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12 Liberty St.

San Francisco, CA 94110

CEL: 415/902-4478

E-Mail: vefoiofilms@gmail.com

Website: Francoproductions.org

 

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS:

 

                                                         Cinematographer

    THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM

2012 Academy Award Nomination.

2014 duPont Columbia Journalism Award.

The story of 85 year old Mr. James Armstrong, a barber, and a dreamer, on his journey from being a “foot soldier” during the Civil Rights Movement in the South to his unfulfilled plan to be present in the inaugural festivities of the first African American President of the USA.

Produced and Directed by Gail Dolgin and Robin Friday.

 

 

Cinematographer

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA:

DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS.

2010 Academy Award Nomination

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, concludes that the war is based on decades of lies, and he leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times, making headlines around the world. Hailed as a hero, vilified as a traitor, and ostracized by even his closest colleagues, Ellsberg risks life in prison to stop a war he helped plan.

Produced by Rick Goldsmith and Judith Ehrlich.

 

 

Co-Director/Director of Photography

    DAUGHTER FROM DANANG

    2003 Academy Award Nomination

The story of a Vietnamese mother and her

Amerasian daughter that reunitein Danang,after

   22 years of separation, with unpredictable results.

    Produced by Interfaze.

 

 

Director of Photography:

    F R E E D O M  O N  M Y   M I N D

    1994 Academy Award Nomination

    Two hour historical documentary utilizing powerful personal interviews filmed in the 1990s to tell     the dramatic story of the Mississippi voter registration project from 1961 to 1964.  Produced by      Clarity Educational Productions, 1994.

 

FILM-TV P R O D U C T I O NS:

 

Cinematographer

    WEATHERING THE FUTURE. 2023

This NOVA program explores how extreme weather in the U.S. continues to affect more people — with longer heat waves, more intense rainstorms, megafires, and droughts — and how Americans are fighting back using visionary ideas, innovative solutions, and ancient wisdom.

Produced by KIKIM Media

 

 

    Cinematographer

    OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET. 2023

An ambitious multi-year initiative which includes a series of short groundbreaking climate science films, highlighting the cutting edge research that climate scientists are doing to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Produced by KIKIM Media.

 

 

Cinematographer

    THE ISLAND IN ME. 2022

The film follows two women who grew up in the Polynesian atoll of Pukapuka, a unique place never before captured in film, and return home after decades away to find the atoll, and themselves, forever changed. Amelia Hokulea Borofsky, the daughter of anthropologist Robert Borofsky who lived in Pukapuka in the mid 1970’s and Johnny Frisbie, a Cook Island legend in her own right.

Produced by TALCUAL FILMS.

 

 

Cinematographer

    BAD ATTITUDE, THE ART OF SPAIN RODRIGUEZ. 2021

It explores the controversial art and life of the legendary underground cartoonist through the lens of his wife Emmy nominated filmmaker Susan Stern.

Produced by BERNAL BEACH FILMS.

 

 

Cinematographer

    SECRETS OF OUR DNA. 2021

This NOVA program explores the power of information provided by 23andMe, Ancestry and others, and the unintended consequences that can arise from sharing our data with these rapidly growing online databases. DNA results that offer estimates of health risks can be misleading, and the discovery of intimate family secrets can tear relationships apart.

Produced by KIKIM Media

 

 

Cinematographer

    SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER. 2020

This FILM tells the story of Representative BARBARA LEE, a voice for human rights, peace and equality in the US Congress for over 2 decades.

Produced by SOCIAL ACTION MEDIA.

 

Cinematographer

    WAGING CHANGE. 2020

It a compelling look at the unfair employment practices suffered by millions of workers in America’s tipped economy. The film shines a spotlight on the challenges faced by restaurant workers trying to feed themselves and their families.

Produced by SOCIAL ACTION MEDIA.

 

 

 

 

Director of Photography:

THIRST

Is water part of a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought and sold in the global market? Filmed in Bolivia, India and the U.S. THIRST shows communities struggling with these questions, as water becomes the world most valuable resource.

Produced by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman..

 

 

Director of Photography:

THE NEW AMERICANS / (Dominican Republic Story)

The series follow a diverse group of immigrants and refugees as they leave their home and families behind and learn what it means to be new Americans in the 21st century.

