Hollywood still undervalues Latinas. LIFE Film Festival gives them the spotlight

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LIFE Film Festival (Latina Independent Film Extravaganza) returns to Los Angeles this week for its 13th year.Founded by “Real Women Have Curves” playwright Josefina López, the festival will screen over 60 short films and four feature movies at Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights, and for the first time at Cinépolis in Pico Rivera.From Thursday to Sunday, LIFE Film Festival will offer a series of workshops and networking opportunities where aspiring filmmakers will have a chance to learn from Latinas in Hollywood, like Emmy Award-winning editor Michelle Tesoro, who worked on Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” and the 2023 film “Maestro.”Since López founded LIFE Film Festival in 2013, her commitment remains the same: to celebrate Latino stories in cinema and empower the next generation of Latina filmmakers.As a Chicana screenwriter and producer for over 30 years, López knows firsthand the underrepresentation of Latinos in Hollywood films.

“Latinos are the majority here in California, and we’re still rendered invisible, even though the industry is right in our backyard,” López said.“They just really don’t want to invest in our stories.”According to UCLA’s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report, which looked at the 104 top-performing English-language movies released in 2024, only 1% of leading roles went to Latinos; less than 5% of directors were Latino; and approximately 2% of writers were Latino in last year’s top movies.

Latinos make up nearly 20% of the U.S.population.When it comes to gender, the disparities were even more glaring.

There were zero Latina directors and screenwriters in the top theatrical movie releases of 2024.In front of the camera, the numbers weren’t that much better.

Less than 1 in 50 movie roles went to Latinas.“I never knew anybody in my family who was a screenwriter, and now I’m a WGA screenwriter and I’m giving back to my commun...