripts, have been recognized by the Los Angeles International Shorts Film Festival, the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, the NYC International Screenplay Awards, and the Southern California Screenplay Competition. Eric was a participant of Hola Mexico’s Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today 2022 cohort. By focusing on genuine storytelling, with moments of surrealism and dark comedy, Eric shines a light on stories about the transborder and Chicanx communities. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Gerardo 'Gerry' Maravilla is a Mexican-American writer/director based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, he escaped his suburban Catholic upbringing through punk rock and horror movies. He’s been a fellow in Film Independent's Project Involve, the New York Film Festival's Artist Academy, Hola Mexico’s Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today, and the Stowe Story Labs. His work has screened at festivals such as Palm Springs ShortFest, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), the Newport Beach Film Festival, and many others. Recently, he participated in the Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab with his feature script, Niño de vidrio (Child of Glass). The short version won the 2023 Roadmap Writers Short Script Competition. He's just completed post-production on the surreal horror short, "Vivir".

Felix Martiz was born and raised in South Los Angeles. His tight bond with his community is what inspires him to write and direct films. Exposed to international cinema at a young age, films like The Red Balloon and films from the Italian Neo-Realism movement, showed him that films could come from anywhere, not just a studio. With over a dozen short films to his credit, Felix has screened at festivals across the country and won awards such as a New York Latino Film Festival Best Episodic Award for his film “Gone” (2021). Filmmaking is a passion that he believes can empower the youth of tomorrow. As an educator with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Mount St. Mary's College, he mentors for the Youth Cinema Project in addition to volunteering for other youth organizations.

Ambar Navarro is a Mexican-American director currently based in Los Angeles. She was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, where she spent most of her adolescence involved in the local punk scene. Her filmmaking style is heavily influenced by her "d.i.y do-it-yourself" attitude, which she carries into her work. She earned a B.F.A. in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts where she studied stop motion animation and miniature fabrication. Her storytelling incorporates practical and in-camera VFX, as well as surrealism. Ambar Navarro draws inspiration from horror films of the 60s and 70s, and she enjoys creating strong female characters with magical abilities.

Sisa Quispe is a Quechua Aymara award-winning director, writer, producer, and speaker in New York City. As an indigenous woman, her work largely seeks to inspire the preservation of native ways while sharing a decolonizing message. She is one of the winners of the 5th Annual Student Short Film Showcase by The Gotham Film & Media Institute with her Short film “Urpi: Her Last Wish”. “Urpi” premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, won best short by an Indigenous Filmmaker at the Santa Fe International Film Festival in 2023, and was an official selection at the Oscar-qualifying Slamdance Film Festival in Utah. As host of the Instagram series “Native Voices,” Sisa interviewed Indigenous people throughout Abya Yala/Turtle Island. She also produced “Vive el Quechua” (“Living Quechua”), an episodic YouTube series preserving and sharing her Indigenous language and culture. She hopes to bring more representation of indigenous women's perspectives to the screen and hopes to continue cultivating a path for indigenous youth to develop their voices.

Sylvia Ray is an award-winning Chicana/Korean American director who focuses on telling stories about characters who overcome feelings of unworthiness. She found her love for storytelling through her parents who watched bootleg Korean dramas and Star Trek while in separate rooms. Her film “Preggers” won Best Comedy Short at the Arizona International Film Festival among other festivals throughout the US. She was selected for Hola Mexico’s Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today program and, as a result, her film “Len(n)y” was streamed to audiences on Pantaya and DISH! Latino worldwide. On her latest film “The Middle” she worked with critically acclaimed actors like Julio Macias from Netflix’s On My Block and Victoria Moroles from Hulu’s Plan B. A Satellite Collective Fellow, Sylvia is based in Los Angeles and pulls inspiration from her desert-town upbringing, travels abroad, and motherhood. As someone who has found comfort and pride in her mixed roots, she is motivated to forge a path that her ancestors only dreamed of while making a positive impact in representation in front of and behind the camera.