Now in its 13th year, the annual celebration of Latina-directed cinema will present Merino with the Lupe Ontiveros Award on Opening Night, while Riggen will receive the Maverick Award. Both honors spotlight Latina leaders whose work has reshaped representation, storytelling, and opportunity across the entertainment industry.

Yvette Merino to Receive Lupe Ontiveros Award

Merino, producer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, will be honored for a career defined by artistic excellence and trailblazing achievement. The Lupe Ontiveros Award—named after the late actress who paved the way for generations of Latina performers—recognizes women whose careers demonstrate courage and a sustained commitment to expanding representation in film.

Merino made history as the first Latina to receive the Academy Award for Animated Feature for producing Disney’s Encanto. Over her 25-plus years at Disney Animation, she has served in key production roles on blockbuster titles including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6, and Oscar-nominated Moana.

Following Encanto, Merino earned an Emmy Award for producing the short film Once Upon a Studio and served as producer on Moana 2. She is currently producing Zootopia 2. Beyond the screen, Merino was also instrumental in launching Voces@Disney, the studio’s first Latino employee resource group, serving as co-president for two years.

Patricia Riggen to Receive Maverick Award

Riggen will be presented with the Maverick Award, honoring a filmmaker whose body of work has challenged dominant narratives while bringing underrepresented stories to global audiences with authenticity and emotional depth.

Widely regarded as one of America’s leading female directors, Riggen’s feature credits span genres and scale. Her recent action thriller G20 stars Viola Davis, while earlier work includes Sundance breakout feature Under The Same Moon/La Misma Luna and Sony Pictures’ box-office hit Miracles from Heaven starring Jennifer Garner.

Her television directing credits include multiple episodes of the Emmy-winning limited series Dopesick starring Michael Keaton, as well as season one of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

A graduate of Columbia University School of the Arts, Riggen’s early short film work earned a Student Academy Award, Student Emmy, and Mexican Academy Award. She later directed Lemonade Mouth, which received a Directors Guild of America nomination, and the Chilean mining drama The 33 starring Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche—a production that required 30 days of filming underground in active mines.

Originally from Mexico, Riggen remains one of the few women of color to have directed top-grossing studio features in the past decade and continues to mentor emerging Latino filmmakers.

Festival Leadership and Mission

LIFE is led by Festival Directors Iris Almaraz and Cristina Nava, whose shared focus on community engagement, equity, and independent film continues to define the festival’s growth. Nava, a veteran independent producer and cultural organizer, brings decades of experience championing socially conscious storytelling and grassroots arts advocacy. Together, Almaraz and Nava position LIFE as both a platform for exhibition and a space for mentorship, networking, and long-term career development.

Founded thirteen years ago by screenwriter and playwright Josefina López (known for writing the groundbreaking film and Broadway play Real Women Have Curves), the festival was built on the belief that representation matters and that diverse voices strengthen the cinematic landscape.

In addition to screenings, the 2026 edition will feature panels, workshops, and networking sessions connecting emerging Latina directors with industry leaders and resources. LIFE is a fiscally sponsored project of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

Tickets and full programming details are available at www.LIFEFilmFestLA.com.

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Add it to your watchlist, stream it on release day, and tell your friends. Let’s make some noise for this joyful rom-com and show the industry that Latino voices, Latino love stories, and Latina creators belong front and center in Hollywood.

A Dream Decades in the Making

This is not just another rom-com. Say a Little Prayer is one of the very few romantic comedies written and produced by Latina women—a long-awaited project that writer-producer Nancy De Los Santos has been working to bring to life for over 20 years. Inspired by her grandmother’s advice to pray to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, because her “husband was lost” when she was still unmarried at 35, the film mixes humor, heart, and tradition into a story that feels both timeless and fresh.

For De Los Santos, this premiere is the culmination of persistence and passion. Latina romantic comedies are still a rarity in Hollywood, making this wide release especially meaningful. Produced by Cristina Nava of Migrant Filmworks, with Edward James Olmos and Luis Fonsi also on board as executive producers, the film delivers a joyful, authentic Latina perspective rarely seen in mainstream rom-coms.