VF shot the initial stages of the Dominican baseball players.

Produced by Kartemquin Films.

 

 

    Director of Photography:

MY JOURNEY BACK HOME ( Nigeria and Vietnam Stories)

The two-hour program follows Adiele, Lam and the Peña brothers as they travel to their

ancestral homelands, Nigeria, Vietnam and Mexico respectively.

VF shot the Nigeria and Vietnam stories.

Produced by WETA Washington

 

 

Director of Photography:

MATTERS OF RACE: THE DIVIDE

Ten years ago, Siler City, North Carolina, was a black and white town of segregated communities with a shared geography and an unsettled history. This quiet, rural southern town is a "laboratory" for the national transformation that is fundamentally altering America's sense of itself.

Produced by Roja Productions.

 

 

Director of Photography:

EVERYDAY HEROES

The behind the scenes look at a diverse team of young adults serving a year in a San Francisco area AmericCorps program. Despite their best intentions, they are confronted by a host of obstacles, including a racial divide that threatens to thwart their efforts

Produced by Kovno Communications.

 

 

Director of Photography:

    DISCOVERING  DOMINGA

The story of a young Iowa woman who returns to her native Guatemala on a remarkable journey of self-discovery and political awakening as she uncovers a shameful political crime committed against her Mayan people.

    Produced by Pat Flynn and Mary Jo McConahay.

 

 

    Co-Director/Director of Photography/Editor:

    NASCI MUHLER NEGRA. ("I WAS BORN A BLACK WOMAN")

    A Documentary about the remarkable life of Benedita da Silva, the first Afrobrazilian woman to

be part of the Brazilian Senate

    Produced by Global Exchange, 2000.

 

 

Director of Photography:

    THE GOOD WAR. And Those Who Refused To Fight It.

    PBS documentary about Conciencious Objectors in the Second World War.

    Produced by Insight /Paradigm Productions, 1999 .

 

 

    Director of Photography:

    I N  S E A R C H   O F  L A W   A N D   O R D E R

    Three part PBS series about Juvenile delinquency and the Justice system in the USA.

    Produced by Kikim Media, 1997 .

 

 

Director of Photography:

    T H E  F I G H T  I N  T H E  F I E L D S:   C E S A R  C H A V E Z

    A N D  T H E  F A R M W O R K E R S ' S T R U G G L E

    Ninety-minute documentary on the history of the United Farmworkers Union and       its founder Cesar Chavez, funded by the ITVS and NEH, 1996.

 

 

    Director of Photography:

    M A K I N G   P E A C E:   S O U L  S U R V I V O R S

    One of a four part PBS documentary series funded by the ITVS.

    Soul Survivors follows the work of poet-writer, previous gang member, Luis Rodriguez with      street gangs in Chicago, 1996.

 

 

Co-Director/Director of Photography/Editor:

    C A D A  C A B E Z A  E S  U N  M U N D O  (Each Mind is a World)

    One hour documentary film using personal stories of school-drop outs to encourage Latino high      school students to stay in school.  Produced for the Hispanic Education and Media Group, 1994.

 

 

    Director of  Photography:

    C O R N   I S  W H O  W E   A R E ,

    O N L Y  D E A T H  W I L L  T A K E  M E  F R O M  T H I S  P L A C E ,

    S P R E A D I N G  B E A U T Y  W H E R E V E R  I  G O

Three 20-minute interpretive films on multicultural history in New Mexico produced for American Encounters project, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, 1994.

 

 

    Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor:

C U B A  V A:  T h e  C h a l l e n g e  o f  t h e  N e x t  G e n e r a t i o n

 One hour documentary about the current economic crisis in Cuba from the perspective of the  youth.  Independent production funded in part by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation and aired on KQED, 1993

 

 

Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor:

    R E A C H I N G  A C R O S S  C U L T U R E S

    Multi-cultural training video utilizing dramatic vignettes, designed to educate families of pregnant      women about the dangers of second hand smoke. Produced for the Calif. State Dept. of Education      & the American Lung Association 1993.

 

 

Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor:

    ¿M I  B E B É  F U M A N D O ?

