By Judi Jordan

Fifteen years of magic, and we’re just getting started! The Guadalajara Film Festival in Los Angeles (GLAFF) is throwing an unforgettable Quinceañera celebration November 6–8, 2025, bringing together the most exciting voices in cinema from across the Americas. This isn’t just a film festival – it’s a three-day cultural fiesta you won’t want to miss!

Opening Night Magic: We’re kicking off in spectacular style with Guillermo del Toro’s breathtaking Frankenstein adaptation. The Guadalajara native has assembled a powerhouse cast – Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz – for what everyone’s calling the year’s most anticipated film. Catch the magic November 6th at downtown LA’s stunning United Theater, then watch it again on Netflix starting November 7th!

The Festival Lineup:

Olmo is the coming-of-age story we’ve been waiting for – a gorgeous exploration of life between cultures, brought to you by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and the brilliant Fernando Eimbcke.

Vainilla made waves at Venice, and now it’s our turn! Mayra Hermosillo’s debut feature transports you to 1980s Mexico through young Roberta’s eyes as her family fights to keep their world intact. It’s intimate, powerful, and absolutely unforgettable.

Juan Gabriel: Debo, Puedo Y Quiero – Because legends deserve legendary tributes. This Netflix docuseries reveals rare treasures from El Divo de Juárez’s incredible life.

Plus there’s art forgery intrigue in Forge, magical favela tales in Kites, and shorts featuring Rosie O’Donnell and rising stars!

Here’s what makes us proud: 55% of our filmmakers are women, representing Latinx, Black, Asian-American, Indigenous, Queer, Filipino, and Arab communities. That’s the future of cinema, and it’s happening right now.

Join us for red-carpet glamour, intimate filmmaker conversations, hands-on workshops, and screenings that’ll stay with you forever!November 6–8, 2025 | Los AngelesAll the details at: www.glaff.org

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After testing positive for COVID-19, actor and comedian George Lopez was forced to drop out of announcing the list of nominees along with his daughter Mayan Lopez.

Among the nominees are Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas, Mexican actor Diego Luna, Mexican-Puerto Rican Jenna Ortega, for her performance in Wednesday. Luna is the fourth Latino actor to be nominated for best male performance in a television series. Aubrey Plaza was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio has also been nominated for Best Animated Movie.

The 2023 edition of the Golden Globes will return to NBC in January after last year’s controversy over the lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

To see the full list, CLICK HERE

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“Guillermo del Toro has been a treasured member of the MoMA family for the last 30 years from the debut of Cronos in New Directors/New Films 1994 to our upcoming exhibition devoted to his latest masterwork, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” said Rajendra Roy, MoMA’s Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film. “We can’t wait to honor the man who loves cinema with his whole heart in front of the Museum’s adoring film community.”

Del Toro has been nominated for six Academy Awards, winning the Best Director and Best Picture awards in 2018 for The Shape of Water (2017). Del Toro’s work has appeared in several of the Museum’s exhibitions, starting in 1994, when his first film, Cronos (1993), was selected for the annual New Directors/New Films festival. Since then, the Museum has screened The Shape of Water (2017) as a part of The Contenders 2017 and Nightmare Alley (2021) as a part of The Contenders 2021.

The gala featured a tribute to the director Jessica Chastain, Richard Jenkins, Finn Wolfhard and Gregory Mann.

Guests were treated to a preview of Guillermo Del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio, an exhibition that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind del Toro’s new film, opening at MoMA on December 11 through April 15, 2023.The exhibition will provide visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process needed to realize Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022).

Previous MoMA Film Benefit honorees include Penélope Cruz, George Clooney, Laura Dern, Martin Scorsese, Julianne Moore, Tom Hanks, Cate Blanchett, Alfonso Cuarón, Tilda Swinton, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Kathryn Bigelow, Tim Burton, and Baz Luhrmann.

The evening closed with a performance by Academy Award and Grammy winning artist, H.E.R.

