Jasmin Mara López

About

Jasmin Mara López is a journalist, audio producer, and filmmaker based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born in the U.S. with familial roots in México, her childhood was affected by issues experienced on both sides of the U.S.-México border. This instilled in her a strong passion for immigrant rights, youth empowerment, and social change. ​In 2007, Jasmin founded Project Luz, which taught Mexican youth to document stories from within their communities. She was then recruited by USC Annenberg’s Civic Engagement and Journalism Initiative to coordinate a program that trained immigrant youth in journalistic ethics and practice. In 2015, she received the Society of Professional Journalists’ Excellence in Journalism Award for her audio documentary Deadly Divide: Migrant Death on the Border​.​ Jasmin is currently working on SILENT BEAUTY while developing an installation with the voices of dozens of survivors to accompany the film. The installation was awarded the 2019 Artist Residency at Ragdale. She’s been invited to speak about SILENT BEAUTY and her experience with students at various institutions, including the Ragdale Foundation and Texas A&M University. She participated in the 2018 UnionDocs Summer Documentary Lab, and was awarded the 2017 New Orleans Film Society Emerging Voices Mentorship, 2017 Third Coast Radio Residency at Ragdale, 2018 Southern Documentary Fund Production Grant, 2019 Ragdale Artist Residency, 2019 TFI Network, 2019 Chicken & Egg Pictures (Egg)celerator Lab, 2019 Jacquie Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund via Black Public Media, and the 2019 Firelight Media Documentary Lab.