Frieze has revealed the eight emerging filmmakers shortlisted for the 2024 Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award.
Award-winning non-profit Ghetto Film School and global film and TV studio FIFTH SEASON return to collaborate on the fifth iteration of the award, which has been widely recognized within the industry as an incubator for next-generation talent.
In conjunction with the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award, the initiative’s associated
Audience Award invites members of the public to vote for their favorite submission. The shortlisted
films and voting platform are available online, with voting closing on February 26th, 2024.
The winner of the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award will be recognized with a $10,000 award, while the Audience Award will see $2,500 for the most popular short film; both will be announced
at an invitation-only ceremony that will take place at Frieze Los Angeles 2024, on Friday, March 1st. In
addition to supporting the Film Award, Deutsche Bank continues as global lead partner for Frieze fairs,
marking over 20 years of a shared commitment to artistic excellence.
Ghetto Film School is delighted to build upon our partnership with Frieze for the fifth edition of the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award. This opportunity is one-of-a-kind, providing filmmakers with exclusive access to Frieze’s expansive resources alongside the expert guidance of their knowledgeable staff. Drawing distinct inspiration from the artwork and mentorship, filmmakers empower themselves to create stories that are original and dynamic – films which broaden the horizons and perspectives of not only their audiences, but also their creators. As always, we are eager to experience the works of art made possible by this special partnership, and we’re incredibly proud of our Fellows and ROSTER members who have worked so diligently to realize them.
Montea Robinson (CEO, Ghetto Film School)
Selected from an open call for applicants aged 18 to 34 in the Los Angeles region, Octavia Anderson,
Jonathan Estrada-Salazar, Celine Eva, Jeanine Fiser, Kaylen Ng, Miguel Ramirez, Kat Torres and Britt
Williams has undertaken a rigorous three-month program led by Ghetto Film School to create short
films that address this year’s chosen subject: ‘technological transformations.’ In recognition of technology’s power to disrupt established norms, foster opportunities and challenge perceptions of
reality, all eight films touch on both positive and negative impacts while exploring topics from artificial
intelligence to metaverses and more.
Leading art and entertainment professionals will select the award, with jury members including Mina
Baban (VP of Television Development and Production, FIFTH SEASON), artist José Davila, Julio
Quintana (Writer and Director), Montea Robinson (CEO, Ghetto Film School), and Ameet Shukla (Head
of Content, 1Community), alongside Christine Messineo (Director of Americas, Frieze) and Claudio de
Sanctis (Head of Private Bank and member of the Management Board, Deutsche Bank).
See the shortlisted films HERE
ABOUT THE JURY
Mina Baban is a VP of Television Development and Production at FIFTH SEASON. She joined the team
in 2020, overseeing a slate of both domestic and international television series on networks from Netflix
to Apple TV+ to Max to Foxtel Australia. She oversees the studio’s global partnerships and their
respective creative slates in territories including Korea, Scandinavia, Latin America, Canada, India,
MENA, and Australia. She previously worked in drama development at Amazon Studios where she
developed and oversaw such shows as ZeroZeroZero and A Very English Scandal.
Jose Dávila is an artist based in Guadalajara, Mexico, creating works that materialize physical
phenomena such as gravity, resistance and equilibrium. His practice renders tension and stillness;
geometric order and random chaos; and fragility and resistance through a wide range of materials and
media. Dávila’s work is part of major institutional collections including the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,
Madrid; among others. He was awarded the 2017 Baltic Artists’ Award in the UK and is a 2016 Honoree
of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.
Christine Messineo is Director of Americas at Frieze. Previously she held positions at Bortolami Gallery
in New York and Hannah Hoffman in Los Angeles. Messineo founded PLAN YOUR VOTE, a non-partisan
cultural initiative designed to generate civic engagement through the electoral process. The campaign
harnessed the power of art and brought together 70 recognized artists and 150 renowned institutions to
encourage US citizens to exercise their right to vote in the 2020 elections. The initiative reached more
than 28 million people.
Julio Quintana is a writer and director whose feature films include his critically acclaimed debut, The
Vessel (2016) starring Martin Sheen, and Netflix Original Blue Miracle (2021). His upcoming feature, The
Long Game, will be released in theaters in 2024. Starring Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid and Cheech
Marin, the film premiered at the 2023 SXSW film festival where it received the Audience Award for Best
Narrative Feature. Quintana lives in Austin, TX with his wife and producing partner, Marla Quintana, as
well as their three children.
