Film critic. 
DACA. #BlackLivesMatter Bylines: @latimesent, @nytimes, @TheWrap, @ebertvoices, @indiewire. Member @LAFilmCritics
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I hope we ALL of us continue to talk about Latinos in film long after IN THE HEIGHTS. Seems people only care to talk about it now. A few of us yell on here about tons of US Latino and Latin American films focused on a variety of experiences and few ever care to watch those films.
DE LO MÍO, a feature film by Afro-Latina director Diana Peralta has been on HBO Max for almost a year, and it got next to zero attention or pieces written about it.pic.twitter.com/VHMbhoAbD6
EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA is a film about Indigenous Mexicans in NYC. It won an Independent Spirit Award. How many people have seen it?pic.twitter.com/bObdzONJvv
The short film FOR ROSA, starring @MelinnaTeatrina Is on HBO Max and it deals with Latinas who were sterilized without their consent. Have you checked it out?pic.twitter.com/Kj4UE0u9PR
The film ANGELICA by Puerto Rican director @gomezmarisol deals with racism and colorism. It played many festivals but no one has picked it up for US release.pic.twitter.com/gS9T3EUwPD
The short film RIZO by director Jeanette Dilone and starring Laura Guzman is on HBO Max and it’s about an Afro-Latina dealing with Hollywood. It’s been on there since April.pic.twitter.com/fiukCRJe6O
Episode 6 of the beautiful animated series CITY OF GHOSTS centers on the Oaxaca community of LA and it features dialogue in Zapotec. It’s fun and informative, and it would suck if this show doesn’t get a second seasonpic.twitter.com/vLfiFk32Qf
All this to say that there are artists making work that is important and that specifically focuses on looking at latinidad in a different way and questioning its issues. We can call out what we don’t like about Hollywood while supporting the quality work being done elsewhere.
Back in March, the Brazilian film THE FEVER was released in the US. It’s about the Desana Indigenous people and in the Tukano language. Very little coverage.pic.twitter.com/KeKA0ooR4G
As a freelancer, my bandwidth is limited, but you best believe I try my best to cover the whole spectrum of Latino film. I owe a lot of that to @infoCinelandia who has done so much for Latino film visibility and rarely gets the accolades. Together we can do more for these voices.
VAMPIRES VS THE BRONX by @Ozrodriguez01 was released last year. It’s a fun movie that centers Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Haitian kids. It’s on Netflix.pic.twitter.com/uLc02RyKAy
I’ve told you about MOSQUITA Y MARI countless times, but right now it’s on Netflix! This is a moving and specific queer Latino film shot in Huntington Park (SELA) by the great Aurora Guerrero. If you have access to Netflix you should watch it.pic.twitter.com/Vgf7EqaNzr
The documentary BAKOSO: AFROBEATS OF CUBA by Puerto Rican director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi investigates African influence in Caribbean music. It’s been playing festivals for some time now. I hope it finds a hope in the US.pic.twitter.com/bb3SOiL2dn
LOS LOBOS is a moving, subtle and deeply humanistic movie about immigration focus on two young brothers and their mother. It blends live action and animation and it has been on HBO Max for a year. Not enough attention in the US.pic.twitter.com/eil27yrdfp
Two Peruvian films directed by Indigenous people about Indigenous people were released in the US last year. You can still rent them online for a couple bucks
-SONG WITHOUT A NAME by @MelinaNeon
-WIÑAYPACHA by Óscar Catacorapic.twitter.com/LOvEI0UBXC
The short film I AM TAINO (DAK’TOKÁ TAÍNO) by Alba Garcia uses puppets to talk about the Indigenous people of Puerto Rico. It’s lovely. It’s on HBO Maxpic.twitter.com/DP0MlvW2M3
Last recommendation, PACHAMAMA by Argentine director Juan Antín is an animated feature set just before the Spaniards arrived in South America that touches on the dynamics that were at play between the Indigenous communities of the Andes. It’s on Netflixpic.twitter.com/dAGhvp94sg
I personally loved IN THE HEIGHTS, but i believe the questions being raised about it are not only valid but necessary. I also hope that we can look at what emerging talent or talent that has been working for years without the limelight are doing to broaden representation
Latino projects of any size are inherently at a disadvantage. Smaller budgets, no publicity, etc. With less publicity comes less awareness, which means the public doesn’t find out about these great works. The system doesn’t support these projects like they deserve.
So, however you feel about IN THE HEIGHTS, I hope we can use this moment to question the system about the stories being told, how they are being told, and how they are being distributed, and that if we have a platform we talk about the films that we do like and their creators.
Needless to say, when we talk about Latino film we need to talk about all that that encompasses: Black Latinos, Indigenous people, US Latinos, LGBTQ+ Latinos, undocumented immigrants, & the intersections between all of these. No one has all the answers but we can all do better.
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