Friends We Love is an award-winning media production company based in Los Angeles, creating inspiring content for organizations, film & tV studios by and for people of the global majority.

ADORNMENT | ARTIFACT : TRANSCENDENCE

This film explores the idea of Transcendence through art-making featuring studio visits with LA-based artists Natou Fall, Kori Newkirk and Samira Idroos. Their works were included in the Adornment Artifact exhibits celebrating ancient Nubia through contemporary art, events, and conversations throughout five sites across the city including Transformative Arts and The Getty Villa. Curated by jill moniz and generously supported by The Vera R. Campbell Foundation.

Director / Producer / Camera: Moni Vargas | DP / Editor: Michael Vargas

A RUBéN Ortiz-torres story | ARTBOUND | SEASON 13, EPISODE 6 | KCET

Since the early-80s, artist Rubén Ortiz-Torres has been working as a photographer, painter, sculptor, writer, filmmaker and video producer. Often associated with the development of a Mexican form of postmodernism, Ortiz-Torres's life is a collage that explores the social and aesthetic transformations related to cross-cultural exchange and globalization.

Directed by Michael Vargas & Moni Vargas | Produced by Moni Vargas

Emmy Awards Nomination, Arts, 2023

CON SAFOS | ARTBOUND | SEASON 12, EPISODE 1 | KCET

A pioneer of Chicano rock 'n' roll, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara recounts his life in music, performance art, and activism — from his time as the lead singer of the doo-wop band The Apollo Brothers, his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Cheech Marin, and his crossover into the Chicano performance art world of the 1960s and 1970s — all of which shaped Mexican American culture.

Directed by Michael Vargas & Moni Vargas | Produced by Moni Vargas | Edited by Michael Vargas

Emmy Awards Nomination, LA Color, 2022

Winner: 2 x National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, 2022

Winner: 2 x Southern California Journalism Awards, 2022