Vanessa Ramos is a co-founder, photographer, videographer and co-editor with V&M Productions. Alongside Vanessa is Max Anderson, who is a videographer and the co-editor of V&M Productions. As students back in 2013, Vanessa and Max followed grassroots issues in Texas and noticed a lack of media presence around under represented stories, people and issues. We saw multimedia as a tool to push social and environmental progress within the state. V&M Productions is a collaboration of work that documents grassroots movements, fossil fuel projects, people, representation, culture, realities of impacts on infrastructure, public health and investments which in turn reveals histories, inequities, resilience, human rights and systems in need of change. You can find both separate work from Vanessa and Max as well as collaborated video work. V&M productions is based out of the Austin, Texas area and you can find them on Vimeo, Facebook and Instagram.

Texas AFL-CIO’s Nationwide Worker’s Caravan for the HEROES ACT

In Austin, Texas healthcare, carpenters, teachers, first responders, bus drivers, construction workers from across the state gathered at the Texas State Capitol to demand passage of the HEROES Act. Many workers spoke out about the need to fund frontline workers who are putting their health on the line by simply showing up to work during a global pandemic. The workers formed a caravan around the state capitol to send a message to law makers to pass the HEROES Act.

Video produced by Vane Ramos and Max Anderson for V&M Productions and in partnership with Texas AFL-CIO.

Black Lives Matter Protest & Austin Police Violence on Protesters

DISCLAIMER: Graphic content and explicit language.

The following video is from the Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas on May 30, 2020. Hundreds of people protested in front of the Austin Police Department demanding justice for the police killings of Mike Ramos and George Floyd. Crowds remained peaceful until otherwise provoked and were met with excessive force from police. Police fired dozens of bean bag rounds into the crowd and sprayed people with pepper spray. As we made our way through the actions we were met with shots and spray along with other documentarians and reporters. As we dodged some projectiles others around us were hit or in some cases critically injured.

Video produced by Vane Ramos and Max Anderson for V&M Productions.

Our footage was featured and covered further at Austin Chronicle.

Permian Highway Pipeline Drilling Fluid Containments Drinking Water in the Texas Hill Country

An accident related to construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline has contaminated well water for some Blanco-area homeowners. On March 28th, Kinder Morgan was boring a tunnel underneath the Blanco River for construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline when they struck a karst feature and lost all of their drilling fluid and drilling mud. The next day, several nearby homeowners began experiencing murky, muddy water running out of their taps. In a public statement, Kinder Morgan confirmed the accidental release of drilling fluids, and has paused construction at the site until they can “evaluate the cause of the loss and determine the best path forward.”

Video produced by Vane Ramos and Max Anderson for V&M Productions.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn Action at US Embassy in Madrid, Spain

The Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Climate Action and It Takes Roots organized an Indigenous women led an action demanding justice for our Missing and Murdered Relatives in front of the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain. 75 Indigenous activists and their allies are calling on the global community and all peoples of the "United States" to join us in demanding the real action it will take to protect and respect Indigenous women
To address the #MMIW epidemic it will take much more than hollow Executive Actions that allocate federal dollars to address and dismantle human rights violations against Indigenous women and Indigenous lands. 

Video produced by Vane Ramos and Ayse Gürsöz for Indigenous Rising Media and Spencer Mann with Indigenous Climate Action. 

Liquified Natural Gas in the Rio Grande Valley and its Impacts

V&M Productions went to Brownsville, TX for a public comment hearing by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, (TCEQ), about an air quality permit for the proposed Annova LNG export terminal. More than 50 people showed up to the hearing, and around 30 people gave testimony. Many residents in the Rio Grande Valley oppose the LNG terminals because they will emit hundreds of thousands of tonnes of air pollution per year, impacting the communities health, wildlife corridors, and poses a harm to the tourism industry, which is a major part of the economy in the area.

