Mia C. Villanueva
- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Mia C. Villanueva is a working still
photographer, screenwriter, and director. Villanueva is a graduate of
Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television in Los
Angeles, CA. For over two years,Villanueva served as the Job
Coordinator for Film Independent (formerly IFP/Los Angeles),
Project:Involve program where she founded their film job placement
program and placed over 250 filmmakers of color in paid jobs within the
film and television industry.
In 2000, Villanueva was selected as an Honoree/Fellow of the Project:Involve program where she was mentored by Gary Farmer (Smoke Signals, Ghostdog: Way of the Samurai), independent filmmaker and well-respected Native American actor. Villanueva received her Certification for Intercultural Training in diversity training and conflict management from an Intercultural Training program funded by the Irvine Foundation; she has been a strong advocate for creating more open doors for people of color in the film and entertainment industry.
Villanueva has worked in all aspects of the film industry including development, pre-production, production, post- production, and human resources for companies such as Sony, DreamWorks, Xerox, West Post Digital, and Film Independent. She has also served on grant review committees for the Entertainment Industry Foundation and in 2002, she was the recipient of the Kodak Film Scholarship for her films, Children Under 12 and On Sundays. Her films have screened at the Visual Communications Film Festival, NewFilmWorks in New York, and the New York International Asian-American Film Festival. At the New York International Asian Film Festival, Villanueva was named a"Director to Watch For". Villanueva was recently accepted as one of nine writers to the Atlantic Center for the Arts where she was mentored by acclaimed playwright/novelist Jessica Hagedorn (Dogeaters, Dream Jungle) while completing re writes on her first feature narrative screenplay.
Villanueva holds a strong interest in advocacy work and the affects of media in policy making and politics. In 2005, Villanueva was selected as one of twenty-eight young women leaders in the State of California for the WPI Fellowship under the Women's Foundation of California. The only program of its kind in the nation, the vision for the WPI Fellowship is to increase the number of community-based women leaders in California who are actively involved in shaping and implementing policies that affect the health and well-being of women and girls. Selected leaders focus on areas of women's health, economic justice, environmental health, criminal justice and reproductive health & justice. In just the first three years, the WPI has trained over 100 women, and fellows have helped to pass ten new laws that positively impact women's lives throughout California. Under the WPI program, Villanueva participated in intense advocacy and leadership training taught by faculty that include State Assembly and Senate staffers as well as faculty with an expertise in particular topics relating to advocacy. One of the objectives of this one-of-a-kind leadership fellowship is to act as a bridge between the needs of communities and policymakers. One of Villanueva's goals as a filmmaker is to do just that, to shed light upon issues which influence communities and may be ignored by mainstream media and to (hopefully) eventually affect policy change.
Featured in Director's Guild of America Magazine in 2004, Villanueva was the recipient of Visual Communication "Armed with a Camera" fellowship for the feature documentary film she is currently directing entitled The Unheard Musician (currently in post-production.) Just recently Villanueva produced a documentary sponsored by the United States Embassy and the Malaysian AIDS Council in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The film is entitled Mangosteen: HIV/AIDS in Malaysia, which was named "Best of Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival" for 2006. In addition to filmmaking, Villanueva is also a partner with The Narra Group film production company and continues to help people find jobs in the entertainment industry. To date, Villanueva has helped over 800 people find employment in the entertainment industry as she continues to write/direct/produce feature and documentary films.
In 2000, Villanueva was selected as an Honoree/Fellow of the Project:Involve program where she was mentored by Gary Farmer (Smoke Signals, Ghostdog: Way of the Samurai), independent filmmaker and well-respected Native American actor. Villanueva received her Certification for Intercultural Training in diversity training and conflict management from an Intercultural Training program funded by the Irvine Foundation; she has been a strong advocate for creating more open doors for people of color in the film and entertainment industry.
Villanueva has worked in all aspects of the film industry including development, pre-production, production, post- production, and human resources for companies such as Sony, DreamWorks, Xerox, West Post Digital, and Film Independent. She has also served on grant review committees for the Entertainment Industry Foundation and in 2002, she was the recipient of the Kodak Film Scholarship for her films, Children Under 12 and On Sundays. Her films have screened at the Visual Communications Film Festival, NewFilmWorks in New York, and the New York International Asian-American Film Festival. At the New York International Asian Film Festival, Villanueva was named a"Director to Watch For". Villanueva was recently accepted as one of nine writers to the Atlantic Center for the Arts where she was mentored by acclaimed playwright/novelist Jessica Hagedorn (Dogeaters, Dream Jungle) while completing re writes on her first feature narrative screenplay.
Villanueva holds a strong interest in advocacy work and the affects of media in policy making and politics. In 2005, Villanueva was selected as one of twenty-eight young women leaders in the State of California for the WPI Fellowship under the Women's Foundation of California. The only program of its kind in the nation, the vision for the WPI Fellowship is to increase the number of community-based women leaders in California who are actively involved in shaping and implementing policies that affect the health and well-being of women and girls. Selected leaders focus on areas of women's health, economic justice, environmental health, criminal justice and reproductive health & justice. In just the first three years, the WPI has trained over 100 women, and fellows have helped to pass ten new laws that positively impact women's lives throughout California. Under the WPI program, Villanueva participated in intense advocacy and leadership training taught by faculty that include State Assembly and Senate staffers as well as faculty with an expertise in particular topics relating to advocacy. One of the objectives of this one-of-a-kind leadership fellowship is to act as a bridge between the needs of communities and policymakers. One of Villanueva's goals as a filmmaker is to do just that, to shed light upon issues which influence communities and may be ignored by mainstream media and to (hopefully) eventually affect policy change.
Featured in Director's Guild of America Magazine in 2004, Villanueva was the recipient of Visual Communication "Armed with a Camera" fellowship for the feature documentary film she is currently directing entitled The Unheard Musician (currently in post-production.) Just recently Villanueva produced a documentary sponsored by the United States Embassy and the Malaysian AIDS Council in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The film is entitled Mangosteen: HIV/AIDS in Malaysia, which was named "Best of Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival" for 2006. In addition to filmmaking, Villanueva is also a partner with The Narra Group film production company and continues to help people find jobs in the entertainment industry. To date, Villanueva has helped over 800 people find employment in the entertainment industry as she continues to write/direct/produce feature and documentary films.