Kamala Lopez

Kamala Lopez is an actress, producer, director, writer and editor and political activist.

Lopez has appeared in movies including "I Heart Huckabees", Born in East L.A., and others. She has appeared on television shows as "Lie To Me", Alias, and others.

In 1995 Lopez formed a production company called Heroica Films.

Early life

Lopez is a native of New York, NY who was raised in Caracas, Venezuela.

Film, television and other media

Acting

Lopez has worked as an actor in over thirty feature films including "I Heart Huckabees", Born in East L.A., Deep Cover, and The Burning Season.

Hosting

In 2007 Lopez hosted Wired Science on PBS, a production of KCET Los Angeles in association with Wired Magazine along with comedian Chris Hardwicke.

Directing

A Single Woman

Lopez directed the film A Single Woman, about the life of first US Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin. The film was adapted from the play of the same name, written by Jeanmarie Simpson. The film premiered in Culver City, California at the Culver City Plaza Theater on September 21, 2008. The film subsequently played at the United States Capitol and has since been invited to screen at The Smithsonian Institution, The United Nations, The National Arts Club, and Yale University. It is currently being sold on DVD. The film received the Exceptional Merit in Media Award from the National Women's Political Caucus in a ceremony on July 14, 2009, at the National Press Club in Washington DC.

Political activism

ERA campaign

In 2010 Lopez became the director of the E.R.A. Education Project, a national media campaign to raise awareness about the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States. She won the 2011 Woman of Courage Award from the National Women's Political Caucus.

Global Girl Media

Lopez is the National Program Director of Global Girl Media, a non-profit organization “dedicated to empowering high school age girls from under-served communities through media, leadership and journalistic training”. The July, 2011 GGM LA Academy trained 12 high-school-age girls, many from marginalized communities in Los Angeles, and will feature their work in an international exhibition focused on women’s and girls' rights globally in October.

Speechless Without Writers

Speechless Without Writers was a new media campaign produced by Lopez during the Writers Guild of America Strike of 2007 along with director George Hickenlooper, writer Alan Sereboff, writer Jill Kushner and actor-writer Joel Marshall. The campaign created dozens of short black and white public service announcements featuring actors including Holly Hunter, Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Harvey Keitel, Demi Moore, and others.

Blogger

Lopez is a blogger for the Huffington Post.

Awards

Woman of Courage Award

In July of 2011 Lopez received the Woman of Courage Award from the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC). The Women of Courage Awards are given to women from diverse backgrounds who have demonstrated courage by taking a stand to further civil rights and equality, and who exemplify women's leadership. Other 2011 Award recipients include Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Pakistani women's rights activist, Rubina Feroze Bhatti; Minority Leader, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi; and others.

Exceptional Merit in Media Award

On July 14th of 2009 Lopez and Heroica Films were given an Exceptional Merit Media Award for the film "A Single Woman," produced and directed by Lopez. The EMMA was created by the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) to honor and reward journalists and media outlets in radio, television, print and the internet that inform and educate the public about critical issues that impact women’s lives.

External links

• Kamala Lopez at IMDb