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Logline

Barrio Television is the untold story of a band of Puerto Rican filmmakers who refused to let the first all-Latino produced TV show in American history be canceled.

Synopsis

Barrio Television is about a band of Puerto Rican filmmakers in 1972 who refused to take no for an answer. When New York’s local public television station WNET canceled their pilot because it touched on racism too much for their liking, the filmmakers padlocked the door to WNET’s live pledge drive and hijacked the event. Then, they filled the sidewalks outside their Columbus Circle office with protestors until the executives gave in. They finally got their own show—the way they wanted to make it. That is the birth of “Realidades”: the first bilingual Latino television show in American history.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Christina DiPasquale – Writer/Director/Producer
Christina DiPasquale is a filmmaker and storyteller focused on advancing a more just and participatory media. Christina produced several short films for the Youth First Initiative, Public Welfare Foundation, and Alliance for Safety and Justice, including Demand More and Jim Crow Juvenile Justice. She has led publicity and social impact campaigns for films including Dirty Wars, XYChelsea, When Elephants Fight, and Unmanned. She is a 2022 NALIP Latino Media Market fellow and alumna of the UnionDocs Early Production Lab 2022. Her archival research has been recognized and elevated by the Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting, and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies. Christina is a senior fellow at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy and serves on the Board of Directors of the Media Burn Independent Video Archive and America’s Voice.

Kristofer Ríos – Producer
Kristofer Ríos is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist from New York City. He’s dedicated his career to telling narratives of communities underrepresented or misrepresented in the media. He produced documentary features SCIENCE FAIR (National Geographic) and HAVANA SKATE DAYS (Univision). As a journalist, he’s covered immigration and social justice issues; producing investigative news documentaries for HBO Max, Hulu, The New York Times, The Guardian, and most recently ASYLUM for ABC News Documentaries; a film about two fathers from Honduras seeking refuge in the U.S. Kristofer was the co-director and co-executive producer of MENUDO: FOREVER YOUNG and producer on the upcoming National Geographic docuseries SCIENCE FAIR: THE SERIES. Kristofer is a 2023 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and his work has been recognized by the GLAAD Media Awards, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Livia Perini Borraje – Cinematographer
Livia Perini Borraje is a filmmaker who has produced, shot, and edited short films and TV shows for MTV Brazil, HBO Latin America, Food Network, and more. Documentary shorts that she filmed and edited have appeared on CNN, Newsweek, VH1, New York Times Op-Docs and Yahoo Mexico. Livia’s short film Cor de Pele (2018) won the Brazilian Film Academy Award’s Best Short Documentary Prize in 2019 and more than 20 awards worldwide. She is directing the documentary feature Presente!, currently in production, with support from The Sundance Film Institute and Women Make Movies. Livia was a North Star Fellowship Fellow in 2021 and Latino Media Market Fellow in 2022. She holds degrees in journalism, advanced cinematography and digital TV from University Metodista and New York University.

Andrès Arias – Editor
Andrès Arias is an independent filmmaker and editor based in New York City. He edited a film spotlighting ASCO, the extraordinary Chicano art collective of the 70’s-80’s. His past work includes the Sundance award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary feature Cartel Land (2015); Brimstone & Glory! (2017); The Great Hack (2019); and The Boy From Medellín (2020). Andrès has edited series streaming on HBO and Showtime and content for PBS, BRIC TV, and The New York Times. He is a 2020 Karen Schmeer Editing Fellow and an active member of the Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE), heading its Documentary Editors Recognition Committee and previously serving on the Steering Committee (2020-2021). Andrès is a Board member of Obras del Pais, which documents and foments the artisanal culture and folklore of Puerto Rico. Andrès holds a Master of Fine Arts in Social Documentary from the School of Visual Arts.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.