Biography

Luis Proenca is priest and documentary filmmaker who has done award-winning work in the diaspora Portuguese-speaking communities of Southern California, East Timor, and his native Mozambique. Proença teaches at LMU where he is an Associate Professor in the Production Department. He is also the President of Hope Media Productions, a Non-Profit Production Company.

Recently Proenca's latest two documentaries broadcast at RTPi (Radio Televisao Portuguesa Internacional) over all the continents. These two works are about the Portuguese community in California. They are called Tradition - As Festas e Tradicoes dos Portugueses na California and Off the Boat- As Historias de Imigracao dos Portugueses na California. Hopes and Struggles of Mozambican Refugees is the third most recent work (April, 2006), which has been broadcast all over Africa on RTP Africa. Pukiki - The Portuguese Americans of Hawaii is Proenca's work from 2003 in which he served as Producer, Director and Editor. Pukiki was internationally broadcast over all the continents on RTPi (Radio Televisao Portuguesa Internacional) and it was also an Official Selection of the Hawaiian International Film Festival (Oct. 03). After Pukiki he finished the documentary Mo'olelo - Oral Histories of the Portuguese in Maui, Oahu and Hawai'i.

The Proenca documentary, Touchstone - The Rock Art of Côa Valley concerns rare forms of art produced 20,000 years ago in the Côa Valley and it has been distributed in Europe. He also produced Rhythms of Mozambique, an African music compact disc that features The Fonte Boa Choir. The CD was published in January of 2001 by Loyola Productions. Proenca has directed live television programs for Portuguese National Television (TVI).
- IMDb mini biography by: Luis Proenca