Rudy Lopez Negrete, who leads brand partnerships for CAA’s Latin music division, also takes the lead on this initiative along and more than “30 colleagues across the agency businesses and offices” according to Deadline.  

“Latino and Hispanic talent and creators have a large and ever-growing impact on culture globally,” said Negrete and Toby Borg (Head of Global Client Strategy) in an exclusive statement to Deadline.  “Our top priorities are to change how the diverse community is depicted on screen, give greater voice to the work of Latino and Hispanic artists and storytellers and drive new revenue for clients.”

This good news comes on the heels of the recent study conducted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative which found that Latino representation in the film behind and front of the camera remains stagnant with no improvement in the last 16 years. Even when movies did feature Hispanic or Latino characters, the study found Latino characters were represented on-screen with depictions that were often rampant with stereotypes. Included under the new manner of CAA Latino are America Ferrera (Barbie), Andy Garcia (Father of the Bride), Comedian Gabriel Iglesias, Director Angel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu), Ana de Armas (Ballerina, Blond), Rachel Zegler (Snow White), and Edward James Olmos (Mayans).

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Submissions Now Open At LatinoFilm.org 

Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) is back for its second year after a five year hiatus. This year LALIFF has announced they plan to spotlight U.S. Latinx content creators. The news was met with an enthusiastic response on social media, as the lack of U.S. Latino content creators has been noticeably absent at major film festivals across the U.S.

LALIFF it is set to return July 31-August 4 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.  Co-founded by Academy Award^® nominee, Golden Globe^® and Emmy^® winner Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, Stand and Deliver) and run by Executive Director Rafael Agustin (Jane The Virgin), the platform agnostic festival which showcases film, television, digital, music and art – will this year put a major emphasis on U.S. Latinx talent.  CAA, Egeda and AltaMed return this year as sponsors.

“LALIFF has become the preeminent destination for Latinx storytellers and this year we want to spotlight our homegrown U.S. community of filmmakers, musicians, students, TV writers, visual artists, digital producers and podcasters,” said festival co-founder Olmos.

LALIFF is programmed by two leading women with distinct pedigrees:  Artistic Director Diana Sanchez (who is an International Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival®) and Director of Programming Dilcia Barrera (who is a Programmer, Feature Films at the Sundance Film Festival).   Submissions are now open at www.latinofilm.org.

This year LALIFF has established a paid internship which will be awarded to a high school student who has shown great academic improvement and displayed extraordinary filmmaking excellence. The Youth Cinema Project (YCP), which evolved from the festival’s youth program, announced that this year it will go to a Santa Ana High School student from the Santa Ana Unified School District.

LALIFF and YCP are programs of the Latino Film Institute (LFI), which this year added Dr. Ana-Christina Ramon (co-author of the highly influential Hollywood Diversity Report) to its Board of Directors.  

“As the largest minority group in the U.S. and one whose buying power outpaces other groups, Latinos are still severely underrepresented in film and TV. My goal is to provide the data necessary to enact meaningful change and motivate those in the industry to make content that is authentic and representative of how the majority of Latinos and other people of color live and work in America,” Said Ramon

To further expand efforts to be in the forefront of our industry, LFI this year has added LatinX In Animation as one of its signature programs.  Championing the growth of diversity in animation, the LatinX in Animation team will continue monthly networking events as well as take on developing an Animation curriculum for YCP and building out LALIFF Animation at this year’s festival.

About LALIFF

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) was founded in 1997 by producer, director, actor and activist Edward James Olmos and independent producers, Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez, and Kirk Whisler. LALIFF is a non-profit 501c (3) organization with the mission to support the development and exhibition of diverse visions by Latinx creators.  

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