When Jennie Carreon started a career in government relations, she didn’t expect to find herself involved with the entertainment industry—but her commitment to fostering equity through public policy led her to some surprising places.

One of those places was the beautiful Mexican state of Jalisco, nestled along the Pacific Coast. After a client whose family hailed from Guadalajara approached her with his producing aspirations, Carreon immersed herself in the world of government-sponsored filmmaking incentives. By partnering up with the organization Filma Jalisco, she helped develop initiatives to bring filmmakers to Mexico—and platform Latino narratives in the process.

After hearing her talk about “Trailblazing Paths in Entertainment” on a panel at Women Raise the Game—an event that aimed to celebrate and foster networking opportunities for Latinas in sports and entertainment, organized by Tish Galindo of 360 Agency—I reached out to Carreon to discuss Filma Jalisco’s important work. She talked about streamlining the filmmaking process for emerging talent, making room for authentic Latino representation, and shutting down self-doubt.

How Jennie Carreon Determined Her Path in Government Relations

You’re a government relations specialist with a particular interest in using your position to promote equity and opportunity. How did you determine that this was the career path you wanted to take?

“I’ve been working in government relations for about 25 years. I learned early on in my career that access to resources, access to power, and access to policy change is available through government relations, and because I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me [in this field]—women, people of color, people with my history—I thought it would be a great use of my time for me to advocate for my community instead of having others do it for us.”

Partnering with Filma Jalisco to Foster the Film Industry

I’d love to hear more about your work with Filma Jalisco. How did you get involved with them, and what programs have you helped them shape since the start of that partnership?

“About two years ago, I was working with a client, Logan Capital. The president and CEO, Ruben Islas, had this dream of making a movie in Guadalajara, where his family is from. As a public policy advocate, I was like, ‘I know nothing about film, so I’m not sure how I can help you.’ And he [told me that] a lot of states in Mexico don’t have a film permit process—people go and film where they want, and sometimes you have to pay this person or that person, but there’s no formal process of approval.

“I did some research,h and I established a relationship with the Mayor of Guadalajara’s office. His name is Pablo Lemus, and he has an amazing team. I talked to them about my client wanting to make a movie there, and they were very receptive. They were like, ‘This is great; we want more of the film industry to come to Guadalajara. Why don’t we work on a way to make that happen?’ And so they connected me with Filma Jalisco, who was working on [related] legislation.

“I helped their team navigate the whims of [developing programs] that would bring filmmakers to Mexico, and we launched this great public policy initiative called Filma Jalisco. It’s a film permit process for the state, but on top of that, it also gives production companies a 40% cash rebate. So if you spend three million dollars on a movie, once you’re done with it and you show all the receipts and your final product, then the government gives you $900,000 back, which was a great incentive for movie companies to want to work in the beautiful state of Jalisco. My client has now been the recipient of this grant two times in a row over the past two years. And what he does, and what other production companies do, is reinvest that money into a new film project right away. It’s a strong pipeline program—it supports local industry folks who want to have more experience but don’t have the luxury of going to Hollywood to do film production or acting. It has really reignited the film industry, which has been dubbed one of the largest economic factors in Mexico.”

Supporting Bilingual Storytelling Through Film Incentives

Does Filma Jalisco fund only Spanish-language films or English-language films as well?

“English-language [as well as Spanish-language]. Both of the films that my client worked on are bilingual, similar to what your household might look like. Sometimes you speak one word in English and another three words in Spanish, and you kind of go back and forth.”

How Jennie Carreon is Challenging Stereotypes in Film

At the Women Raise the Game conference, you spoke about the importance of producing films that tell Latino stories in a holistic way. In what ways have you seen the film industry making progress in this realm, and in what ways do you think there’s room for improvement?

“In this country, I don’t see progress—5% of actors are Latinos; 2.5% of producers are Latinos. But I do see progress in Mexico, and I do see Mexico welcoming these stories and putting money into incentives. We don’t need any more narco movies; we don’t need any more narratives of us as drug dealers, maids, and prostitutes. I think that when you have people who look like us telling our own stories, you see the wealth of amazing experiences that we share—experiences that are similar to everybody else’s but also unique at the same time.”

Knocking on Doors and Taking Chances

You encouraged attendees at the conference to “keep knocking on doors” if they’re interested in pursuing a career in the film industry. How do you recommend implementing this philosophy?

“I initially had doubts when my client came to me. I was like, I’ve never worked in the film industry; I don’t know how I can make this happen. But like men do all the time, I faked it. I did some research, and I figured out how to make this a win-win—not just for my client but for other production companies.

“My biggest advice, especially to young women like you, is to go for it. If someone is giving you an opportunity, don’t live in this world of self-doubt or impostor syndrome where you’re like, How am I gonna figure that out? Figure it out as you go. You’re gonna make mistakes, and the great thing about humanity is that we all make mistakes. But what an amazing thing it is when you do a Hail Mary football throw, and it gets caught—and then you have this great film production policy that exists in a beautiful place like Jalisco.”

Trusting Instincts and Representing Community

You’ve already shared so much helpful advice with us. Do you have any additional words of wisdom for Latinas who are looking to use their careers, whether in government, entertainment, or some other field, to make a social justice impact, broadly speaking?

“I think my secret sauce has been to trust my gut and to follow my instincts. You know that your story is better than that of anyone else. You know what your community needs better than anyone else.

“Historically, when I’ve seen advocates and consultants talking about what my community needs, what kids of color need, what single moms need, what inner-city communities need, I’ve been like, ‘What? No. That’s not actually what we need.’ I had to have the confidence within myself to be like, ‘Actually, no. Our community needs programs. Our community needs resources. We’re not looking for handouts; we’re not stealing anybody’s jobs. Our dreams, our children’s dreams, are the same as anybody else’s. We want to leave this place better than we’ve received it ourselves.’

“So trust your gut—that’s the big thing. I knock on ten doors every day, and nine people tell me no—but there’s that one person, that one company, that one project, that gives me a shot.”

Tags:

Share this Story