Thursday, September 17, 2015

John Phillip Santos Shares His Thoughts on "A Photographer's Journey"

This week KLRN hosted a film screening and panel discussion for the film, Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey. The film captures the remarkable life and work of Pedro E. Guerrero (1917-2012). He left behind thousands of photographs and nearly 15 hours of interviews. This film tells, in his words, the remarkable story of a Mexican American boy raised in segregated Mesa, Arizona, who goes on to a remarkable international career. With his outsider’s eye he produced insightful and iconic portraits of three of the most important artists of the 20th century: Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson.

We held a panel discussion with notable local scholars Amelia Malagamba Ansótegui, Kathy Vargas and the film’s producer/director, Ray Telles as well as John Phillip Santos. John is an author, journalist and filmmaker from San Antonio, Texas. He produced more than 40 documentaries in 18 countries for CBS News and PBS. Currently, in conjunction with New York’s WNET, he is collaborating with Harvard scholar Davíd Carrasco in producing “Ancestral Journeys to Now,” a film for PBS that examines the mythic legacy of migration in ancient Mesoamerica, and its links to the experiences of Mexican migration today. He teaches cultural studies, writing and media theory and production in the Honors College of UTSA.