Los Angeles, California (June 27, 2022). The drama America’s Family was a jury and audience favorite at the 25th Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles. It claimed the Grand Jury Award for features and the Audience Award for the competition features. The fest wrapped on Sunday at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Anike L. Tourse is the writer and director of America’s Family. Nadia Voukitchevitch, Angelica Salas, Emiliana Guereca, and CHIRLA are producers. America’s Family is the story of the Diaz family, and their home is raided by ICE on Thanksgiving Day. ICE put the mother in detention, her son Koke got deported, and patriarch Jorge protective sanctuary.
Their American-born children, Emiliano and Valentina scramble to reunite the family as their parents and brother fight to get home.
The official trailer for America’s Family, Directed by Anike L. Tourse, Produced by Nadia Voukitchevitch, Angelica Salas, Emiliana Guereca, and CHIRLA.
“Producing this film was beyond a work of love and social justice for me as a daughter of immigrants who fled Hitler during WWII. I have always believed that this is a country made up of immigrants from all over the world. It’s an honor for me to support CHIRLA and Angélica Salas for over 17 years, a non-profit very close to my heart that has been advocating for immigrant rights for generations. We hope that our film sparks a bright light in those already aware of the need for immigration reform and those new to the critical issue, and inspires them to take action” said Voukitchevitch.
A producer, writer, and director, Nadia Voukitchevitch, was born in New York City. Nadia earned her BA at Sarah Lawrence College. She has been living in Los Angeles for almost 18 years. Nadia has an MSc in Human Development (Leadership in Education and Human Services) from Pacific Oaks College. At Sarah Lawrence, Nadia was Sophomore Class President. She was a member of the Student Senate and brought about change on campus particularly affecting students of color.
Nadia has directed several short films and documentaries. Color & Differences @ SLC is about the experiences of students and professors of color on campus that caused some controversy. Foreign Women Living in Russia earned her a finalist for Documentary by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1998.
Living in Russia, she played a small role in the film Brother, directed by Alexei Balabanov. It stars Sergei Bodrov Jr., who got a Special Nomination at Cannes in 1997. Brother won numerous awards including Best Feature Film at the Brussels International Film Festival.
Nadia comes from a multicultural family who traveled the world, her father, an author, was born in Geneva. Her paternal grandfather is from Montenegro and is a member of the Secretariat of the League of Nations. Her mother is a concert pianist-artist-poet from the Philippines. She recently discovered that she had English, Swedish, Norwegian and Basque blood via a DNA test. Nadia is fluent in Spanish and speaks several languages. Her work has taken her to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.
Her interest in drama or film started at 10 years when she decided she wanted to be a Director. When in High School, she won a place at the Future Filmmaker’s Workshop at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Nadia was Senior Class President and founded the Video Club at Washington Irving H.S.. She made her first animated film. She won a Drama Cup for playing a male and female role in a play by Lope de Vega.
Nadia’s passion for photography started at the Instituto de Bachillerato de Miguel Hernández in Alicante. When in High School, several of her B&W photographs were bought and published by Paramount. She recently exhibited her Black and White photographs in the Every Women Biennial in NYC at the SuperChief Gallery.
Nadia’s film career began with Good Machine Inc., working on low-budget indie films. She was tutored by Ted Hope, James Schamus, and Nicole Holefcener. Hannah Weyer, Tod Haynes, Hal Hartley, Eddie Burns, and Ang Lee. Producers Anthony Bregman and Mary Jane Skalski too. Later she worked on big-budget Hollywood features like Hurricane, directed by Norman Jewison, and Music of the Heart, directed by. Wes Craven.
As a woman of color, Nadia worked her way up. She picked up from locations Intern to Key PA, Production Coordinator, and Assistant Producer. Then Script Supervisor on features, to 1st Assistant Director, Line Producer, Producer, and eventually Executive Producer on TV commercial sets. Nadia has worked on TV Shows like CNN, MTV, VH1, and BBC. Also some music videos for Celine Dion, Trick Daddy, Juan Luis Guerra, and Jennifer Lopez.
Nadia’s first job as an Agency Producer was at Castor Advertising in Miami, one of the top US Hispanic Advertising Agencies with Fortune 500 clients, including General Motors, Pontiac, Anheuser Busch, Bacardi, and Castrol Oil. This opportunity allowed her to work with the best commercial production companies in the nation, both for the US Hispanic Market and General Market, and to learn about all aspects of Latin culture. as
In 2001 she moved to Los Angeles where she became Executive Producer at Castells Advertising and helped grow the Agency in four years by winning 19 new business accounts out of 20 pitches. Nadia also worked for Grupo Gallegos, Casanova Pendrill/McCann Erikson, Pacific Communications, Vitro Agency, al Punto, and directly with brands such as Aireloom and Pep Boys. She has won multiple awards for advertising campaigns that she produced, a Belding for a Kohls’ Holiday spot and Palm D’Ors for an Alzheimer’s campaign.
She directed, produced, wrote, and edited a short film: “Behind Closed Doors”, and directed the documentary Esperanza Community Housing Corp and PSAs for CHIRLA, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, who awarded her a certificate of recognition.
Nadia produced a short comedy, Ending Up, directed by Paige Morrow Kimball, starring Jenica Bergere and Matt Letscher, that won many awards at film festivals, including the Comedy Block Audience Award at the San Jose Short Film Festival.
Nadia’s passion for social justice and love for public service led her to raise funds for many non-profits. After sending her 287-page thesis on US Public School Education Reform to the White House, she received a letter from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden acknowledging how critical education is to the long-term success of our Nation. She is also writing her memoir and is developing a script, a period piece on her paternal ancestors and how they came to survive the Russian Revolution and WWI and migrated to the US on the brink of WWII while being torpedoed by a nazi submarine.
Nadia ran the 5k in the Pasadena Triathlon and a 5k for BrittaCares: helping children survive cancer; her last Honolulu Marathon raised 8 million for APLA and the fight against AIDS. She is also the proud Mom to her 13-year-old son, who recently won a Grammy with the National Children’s Chorus, and their dogs Estrella and a rescue puppy Fearless. Nadia recently married her partner of 8 years, Director, Editor, Producer and VFX Supervisor, and Founder of VFXLA, Robb Hart.
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