On Higher Ground
Photo courtesy of ITVS. Photo collage by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
As the first Latina CEO of documentary powerhouse Independent Television Service, Carrie Lozano embraces the recognition and respects the responsibility
Editor’s note: This interview with Carrie Lozano was edited for brevity and clarity.
Words by Saida Pagán, @SaidaPagan. Edited by Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, @ricsand.
When I first interviewed Carrie Lozano three years ago, she had just been appointed Director of the Documentary Film and Artists Programs for the Sundance Institute. She had come to Sundance after kick-starting the International Documentary Association’s Enterprise Documentary Fund and leading the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund.
Today, Lozano’s experience and leadership skills are again winning recognition. She’s four months into her new role as President and CEO of ITVS – the Independent Television Service, a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. ITVS provides extensive support to independent filmmakers and co-produces their nonfiction work on “Independent Lens,” “POV,” “American Masters,” and “FRONTLINE,” which are distributed globally by PBS.
Juxtaposed against the media and entertainment industry statistics I’ve studied over many years, Lozano’s ascent is a big deal: In the media industry, the percentage of Latino executives is disproportionately low. According to the 2021 U.S. Government Accountability Office Study on Workforce Diversity, only about 4% of Latinos hold senior or executive management positions in media, while Latinos make up 18.7% of the country’s population.
‘We are here to serve their creative vision and that is really critical for democracy — to ensure that we have filmmakers who are doing accountability storytelling, who are doing creative storytelling, who are doing social justice storytelling.’
In my 2020 interview with Lozano, she reflected on the fact that she was one of the first creatives of Latino heritage to take a leadership role in the documentary space.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have opportunities and I kind of just seize them as they come, with the goal of not only challenging myself but also understanding that I am a woman of color and that there aren’t many of us in these positions,” Lozano said at the time.
By then, Lozano, a Southern California native and fourth-generation Mexican American, already had an impressive resume. The University of California, Berkeley graduate had produced an Academy Award-nominated documentary, “The Weather Underground,” and had served as an executive at Al Jazeera America. While at Al Jazeera, Lozano was a senior producer for the program “Fault Lines,” leading a team that won an Emmy, a Peabody and multiple Headliner Awards.
To mark her taking the reins at ITVS, I sat down again with Lozano not long ago to talk about this step in her journey to the top of her profession.
Carrie Lozano consults with cinematographer Andy Schocken during the filming of the 2016 documentary, “The Ballad of Fred Hersch.” Photo courtesy of Carrie Lozano
palabra: We know that the documentary landscape has changed lately with fewer platforms for documentaries in general. How does this figure into your plans for ITVS?
Lozano: The goals are to work with public media and ecosystems to find out (how to) get films out into the world. There used to be a very tried and true way to get your film out and it was a clearer path. I think the (various) platforms (have) upended that idea. But now, if the platforms aren’t going to come to the table for the indies in the way that they were, then how do we get these films out into the world in a meaningful way? It really depends on the goals of the film and the filmmaker. I think what this moment is demanding is that everyone take a closer look at what they are trying to do. It’s exciting to think about what technological innovations might happen–what other opportunities might surface.
palabra: Will public television still be there for independent filmmakers?
Lozano: We are absolutely all committed to the independents. Our proposition to the filmmakers is that this is your creative vision. We are here to serve their creative vision and that is really critical for democracy — to ensure that we have filmmakers who are doing accountability storytelling, who are doing creative storytelling, who are doing social justice storytelling. We all have a responsibility to really protect (that kind of storytelling). It’s really essential (at) this moment.
palabra: We’ve talked about the support that ITVS provides to all storytellers, but what help does ITVS provide in particular to storytellers from marginalized communities — those who may not have the expertise or funding?
Lozano: It (has been) our congressional mandate, since 1989, to support underserved storytellers and underserved audiences. That’s our DNA. The Public Broadcasting System is essential for uplifting these voices. We do a better job at this than really any other entity out there. When it comes to filmmakers, we work with everything from first-time or “ascendent” filmmakers to filmmakers who have been doing this for a long time. We have a Diversity Development Fund that is for people who (might be) early in their filmmaking career. It’s amazing to be in an organization where that’s the mission.
