Honduran Filmmaker Laura Bermúdez Joins 242 Main Documentary Team

Social impact filmmaker, activist and festival founder to connect VT film to international film and academic audiences

BURLINGTON,  May 1, 2022: Honduran Filmmaker and cultural activist Laura Bermúdez will join Big Heavy World’s 242 Main documentary film team in June as a 2022 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellow.

Bermúdez works in the Film and Media sector leading Tercer Cine (Third Cinema) a social impact cinema project. She is a film director, educator, emerging curator, cultural activist, and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and an active member of the Honduran Women Filmmakers Collective and the co-creator of the First Film Festival Created by Women in Honduras ‘Alice’s Dream.’ Bermúdez is also Co-creator of the First Feminist Film Education Program “A Look of My Own” financed by the Central American Women Fund FCAM.

Bermúdez’ short film “Black I am” received the Audience Award in the section “Affirming the Rights of Women” at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival (2018) and was an official selection at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival, Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival Kinoforum and New Orleans International Film Festival.‘The place where the sun is born ’ her first feature documentary is supported by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography and the Ambulante-Netflix fund. She has been a Fellow of Berlinale Talents program,  the American Film Showcase program, Talents Guadalajara, Goethe Institute, Campus Latino and the Ibermedia program, receiving international documentary film courses, and is in postgraduate studies in documentary cinema in Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) is the U.S. Department of State’s flagship program for emerging entrepreneurs and business leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Designed to promote mutual understanding and build a network of young business and social entrepreneurs, the program brings young leaders to the U.S. for entrepreneurial leadership training and fellowships with U.S. companies and social enterprises. The YLAI Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX.

Laura Bermudez said, “ being a fellow from the YLAI program is a huge opportunity for me to connect with social organizations in the US. I’m very excited to collaborate with Big Heavy World so we can learn from each other and promote exchange with the other countries of our continent.”

Bermúdez will coordinate international attention, screenings, and speaking dates for the 242 Main documentary film in production at Big Heavy World and due for release in March, 2023. The artifacts and transcripts resulting from the film production will form a reference resource for teen-led cultural space practices to be shared with academics, municipal leaders, and youth program development professionals. For more than 30 years, 242 Main was a gathering spot for the youth of northwestern Vermont. Organized by the City of Burlington, Vermont’s Youth Office (created in the 1980s by Bernie Sanders when he was mayor) 242 Main provided a haven for young misfits and fans of underground music. It was part music venue, part musician proving ground, and part teen drop-in center. With programming driven by teens, it became America’s longest-running all-ages punk rock venue and a sanctuary anchored in the hearts of thousands. In 2016, after decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, the city closed the doors to Memorial Auditorium, the city-owned building that 242 Main is located in. The film captures and shares the essence of a lifesaving space where youth learned how to be a community, and is a necessary reminder of a city’s responsibilities to the young people that are us. 

Filmmaker Mark Covino, co-director/producer of the documentary ‘A Band Called Death,’ is editing from 60+ interviews that reflect the historic teen center’s 30+ years of service in Burlington and hundreds of archival videos, photographs, and concert posters.

James Lockridge, Executive Director of Big Heavy World, said, “Burlington’s leaders set an example many years ago for valuing youth and lost this imperative in the decades since. Laura’s efforts will help hold an important social history up high, giving our city and the world an opportunity to recover a sense of balance that includes young people and spaces for their expression and emergence.”

Bermúdez will be available for interviews during her Fellowship in Vermont from June 14-30. Topics of potential media interest may include social impact filmmaking; the Honduran film sector; the YLAI fellowship program; and her international outreach on behalf of the 242 Main documentary. Big Heavy World is coordinating introductions to creatives, activists, and culture-bearers in Vermont and welcomes those who would like to meet Bermúdez to connect via email with jim@bigheavyworld.com.

Big Heavy World is an independent, nonprofit volunteer-run music office serving the state of Vermont. Founded in 1996, it has leveraged a technology-heavy D.I.Y. ethic and inclusive philosophy to support musicians and advance the music sector, preserve Vermont’s music legacy, and empower young adults in an environment that focuses their passions and intellect. The organization was selected by an international jury to receive the 2020 Music Cities ‘Best Global Music Office Award.’

Contact:

Laura Bermúdez, laurabermudezm@gmail.com, www.instagram.com/laurabermudezm

James Lockridge, (802) 373-2890, jim@bigheavyworld.com, bigheavyworld.com