Caitrin Rogers, Producer of “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” and “20 Feet From Stardom” Talks About Producing Documentary Films
By Dolores Quintana
Venice Arts is a neighborhood arts center that serves low income youth and seeks to provide them with an education in the arts and opportunities to learn from professionals in the industry and a place for local photographers and filmmakers to exhibit their work. This is their mission statement from their website, “To ignite, expand, and transform the lives of Los Angeles’ low-income youth through photography and film education, and use our participatory storytelling practices to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities around the world.”
This Friday, Feb. 11, Venice Arts will hold one in a series of “Creative Conversations” with documentary producer Caitrin Rogers, whose credits include her most recent film, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”, the Academy Award Winning film, “20 Feet From Stardom”, the Emmy-winning film “The Tillman Story”, the Grammy-nominated The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silkroad Ensemble. The Zoom event takes place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is free, however “priority for in-person training programs and financial stipends, including opportunities for paid internship placements, is given to active participants, ages 18-24, in Creative Conversations, as well as young people who are low-income, foster youth, homeless…” You can view the event here.
Venice Arts talks about their programs on their website and this is their description of their Youth Program. “Venice Arts’ largest, longest-running program, Art Mentoring & Education, provides a sequenced, Media Arts Education curriculum, college success programs, and creative career development—completely free of charge to low-income young people from throughout Los Angeles. Our Center for Creative Workforce Equity targets young people ages 16-24, offering a sequenced program—from exposure, education, and training through internship placement—that helps build a more equitable and inclusive creative sector. Priority is given to uplifting those whose lives have been most challenged, including homeless, foster, justice involved, and LGBTQ youth.
Through all of our programs we reach over 800 young people each year. As community demand far exceeds our current facility capacities, we turn away approximately 150 low-income youth annually. 95% of youth served are low-income; 53% live in poverty. Just under 50% live in Venice, Mar Vista, Culver City, and neighborhoods with high pockets of poverty on the West Side; the balance live throughout Los Angeles County including Mid-City, South L.A., and Inglewood, and some travel from as far as Norwalk and the Antelope Valley to participate. Most (85%) are youth of color, the majority children of immigrants, and nearly all attend poorly performing public schools and have no access to meaningful creative education.”
You can check out the programs and other events at their website.