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Actors Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Ariana DeBose and director Guillermo Del Toro stand out among the 14 Latinos nominated for the 94th Academy Awards. Consequently, Twenty-twenty-two and 2006 tie as the years with the most Latino candidacies in Oscars history. Notably, this year’s nods for Latinos are across the board and include nominations in the most coveted categories. 

Del Toro’s film noir Nightmare Alley nabbed four noms, including Best Picture for the Mexican cineaste, while Disney’s Encanto, set in a magical Colombia, got three, including Animated Feature Film. 

Two other movies with Latino connections that received multiple nominations are the biopic Being the Ricardos with three, including one for Bardem as a leading actor, and West Side Story with seven, with one for DeBose as a supporting actress.

INCLUSION, LAYERED STORIES
This year’s inclusion of three Latino noms in the acting categories is a reminder of the power and impact of inclusion, diversity and accurate and multi-dimensional portrayals of minorities in film, for which Latinos have been pressing for decades. The noms were arguably made possible by projects with Latino themes and featuring prominent Latino roles, namely Encanto, West Side Story and Being the Ricardos. Moreover, the candidacies of Bardem, Cruz and DeBose are history-making. 

TWO SPANISH ICONS BOTH WITH FOUR NOMS EACH
In what may be a first, Spain’s husband-wife duo Bardem and Cruz could be the couple that has each received four Oscar nominations and won an Oscar each.

Bardem’s Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar nom for Being the Ricardos is his fourth for the Oscars, winning for his role of a psychopathic killer in No Country for Old Men in 2008. His nod this year ties him with Mexican-born thespian Anthony Quinn as the Latino male actor with the most Academy Award nominations in history. 

In a statement released by Bardem yesterday, he congratulated his fellow nominee in the best actor category, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Garfield.

The 2022 Oscars edition also brings a fourth Oscar nod for Cruz, who competes in Actress in a Supporting Role for Madres Paralelas, her seventh collaboration with acclaimed director Pedro Almodovar. This year’s fourth nomination makes Cruz the Latina actress with the most Oscar nominations. In 2008 she won the Academy Award for the romantic dramedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen.

Other nominees in this category include Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman and Kristen Stewart.

LATINA & BLACK
DeBose, a proud Afro-Latina, received a nod for Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Anita in Steven Spielberg’s reimagined musical West Side Story. She is the first U.S. born Latina of black descent to be nominated for the Academy Award. The role of Anita won her the Golden Globe earlier this year.

Rita Moreno played Anita in the original 1960 musical feature, taking home both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for her role. History could repeat itself if DeBose can replicate Moreno’s win of both these two industry awards for playing the same character.

In her first shot for the Academy Award, Debose joins a category that includes nominees Jessie Buckley, Judi Dench, Kirsten Dunst and Aunjanue Ellis.

‘ENCHANTING’ PRODUCTION, MUSIC
All three nominations for Encanto include Latinos. In Best Animated Film, Chicana filmmaker Yvett Merino is one of three producers sharing the honor. 

The Disney animated film’s two other nods are for music. Lin-Manuel Miranda vies for the prize for Original Song with the Spanish-language ballad “Dos Oruguitas,” giving the acclaimed Puerto Rican a second chance to become an EGOT. The prestigious acronym distinguishes a handful of artists who have won the four top American awards in entertainment, an Emmy for TV, Grammy for music, Oscar for film and a Tony for theater. Having won the first three, Miranda lost his first bid for an Academy Award in 2017 for writing the theme song for another Disney film, Moana. 

Miranda’s competition this year includes renowned songwriters Beyoncé, Van Morrison and Billie Eilish.

“Dos Oruguitas” is also making history as the first song fully in Spanish nominated for an Oscar. While Coco’s Academy Award-winning “Remember Me” included lyrics in Spanish, the ballad was a bilingual composition with about half in English and half in Spanish.

Encanto‘s Germaine Franco is a first-time Oscar nominee competing in the Original Score category. She is not the only contender of Latino descent in her category. Franco faces Spanish Alberto Iglesias, the composer for Madres Paralelas.

