The Associated Students of Santa Monica College has given writer and director Ozzy Ozuna as well as producers Juan Felipe Zuleta and Jacob Chacko an $8,500 donation to produce a film as part of SMC’s “Mentoring Disadvantaged Youth Through Film Production” in Collaboration with Operation Street Kidz (OSK).
Ozuna, Zuleta, and Chacko received the donation to produce their film Muñecas. According to SMC, the short film has a goal to raise $20,000 total. Filming is expected to start later this month at the California-Arizona border and then in the Victorville area during the first week of June.
The filmmakers need at least $9,000 more, according to an SMC statement, for filming equipment and post-production services.
Muñecas is part of the SMC Film Program.
OSK, a nonprofit organization, has an ongoing collaboration with the SMC Film Program and is headed by Josof Sanchez. He will oversee four to five underserved high school students who will serve as crewmembers on the production.
“The key to having our young people participate in this production is to build healthy self-esteems and a love for pursuing higher education through film production, music and the arts,” Sanchez stated.
OSK provides mentoring, youth leadership training and career development and is focused on engineering kids for greatness through the arts, media, film, music, fashion, sports and entertainment.
In Muñecas, the two main characters, Pablo and Ray live on opposite sides of the border and have been forced to smuggle drugs their entire life. One day, a deal goes wrong and everything changes. OSK has embraced Muñecas due to the urgent need to bring awareness to the epidemic of negative lifestyles that are prevalent among our youth today. The film deals with themes of friendship, child abuse, and drug trading.
For any additional information, or to make a donation, contact Julie at (323) 350-7676 or email operationstreetkidz@yahoo.com.
