Congressman Joaquin Castro nominates 27 Latino movies for inclusion in National Film Registry
A month after putting out a nationwide call for suggestions of Latino-driven movies to add to the National Film Registry, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro has unveiled a list of 27 such titles he nominated for inclusion in the archive.
The nominees, which Castro submitted last week, include Michelle Rodriguez' first film, Girlfight; the 2002 biopic Frida, starring Salma Hayek as artist Frida Kahlo; and Eugenio Derbez's 2013 Spanish-language comedy Instructions Not Included.
"Given the film industry's continued exclusion of Latinos, we must make a special effort to ensure that Latino Americans' contributions to American filmmaking are appropriately celebrated and included in the National Film Registry," Castro wrote in his nomination letter. "The continued exclusion of Latinos in the film industry affects Latinos seeking opportunities in the industry and shapes how Latinos are perceived, stereotyped, and misunderstood in American life."
Vivien Killilea/Getty U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro
Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio, added, "Movies remain a crucial form of storytelling, and movies are uniquely accessible to the public. The media and entertainment industry is the narrative-creating and image-defining institution in America."
Every year, after reviewing titles nominated by the public and conferring with members of the National Film Preservation Board, the Librarian of Congress adds 25 movies to the National Film Registry. Nominated titles must be at least 10 years old to qualify. As of now, only 24 Latino films are included in the registry — comprising less than 3 percent of the 850 movies preserved.
"We're 20 percent of the country, but only 3 percent of the films in the National Film Registry have anything to do with Latino lives and culture," Castro told EW last month. "So this is an effort to help do better."
The congressman added, "The Latino narrative is largely missing from the American narrative, so Latino contributions in business, government, culture, and just about every other space are not recognized to the degree that they merit. To me, when we think about telling the Latino story, we have to first recognize the contributions of, in this case, Latino filmmakers, actors, directors, and so forth."
Courtesy Everett Michelle Rodriguez in 'Girlfight'
Check out Castro's full list of nominations below.
My Family (1995), by Gregory Nava
Like Water for Chocolate (1992), by Alfonso Arau
…And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him (1994), by Severo Pérez
Blood In Blood Out (1993), by Taylor Hackford
Raising Victor Vargas (2002), by Peter Sollett
Frida (2002), by Julie Taymor
I Like It Like That (1994), by Darnell Martin
Walkout (2006), by Edward James Olmos
Mosquita y Mari (2012), by Aurora Guerrero
The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), by Robert Redford
Under the Same Moon (2007), by Patricia Riggen
American Me (1992), by Edward James Olmos
Tortilla Soup (2001), by María Ripoll
Mi Vida Loca (1993), by Allison Anders
Instructions Not Included (2013), by Eugenio Derbez
Maria Full of Grace (2004), by Joshua Martson
Girlfight (2000), by Karyn Kusama
La Mission (2010), by Peter Bratt
Sleep Dealer (2008), by Alex Rivera
Alambrista! (1977), by Robert M. Young
Our Latin Thing (1972), by Leon Gast
Up in Smoke (1978), by Lou Adler
A Better Life (2011), by Christopher Weitz
Gun Hill Road (2011), by Rashaad Ernesto Green
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001), by Mariano Barroso
American Experience: Roberto Clemente (2008), by Bernardo Ruiz
The Longoria Affair (2010), by John J. Valadez
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