News & Press

Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, LA CASA & Latin American Student Organization at Yale present a screening of "Red Mesa" by filmmaker Ilana Lapid (JE '99).

~ Winner of Best Short at 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival ~

Stephen Pitti, Master of Ezra Stiles College and Director of the Program in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration will be commenting on the film and leading Q & A.

Slifka Center, 80 Wall Street

Tuesday, Nov. 17th

7:30 pm - 8:30pm

Reception to follow

Filmmaker Ilana Lapid (JE '99) will be screening "Red Mesa," the winner of Best Short at the 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (the film is now eligible for nomination for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short, 2010).

Stephen Pitti, the Master of Ezra Stiles College and Director of Yale's Program in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, will be commenting on the film and leading a Q&A.

A reception will follow.

* Film Synopsis *

Unable to share her beloved grandfather's dreams for her future, 17-year old Lynn charts her own path by seeking love beyond familiar borders. Caught in the crossfire of her affection for her grandfather and her secret love with an undocumented worker, Lynn must decide which borders she is willing to cross. Set on a cattle ranch on the US/Mexico border, "Red Mesa" is a powerful cinematic exploration of love, loyalty and coming of age through a young woman's struggle with difficult choices.

* Ilana Lapid - Bio *

Currently the Artist in Residence at Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, Ilana Lapid is an award-winning writer-director interested in exploring the personal faces of global conflict. Lapid has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, with a focus on International Relations and Middle Eastern studies. While studying at the University of Southern California for her MFA in Film Production at the School of Cinematic Arts, she won top directing honors, including the Jack Nicholson and John Huston Directing Awards. "Red Mesa" is her MFA thesis film. Ilana has directed and produced a number of award-winning short films and is currently developing a feature film (based on "Red Mesa") to direct in New Mexico in the summer of 2010.

* Stephen Pitti - Bio *

Stephen Pitti is a Professor of History & American Studies at Yale, as well as Director of the Program in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and Master of Ezra Stiles College. Professor Pitti received his PhD from Stanford University in 1998 and is the author of "The Devil in Silicon Valley: Race, Mexican Americans, and Northern California" (2003) as well as articles on Chicano history and historiography. He is currently working on two book projects: "The World of Céasar Chávez" (forthcoming, Yale University Press) and "Leaving California: Race from the Golden State" (in process). He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Latino Studies, Ethnic Studies, Western History, 20th-century immigration, civil rights, and related subjects. He also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Yale's American Studies Program. He directs the Latina/o History Project, which explores ethnic Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, and other Latino histories in the United States, their links and divisions, their diversity, and their cultures and politics.

For more information, go to www.slifkacenter.org or contact Ilana Lapid at ilana.lapid@yale.edu.