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Paola Mendoza

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Paola Mendoza
Paola Mendoza at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born1981
Bogotá, Colombia
Alma materUCLA (BA)
Sarah Lawrence College (MFA)
Occupations
  • Activist
  • filmmaker
  • actress
  • writer
Years active2003–present
SpouseMichael Skolnik
Children1

Paola Mendoza is a film director, activist, author, and artist. In 2017, she co-founded and served as the artistic director for the 2017 Women's March.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Mendoza was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She came to the United States as an infant with her mother and brother.[3] Their family struggled and were homeless for a short period until her mother obtained a job at a fast food restaurant. At the age of twelve Mendoza was involved with a gang.[4] Her mother sent her back to Colombia for a few years to live with an aunt to take her out of the gang situation. Mendoza returned to Los Angeles for her senior year of high school. After attending community college for three years, she graduated from UCLA and earned her master's degree at Sarah Lawrence College.[5]

Career

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Film

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In 2004, Mendoza starred in the film On the Outs,[4] which won the Jury Award at the Deauville Film Festival.[5] Mendoza's first documentary feature, Autumn’s Eyes, premiered at the 2006 South by Southwest Festival.[6] The documentary centered on a three-year-old girl living with her adolescent mother on the margins of society and facing the possibility of foster care. That same year, Mendoza's documentary short film Still Standing premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival.[7] Still Standing follows Mendoza's grandmother's struggle to rebuild her life after losing her home in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.[7]

Mendoza later wrote and directed the film, Entre nos,[8] which was in part based on her mother's life.[9] The film was shown at multiple film festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival.[10]

Activism and art

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Mendoza was a co-founder of the 2017 Women's March and also served as its artistic director.[11][3]

In 2018, Mendoza served as the creative director for the exhibition "I Am a Child" at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The exhibition is a collection of photographs highlighting the separation of undocumented immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border.[12]

Mendoza co-founded the Resistance Revival Chorus with Sarah Sophia Flicker and Ginny Suss.[2] The Resistance Revival Chorus sang backup for Kesha during her performance of "Praying" at the 2018 Grammy Awards.[13]

In 2022, she co-founded The Meteor, “a platform to amplify the creative work of BIPOC women, LGBTQ+ people.”[1] The Meteor serves as a collective of journalists, artists, filmmakers, and media leaders who produce films and audio content.[14]

Author

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With Sarah Sophie Flicker, Mendoza co-authored Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World, which chronicles the inaugural Women's March.[3] Mendoza also co-wrote the young adult novel Sanctuary, with Abby Sher,[15] which made the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Best Fiction for 2020 List.[16]

Personal life

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Mendoza has a son with partner, Michael Skolnik.[5]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Gabriel y Gato Lost woman Short film
2004 On the Outs Marisol Pagan
2006 Autumn’s Eyes Co-directed
2007 Padre neustro Magda
2007 Goodbye Baby Anita
2007 One Night Michelle
2008 Last Call Paola
2009 Entre nos Mariana Also director, writer
2010 La toma Short film, director
2011 The Undying Betty Donovan
2012 Half of Her Short film, director
2014 Broken Tail Light Short film, director

References

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  1. ^ a b "How This Women's March Co-Founder Is Uplifting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Voices". Global Citizen. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Paola Mendoza, Women's March organizer and Flyover Fest speaker, discusses the art of resistance". Little Village Mag. February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Rivas, Mekita (June 3, 2021). "Paola Mendoza on Her Activism, Artistry, and Being Unordinary". Shondaland. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "5 Questions for Lori Silverbush & Michael Skolnik, Directors of "On The Outs"". IndieWire. July 15, 2005. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Ramaswamy, Swapna Venugopal (February 27, 2020). "Filmmaker Paola Mendoza to speak on her journey from L.A. gang member to organizing the Women's March". The Journal News. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "As seen through 'Autumn's Eyes' New documentary spotlights 4-year-old JC girl". Hudson Reporter. February 14, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Still Standing". Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Webster, Andy (May 14, 2010). "An Immigrant Story". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Gale Power Search.
  9. ^ "Gloria La Morte: "Entre Nos" (Just Between Us) - New York State Writers Institute". www.albany.edu. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Entre nos | 2009 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  11. ^ "Cleary Gottlieb Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month With Paola Mendoza | Cleary Gottlieb". www.clearygottlieb.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Immigrant Family Separation on View". USA Today. Vol. 147, no. 2880. September 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Gale Power Search.
  13. ^ "Meet the Resistance Revival Chorus: Kesha's Grammys Backup Choir and Women's Movement Champions". Brit + Co. February 14, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Meteor — About". The Meteor. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Mendoza, Paola; Sher, Abby (2020). Sanctuary. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 978-1-98-481571-2.
  16. ^ "Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2021". Booklist. Vol. 117, no. 14. March 15, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Gale Power Search.
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