Borderlands Studios, a groundbreaking initiative within The Sidney Poitier New American Film School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, has announced the selection of its inaugural cohort of Borderlands Visionary Fellows: Cecilia Aldarondo, Aurora Guerrero, Peter Bratt, and Rodrigo Reyes.
The four mid-career filmmakers, chosen for their exceptional storytelling that explores the complexities of the borderlands experience, will each receive a $50,000 unrestricted grant to develop new films, along with access to state-of-the-art resources across ASU’s Los Angeles, Tempe and Mesa locations through this innovative fellowship program.
“The creation of Borderlands Studios and its Visionary Fellowship elevates crucial creative voices at a time when they most need to be heard,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, founding director of The Sidney Poitier New American Film School. “I am honored to welcome the new Borderlands Fellows as they help fulfill the promise of The Poitier Film School to uphold the legacy of its namesake by disrupting the status quo and breaking down barriers to educational and cinematic equity.”
Founded by celebrated filmmakers and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellows Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, Borderlands Studios is committed to developing and producing stories that challenge conventional narratives about the borderlands. The studio provides a vital space for filmmakers who push artistic boundaries and bring socially grounded, cinematically elevated stories to life.
Cecilia Aldarondo is a Guggenheim-winning writer-producer from the Puerto Rican diaspora, known for her acclaimed documentaries Memories of a Penitent Heart, Landfall and You Were My First Boyfriend. Peter Bratt is a Rockefeller Fellow, Peabody Award winner and Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose work includes the Sundance award-winning Follow Me Home. Aurora Guerrero is a Chicana activist and filmmaker, recognized for her Sundance-nominated debut feature Mosquita y Mari and her work on Apple+ series Sanctuary. Rodrigo Reyes is a Guggenheim Fellow and award-winning filmmaker whose most recent work, Sansón and Me, was featured in the prestigious documentary series Independent Lens.
Rodrigo Reyes expressed his gratitude for being part of the fellowship, stating, “I am deeply grateful to all the partners who believed in this project …and to Alex and Cristina for bringing us together in an act of great selflessness and love that is rare in the film industry. They understand that only by leaning into community can we save our community.”
From left to right: Alex Rivera, Rodrigo Reyes, Aurora Guerrero. Cecilia Aldarondo, Peter Bratt, and Cristina Ibarra
The announcement of the fellows was made at a private reception held Sept. 19 at ASU’s California Center in downtown Los Angeles. The event also served as the kickoff for “The Border Is a Story: 2024,” a three-day convening that brought together 20 accomplished storytellers and cultural leaders to inspire new ideas and foster collaboration. The convening, which ran Sept. 19-22, was co-hosted by Kelly Lytle-Hernandez of UCLA and Andrew Friedman of The Action Lab, with support from the MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Partners in Kind and the TomKat Foundation.
Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX 20th District), a longtime advocate for Latino representation in media, delivered a powerful video message during the reception, underscoring the critical importance of amplifying diverse voices in the film industry.
“Like many of you, I've been tracking the lack of Latino voices in film production and I see how that exclusion affects the way their stories are told,” said Castro. “Right now, as you know, we’re in the thick of a political season that's defined by a narrative crisis around the border. There's just too much hate and not enough imagination or compassion. We need better stories, and also truer stories. Our community has always had talented storytellers, but too often, they struggle to get their voices heard. That's why I'm excited to see the launch of Borderlands Studios, which aims to fill that void with world-class films in a nonprofit studio.”
Learn more about Borderlands Studios at film.asu.edu/borderlands-studios.