Directed by Patrick Perez Vidauri, the film follows three inseparable best friends—Adela (Vannessa Vásquez), Ruby (Jackie Cruz), and Cristina (Vivian Lamolli)—who recite an ancient prayer to St. Anthony in their quest for true love. But what begins as a playful ritual turns into a whirlwind of unexpected events that test their friendships and transform their lives.

“Romantic Comedies are making a comeback,” said director Vidauri. “Audiences want to see beautiful people falling in love. Especially in a place as cinematic as San Antonio, with it’s one-of-a-kind Tejano culture.”

Adding star power and musical magic, Say a Little Prayer also marks the acting debut of Grammy Award–winning superstar Luis Fonsi (“Despacito”), who not only stars in the film but also contributes the original song “Prayer in Your Eyes,” co-written with Grammy-winning songwriter Josh Kear. The ensemble cast includes Mexican acting legend Angélica María (House of Flowers), Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon), and Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live).

For the filmmakers and Latino audiences, this is more than just a movie—it’s proof that audiences want diverse stories on screen. But it will take audiences who love rom-com movies and who want to see Latinas on screen to watch the film and make sure to share and to support Say a Little Prayer. This is a powerful way to support Latina storytellers and open the door for more projects like this to be made.

Samuel Goldwyn Films is a major, independently owned, and operated motion-picture company that develops, produces, and distributes innovative feature films.

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De Los Santos and Nava, both members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), are the writer and producer, respectively, of Say a Little Prayer, with an all-Latino lead cast,including Luis Fonsi, Vannessa Vasquez, Jackie Cruz, Vivian Lamolli, and Angélica María, capturing the rich and diverse experiences of Latinx communities, making a profound impact on the film landscape. 

Nancy De Los Santos was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago and headed for trouble. She left Catholic high school for public high school and joined a Latina girl gang. One thing led to another, and she turned her life around, graduating from UT Austin and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Nancy began her career in Chicago as producer of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s film review program At The Movies. With her production guidance, the show was nominated for two national Emmy Awards.

She’s worked as Associate Producer on the iconic Latino features My Family and Selena, and written for television shows Resurrection Blvd., American Family, and East Los High. Nancy was invited to Equinox, the Sundance of Europe, where her feature script Answer To My Prayer (Which ultimately became Say a Little Prayer) was work-shopped with writer Nora Ephron. Nora invited Nancy to submit for the theatre production “Love, Loss, and What I Wore”. Nancy’s personal story about her old gang sweater was accepted for the play, which has been staged in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Mexico City, proving the adage… “It all comes around…”

As the first Latina elected to the Board of Directors at the WGA, De Los Santos’ contributions to the industry have not gone unnoticed. The Mexican American Cultural Education Foundation (MACEF) will honor her with the prestigious “Trailblazer in Screenwriting Illustrious Award” for her pioneering work, talent, and commitment to helping the Latino community exemplify those who are changing the narrative. The award ceremony is scheduled for April 27, 2025, during the 2025 Mexican-American Film and Television Festival and Awards to be held at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood.

Nava is a producer, screenwriter, and director who made her directorial debut with the award-winning film Free Lunch in 2024. She also collaborates with her husband, Patrick Perez Vidauri, at Migrant Filmworks, which they founded in 2011. They are dedicated to producing innovative content for the growing U.S. Latino market. Additionally, they are founding members of a collective of mid-career filmmakers based in the U.S. committed to advancing, accelerating, and amplifying Latino-American storytelling.

Cristina Nava is co-founder of Migrant Filmworks overseeing development and production. A veteran screenwriter and producer of film and television, she has supervised massive international television series, as well as intimate feature films. She has produced shows for Nickelodeon, Telemundo, and many more.  As a member of the Writers Guild of America,  Cristina enjoys the challenge of adapting client’s ideas into fully formed screenplays.  In 2020 Cristina took the client’s original concept and developed,  wrote and produced the romantic comedy  Divorce Bait starring Vannessa Vazquez (East Los High) and Justin Berti (Secret Lives of Housewives). This movie was acquired by the Samuel Goldwyn Company after a bidding war with Lionsgate.

Two visionary filmmakers whose innovative projects inspire audiences and are redefining cinematic storytelling that includes Latinos.

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