2020 Films
Councilwoman
Documentary, USA (57 Minutes)
Politicians aren’t usually immigrant grandmothers working full-time service jobs, but Carmen Castillo proves the exceptions when she wins a seat on the city council in Providence, Rhode Island. A Dominican immigrant, Carmen maintains her job cleaning hotel rooms as she takes on her new role in politics.
Castillo must face skeptics who say she doesn’t have the education to govern corporate interests who take a stand against her fight for a city minimum wage of $15/hour, and a tough re-election against two contenders. In her own voice, Carmen Castillo takes the audience behind the scenes of her political campaign, her housekeeping work, and the interactions of her personal life. One moment, she is vacuuming a hotel room, then racing home to put on a suit before heading for city hall. We are with her every step of the way.
Lauren McLean, Boise Mayor, will moderate the discussion following the live stream with Carmen Castillo, City Council Member of the City of Providence, Rhode Island, subject of the film, and Margo Guernsey, the producer, writer and director.
About the Moderator
After graduating with honors from Notre Dame in 1997, Lauren McLean married her high school sweetheart, Scott, and the two settled in Boise. Lauren jumped into politics and civic engagement work while earning her MPA in environmental policy from Boise State University. In 2001, at just 27, Lauren led the historic Boise Foothills Open Space Campaign and successfully protected the Boise Foothills for future generations. In 2011, Lauren was appointed to Boise’s City Council, was twice re-elected, and selected by her peers to serve as Council President in 2017. She was inaugurated as Mayor of the City on January 7, 2020.
About the Filmmaker
Director Margo Guernsey has known Carmen Castillo for 18 years. They met when Guernsey was an organizer for Carmen’s union, UNITE HERE. “I was able to access the tools to tell Carmen’s story due in large part to my college education and that I was raised in a stable white middle-income family,” Guernsey says. “How can I listen deeply to Carmen and tell her story within the context of her life experience, as opposed to my own?”
Margo began her film career in 2010 as a producer at WPBT2 (Miami). Councilwoman is her first feature documentary. Since 2012, she has worked freelance as a director and producer of industrial videos in the Boston area. For over 20 years, she has worked as a union organizer, non-profit development director, Spanish/English translator, and media instructor. She holds an MFA in Film (University of Miami), MA in History (UMass/Amherst), BA in History (Brown University), and is a Tribeca/Camden/CNNFilms Retreat Alumni.
About Carmen Castillo
Castillo has been a member of the Providence City Council since 2010. She was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and emigrated with her three daughters to the United States over 20 years ago. After arriving in Rhode Island, she settled in Ward 9 in Providence, which she represents on the council.
While working at the West Hotel (now Omni), Castillo organized her fellow workers and helped form a union to garner higher wages, respect, and a better future for service employees and their families. Currently, she is a union steward and member of the executive board for UNITE HERE, Local 217. She has been active in her community for many years, advocating for the rights of immigrants, workers, and women, promoting neighborhood schools and fighting school closings, as well as focusing on improving city services and bringing more services to the war she represents.
Boise Screening: Thursday, Sept. 17th
Visit https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/2020-conference/ for conference details
Sun Valley Screening:
Thursday, September 10, 6:00 PM
All films will air on The Community Library’s Livestream page: https://livestream.com/comlib
Registration is required to participate in the Livestream chat.
2020 Films
Councilwoman
Documentary, USA (57 Minutes)
Politicians aren’t usually immigrant grandmothers working full-time service jobs, but Carmen Castillo proves the exceptions when she wins a seat on the city council in Providence, Rhode Island. A Dominican immigrant, Carmen maintains her job cleaning hotel rooms as she takes on her new role in politics.
Castillo must face skeptics who say she doesn’t have the education to govern corporate interests who take a stand against her fight for a city minimum wage of $15/hour, and a tough re-election against two contenders. In her own voice, Carmen Castillo takes the audience behind the scenes of her political campaign, her housekeeping work, and the interactions of her personal life. One moment, she is vacuuming a hotel room, then racing home to put on a suit before heading for city hall. We are with her every step of the way.
Lauren McLean, Boise Mayor, will moderate the discussion following the live stream with Carmen Castillo, City Council Member of the City of Providence, Rhode Island, subject of the film, and Margo Guernsey, the producer, writer and director.
About the Moderator
After graduating with honors from Notre Dame in 1997, Lauren McLean married her high school sweetheart, Scott, and the two settled in Boise. Lauren jumped into politics and civic engagement work while earning her MPA in environmental policy from Boise State University. In 2001, at just 27, Lauren led the historic Boise Foothills Open Space Campaign and successfully protected the Boise Foothills for future generations. In 2011, Lauren was appointed to Boise’s City Council, was twice re-elected, and selected by her peers to serve as Council President in 2017. She was inaugurated as Mayor of the City on January 7, 2020.
About the Filmmaker
Director Margo Guernsey has known Carmen Castillo for 18 years. They met when Guernsey was an organizer for Carmen’s union, UNITE HERE. “I was able to access the tools to tell Carmen’s story due in large part to my college education and that I was raised in a stable white middle-income family,” Guernsey says. “How can I listen deeply to Carmen and tell her story within the context of her life experience, as opposed to my own?”
Margo began her film career in 2010 as a producer at WPBT2 (Miami). Councilwoman is her first feature documentary. Since 2012, she has worked freelance as a director and producer of industrial videos in the Boston area. For over 20 years, she has worked as a union organizer, non-profit development director, Spanish/English translator, and media instructor. She holds an MFA in Film (University of Miami), MA in History (UMass/Amherst), BA in History (Brown University), and is a Tribeca/Camden/CNNFilms Retreat Alumni.
About Carmen Castillo
Castillo has been a member of the Providence City Council since 2010. She was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and emigrated with her three daughters to the United States over 20 years ago. After arriving in Rhode Island, she settled in Ward 9 in Providence, which she represents on the council.
While working at the West Hotel (now Omni), Castillo organized her fellow workers and helped form a union to garner higher wages, respect, and a better future for service employees and their families. Currently, she is a union steward and member of the executive board for UNITE HERE, Local 217. She has been active in her community for many years, advocating for the rights of immigrants, workers, and women, promoting neighborhood schools and fighting school closings, as well as focusing on improving city services and bringing more services to the war she represents.
Boise Screening: Thursday, Sept. 17th
Visit https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/2020-conference/ for conference details
Sun Valley Screening:
Thursday, September 10, 6:00 PM
All films will air on The Community Library’s Livestream page: https://livestream.com/comlib
Registration is required to participate in the Livestream chat.