Today we’d like to introduce you to Edwin Torres. Them and their team share their story with us below:
“Bronx Film 48” began in March of 2019 when four Bronx Natives decided to address the lack of an independent film scene in the borough of The Bronx. Co-founders Gregory Hernandez and Edwin Torres were working on a documentary called “1.5 Million” together when the original concept was formed. Greg attended a networking event held at The Dreamyard Project in the Bronx, where he met the other two co-founders Ayaris Perez and Christine Garmendiz. We agreed to meet and get drinks at the”The Bronx Drafthouse” where we all got to meet and hangout with each other. Then the rest is history.
The first event we worked on together became our flagship program, “The Bronx 48 Hour Film Challenge”. In this program, filmmakers are challenged to test their creative skills by writing, filming, editing, and submitting a 3-7 minute original film within a strict 48 Hour time limit. This event was a very successful competition, with six final films being submitted for awards. After the challenge was completed, we immediately got to work on organizing the screening/award ceremony event where we screened all participants’ films.
Once this event was over, we immediately brainstormed ideas that would help us grow as an organization. For year two, we established roles and planned our trajectory. Our first major event of 2020 was a networking event for individuals participating in the film industry. This event was held on March 6th, 2020, approximately one week before the City of New York decided to officially shut down normal operations as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This definitely put a halt to any plans we had for the rest of 2020.
We took some time to adjust our plans and decided to create virtual programming (mostly taking place on Zoom). We put together our first virtual event known as a “Community Check-in” to provide filmmakers an opportunity to air out their hardships and help them find ways to manage being a filmmaker during the pandemic.
We curated our 2nd Annual Bronx 48 Hour Film Challenge as an event that could be done from the safety of the participant’s homes. During this time, we began to ramp up our outreach for partnerships and fundraising. We established partnerships with local entities that supported filmmaking. We also created more marketing video content of Bronx Film 48 in order to gain a wider audience for our activities. All this effort was for the purpose of expanding our impact in the borough of the Bronx and ensuring that we can continue our programming for the foreseeable future.
As of now, we are in the midst of organizing our 2nd “in-person” networking event in the Bronx, as well as planning for our 4th annual 48 Hour Film Challenge.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ever since we started, our biggest struggle has always been gaining funds for future programming. Often, we would have to pay for things out of pocket in order to make sure the events lived up to our high standards. As we continue to grow as an organization, so do our ambitions for film centric events in The Bronx. In the final months of 2021, we organized a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $20,000 for the purpose of curating a “Bronx Outdoor Screening Festival”. We only raised roughly $7,000 of that goal, but that $7,000 can go a long way!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Outside of working on Bronx Film 48, I work as a part-time Teaching Artist for a non-profit known as DreamYard. I teach high school and middle school students techniques on video making and content creation for after-school and in-school programs. When I am not working as a teaching artist, I work on other video projects, whether it’s helping out friends with their projects or filming my own projects for fun. I worked as an associate producer on an upcoming documentary called “1.5 Million”, A feature-length documentary film about the lack of literature/literacy resources in the borough of the Bronx.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
What I have learned is that no matter how fruitless the work can seem sometimes, there will always be at least one person that is deeply impacted by the work you have done. There will always be a reminder that the work you do matters. The work you do for the mission statement you have stated has a profound importance. Keep Going! The impact is what makes it all worth it! In one instance, there was a Bronx Film 48 screening where the independent film known as “Pariah” was shown to an audience. The film centers around a young woman discovering her sexuality and learning to embrace it. After the film was screened, one woman came up to me with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you so much for showing that! That was basically my life on screen!” That moment sticks with me. I never want to forget that moment.
Contact Info:
- Email: bxfilm48@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.bronxfilm48.com/
- Instagram: @bronxfilm48
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BronxFilm48/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYU0a0dPw7OuhP7Iiem75xA
- Other: https://vimeo.com/bronxfilm48
Image Credits
Four Co-founders, Gregory Hernandez, Edwin Torres, Ayaris Perez, and Christine Garmendiz
