{"id":204816,"date":"2026-03-05T01:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/204816\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T01:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:44:07","slug":"hollywood-still-undervalues-latinas-real-women-have-curves-author-gives-them-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/204816\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood still undervalues Latinas. “Real Women Have Curves” author gives them the spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LIFE Film Festival<\/a> (Latina Independent Film Extravaganza) returns to Los Angeles this week for its 13th year. Founded by \u201cReal Women Have Curves\u201d playwright Josefina L\u00f3pez<\/a>, the festival will screen over 60 short films and four feature movies at Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights, and for the first time at Cin\u00e9polis in Pico Rivera<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201cThe Queen\u2019s Gambit<\/a>\u201d and the 2023 film \u201cMaestro.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Since L\u00f3pez 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.<\/p>\n

As a Chicana screenwriter and producer for over 30 years, L\u00f3pez knows firsthand the underrepresentation of Latinos in Hollywood films<\/a>. \u201cLatinos are the majority here in California, and we\u2019re still rendered invisible, even though the industry is right in our backyard,\u201d L\u00f3pez said. \u201cThey just really don\u2019t want to invest in our stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to UCLA\u2019s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report<\/a>, 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\u2019s top movies. Latinos make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t that much better. Less than 1 in 50 movie roles went to Latinas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew anybody in my family who was a screenwriter, and now I\u2019m a WGA screenwriter and I\u2019m giving back to my community,\u201d LIFE Film Festival co-director Cristina Nava said. \u201cI could be the tia [to] one of these filmmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

L\u00f3pez\u2019s response to underrepresentation extends beyond opening doors. With LIFE, she says she wants to support storytellers who are challenging Latino stereotypes. \u201cThere are all sorts of Latinos,\u201d L\u00f3pez said. \u201cYes, we are the immigrants, the servants, but we\u2019re more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every year, LIFE recognizes a Latina moviemaker whose work has reshaped representation within the entertainment industry, with the Lupe Ontiveros<\/a> Award.<\/p>\n

Created by L\u00f3pez to honor the legendary Mexican American actress, the award is bestowed to a filmmaker whose work amplifies Latino voices. This year\u2019s honoree is \u201cEncanto<\/a>\u201d Oscar-winning producer Yvett Merino<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In her 35 year-long career, Ontiveros played the role of maids and housekeepers over 150 times. L\u00f3pez believed that Hollywood was wasting her friend\u2019s talents and promised to cast her as a more complex and interesting character.<\/p>\n

L\u00f3pez kept her word, casting Ontiveros as Carmen, the hardworking, hysterical mother in \u201cReal Women Have Curves.<\/a>\u201d \u201cWe have to keep telling stories so that all these talented Latino actors have better opportunities than to play stereotypes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n