Charlene Music was born in San José, Costa Rica in 1981. After studying photography and film at Harvard, she worked as a documentary filmmaker in India, where she produced domestic violence prevention films in collaboration with children in rural communities. In Costa Rica, she founded the video production departments at Eureka Comunicación and Café Britt and directed human rights films for organizations, including the National Children’s Hospital. She also worked together with children in the Costa Rican slum Ciudadelas Unidades, teaching them photography and film. Filmmaking has taken her to Africa, China, Cuba, and the United States, and she has more recently made documentaries in collaboration with the Center for Responsible Travel and Stanford University’s Cochlear Implant Center. Charlene graduated from Stanford’s MFA program in Documentary Film in 2009 with her thesis Danza del Viejo Inmigrante, a documentary about the challenges and opportunities facing elderly Latinos living in the United States.  She has been the recipient of filmmaking awards from the National Academy of Television, CINE, the University Film & Video Association, and Kodak. She collaborates with international, humanitarian, and other organizations to effect social change and empower communities through film and photography.  Her outreach work has also included counseling youth, domestic violence prevention, and improving public health and educational programs, among other areas.

 

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS:

UFVA Carole Fielding Student Grant, 2009

Bill Lane Center for the American West film grant, Stanford University, 2009

Student Production Grant, The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors Foundation, Spring 2009

Honorable Mention, Kodak Eastman Scholarship Program,  Excellence in the Craft of Filmmaking, 2008
Sheldon "Shelly" Fay Cinematography Scholarship,  National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Northern California Chapter, 2008
WorldStudio AIGA Scholarship, MTV Music Award and Orit Mardkha-Tenzer Award, 2007

 

www.charlene-music.com

 

 

 

 

Danza del Viejo Inmigrante

(The Old Immigrant's Dance)

hd video

 21:05 min.

 

Through moments of sacrifice and also of joy, elderly Latinos find the courage to forge a new life in the United States.

 

AWARDS, FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

Outstanding Documentary Award, Angelus Award, 2010

Best Short Documentary, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2010

Audience Award, Short Escape, Brussels, Belgium,  2010

United Nations Association Film Festival, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

before the sea

16mm color film

8:19 min.

 

A little boy and his fisherman father confront life and death at the edge of the ocean, where their idle drag boat, the Anne Marie, blankets them in a dream.

 

AWARDS, FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

Semi-Finalist, Angelus Awards, 2009

CINE Golden Eagle Award, 2009
Kodak Honorable Mention, Excellence in Cinematography, 2008

South by Southwest Film Festival, 2009

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2009

Tiburon International Film Festival, 2009

Documenta Madrid, Spain, 2009

Palm Springs Short Film Festival, 2009

London International Documentary film Festival, United Kingdom 2009

FilmFestival FilmAcademy, Vienna, 2009

MO&FRIESES KinderKurzFilmFestival, Hamburg 2009

Fresno Film Festival, 2009

Rockport Film Festival, 2009

 

 

 

 

circus is life

Co-directed with Michael Attie

digital video

9:27 min.

 

circus is life is the story of the close ties of teenage friendship, on stage and off, and the hope that some things will never change.

 

AWARDS, FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

Dam Shorts Film Festival, 2009

Woods Hole Film Festival, 2008

Dam Shorts Film Festival, 2009

Encuentro Internacional de Escuelas de Cine, 2008

 

 

 

 

Roz (and Joshua)

16mm black and white film

3:06 min.

 

Roz was separated from Joshua when he was only seven months. Twelve years have passed, yet with hope and an unbreakable spirit, Roz lives for the time when they will be reunited.

 

AWARDS, FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

Special Jury Award, CINE golden Eagle Award, 2009
Cinema du Reel, 2009
One World International Film Festival, 2009
True/False Film Festival, 2009
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2009
Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival, 2008
Finalist, Angelus Student Film Festival, 2008

Reel 13 Film Festival, 2008