Documentarian and SF State student Maya Chinchilla was proud when she found out she had won a STAND award, an award for amateur directors.

“I was so excited because it meant that I would get some funding to make another movie,” said Chinchilla, 30, a BECA graduate student.

The STAND award, short for Support, Training and Access for New Directors, is an award that is given out by the Film Arts Foundation, a nonprofit, member-based resource for independent film and video makers, according to Chinchilla.

She found the information about the award after she finished “Made in Brazil,” her last documentary, which she completed in the summer of 2005, and was looking for funding possibilities for a new project.

Chinchilla, who received the award in August, said she was given $300 for funding a new project and access to classes, which are offered at the foundation. She added that she was also given the opportunity to work with a mentor who is a professional documentarian.

She found that the Film Arts Foundation offers grants and awards to those who are standout applicants in the field of filmmaking. She said she submitted an application, wrote a personal statement and a proposal for a new project.

She added that she is currently planning a detailed schedule for work on her untitled documentary, which has not yet been filmed. The documentary will focus on three Central American artists and how, through their art forms, they create their own identities.

“They are people I know and admire,” Chinchilla said. “People would not know their story unless I told it.”

Chinchilla's previous completed works, which include another documentary titled "The Last Word," have been screened at various film festivals.

“‘The Last Word’ was shown at the UC Santa Cruz Women of Color Film festival this past summer, and it was shown at the San Francisco International Latino Film Festival,” Chinchilla said. “It was nominated for a jury award at the San Francisco festival, which was really beyond me. That’s a huge festival with all these international actors there, and it was kind of another moment where I was feeling very excited and proud.”

“The Last Word” is a documentary about Las Manas, an all-female performing and writing collective, according to Chinchilla's friend Cruz Grimaldo, 31, who is in “Las Manas” and was featured in the documentary. Grimaldo said “Las Manas” is a variation of the Spanish word “hermanas,” which means sisters. The collective has been working together for a few years, Grimaldo said.

“It is about the work we have done as a female writing collective," said Gina Amato, 32, who is also in “Las Manas” and a featured person in the documentary. "The process of building a community, bringing our talent to the table, and creating something beautiful."

In addition, Chinchilla’s other documentary, “Made in Brazil,” has been screened on campus, and was accepted to Girl Fest in Hawaii, which she explained was part conference and part film festival. “Made in Brazil,” is about a nonprofit organization in Brazil called Salao do Encontro. The organization provides housing, education, and health care to families in the Brazilian city of Betim, Chinchilla said.

The documentary was also recently accepted to Boyle Heights Film Extravaganza, which is taking place Dec. 8.

“The Boyle Heights Film Festival is one that I am really excited about because I am from Southern California, so it is like going home for me,” said Chinchilla, who grew up in Long Beach.

While the inspiration for the two documentaries came from two different places, both of the films have roots at SF state.

For “Made in Brazil,” the whole reason why a film was made about Salao do Encontro was because it was part of a community service requirement for an upper-division class titled "Media in Community Service."

The class was taught by Betsy Blosser, with the first portion of the class held during the spring 2005 semester, when plans for a trip to Brazil took form, Chinchilla said. She added that the trip took place during the summer 2005 session.

“It was all about the class, not about getting a grade. The project took on its own energy, and the experiences were amazing. I mean children were coming up to us from the non-profit group and treating us like rock stars. We felt like we had a huge responsibility to really portray these people in a positive light, which I think we did,” she said.

In addition, “The Last Word” was a project for a BECA class, taught by professor John Hewitt, who has been teaching at SF State for 32 years.

“Maya produced ‘The Last Word’ in my documentary production class in spring of ‘04,” Hewitt said. “I like to consider myself a consultant on all the documentaries in the class, but it is the students who conceive, research, shoot, organize, write, edit and distribute the stories. Doing all this in a 15-week semester is quite an ordeal.”

Chinchilla has worked very hard to get where she is today, Hewitt said, adding that winning spots in film festivals and her STAND award helps her realize that all her hard work does pay off.

“Getting the STAND award was like an extra push,” Chinchilla said. “It is like a little extra inspiration to think that there are possibilities beyond getting a degree in professional world, which is very exciting.”