About Us
The Cineastas de Granada
Cineastas de Granada is a small film and video production school for teenaged girls in Granada, Nicaragua. The program is offered at no charge to low income teens. It offers courses in beginning through advanced film and video production, including writing, directing, cinematography, sound and editing. Teachers are invited from around the world to volunteer, with a focus on recruiting Central American filmmakers.
The mission of Cineastas de Granada is to help young Nicaraguan women gain access to the film medium, to bring their stories out of the isolation of the personal realm into the collective life of Nicaragua and the world, while learning technical skills and building confidence in their abilities.
BACKGROUND
In Nicaragua there is a lack of resources and affordable education available to help young people gain leadership skills that they need to get jobs as managers and directors, rather than as laborers and as working poor. Women and girls are most affected and are at great risk of ending up in abusive situations, unable to support themselves emotionally and financially.
In Granada, a tourist city, many women and girls turn to prostitution as a means for survival. Others seek to marry older American and European men as a financial security measure, compromising any hope for developing a sense of self. A 14 or 15 old Nicaraguan girl with a 50 or 60 year old American or European man is not an uncommon sight in Granada.
The program offered by Cineastas de Granada provides invaluable tools for fostering self-confidence, skills for the job market, and a means of self-expression for these young artists. They need to access the medium of film. Equally important is the contribution that these young people will make to the shape and content of the medium itself.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Cineastas de Granada is run by an all volunteer staff. The school uses donated equipment and donated funds to operate. We desperately need funds, volunteers and equipment to go to our next phase. Really, every little bit helps. Please go to "Support Us" to learn more.
The project is sponsored by the non-profit organization Building New Hope, an organization centered in Pittsburgh, PA. Building New Hope is all-volunteer and provides support and partnership to communities in development in Central America. Building New Hope began in 1992 with a partnership with the community of Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador. The organization currently supports educational, medical and economic projects in Nicaragua and El Salvador.