Alba Nidia Diaz and Sonia Valentine are betting on developing talent in production

Producer Sonia Valentine and actress Alba Nidia Diaz once again combine their talents to develop young people interested in producing for television, film or theater, from an educational perspective that effectively combines creative and financial aspects.

Creative Project 365 is the name of this effort, under Alquimia, which seeks to train and empower a new generation of producers through a series of 12 workshops delivered by professionals in various fields of art, production and legal aspects.

“We firmly believe in empowering young people and supporting new talent because with this we intend to build a sector that has served greatly to escape for some time from everything that we experience as a society,” said Diaz, who is also a producer of multiple projects together with Valentine, among them the TV movie “Bitter Sweat.”

The call opened this Tuesday and will run through November 30. Everyone interested must have had a incorporated production company for two years or more, submit an unpublished proposal or synopsis for film, television, or theater, and do not necessarily have to be the author of the story. What it should contain, in addition to originality, is a subject that responds to some problem of social or human interest and is economically feasible. This must be submitted in digital format, with a maximum of 30 minutes. Applications are filled out through the portal: www.organizacionalquimia.com.

Sometimes we think that if I didn’t have a million dollars I couldn’t make it. No, no, we’ve never had a million dollars, but we do have a career. We didn’t use cars or helicopters, but there were other stories and other things to tell”

–Sonia Valentine, current production manager at Wapa TV

Initially, two companies will be selected, which will then participate in the workshops, and “finally, two companies will be selected that will be given incentives aimed at implementing the project,” Valentine said at a press conference at the National Foundation for Folk Culture in Old San Juan. The winning works will be broadcast on Wapa TV and social networks.

“I think Puerto Rico has a great deal of talent on all levels. I am sure there are many people who have a great story in their preserved house, who have tried it and it hasn’t been presented, perhaps because of the bureaucracy involved, or because they don’t know how to do it, so what we want is to give them those tools to dust it off, perhaps, and update it.”

Once the six companies are selected, the series of workshops will begin on January 15 and will culminate in March.