Montea Robinson is a producer, film educator, arts manager and alumna of Ghetto Film School who hails
from New York City. She took over the reins as CEO in 2022, after serving as the Managing Director
(2018-2020) and later Executive Director (2020-2021) of GFS LA. As Executive Director, Montea served as a key voice in the development of GFS’ five-year Strategic Plan and led the production of Fellows’ original short films with partners like Dolby, Netflix, Sony, and more. With a BFA in Experimental Film from the SUNY Purchase School of Film and Media Studies, Montea began her career as a broadcast and post- production producer in commercial advertising.
Claudio de Sanctis has been a member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank and Head of Private Bank since July 2023. After joining the bank in 2018, he had been Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth
Management Europe, Global Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, and most recently Head of
International Private Bank, as well as CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before Deutsche Bank, he
was Head of Private Banking, Europe, at Credit Suisse, which he joined in 2013.
Ameet Shukla is a producer and the Head of Content for 1Community, an entertainment production and
co-finance company using the power of storytelling to drive real-world impact. His most recent films include Susanna Fogel’s Winner and Stephen Chbosky’s Nonnas. During his tenure, the company also co- produced the play POTUS and the critically acclaimed revival of For Colored Girls, both of which earned Tony nominations. Prior to joining 1Community, he served as the President of Production for MAS
Production, a film and television production company.
ABOUT THE FELLOWS
Octavia Anderson is a 22-year-old filmmaker from South Central Los Angeles. Her environment and
experiences within a low-income neighborhood in LA and as a Black woman inform her storytelling. Her
goal as an artist is to continue to make projects at the highest creative level, challenge herself with new
mediums, and share this growth with a loving, driven community.
Jonathan Estrada-Salazar is a Salvadoran American writer-director, born and raised in Los Angeles.
Estrada-Salazar has worked as a production assistant on multiple television productions, assisted in
Ghetto Film School projects and currently works as a high school teaching assistant, tutoring students in the basics of filmmaking. Estrada-Salazar aspires to create meaningful stories that inspire children of
color to pursue careers in film.
Celine Eva is an LA-based writer-director and 2019 GFS alumna. She has held positions in marketing and
business finance, development, and production and is a creative executive at Invention Studios. Eva, who
also writes scripts and screenplays, hopes to tell stories that thrill, disturb, and linger.
Jeanine Fiser is a filmmaker from Central California who studied film at Loyola Marymount University.
After completing an MFA in film production, Fiser worked as an associate story producer for Keeping Up
With the Kardashians. Currently, she works at Naughty Dog as a narrative producer for the studio’s iconic
games. Her films, which tend to revolve around truth, are always infused with humor.
Kaylen Ng is a first-generation Singaporean American producer and writer with a degree in Creative
Producing and Virtual Production from Chapman University’s Dodge College. She was a 2022 Coca-Cola
Refreshing Films finalist and a 2023 Television Academy Foundation Star Trek Command Training
Program fellow. With previous experience at Proximity Media, Starz and Lionsgate, Ng currently works as
the Executive Assistant to the President of Film and Television at Justin Simien’s Culture Machine. She
also produces live events and podcasts.
Miguel Ramirez is a Salvadoran American filmmaker from South Central Los Angeles. He has worked at
Lionsgate, Media Res/Apple TV+, The Mission Entertainment, and as a writers’ assistant on Everybody
Still Hates Chris, for Paramount+ and Comedy Central. Ramirez was selected to participate in the
National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Series Script Writers Program sponsored by Disney, NBCUniversal,
and Netflix, and was awarded a $25,000 grant by Dolby and Ghetto Film School to write and direct a
short film based on a scene written by Carlos López Estrada. He is driven by a desire to expand the film
and television world to include more stories that center underrepresented groups.
Kat Torres, a Los Angeles native and aspiring Latinx filmmaker, is currently pursuing her college
education. The first filmmaker in her family, Torres aims to inspire others to navigate their paths in the
industry, fostering a broader spectrum of voices and stories. With a deep commitment to diversity and
representation, Torres’ films showcase the richness of experiences in the transition from girlhood to
womanhood.
Britt Williams is a writer and director based in Los Angeles, who recently completed her studies as a
Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute. Williams previously programmed a film series at Doc
Films while pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and enrolled in night film classes
at the School of Visual Arts while working in digital marketing in New York. Her work uses humor to
explore Black characters who are confronted with their own internal contradictions, reflecting her interest in community, femininity, and narratives of Black progress.