    Informational video produced to convince pregnant women that smoking is harmful to a fetus.      Produced for the Calif. State Department of Education & the American Lung Association 1992.

 

 

    Director/Editor:

    I S  I T  R E A L L Y  M A G I C?

    A training video for child care workers about the importance of a healthy and safe environment.       Produced for the American Red Cross, 1992.

 

    Editor:

    V E N C E R E M I T O S

    40 minute documentary about a group of young people from the United States attending an      international peace camp in Cuba, sponsored by the Organization of Cuban Youth, 1991.

 

 

Director of Photography:

    J U N T O S   C O N T R A  E L  A B U S O

    A docu-drama about child abuse in the Latin Community. Funded by the State of Calif., nationally     televised & distributed to child abuse prevention centers, 1991.

 

 

    Director of Photography:

    N E W  B R I D G E S

    Informational video promoting New Bridges, a program designed to bring  teenagers together in a      supportive community to examine the issues of racism, sexism, anti-semitism and gay/lesbian      oppression. 1990.

 

 

    Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor:

    B E T W E E N  T H E  D E V I L  A N D  T H E  T I G E R S

    A docu-drama based on tragic testimonies given by peasants of an agricultural community in      Colombia about the savagery of the period of Colombian history known as La Violencia.       Independently produced, 1990.

 

 

 

 

PRODUCER / DIRECTOR:

 

 

    U N I V I S I O N - K D T V  /  C H A N N E L  1 4

Responsible for the production of community service programas, life news programs,

 and commercial spots.  1981-1989.

 

 

    Co-Producer/Cinematographer/Editor:

    N I C A R A G U A  F O R  T H E  F I R S T  T I M E

    A documentary about the legitimacy of the controversial 1984 presidential elections in Nicaragua.      Produced by Adrian Carrasco, Nick Bertoni, Vicente Franco, 1985

 

 

Copywriter

    Y O U N G  A N D  R U B I C A M  A G E N C Y

    Spanish language copywriter for advertising campaigns, 1991-1995.

 

 

 

 

A W A R D S:

 

 

 CINEMATOGRAPHY  EMMY AWARD NOMINATION (Daughter from Danang)

 A C A D E M Y  A W A R D   N O M I N A T I O N (Daughter from Danang)

 G. F O S T E R  P E A B O D Y  A W A R D (1885 Mexico EarthquakeCoverage)

A C A D E M Y   A W A R D   N O M I N A T I O N (Freedom on My Mind)

L A S A   F I L M  F E S T I V A L   S P E C I A L  A W A R D  (Cuba Va)

 S I L V E R  A P P L E  A W A R D (Cuba Va)

 S I L V E R  A P P L E  A W A R D (Each Mind is a different World)

 LATINO FILM FESTIVAL  Best Documentary Award (Nasci Mulher Negra)

2002 Sundance Film Festival

Grand Jury Prize Best Documentary (Daughter from Danang)

San Francisco International Film Festival

Golden Gate Award Grand Prize

Best Bay Area Documentary (Daughter from Danang)

Ojai Film Festival

Best Documentary Feature (Daughter from Danang)

Durango (Colorado) Film Festival

Filmmakers Award (Daughter from Danang)

2002 Texas Film Festival

Best Documentary

And

Audience Choice Award (Daughter from Danang)

New Jersey International Film Festival

Best Documentary (Daughter from Danang)

Nashville International Film Festival

Honorable Mention - Best Documentary (Daughter from Danang)

Cleveland International Film Festival

Runner Up - Best Film (Daughter from Danang)

 

 

 

F I L M   F E S T I V A L  S C R E E N I N G S :

 

 

Sundance International Film Festival;  Montreal International Film Festival;

Viennale, Vienna;  London International Festival;  Latin American Festival        of New Films, Cuba; Human Rights Watch Film Festival (New York, Seattle,        Los Angeles, Boston);  Film Arts Foundation, SF; Latino Film Festival, Marin        County; Cine Accion Film Festival, SF.

 

 

 

E D U C A T I O N :

 

 

MA in film Production:  San Francisco State University

    BA in Film Production:  University of California, Santa Barbara

    Undergraduate studies/Photography major:  El Camino College, Torrance, CA

    Undergraduate studies/Journalism:  University of Madrid, Spain