In the evolving landscape of media and entertainment, Latinos are a powerful force driving industry growth. However, they remain significantly underrepresented in front of and behind the camera. Across 16 years and 1,600 movies, less than 5% of directors were Hispanic or Latino, and only five of those 82 were women (less than 1%)[1]. While the demographic continues to grow in the United States to over 19%, there are still many barriers to entry for young Hispanic filmmakers who want to bring their stories to the big screen.
As the largest retailer in America, embracing diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion is at the core of Walmart’s brand philosophy “Live Better.” Making good on that promise begins with reflecting the diverse communities we serve and ensuring that we can offer a better life for all.
Beyond being a destination for everyday essentials like groceries, Walmart also aims to be seen as a resource for fulfilling and enhancing customers' passions and interests. After a successful inaugural year of the Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program in partnership with NGLmitú, a leader in digital media and culture for Latinos, we wanted to continue to scale and support a new cohort of filmmakers to tell the stories that reflect the authentic diversity of Latino culture, with deepened ties across the joint resources made available when two entities with shared missions come together.
In continuing the program for Season 2, we aimed to accomplish the following:
Together, Walmart and NGLmitú would leverage our collective scale to disrupt inequities and serve as a launchpad for the people, spaces, and places that push culture forward.
[1] USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, 2023
For Season 2, we focused on 3 key areas for the program’s development:
Enhancements of these aspects of the program would not only provide more visibility to the filmmakers and their short films but also push for more inherent connectivity to the larger film industry and integration of existing relationships across Walmart & NGLmitú to take Season 2 further and build their careers. Tying it all together we would have coverage of the filmmakers and the program across mitu’s social and website and access to Walmart for equipment and supplies for their journey.
Over the course of 3 months in Summer 2024 we launched Season 2 of the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program. This season, to find our filmmakers we partnered with the Latino Film Institute (LFI) to select four rising filmmakers in Los Angeles and provide the funding, resources, and mentorship to bring their short film projects to life. We would then premiere them for the first time at the prestigious Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), two new dynamic additions to the program.
Guided through the development, production, and editing of their shorts by NGLmitú, the filmmakers also received mentorship from award-winning Actress Justina Machado and Emmy award-winning Writer, Director & Producer, Oz Rodriguez, who lent their on-camera and behind-the-camera expertise.
The experience was captured throughout by NGLmitú and the filmmakers themselves, resulting in over 40+ pieces of co-branded digital and social content which included:
At the LALIFF premiere, cast, crew, mentors, friends, family, Season 1 filmmakers, and industry members were invited. The filmmakers were surprised with a visit by acclaimed showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett and participated in a panel discussing their films with award-winning director and NGLmitú’s Chief Creative Officer Ben DeJesus.
The program didn’t stop at the premiere. To further grow within our three focus areas, we expanded upon the program to include many more benefits to the filmmakers, including:
Finally, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month we extended promotions and had the short films highlighted on Roku as part of a Hispanic Voices Shaping the Future hub by Walmart where the films had their own collection and were shown on the Roku home screen.
Season 2 of the mitú x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program made a substantial impact on our intended audience, successfully positioning Walmart as a brand that supercharges the passions of its customers and supports Hispanic ingenuity. Social sentiment was overwhelmingly positive congratulating the filmmakers, praising the initiative, and expressing interest to be a part of the next season (1300% increase in interest from Season 1 to Season 2).
With over 150 posts across the total program, we drove over 40M Impressions, 12M Views, almost half a million Engagements, and tens of thousands of hours streamed on Roku.
With the ample resources, benefits, and access provided by the program, NGLmitú and Walmart helped our Season 2 filmmakers complete their passion projects, facilitated a festival run for their films, and gave them tools to take into their next chapters as creators.
The results proved that there is a desire among the Latino community to see more Latino stories being told, and Walmart was effectively positioned as a brand who champions those stories.