‘To be honest, in a lot of roles that I have had in my career, I have been the first, or one of the few, Latine individuals — male or female — in those roles. In some ways that’s why, in part, I take the roles.’
palabra: We know ITVS assists filmmakers from all communities and with all levels of experience, but what is the exact level of support that emerging filmmakers, including Latino filmmakers, might expect to receive from ITVS?
Lozano: Because it is a co-production model, we have a staff of amazing supervising producers. A large portion of our staff is dedicated to the production of the films, so you are not necessarily hanging out there solo. The idea is, however, that a film is the filmmaker’s vision, this is their voice, and that ITVS is there to help them realize that vision and that voice. There is a huge infrastructure to support that work. We know that no matter where you are in your career, independent filmmaking is really hard. It can take a lot of time. There are unexpected things because this is real life and you are dealing with real people. In our case, we are a co-producer. Your film is committed to going to broadcast with public media. That’s the contract, and so we are committed to helping these filmmakers get to the finish line.
palabra: Have you noticed an increase in Latino independent filmmakers in general?
Lozano: There’s an increase in filmmakers, period. I think you are seeing far more voices than you ever did. That, in my view, is an outcome of technology and access to technology. There’s been more recognition (of Latino films and filmmakers). We are a large part of the U.S. population. What I will say is that I don’t think — in general and across the ecosystem — that we are reflecting our actual population. We know that. We know that (we need to hear from) Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian American storytellers, and women. For a long time, there was a real growth in equity, even just with female storytellers. But that kind of came to a halt. Is there progress? Yes. But is it what we all think it should be? Probably not.
Carrie Lozano, the first Latina president and CEO of Independent Television Service. Photo courtesy of ITVS
palabra: What’s your message to Latino independent filmmakers who might be inspired and encouraged by your appointment as president and CEO of ITVS?
Lozano: Everyone is welcomed. I do have to say we have incredible teams that do this work — the curatorial work. ITVS is here 100% for all filmmakers across the board, but the filmmakers in general who have been underrepresented — that is what we do; that is our mandate. (Today) this looks a lot different…(for example) with the accessibility conversations that we’ve been having in the last few years (for the disabled). There has been so much incredible work. So, across the board, all filmmakers are welcome. Latino filmmakers are welcomed. I think that ITVS does an incredible job and critical work in terms of bringing stories of the Latino diaspora across the country to the American public.
palabra: Tell us your thoughts about being the first Latina to head up ITVS.
Lozano: I’m the third president and CEO and my predecessor, Sally Jo Fifer was there for 22 years and just did an amazing job of growing this organization and really living its mission. So it is a big responsibility. I take that really seriously. To be honest, in a lot of roles that I have had in my career, I have been the first, or one of the few, Latine individuals — male or female — in those roles. In some ways that’s why, in part, I take the roles. I move into them because I think: everyone has a role in making change and way of doing it. I do bring a certain perspective and a certain lens and that opens doors or changes things maybe incrementally — sometimes slower than some people hope. But it does have a way of moving the needle in ways that you hope for and in ways you don’t anticipate.
I have heard from a lot of our younger colleagues who’ve reached out — and it is meaningful when you can see a reflection of yourself. And that is why these stories are really, really important, to see yourself reflected in all areas of our civic life.
After talking with Lozano, I came away believing that it can be so easy for us to show our support for independent filmmakers: Lozano summed it up in a simple invitation: Just watch these films on your local PBS stations.
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Saida Pagán is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist. Born and raised in New York City, and of Puerto Rican heritage, Pagán has reported, anchored and produced for news organizations across the United States. She received a B.A. from the City University of New York and holds a master’s degree with distinction in Strategic Communication from National University. Pagán is the winner of multiple Los Angeles Press Club-sponsored awards for entertainment journalism and several awards from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors for her work in government television. She invites readers to follow her on LinkedIn and subscribe to her YouTube channel: “American Stories with Saida Pagan.”
Ricardo Sandoval-Palos is an award-winning investigative journalist and editor whose career has spanned four decades. In May, Ricardo was named Public Editor – ombudsman – for PBS, the nation’s leading public media outlet.