Seniors Daniel Tinajero, Alan Gómez and SF State graduate Nicholas Minniti, established the Latinx Film Club two years ago to create a welcoming space for all students to find their voice in film.
According to a study by USC Annenberg, out of 1,300 popular films from 2007-2019, only 4.2% of the Hispanic and Latinx communities they represented were directors.
With this statistic in mind, president and founder of the Latinx Film Club Tinajero felt it was a challenge for him to raise Latino voices on campus.
“I feel like the issue that we face is that we did not have a direction to go … we did not know who to contact,” Gómez said. “We did not know about tabling and promotion.”
As a transfer student, Gómez felt lost on campus and wasn’t able to find a club that represented his ethnicity and his interests as a screenwriter.
“I was disappointed, we have about 30% of Latinos on campus that go to this school, and I thought because the city is so diverse, I thought we were going to have more voice, but I don’t see that,” Gómez said. “As a Latino, I need to raise my voice that I am here.”
But what started with a group of five people has expanded to 20 members.
Tinajero met SF State assistant professor Rafael Flores in a Hidden Gem career creative pathway, a program that provides resources for low-income people of color who are aspiring filmmakers.
Rafael Flores quickly became the club’s inspiration. At the time in 2020, Flores had multiple projects and production studios. He described his studios as a network where Black and Brown creatives can work together to diversify the film industry. His early initiatives, like the creation of the Black Film Club on campus, further led to the creation of the Latinx Film Club.
“It is great for the Black Film Club to get representation, Golden Gate Xpress did a story about them, they are getting exposure, they are growing, and I am very proud of that, but where are the Latinos, why are we not doing this for ourselves?” Flores said.
He is teaching CINE 309 Latina/o/x Cinema this semester, where he continually shares information from UCLA’s annually conducted diversity report, to discuss the lack of Latino representation in the media.
“In 2018 Latinos were 0.8% of the workforce in the National film and television industry, that is unacceptable, we are the largest minority in this state,” Rafael Flores said. “This state is the leader in media production in the world and we are the largest group of people in this state, yet we are the least represented and least control of our stories.”
Rachel Flores, an active member of the Latinx Film Club, sees the group as an opportunity to meet people alike and explore the world of cinema.
“This semester we are planning on spending more time to get people involved and connect with people, if you are really into cinema, it is a great community and group,” Rachel Flores said.
Tinajero with the Latinx film club encourages and welcomes a new wave of people as he plans to pass the club down to the new members.
The Latinx film club is actively looking for club members to join and enroll in the several open positions such as vice president, treasurer, event organizer and recruitment.
“This is my little seed to create opportunities for people of color to bring those numbers up,” Tinajero said.
For more information about the Latinx film club follow them on Instagram @Ltnxfc.
