The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW
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Images
Delano Farmworker by Emilio Mercado
Larry Itliong, Cesar Chavez and others march together.
Pete Velasco marching
Phillip Vera Cruz (right) Larry Itliong (center) Dolore Huerta (right)
Larry Itliong
Website
Topics
Economy: Business, Consumption
Human Development: Agriculture, Food, Labor, Migration, Poverty, Shelter & Housing, Social Exclusion, Water/Sanitation
Human Rights: Civil Rights, Race Politics, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Culture, Freedom of Expression
Peace and Conflict: Conflict
Politics: Activism, Civil Society, Ethics & Value Systems, Justice and Crime, Law
Project Geography
US: California, Washington
International: Asia, North America
Identity Niches
Asian, Asian American, Latino, Senior/Aging
Budget
Raised to date: $90,000.00
Estimate to complete: $230,000.00
Total Estimated Budget: $320,000.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 05/15/2010
Status
Post Production
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
TV
Key Personnel
Marissa Aroy
Director
Marissa Aroy was named one of the most influential Filipina women in the US last year by the Filipina Women’s Network. She recently directed the educational soap opera series “Grand Café.” In the documentary realm she produced and directed "Little Manila,” for PBS and produced “Sounds of Hope” shown on Frontline World. She received a Northern California Emmy for the documentary “Sikhs in America,” which she produced and directed. Aroy holds a BA in psychology from Boston College and a Masters degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at University of California, Berkeley. When she's not making or watching movies, she's teaching digital filmmaking at Berkeley City College.
Niall McKay
Producer
Producer Niall McKay’s critically acclaimed feature documentary
“The Bass Player: A Song for Dad” was aired on RTÉ (Irish Television)
in August and made its North American premiere at the Mill Valley Film
Festival in October. It was nominated for an Irish Film and Television
Academy Award. It is described as an “absorbing, charming and deeply
moving documentary” in the The Irish Sunday Independent. McKay won an
Emmy for his documentary “Sikhs in America” about the challenges of
being Sikh in the US, which aired on PBS stations nationwide. His work
includes documentaries for PBS and dramas for cable television. He
co-produced Irvine Welsh’s directorial debut, “Nuts.” Niall is the
founder and director of the San Francisco Irish Film Festival and the
co-founder of the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival. A former print
journalist, Niall’s work has appeared in The Economist, The New York Times and Wired Magazine.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
Filipinos: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW is being produced for a PBS national broadcast. The program is targeted toward the Filipino American community, the 2nd largest Asian population in the US and audience interested in the immigrant experience from a different perspective. Those who are interested in labor studies and civil rights will find the program compelling.
We are currently giving screenings of the rough cut of the film and are interested in fundraising to finish the post production. We will be screening early versions of the documentary in the summertime at a history conference, speaking about the the history of filipino labor in the US at a labor conferences and talking at a journalism conference.
In terms of outreach, we hope to begin the distribution of the film with screenings at Asian American film festivals, other labor, history and Asian American studies conferences, before moving on to PBS broadcast with our partner station KVIE, PBS Station in Sacramento. For DVD distribution, we hope to focus on educational distribution and a curriculum that will help put this documentary in classrooms studying California history, US Studies, and Ethnic Studies.
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center for Asian American media | $20,000.00 | 11/01/2009 | |
| California Council for the Humanities | $40,000.00 | 01/24/2009 | |
| Pacific Pioneer Fumd | $10,000.00 | 07/10/2008 | |
| California Council for the Humanities | $10,000.00 | 01/10/2008 | |
| Independent Television Services | $10,000.00 | 11/01/2007 |
Short Synopsis
The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW highlights the life of Larry Itliong, assistant director of the UFW and the union leader of the Filipino farmworkers who started the Great Grape Strike of 1965.
Description/Treatment
The Delano Manongs tells the story of farm labor organizer Larry Itliong and a group of Filipino farmworkers who instigated one of the American farm labor movement’s finest hours – The Delano Grape Strike of 1965 that brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). While the movement is known for Cesar Chavez's leadership and considered a Chicano movement, Filipinos played a pivotal role that began it all. Filipino labor organizer, Larry Itliong, a five foot five cigar-chomping union veteran, organized a group of 1500 Filipinos to strike against the grape growers of Delano, California. For eight days they struck alone, getting thrown out of their labor camp homes, and facing violence from growers' hired thugs and the sheriff's department. Larry went to Cesar Chavez and his group of Mexican farmworkers and asked them to join the Filipinos in their strike. What happened after that made civil rights history: the two groups merged together to created the United Farm Workers Union, with Cesar Chavez as director and Larry Itliong as assistant director. Yet Larry's story and the story of the Filipinos and their union organizing efforts that began in the 1920s in the US have virtually been forgotten. Told from Larry Itliong's perspective, the documentary follows Larry's life immigrating at age 15 and immediately becoming involved with Filipino labor unions in the canneries and farm fields on the West Coast. The story of Larry and the Delano Filipinos and how they faced unfair and inhumane working conditions is as relevant now as it was then. And sadly, the agricultural environment has reverted back to what it was 40 years ago with low wages, inhumane conditions and little political or social power for the farmworkers. Directed by Northern California Emmy-award winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy, (Sikhs in America) and produced by Irish Film and Television Award nominee Niall McKay (The Bass Player: A Song for Dad) the 30-minute documentary is in the post-production (editing) phase with acclaimed documentary film editor Andrew Gersh.Click here to ask for more information about this project: