Join us today at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET on Instagram live, Black Girl Nerds host Ryanne Bennett interviews filmmaker Elaine Del Valle, who is presenting her new series Brownsville Bred at SXSW next month!
As a writer/director, Del Valle’s second short film, “Me 3.769”, was licensed by the HBO network. Her subsequent film, Princess Cut, was featured by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Director’s showcase and won the HBO Latinx short film award. Princess Cut is currently airing on the HBO Max platform.
Del Valle’s work has received positive reviews from the New York Times, New York Post, NBC News, Journal News, and New York Daily News. She was a Finalist for the Lynn Shelton Award. NW Film Forum and Miami New Times named her a “Filmmaker to Watch” and Ad Age called her short documentary, “Tagged”, “compelling.” Del Valle is a WarnerMedia 150 artist, and Sundance Institute-supported director. As a writer, Del Valle’s original drama pilot, The System, landed a development deal with CBS and Sutton Street Productions (Jane The Virgin).
Written by Del Valle, in The System, a compassionate yet jaded social worker navigates the same broken New York City system she grew up in as she advocates to resolve issues for every family she encounters while struggling to fix her own.
Brownsville Bred is based on an award-winning stage play and young adult novel. The pilot is set in 1980’s Brownsville, NY – at the height of the crack and crime epidemics – where a spunky Latina must find her own path as she comes of age to face the grim realities of the musician father she once idolized and the deteriorating neighborhood she calls home. The story provokes thought and inspires empathy by revealing one girls’ journey through the pitfalls of generational poverty to dignity and self-love.
As always, you can catch the conversation live or the replay on BGN’s Instagram page @blackgirlnerds.