Carlos López Estrada of Mexico, who stands out among the producers of Raya and the Last Dragon that also vies for the award for Best Animated Film. 

SEVERAL CONTENDERS IN SHORTS
Additionally, five Latino producers, including a woman, battle it out with short films. 

Chile’s Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz compete in Short Film Animated with the Spanish-language Bestia, a stop-motion movie about a secret police agent during the Chilean military dictatorship. Other nominees in the same category are Spain-born Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez with The Windshield Wiper centered on a man who ponders about love while smoking at a cafe.  

For her part, K.D. Dávila stands out among the candidates for an Oscar for Short Film Live action. The Mexican-American filmmaker competes with Please Hold, about a young man whose life is derailed and finds himself at the mercy of automated justice.

The Oscars will broadcast live March 27.

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Out of horror master Guillermo Del Toro’s extremely busy filmmaking schedule comes Antlers, a movie about a supernatural creature in a small Oregon town. The film is slated to premiere Oct. 29 after being postponed twice due to the pandemic.

Antlers follows a school teacher and her police brother who believe one of her students is harboring a dangerous, otherworldly beast in his home. They are played by Keri Russell (The Americans), Jesse Plemons (Other People) and up-and-coming child actor Jeremy T. Thomas (Paradise Lost), respectively. 

The Fox Searchlight Pictures movie is directed by Scott Cooper (Hostiles), who co-wrote the screenplay along with Nick Antosca (The Act) and feature debutante C. Henry Chaisson. The script is based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Antosca, who also executive directs.

Feature Photo: ‘Antlers’ (Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures)

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By Justina Bonilla

Gigi Saul Guerrero is making a name for herself as director and writer in horror, breaking new ground.

Saul Guerrero, originally from Mexico City, Mexico, immigrated to Canada where she earned a B.A. at Capilano University in Motion Picture Production. She co-founded the independent production company, Luchagore. Since launching Luchagore, she has directed and co-written several shorts, including El Gigante and the Crypt TV shorts, A Luchagore Christmas, and Mistress of Bones. She has also directed for Blumhouse Television, most notably, the episode Culture Shock for the Into the Dark series and the upcoming film Bingo.

In our exclusive interview with Saul Guerrero, she shares her creative influences, her path to her directorial career, current projects, and future hopes for her career.

Justina Bonilla: What filmmakers and films have influenced you and your style?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: It really did start with Children of Men. When I looked more into [Alfonso Cuaron, the director of Children of Men], I saw that he was part of the “Three Amigos.” Form there I discovered Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu and Guillermo Del Toro.

It really was a mix of those three guys. Everything that these guys were making, they were not afraid to just go over the boundaries, in showing really raw and gritty, but human stories. It has the love of monsters that Guillermo would be that were so human and so real. And then, it had Iñárritu’s grittiness and brutality, like he brought in Amores Perros. These guys are not afraid to speak our language.

Because of [them] I found out about [Robert] Rodriguez, who’s total Tex-Mex style, and I really related to [it]. I couldn’t really figure myself here out in Canada. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to adapt quickly. I wanted to learn English right away. I was trying so hard to be something. But I realized that it’s okay to be two different things. It’s okay to have your past culture and bring it to a new one. And Rodriguez would do that [with] his crazy movies, with El Mariachi, Machete, Planet Terror. He always had those hints of Mexicano style, and I thought that was so neat.  

From there, I just got deep into the horror world, because of Rob Zombie with The Devil’s Rejects. I had never seen a movie so dirty. I had never seen a movie so raw and to the point where you could smell what was on the screen.

JB: Speaking of the horror genre, what are your favorite sub genres?

GSG: I’ve gone through phases. Suddenly I’m all about slashers. Suddenly I’m all about cult classics, and 80s horror, or trash horror. I go through it all. At the end of the day, I guess what really changed my mind that the subgenre doesn’t really matter, is because of Jordan Peele’s work. I never thought I would gravitate so much towards socially elevated horror like that, since Get Out.

