TAGGED AS: directors, hispanic heritage month
Academy Award-winning directors Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro González Iñárritu are OGs and deserve all the statues they’ve collected in their prolific careers. The Mexican filmmaker trinity has elevated our voices in the U.S. and paved the way for other Latin artists. While their work will be analyzed for years to come, we wanted to focus on lesser-known Latin directors this year for Hispanic Heritage Month. They may not be Oscar-winning maestros yet, but most of them have been making waves in the festival circuit and some have even found mainstream success. Besides ample talent, it takes hard work and resilience to make a splash in this business, so we’re excited to illuminate the Fresh and Hot (¡¡Fresco y Caliente!!) work of these directores y directoras.
We’ll keep an eye on them, and we hope you do too.
(Photo by Murray Close/©20th Century Studios)
During Alien: Romulus, my six-year-old (don’t judge — he’s almost seven) whispered, “Whoever survives this movie’s going to need a shower.” And he’s not wrong. Fede Alvarez may need a shower himself to cool off from all the Hot stuff he’s been cranking up. Alien: Romulus is not only currently Hot on our Popcornmeter, but it’s also Certified Fresh.
Born and raised in Montevideo, Urugüay, Alvarez worked as a commercial director when his short film Ataque de Pánico (Panic Attack) went viral. This may have sidelined his dreams of becoming a classically trained pianist, but we believe good cineastas are harder to find than good pianistas. This overnight recognition led Alvarez to direct the gory reboot of Evil Dead, currently both Fresh and Hot and something of a cult favorite among horror fans. Through his solid career, he has proven loyal to his compatriota Rodo Sayagues, who co-wrote Evil Dead and the Certified Fresh and Hot feature Don’t Breathe. We can’t wait to see what bursts out of their chests next.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
80%
85%
Alien: Romulus
(2024)
Mixing the aesthetic of the original film with new ideas related to migration, limited opportunities and oppression by super-powerful corporations, and references to previous films, Alien: Romulus works as a solid new installment.
— Sebastian Zavala Kahn, Cinencuentro
(Photo by Chino Lemus/HBO)
From Plaza Sésamo (the Mexican version of Sesame Street) to Night Country, Issa López can bring emotion through the screen whether she’s writing about Elmo or polar bears. She was a successful writer-director in Mexico when she moved to the United States, having gotten her start writing comedies and telenovelas, and she broke into Hollywood with her Certified Fresh and Hot feature Tigers Are Not Afraid.
Most recently, la pionera Mexicana has been in the spotlight for her critically acclaimed work in True Detective: Night Country, the Fresh HBO original series starring Jodie Foster. Issa’s also brewing up the next installment, and we’re spiraling in anticipation. We’re also looking forward to see what she’ll wear next; this sharp storyteller always looks like she just returned from a Vogue photo shoot.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
97%
80%
Tigers Are Not Afraid
(2017)
Issa López’s poetically haunting fairy-tale Tigers Are Not Afraid addresses Mexico’s ongoing drug-related violence with an unblinking brand of social realism.
— Carlos Aguilar, Remezcla
(Photo by Jon Pack/©A24)
Another HBO alumnus, Julio Torres first gave us chills and thrills with the 100% Fresh and 80% Hot comedy series Los Espookys, which he co-created and wrote with Fred Armisen and Ana Fabrega. Torres also played chocolate-fortune heir Andrés Valdez in the series. This Emmy-nominated Salvadoran is one of those triple threats who can write, direct, and act. He’s funny, too, as proven by Los Espookys and his tenure writing sketches for SNL like “Papyrus” and “Wells for Boys.”
Torres’ impressive track record gave way to his feature directorial debut, the Certified Fresh and Hot Problemista, starring Tilda Swinton and distributed by the tastemakers at A24 (check out our A24 ranked guide here). He’s one of those rare talents who radiates his own light, equal parts funny and poignant.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
86%
85%
Problemista
(2023)
[Problemista is] a surreal and witty film that explores a relatable story about the elusive American dream and the immigrant experience in the United States.
— Rene Sanchez, Cine Sin Fronteras
(Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images)
Mexican filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera shattered rose-tinted motherhood glasses with her feature debut, Huesera: The Bone Woman. The Certified Fresh and Hot Spanish-language horror film won the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, but don’t be fooled. Huesera is nothing like a Nora Ephron flick. Michelle’s take on pregnancy is twisted, spine-tingling, and decidedly punk; Ephron’s Sally would simply not have what she’s having.
Prior to Huesera, she had a string of short films that also reflected upon gender roles in Latin culture. We wait anxiously to see what this patriarchy-crunching, myth-busting writer-director will unsettle us with next.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
97%
66%
Huesera: The Bone Woman
(2022)
The remarkable debut from writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera is as effectively blood-curling as it is intellectually incisive.
— Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times
(Photo by Stephanie Branchu/©Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Chilean director Pablo Larraín was making olas in South America before he emerged as an esteemed filmmaker in the northern part of the continent. Larraín is drawn to historical figures, and his most well-known films offer glimpses into the lives of his renowned subjects.
Perhaps his Certified Fresh and Hot Neruda gave way to Jackie (also CF and Hot), Spencer, and his latest celebrity character study Maria, starring Angelina Jolie as legendary opera singer Maria Callas, which some say may earn Jolie a nomination come awards season. Larraín is also unafraid to offer wilder interpretations of the lives of his subjects; see El Conde, his surreal take on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. No matter what he does, Larraín leaves a mark.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
92%
69%
Neruda
(2016)
Pablo Larrain knocks it out of the park with his “anti-biopic” about the Chilean poet.
