Synopsis
Every winter, following the migration of grey whales, tourists, scientists, and conservationists descend upon the San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California, Mexico. Their presence – and the establishment of Latin America’s largest biosphere reserve – brings profound change to the lagoon’s small fishing community. Whales of Gold voices local people’s concerns about these changes and what the future will bring, and raises questions about how to conserve habitat and species in a way that sustains the livelihoods of local people and includes them in decisions regarding the use of natural resources.
Biography:
Lucia recently graduated with an MFA in Film & Video from The University of Texas. Her thesis film Whales of Gold received a Texas Film Production Fund grant from the Austin Film Society, a Carole Fielding student grant from UFVA, and a Puffin Foundation grant. She is also a freelance producer of educational and organizing videos for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). She won a CINE Golden Eagle Award for a 40-minute documentary, Making History: SEIU and the Labor Movement. Prior to this, Lucia received a Fulbright Fellowship to research community-based video projects in Brazil. During that time, she made several documentary shorts and worked as an instructor and editor for Video in the Villages, an organization that trains indigenous people in documentary production. Lucia attended Brown University where she majored in International Development and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies.