Crossing the concrete landscape of Los Angeles on public transport with precious cargo, Raquel (Sofia Yepes), a queer Latina aspiring to become a major music producer, is also carrying plenty of personal baggage wherever she goes. Her main occupation is working for a drug dealer, which comes with dangerous liabilities. Add to that her turbulent, unresolved past in the military, and the result is a ticking time bomb of pent-up rage. 

When Raquel runs into Veronica (Sidney Flanigan), a frazzled, but charming young woman who also claims to have creative dreams, she sees an opportunity for a fresh start. Best known for her lead role in the acclaimed indie Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Flanigan plays the part with believable fragility, while slowly revealing a more complex personality underneath the defenseless façade. Their serendipitous encounter is the foundation of the sleekly shot moody crime thriller The Low End Theory from writer-director Francisco Ordonez. Their instant connection spells trouble for Raquel, who willingly takes major risks both on the romantic and professional front in order to pursue this incandescent fling. 

From their first time the two women meet inside Raquel’s car, cinematographer Gemma Doll-Grossman’s camera becomes attached to their faces. The dance of intensely tight closeups playing with colorful lighting is how we come to understand the fiery spontaneity of what Veronica and Raquel feel for each other—whether at the club or during a moment of sexual intimacy. The camera can’t get any closer, and that’s an effective choice on Ordonez and Doll-Grossman’s part to communicate the raging emotions at play. 

But Raquel has a partner, Giselle (Ser Anzoategui), who happens to be the sister of her boss Uly (Eddie Martinez), a drug lord with a conscience. Then there’s the menacing presence of Efraim (Rene Rosado), her co-worker and the person with whom she creates music. All of these relationships, as well as Uly’s ill-obtained cash become entangled in a series of lies and terrible consequences that Raquel sets in motion in order to protect Veronica, who owes money to other nefarious parties that threaten to hurt if she doesn’t pay it back. 

For as much as The Low End Theory surrenders to well traveled paths when it comes to urban stories with a protagonist involved in illicit activities, the central relationship between Raquel and Veronica rings refreshing even when the screenplay leans into expected tropes. 

Yet, it’s Yepes’ convincingly layered performance as someone guided by a belief in a higher power, namely karmic forces, that keeps one invested in the narrative. Yepes remarkably conveys a cocktail of conflicted sentiments, particularly because of the clash between the positive light in which others see Raquel, and the dark, violent thoughts that plague her mind. There admittedly too many facets of Raquel’s world on display for any of them to truly take precedence. Thankfully Yepes remains consistently compelling through it all. 

Though far from entirely unique, The Low End Theory packs enough visual panache and the kinetic flourishes of Ordonez’s direction to result in an engaging neo-noir effort with characters who rarely get to be at the center of a story like this and where even the supporting parts benefit from above-average acting.

The post REVIEW: ‘The Low End Theory’ is a Stylish L.A. Thriller About a Queer Latina with Dreams of Breaking Into the Music Industry first appeared on .

By Elia Esparza

She was 53. Shawna Baca died Sunday, May 28, 2024, after battling an aggressive and terminal cancer.

A gifted cinematographer, writer and director, Shawna was born on September 9, 1970, and was raised in Montebello, California. She founded 4 Elements Productions where she amassed 14 producer credits with several of her award-winning short films having garnered recognition at national and international film festivals and showcased around the globe. 

 She is best known for short films, Girl Please! (2006), Isabel (2007) 3:52 (2005), and Rose’s Garden (2003). Her 3:52 stars America Ferrara and was the recipient of the 2006 Audience Award from the San Diego Women Film Festival and the Tabloid Witch Award, an Honorable Mention in 2007. 

In 2007, Shawna was selected by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett from more than 20,000 filmmakers to be part of his 2007 FOX reality show, On The Lot after catching their attention with her short film, Isabel.

Her other producing credits include Laseerium, Désirée, The Lesson, Bearspring, Her Morbid Desires, We Are All Latino, Tomoko’s Kitchen, Dolorosas, Man, Where’s My Shoe?, Impersonal Impression

Los Angeles’ La Opinion newspaper awarded Shawna the “Mujeres Destacadas” Award. She was also honored at the Latina Symposium (Washington D.C.) with an award and recognition for being a “Latina Entrepreneur,” and given a scholarship to the prestigious Tuck School of Business Executive Education Program at Dartmouth University by Latina Style magazine. 

She is the author of a transformational 2020 memoir, “Fear Less: An Agoraphobic’s Journey Out of Mental Purgatory,” which chronicles her debilitating panic attacks and agoraphobia at the age of 21 that left her sequestered in her home for over a year. It was at this time that her Indigenous mother took her to see a “medicine man” (shaman) on the Pala Indian reservation and cured her in a sweat lodge ceremony. Shawna states in her book, that this shaman, “…cured me that night in a sweat lodge ceremony, which was nothing short of a modern-day exorcism.”

This experience led her on a lifelong journey of exploration into Indigenous shamanism, spirituality and the unknown. 

How this writer met Shawna was through her book and it was such a gift to be able to talk about our childhood traumas and losses. For me, it was a cherished gift to have someone else to talk about life challenges and dealing with ongoing childhood PTSD. 

A book excerpt, “Fear Less: Conquering the Demons of Mental Purgatory” goes on to detail a labyrinthine journey that explores my road to healing using various Western and Eastern modalities, conventional therapist, twelve step programs, and spiritual healers, all of whom helped me learn how to deprogram the emotional condition that resulted from childhood trauma and a series of loses and to instill tools to reprogram new life conditions and achieve breakthroughs that re-awakened my true self. It is a gritty inner exploration into the darkness that lived inside me, and how I challenged and re-framed my mind to face those inner demons to cultivate new life conditions.” 

How did Shawna got into filmmaking? Her book states that she got her first taste of filmmaking at the tender age of six when John Cassavetes rented her uncle’s house to make the movie, A Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Four years later, her uncle lost her at the wrap party for One from the Heart, where she met Francis Ford Coppola. When he asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered confidently, “You.” He tried to talk her out of it, but she held her ground. And, how grateful we are that she did.

Shawna was born in east Los Angeles. She’s part Apache, Yaqui, Spanish and French. Family legend has it that Shawna was named after a medicine woman named Schwanawa who healed her great grandmother after an illness. A promise was made by her great grandfather that one of their daughter’s would be named after her. 

Shawna was the chosen one to fulfill her great grandfather’s promise… may your celestial angel spirits from your indigenous birthrights—guide your mystical journey home. 

Godspeed, Shawna. Thank you for your contributions. You will be missed.

The post Shawna Baca, Filmmaker and Icon for Young Latina Filmmakers first appeared on .

By Justina Bonilla

Nickelodeon is a pioneer of children’s television, especially with trailblazing Latino themed programs, such as Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Tiana, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, and The Casagrandes. Another animated Latino oriented program to join this esteemed class of Nickelodeon programming, is Santiago of the Seas, by one of Nickelodeon’s newest showrunner, Niki Lopez.

Lopez gained attention within the animation industry as an up and coming talent and in 2018 was recognized as a part of Variety’s esteemed list of 10 Animators to Watch. Recently, she was also listed in Animation Magazine’s Rising Stars of Animation in April 2020.    

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lopez had a profound love and fascination with animation, especially on television. As a child Lopez loved television especially Nickelodeon, identifying as a “Nick Brat”. Her favorite Nickelodeon programs including Rocko’s Modern Life, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?.  

At a young age, Lopez unknowingly began crafting her talent for animation by doodling on paper a world of characters with backstories. She carried on this talent into her education, obtaining her BFA in Illustration from the private Ringling College of Art and Design of Florida. After working as a graphic designer for an ad agency and as a freelance Inker and colorist, she went to pursue her passion for animation with Nickelodeon.

In 2010, Lopez began her career at Nickelodeon as an intern, aka a “Nicktern”. From this experience, she became a full-time production assistant for two years on the animated show Kung fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. She then worked for five years on a variety of animated shows, including The Fairly OddParents as a color designer.

At Nickelodeon, Lopez was inspired by the “Edgy and fun shows the preschool team was working on and it’s open-door pitching policy,” Lopez said. Taking advantage of that, Lopez pitched a few ideas which were turned down. This would lead her to fine tune the pitch that would make her a first-time showrunner on Santiago of the Seas.

Santiago of the Seas, centers around 8-year-old Santiago Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate and his swashbuckling adventures. The series is created by Niki Lopez, Leslie Valdes and Valerie Walsh Valdes (Dora the Explorer) is set to premiere later this year on Nick Jr. as a 20-episode preschool program with a mix of education in Latino-Caribbean culture (Puerto Rico, Dominican, and Cuban) with a Spanish-language curriculum.

Although Puerto Rico is a United States territory, with well known Puerto Rican celebrities (Rita Moreno, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Bruno Mars), many still do not know much about the Puerto Rican culture. What Dora the Explorer and The Casagrandes have done by representing the Mexican culture, Lopez hopes to do the same with Santiago of the Seas for Latino-Caribbean culture.  

One of the ways Lopez highlight the culture is by introducing the deliciousness of Puerto Rican Food. Santiago of the Seas audiences will be introduced to piragua, a shaved ice Puerto dessert and other mouthwatering Puerto Rican foods will make an appearance, such as bacalaito (fried codfish), arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), and Mofongo (fried plantains).

“Santiago of the Seas as an opportunity empower more underrepresented voices. Not just from one perspective, it’s diverse, and that includes the Afro-Latino perspective,” Lopez siad. “The cultural influences that exist in Puerto Rico wouldn’t exist if we didn’t include the African side. All that is being shown through the show.”

Stressing the importance of children seeing authentic voices they can relate to, Lopez worked to, “Make sure the characters are aspirational. And that when little kids see the show and see these characters, [they] see themselves in them. They see a friend.”

“Little kids are agent of change,” Lopez noted. “And, it is our responsibility as content creators to give them the tools and the examples to go out there and care about the community. [To] stand up for what’s rights and learn to respect everybody.” She talked about her instilling in the kides a need to be “good people”. Especially now, “We need to champion kindness…it’s so important,” Lopez told us.

Pouring her heart and soul into Santiago of the Sea, Lopez has created an animation gem waiting to glisten. With the amount of sincerity and talent she possesses, there is no doubt this rising star will shine through, going where her imagination can take her.

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In the Netflix original series, Salaz plays Kaylie Konrad, a rich, nineteen-year-old selfie obsessed celebrity who receives a community service court order to lead the wilderness club at an inner city middle school. When she is forced outside of her comfort zone in every possible way, she proves to her followers, the kids, and herself that she is more than just the pretty face her domineering mom-ager has always prized.

Team Kaylie was created by Emmy-winning producer Tracy Bitterolf (Emma Approved). The series was developed and is executive produced by Emmy-nominated producer Pamela Eells O’Connell (Jessie, Bunk’d) through her company Bon Mot Productions. She also serves as showrunner. The series is being directed by Bob Koherr (The Conners, Jessie).

“I set out to make a show that I would have wanted to watch when I was eight years old,” said Tracy Bitterolf. “I ended up with a show that I want to watch as an adult, too, which means Team Kaylie is for kids and adults alike, or that I haven’t matured at all. Either way, I’m thrilled to be in business with Netflix at a time when they are so committed to making compelling content that resonates with kids and family audiences.”

Starring alongside Salaz will be Alison Fernandez (Once Upon a Time) as Amber, a tough, impulsive, and street smart student leader of the Wilderness Club, who is less than thrilled by Kaylie’s presence. Symera Jackson (Disney Channel’s Sydney To The Max) as Jackie, a straight A-student; Elie Samouhi (Bizaardvark) as Chewy, a bumbling class clown who stumbles to the beat of his own drum; Eliza Pryor (Alexa & Katie) as Valeria, a would-be witch whose spells are almost as bad as her people skills

Over the course of the series, Kaylie and her Wilderness Club members will come together to find common ground: they’re all a little lost; they’re all looking desperately for a roadmap through life. And they will find that the only way to come out safely on the other side is to find some good friends to stick it out with.

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