— Luis Martínez, El Mundo
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Mexican-American Aurora Guerrero is an independent Latin filmmaker to know and love. With Sundance’s stamp of approval and a John Cassavetes Spirit Award to boot, her Fresh and Hot LGBTQ+ film Mosquita y Mari became a festival darling. A touching coming-of-age tale that explores love and Chicana identity with a deft hand and an honest heart, Guerrero’s feature debut is a resonant entry in the pantheon of Latin filmmakers.
Lately, we’ve been rewarded with her directorial work in television series such as The Other Black Girl, Queen Sugar, Bel-Air, Gentefied, and 13 Reasons Why, among others. We remain hopeful that she will gift us with another authentic portrait of friendship like Mosquita y Mari.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
90%
69%
Mosquita y Mari
(2011)
A rare representation of U.S. Latinos in an area that isn’t often spotlighted in film, Huntington Park (CA). [Mosquita y Mari] looks into various challenges often faced by this community, homophobia, social expectations, and financial hardship.
— Rosa Parra, Latinx Lens
(Photo by Ander Gillenea/Getty Images)
Guatemalan Jayro Bustamante makes impactful films that elevate the perception of Latin indigenous people, and his work is top-notch. Bustamante’s feature directorial debut Ixcanul was submitted to the 88th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category and is Certified Fresh with a Hot audience score. A few years later, La Llorona, a Certified Fresh and Hot horror film, was the first Central American film nominated for a Golden Globe. Between those two movies, Bustamante wrote and directed the sobering and gut-wrenching Tremors, which was Fresh on the Tomatometer and Hot on the Popcornmeter.
Committed to his filmmaking craft and calling, Bustamante founded a production company in Guatemala called La Casa de Producción. Its mission is to “create bold and disruptive content that generates a positive social and economic impact, promoting critical thinking and positioning the region’s stories internationally.” Aplaudimos a Jayro!
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
96%
61%
La llorona
(2019)
La Llorona avoids the tropes of horror… Instead, this smart and elegant film feels like a languid bit of cinematic magical realism where strange things happen — and the real horror lies not in the supernatural but in the savage acts of men.
— Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times
(Photo by Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images)
Eva Longoria is a household name as popular as Frito Lay. Her ample contributions to film, television, and the Latin community are too vast to list. For that reason, we’ll concentrate on the Texican’s directorial career. For her most recent acting feats, please watch Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building and Land of Women.
In 2022, Longoria dipped her toe into directing with the Fresh and absorbing documentary La Guerra Civil, about the schism between boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez that ripped Mexico apart. Longoria is a woman for the gente, and the gente loves her back. Her feature directorial debut, a very Hot Flamin’ Hot, is an audience favorite that’s Fresh with the critics, too. We can’t wait to see what Eva spices up next, besides all the TV she’s been directing: Why Women Kill, Black-ish, The Mick, and Jane the Virgin, just to name a few.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
67%
87%
Flamin' Hot
(2023)
So who cares that Richard Montañez didn’t make our favorite snack? Making the chip isn’t the focus… It’s a vehicle for Longoria to tell a story that speaks to her community and tells us that we are strong, we are intelligent, and we matter.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
A Columbia University graduate and Fulbright scholarship recipient, Fernando Frías de la Parra is a well-versed Mexican filmmaker who has worked as a screenwriter, director, cinematographer and editor, both in narrative fiction and documentary features. He also seems to have an off-beat funny bone akin to fellow Latin filmmaker Julio Torres; it’s not by coincidence that he directed the first season of Torres’ Los Espookys. That same year, Frías earned well-deserved prestige with his Certified Fresh feature I’m No Longer Here, which also happens to be Hot on the Popcornmeter.
His newest feature, the Fresh and Hot I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me, based on a novel by Juan Pablo Villalobos, covers Latin themes like colonialism with genre panache. Frías is known for his daring approach to his material and eschewing typical Hollywood formula.
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
98%
90%
I'm No Longer Here
(2019)
Everyone has their own version of hell, but forced immigration to an unknown country is at the top of the list. With a liberating ending, Ya No Estoy Aquí (I’m No Longer Here) is beautifully crafted by Fernando Frías.
— Victor Pineyro, Seventh Art Studio
(Photo by Chiabella James/©Warner Bros.)
Bronx-born Reinaldo Marcus Green is a Black Puerto Rican who identifies 100% as Black and 100% as Puerto Rican. We find that incredibly refreshing — two things can be true at the same time. Green directed a slew of shorts before propelling his career with a Certified Fresh and Hot film Monsters and Men, starring John David Washington and Anthony Ramos. Green recently earned Verified Hot success with Bob Marley: One Love, and we’re not surprised; Bob Marley is still relevant with Puerto Rican audiences. This Boricua had Bob’s face all over her dorm room and is well-versed in his discography.
But Green’s biggest éxito to date is King Richard, which not only earned Will Smith an Academy Award for Best Actor, but is also one of those rare gems that is both Certified Fresh on the Tomatometer and Verified Hot on the Popcornmeter. Keep On Moving, Reinaldo!
Fresh/Hot Highlight:
90%
98%
King Richard
(2021)
[King Richard is] a very pertinent story for these times… with old-fashioned storytelling prowess, remarkable acting, and nobility of spirit.
— Diego Batlle, La Nación
