Members of the newly formed SAG-AFTRA National Latino Committee participated in the 2022 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. This year’s festival was held June 1-5 virtually and in person at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre and TCL Chinese 6 in Hollywood. The festival is dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latino perspective through film, television, digital media, music, art and other mediums across all platforms.
As a first for the committee and, in partnership with the festival, members participated in a virtual panel discussion as part of the festival’s Industry Days program. The panel, Give Yourself the Greenlight, featured committee member Michelle C. Bonilla (911: Lonestar), actors Loren Escandón (Purple Hearts), Valeria Maldonado (Sisters) and Marco Parra (Shameless), and host of NBCU Telemundo’s Radar, Gabriela Fresquez. Fanny Grande (Our Quinceañera) moderated.
The panel focused on the experiences of each panelist and the challenges they face as Latinos, and how they have navigated the industry to build their careers. Topics discussed included how each speaker became a multihyphenate and created their own opportunities in the industry, and their shared mission to break barriers, end harmful stereotypes and elevate on-screen representation of Latinos.
Photo: SAG-AFTRA National Latino Committee members Fanny Grande and Michelle Bonilla, and Committee Chair Armand Vasquez at the 2022 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival’s opening night gala on June 1.
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