The proposed LNG terminals would be located on the Port of Brownsville along Highway 48, and situated between the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Bahia Grande Unit, Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and near the Space X launch site.

Voices of Hurricane Harvey & The People’s Tribunal on Harvey Recovery

One year after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston Texas area, many people along the Texas Gulf Coast are still trying to rebuild their lives from the storm. Houston, the nation's fourth largest city, received more than 50 inches of rainfall and tens of thousands of people were flooded out of their homes. V&M joined West Street Recovery and East Houston organizer Bryan Parras to visit some families who are still trying to recover one year after the storm. V&M’s videos are to uplift first hand stories of residents about the impacts from flooding while shining a light on the realities from the lack of investment in communities across Houston as well as ongoing conversations around disaster preparedness, flood mitigation, and recovery efforts, especially for communities who are hit the hardest.

The interviews were shown at the People's Tribunal on Harvey Recovery that will uplift firsthand accounts of Harvey through the testimony of residents, community leaders and experts. The Tribunal also engaged attendees in imagining creative, people-first solutions. Interviews are displayed on Rice University’s, in partnership with Houston Public Media, virtual Houston Flood Museum website.
 

50 years of dumping on East Austin’s ‘Mount Bonnell’

The Red Bluff vista in East Austin is city owned property that was used as an illegal dump for half a century. After decades of watching inaction by the city, community elder Pete Rivera visited the Austin Environmental Justice Team (ATXEJ) meetings to advocate for his community’s needs. Rivera is the President of the Springdale Airport Neighborhood Association (SANA), where the Red Bluff vista is located. A years long organized campaign formed and V&M Productions was at the forefront, documenting the land, wildlife, and community efforts to clean up and preserve Red Bluff.

Thanks to dozens of volunteers who went on hikes, contacted 311, and talked to city council members whose districts included parts of the Red Bluff vista - three city departments finally took accountability of the illegal dumping. Austin’s Environmental Commission began phases of clean up at Red Bluff site in 2016, and in 2019 the City Council dedicated the area to be preserved as parkland.

Indigenous Solidarity with Texas Water Protectors against the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, sister project to Dakota Access Pipeline

On November 20th 2016, #TxWaterProtectors walked onto the easement of the Trans-Pecos Pipeline near Alpine and Marfa, Texas. This culminated after prayer, danza, and a two mile march. The march against the #TPPL was led by Society of Native Nations and Defend Big Bend.

On the same day as the action in West Texas, North Dakota law enforcement unleashed their most vicious attack against water protectors in Standing Rock. Police used water cannons in subfreezing weather, mace, tear gas, rubber bullets, an LRAD sound cannon, and concussion grenades. Hundreds of people were injured and a young woman nearly had her arm blown off.
The Sacred Stone Camp is calling for a Global Month of Action for everyday in December. This means closing your accounts with banks that are financially invested in DAPL and pressuring sheriffs departments to withdrawal from Standing Rock.

V&M covered the issues of the Trans-Pecos Pipeline fight in West Texas, bank divestments, civil disobedience throughout the state and the new development of Energy Transfer Partner’s CEO, Kelcy Warren’s position on the Texas Fish and Wildlife Commission.

SXSW presents Càfé Đụ Má - Vietnamese Street Coffee & A Story on Culture

V&M Productions joins Càfé Đụ Má to cover their grand opening and showcase their collaborative project at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Woncho and Johnny Nyguen are from Dallas and after their trips to Vietnam and their Vietnamese culture they thought to bring the street style coffee experience they both shared while visiting their homeland.

Their main goal with this project was to create an authentic Vietnamese cafe experience and sharing it's flavor with the third coast. Their beans are imported from Vietnam and they use traditional recipes. 

After their experience at SXSW in Austin, they brought Càfé Đụ Má to Dallas and hope to bring it to future local farmers market, art events, festivals, and around the neighborhood - where they can spread the love one drip at a time.

Find more videos at vimeo.com/vandmproductions