LOS ANGELES - Nov. 9, 2020 - Carlos A. Hurtado, a multi award-winning, Mexican American director and filmmaker, has been selected to participate in the 50/50 Honorable Mentorship Program presented by the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP). The CDDP was born out of the 2014 National Commercial Agreement negotiations between the DGA and Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) with the goal of opening more opportunities for qualified women and people of color to direct commercials.
The aim of the highly selective 50/50 Honorable Mentorship Program is for the directors to receive invaluable professional advice from advertising industry professionals that will inspire them as they continue to advance in the industry. This mentorship program teams 50 emerging directors with 50 commercial industry professionals who review the directors' work and then mentor them, offering advice, guidance, suggestions and possible next steps to move their careers forward.
"This new initiative was created out of a desire to give more opportunities to the incredibly talented pool of women and other under-represented directors that apply to the CDDP each year," noted Tamika Lamison, CDDP executive director. "It's an excruciating process of elimination when there are so many worthy directors. We hope this moves the needle. In addition, we wanted to give a viable avenue of making a difference to people in the commercial industry who has reached out to us with a sincere interest in supporting diversity and inclusion--but more importantly representation and equity."
The directors for this inaugural program were selected from previous CDDP finalists, semi-finalists and by recommendation of the CDDP Advisory Committee.
Carlos Hurtado is a Mexican American, Cannes Film Festival/American Pavilion award-winner (Hollygrove) whose work has been featured on ABC, CNN, Univision, Azteca, Telemundo, Spectrum News, Playboy Radio, LATV, Moviemaker Magazine, Estrella TV and Alegría Magazine. Carlos Hurtado has created promotional material for well-known brands such as Nickelodeon. He has also directed music videos for groups like 3 time nominated Latin Grammy artist - Voz de Mando. His directing career has earned him 63 awards and more than 200 nominations.
Much of Carlos Hurtado's award-winning films are inspired by nonprofit groups which he's partnered with including Parents Against Cancer / Padres Contra El Cancer. Carlos A. Hurtado is extremely devoted to his hometown of Los Angeles, CA and often creates films pro bono for nonprofit organizations that serve his community. Carlos frequently finds in these programs and the people being served by them the inspiration required for creating his award-winning films. While the awards, recognition, and continued prosperity are well worth celebrating, Carlos Hurtado is most rewarded when he can share his talent for filmmaking with community-based organizations and the amazing people they serve.
For more information on Carlos Hurtado, or to view some of his films, please visit: http://carloshurtadofilms.com/.
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