Meet The Team

PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, EDITOR
GREGORIO DAVILA
Gregorio Davila is a writer and all-around visual artist. Much of his work revolves around people of color, mainly Latinos, who he believes are grossly under and misrepresented in the media, especially Queer Latinos. He has written, produced, edited, and directed two short films: NANCY FROM EAST SIDE CLOVER, which played in twelve festivals around the world and won five awards. And JEANNE CORDOVA: BUTCHES, LIES & FEMINISM which made its festival debut at Outfest Los Angeles in July 2017, winning the JURY AWARD for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY. JEANNE went has played in five more festivals around the country so far, snagging two more JURY AWARDS and one AUDIENCE AWARD.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
ROLAND PALENCIA
Roland Palencia, MA, Executive Producer (he/him) is a Professor at Tseng College at California State University Northridge (CSUN) in the Diverse Community Development Leadership MA program. He is the former Community Benefits Director and a corporate trainer at L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest public health plan in the nation. He is also the former Executive Director of Clinica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero and Equality California, former multi-County Regional Director at The California Endowment and former Chief of Operations and Vice-President at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
In 2001, Palencia was honored as a "Local Hero” by KCET (PBS affiliate) and Union Bank of California. In the early 1980s, he became one of the founders and a pioneer of the blossoming LGBTQ Latine movement in the greater Los Angeles area, including co-founding
Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) and becoming the group’s second President.
Palencia has been featured in a number of books and publications such as “Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians” by Stuart Timmons and Lilian Faderman (2006). “Central Americans in Los Angeles” by Rosamaria Segura (2010);
and “The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle” by Lilian Faderman (2015).
The 165-page Master thesis by David Guzman, M.A., (CSUN 2014), records Palencia’s life journey as a Guatemalan political refugee and community activist. He is an award-winning Executive Producer of TRANSVISIBLE: BAMBY’s SALCEDO STORY, a documentary depicting the life and activism of the nationally renowned Trans Latina activist Bamby
Salcedo and UNIDAD: GAY & LESBIAN LATINOS UNIDOS, which chronicles the early 1980s
Queer Latine movement in Los Angeles, and Associate Producer of HOMEBOUND, a fiction film about a young Latino business executive who returns to his small hometown in Texas to help his dying father.
Palencia received a B.A. in History from UCLA and a Masters in the Humanities with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Montecito, CA.

PRODUCER
MARIO J. NOVOA
Mario J.Novoa is an educator, entrepreneur, and filmmaker (writer, producer, director, editor), who recently produced three documentaries: “L.A.: A Queer History”, “Nelly Queen: The Life & Times of Jose Sarria”, and “Unidad: Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos”.
Mario J. Novoa’s recent work includes the award-winning documentary shorts, "Nancy From Eastside Clover" and “Jeanne Cordova: Butches, Lies, & Feminism”. Other short and long-form content include: “TRONA”, "AY JOSE!", "Art Jackson: Underground Masterpiece", "The Miracle of Tony Davis" (featuring Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr.), "The Baby Cries".
Mario currently teaches film production and producer content for Civic Studios Chicago. Mario has held various education administrative positions at Los Angeles Film School, Columbia College Hollywood, and CalArts. Mario received his film degree from the Los Angeles Film School and a marketing degree from Full Sail University. Mario is set to direct his feature film, “Sympathy for the Devil”, and documentary, “Gay Latino Los Angeles: Portrait of a City”, for Film Bliss Studios. Mario J. Novoa is developing future work featuring immigrant and Latinx LGBTQ stories.
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Professional Website: www.mjnovoa.com
Company Website: www.filmbliss.net
CONTACT US
For more information about booking Unidad for a film festival, staff screening, or community screening, please contact: