Living up to its commitment to championing a broader array of film history, the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is kicking off “From Latin America to Hollywood: Latino Film Culture in Los Angeles, 1967–2017.” The wide-ranging project includes film screenings and filmmaker conversations, film restorations, online content, educational initiatives, and a publication exploring the shared influences of Latino and Latin American filmmakers and the work they created or presented in Los Angeles during the past half-century.
Guest-curated by Oscar-nominated documentarian Lourdes Portillo, the program is a part of the Academy’s participation in the Getty-led Southern California-wide arts initiative Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA. If you’ve ever wanted to catch films like El Norte, Stand and Deliver, Zoot Suit, La Bamba, Amores perros, Real Women Have Curves and Pan’s Labyrinth on the big screen, you best keep an eye out on when tickets go on sale for these various screenings.
But beyond showing these classic Latino and Latin American films, the Academy will be hosting a series of panels and conversations that put them in greater context. On September 23, for example, you can attend the “From Latin America to Hollywood: A Public Symposium” which will include an entire panel devoted to how Latinas experience Hollywood. Among those taking part in this (sadly still timely) conversation are documentarian Lourdes Portillo, directors Aurora Guerrero, Patricia Riggen and Fina Torres, producer Monica Reina, publicist Ivette Rodriguez, and writers Gabriella Tagliavini and Ligiah Villalobos.
If none of that excites you enough, perhaps you’ll be tickled by knowing that they’ll also be screening home movies from the Academy Film Archive featuring Gilbert Roland, Desi Arnaz, and Dolores del Río – which sounds like the kind of once in a lifetime opportunity no self-respecting Latino cinema fan should miss out on. And that doesn’t even include the oral histories – with include interviews with Edward James Olmos, Lucrecia Martel, and Alfonso Cuarón among others – that will be made available online starting September 15th. There’ll be truly something for everyone.
From Latin America to Hollywood: Latino Film Culture in Los Angeles, 1967–2017 runs from September 16, 2017 through January 18, 2018. Tickets go on sale September 5.
