University of Southern California Film Student Wins First Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase

LOS ANGELES - May 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Yolonda Brinkley, CEO of YRB International Exposure is pleased to announce ADÁN, as the winner of the first Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase and Awards at the Cannes Film Festival. The University of Southern California graduate thesis film written and directed by Paloma Martinez, swept the competition winning the grand prize as well as the Audience and Jury Choice Awards.  

ADÁN, a short fiction drama based on true events in Mexico, tells the story of 14-year-old Adán who is abducted by a Mexican cartel gang and pushed to make his first kill as an assassin to protect his family. Shot on location in Tijauna, Mexico and Los Angeles, ADÁN sheds light on a very complex and growing issue of children and teens being forced into violent lifestyles.

“I am honored to have participated and to have won the inaugural Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase and Awards,” comments USC Graduate Film Student Paloma Martinez.  “Storytelling is a universal and ancient practice that has the power to elevate the human spirit. I strive to honor the human condition, by creating films and other media that encourages us to live for a better world.”

Presented by YRB International Exposure with support from Buggsy Productions, Lacy J Law, Author Nadia Denton, Clark Atlanta University Alum Fannie Bakon, Festhome and Cinematiqmag.com the 1st  Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase presented eight films in competition from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Slovenia, Spain and the Czech Republic.  The uniquely themed films were selected, from all eligible entries, by an independent screening committee of globally diverse film industry executives and enthusiasts. They were judged on site by a distinguished jury, led by US Entertainment Attorney & Producer, Shannon Nash, who also provided the keynote address after the special screening of her short docudrama Colored My Mind, starring Nicole Ari Parker, Blair Underwood and Tisha Campbell Martin, the film’s executive producer.

“YRB International Exposure is delighted to celebrate the accomplishments of globally diverse filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival and even more ecstatic to present the first Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase Grand Prize, Jury and Audience Awards to Paloma Martinez.” comments Yolonda Brinkley, CEO & Chief Strategist.  “As evidenced by her winning film ADÁN, Paloma is committed to the preservation of the underrepresented story globally and we salute her.”

While this is the first year for the showcase and awards, Beyond Borders: Diversity in Cannes was created as a filmmaker symposium in 2010 to promote diversity at the Cannes Film Festival and to preserve the underrepresented story globally. Since its inception, the movement has hosted panelists from Ghana, Congo, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States and has expanded the international network of globally diverse filmmakers.  New ground was broken with the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase and Awards and the movement has been catapulted to the next level.

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