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Manuel Solis
MonteVideo founder Manuel Solis is an independent filmmaker and film programmer based in San Antonio. His films have screened at Artpace, Galería Guadalupe, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. His programming credits include CineFestival, the Official Latino Film and Arts Festival, and Urbanworld in New York City. His most recent film, The Social Otherwise, a collaboration with acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Cauleen Smith, was featured in the Contingent Habitat exhibition.
In 2020, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures awarded Solis a San Antonio Artist grant to launch MonteVideo, an ongoing film series whose purpose is to provide Latinx themed independent film screenings for underserved communities via non-traditional venues.
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Artist Medium: Film
Artist Statement of Work
Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):
Whether producing independent films or programming socially conscious film festivals, my work often focuses on identity, exploring its impact on communities and a country in flux. Equally influenced by activism, cultura, and esperanza, my work frequently reflects physical and spiritual journeys in search of social justice. What starts with the individual is ultimately communal.
As media continues to evolve, cinema remains one of the few shared experiences in society. Cinema captivates our imagination because it combines the best of our artistic disciplines into one accessible medium. Movies have inspired movements going back to Sergei Eisenstein and Soviet montage. As a cinema of resistance, Chicano cinema is equally influential.
Culturally Specific Art Category
Select Culturally Specific Art Category:: Hispanic or Latino/a/x
VIDEOS
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The Social Otherwise weaves found footage of riots, starlings, fish shoaling, scenes of an interior with dancing, learning, writing, cowboy-meets-biker women, and a mashup of two songs (\"Light You Up\" by Shawn Mullins and Debby Boone\'s 1977 song \"You Light Up My Life\"), with audio excerpts from the Sandra Bland recording.
