Courtesy Photo
Cinema Culturas Inland Empire founder and chief executive officer Dr. Cony Martinez (center) with children of the Casa Blanca neighborhood of Riverside.
Dr. Cony Martinez, founder and chief executive officer of the Cinema Culturas Inland Empire, is helping the youth of Riverside’s Casa Blanca neighborhood learn the cinema arts in order to develop their critical thinking skills. Three workshops are scheduled to take place on June 6, 20, and 27 at the Casa Blanca Library.
Beginning last month, with the help of assistant and recent California Institute of the Arts graduate Lydia Hicks, Martinez has helped children ages 6 to 14 years old develop their own stories through screenwriting, directing, and storyboarding.
Martinez, a former professor of Latin American Film and Literature at Pomona College and UCLA, believes the cinema arts will allow the participants to embrace who they are. She intends on using the stories developed by the children for a film that will be screened during the Cinema Culturas Film Festival in November.
“We want to tell children that their stories matter,” Martinez said. “When you allow someone to tell their own stories, you are allowing them to be themselves and to embrace who they are.”
“La Imaginacion” (The Imagination) is the first part of what Martinez explained is a continuing process that will transform the children into high-level performers who will be ready for higher education and career paths.
As a first-generation college graduate, Martinez said she faced difficulties adapting to college because of her lack of exposure to critical thinking and educational resources. She believes teaching young children reading and writing skills from the beginning of their education spur success in the classroom.
“When I was growing up I didn’t have a story read to me at night,” she said. “When you have that in your life, it can be beneficial. The key is that children learn and show progress. They are not going to get what they want in one day. If we teach them this from day one, they will continue on and be successful.”
So far Martinez said the story ideas presented by the participants revolve around the idea of helping the community. Through the use of superheroes and princesses, the plots created by the children emphasize saving someone. Martinez emphasized that it could be a theme that focuses on saving their community.
“When you offer a child the space to be creative, it is an option for them to not seek gangs or violence,” she said. “We are looking for a place to belong. Instead of going to the streets, they belong in the classroom.”
The workshops for this month are scheduled for two sessions: the first for children ages 6-12, beginning at 12:00 p.m., and the second for children ages 11-14, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Children of other communities are also invited as well. For more information, contact Beverly Arias at (951) 858-5727 or at Beverly951@yahoo.com.