JB: What inspired you to create your production company Luchagore?

GSG: It really all started with my best friend, who is my cinematographer in all of the stuff I’ve directed, Luke Bramley. Luke and I were the only horror freaks in our school. All of our homework was based on horror.

For one of our bigger projects, not having enough people in our crew, we became the troublemakers of the school, [because] we were bringing students in from the rival [Vancouver] film school, into our project. One of the crew members from the other school, Raynor Shima [Luchagore producer], was obsessed [with horror].

We realized, “Well, no one wants to work on [horror projects] but us three. Let’s make a bunch of videos [together].” Self-funded, just no budget. [With] the tiniest DLSR camera. Just making viral videos. Making cool content.

JB: Why do you think Mexican culture works so well with horror?

GSG: At the end of the day, I think [Mexican] culture is so rich and historic. We’re [also] very spiritual people. We celebrate death. We are not afraid of it. We cherish it. We embrace it. And we just see all these dark stories, legends, traditions, we see them in a different light.

JB: How did you become involved with Crypt TV?

GSG: I was still in film school when we met in L.A. Very Kindly, my work [El Gigante] was shown to Eli Roth, who co-founded Crypt TV. And Eli [noted], “Your work is really cool. Luchagore is super cool. We’re starting a new [project] Crypt TV, let me connect you.” We were one of the first [filmmakers] to work with them.

Since then, we’ve grown up together. So, it’s nice that after a few years of doing our own things, we came back together [last] year to make something together, Mistress of Bones.

JB: What inspired Mistress of Bones to focus on Aztec culture?

GSG: Aztec mythology has a lot of layers. A lot to say.

It was a mix of [wanting] a Latina hero. And our writer Shane McKenzie [asking], “What about the background of how Day of the Dead started, [emphasizing] the goddess Mictecacihuatl?” Mistress of Bones is a perfect opportunity to bring the mythology to light. But, the dark mythology, the underworld stuff that we don’t talk about very often.

JB: Would you like to see Mistress of Bones become a series on Crypt TV?

GSG: I would hope so. That’s Luchagore’s next goal. We wanted to make Mistress of Bones not just a standalone short, full of action and a new heroine. It was a cool challenge to be like, “How can we shoot this that it still makes sense on its own? But you can see that there’s a lot going on that we’re not showing.” Hopefully, Crypt TV and Luchagore can make it a bigger thing.

JB: What lead you to direct projects at Blumhouse Television?

GSG: I love Blumhouse, who are the pillar of the horror community. They want to tell new [and] fresh stories. Blumhouse had seen El Gigante and a few of my shorts. So, they gave me a chance of Culture Shock. And Culture Shock really blew up in the best way possible. It spoke a lot about a very important issue, with the border crisis, and what’s going on, unfortunately. The movie still stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason. Blumhouse and I really wanted to tell a very important message. It’s very cool that Blumhouse is taking a chance again on Luchagore [with Bingo].

JB: What are you most excited about for your upcoming Blumhouse Television series film Bingo?

GSG: I can’t wait to share this film with the world. So proud of what we were able to achieve during the pandemic. Filmmaking is a lot harder now, but we followed safety protocols and gave it our best every single day during the making of this film. [I’m] incredibly excited to share a unique story where audiences are going to connect with new heroes. Plus, heroes we haven’t seen kick-ass in a genre film before!! These seniors fight back for their beloved bingo hall and it makes my heart swell of joy!

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By Justina Bonilla

Comic-Con, the biggest entertainment convention in the world, went virtual this year, allowing everyone globally to attend the vast variety of world-famous programs through the Comic-Con International channel on YouTube. Among the array of topics such as comic books, movies, video games, and lessons in creating original content, was a diversity of ethnic orientated panels, including Asian, African American, Native American, and Latino.

Over the 5-day virtual convention from July 22 – 26, 2020, Latino talent was represented in a number of panels, with talent In front and behind the camera. With such an abundance of scheduled programs, here is a highlighted list of programs about and panels featuring Latino talent.

July 23, 2020 – Thursday

Marvel Storyboards: An interview with Marvel Executive VP, creative director Joe Quesada, about his documentary series Marvel’s Storyboards. Before VP, Quesada started at Marvel as an artist, eventually rising to the editor, then editor-in-chief.

His Dark Materials Virtual Panel and Q&A Session: The panel of the HBO adaption of the global bestselling trilogy book series His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman, features executive producers and six cast members (Lin-Manuel Miranda) discussing the influence the series has had on them artistically and the upcoming second season this fall.

Collider: Directors on Directing: Three directors, including Robert Rodriquez, Colin Trevorrow, and Joseph Kosinski, go in-depth about their experiences in directing, including the artistic craft of directing, projects of the past, current projects, and those to come.

Dubbing American into Latin American – A Chat with Dub Actors: With syndication of American English language shows into Latin America, especially Mexico, is a need for skilled Spanish speaking dub voice actors. Featured are some of the top dubbing voice actors of Mexico sharing their professional experiences in this field. The conversation is in Spanish. English subtitles are not automatic, however, are available through the setting corner of the screen. 

The State of the Industry: Animation Superstars: Taking a deep inside look at the animation world and the work it takes to become an animator, with a special array of contemporary animation talents (including Jorge Gutierrez and Alonso Ramirez Ramos).

July 25, 2020 – Saturday:

Cosmos: Possible Worlds: The scientific and creative talent for this third series of Cosmos, including with Afro-Puerto Rican host astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan (creator, executive producer, director, and writer), and an introduction by Seth MacFarlane emphasizes the importance of science literacy today, the history of the original Cosmos series, and the exciting topics and stories to come this season.

Latin American Horror Cinema 2: Sometimes they Come Back: Part two from Comic-Con 2019 highlights directors of the new wave of horror from Latin America, featuring Issa Lopez (Tigers Are Not Afraid), Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead), Isaac Ezban (The Incident), Demián Rugna (Terrified) and Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock).

Guillermo del Toro and Scott Cooper on Antlers and Filmmaking: Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is producing the upcoming supernatural horror film Antlers, about a folklore creature causing on a bloodthirsty spree in a small isolated town. He discusses alongside the film’s director Scott Cooper about the film and their experiences as filmmakers and film lovers.

Latinx & Native American Storytellers: Latinx and Native American Writers from comics to children’s literature, evaluate the history of Latinx and Native American characters in media, while also discussing the increased demand and possibilities available for Latinx and Native American storytellers and characters.

Mexico’s Magnificent Stop-Motion Seven: With Mexican cinematic talent, especially animation, continuing to get increased recognition by the foreign market, this panel the contemporary masters of Mexican stop motion animation. Panel spoke in Spanish, with English subtitles.

Mexican Lucha Libre: History, Tradition, Legacy: In Mexican pop-culture history, a beloved image is the Lucha Libre wrestlers, most notably the hero El Santo. The panelist explores just how impactful this type of entrainment is in Mexico, including its influence in cinema. Panel spoke in Spanish, with English subtitles.

What We Do in the Shadows: Recently nominated for a 2020 Emmy for Best Comedy Series, the main cast (Harvey Guillén, Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetrious, and Mark Proksch), writers/producers (Paul Simms and Stefani Robinson) and special guest Haley Joel Osment of What We Do in the Shadows go in-depth of different elements of the show including personal behind the scene stories. The series has been greenlit for a much-anticipated 3^rd season.

July 26, 2020 – Sunday 

Aztec Depictions in Pop Culture: 500 Years After the Fall: In current American pop-culture, the Aztec empire is one of the most referenced classic pre-colonialist empires, alongside the Greek, Egyptian, and Roman empires. Panelist (David Bowles, Javier Rayón, Mario Fuente, Flora Alexandra Reese-Arredondo, Paul Guinan, and Anina Bennett) use the Aztec culture and history as inspirations to their stories, while also evaluating how our prior knowledge of the Aztec empire is continually growing.  

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