Lourdes Portillo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lourdes Portillo
Lourdes Portillo receiving an award in Spain in 2015
Born	(1943-11-11)11 November 1943 Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico
Died	20 April 2024(2024-04-20) (aged 80) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Education	San Francisco Art Institute
Occupation	Film director, producer, writer
Years active	1979–2024
Children	3

Lourdes Portillo (born November 11, 1943 – died April 20, 2024) was a talented Mexican film director, producer, and writer. She was known for making films that explored important social issues. Her movies often showed different viewpoints, especially from her own experiences as a Latina woman. Many people have studied and discussed her films, especially those interested in Latino culture and history.

Lourdes Portillo started her filmmaking journey at age 21. A friend in Hollywood asked her to help with a documentary. She later received formal training. For about 40 years, she made award-winning films. These films focused on Latin American, Mexican, and Chicano/a experiences. They also highlighted issues of social justice. Since her first film in 1979, After the Earthquake, she created over 12 works. These showed her skills as a director, activist, artist, and journalist. Most of her work was in documentary films. But she also made video installations and wrote screenplays.

Her Life and Early Career

Lourdes Portillo was born on November 11, 1943, in Chihuahua, Mexico. When she was 13, she moved to Los Angeles with her parents and four siblings. Her father worked with newspapers, which sparked her early love for stories. In her twenties, she got a job at an educational film company in Los Angeles. This job introduced her to the world of documentary filmmaking.

In the early 1970s, Portillo moved to San Francisco. She wanted to be part of a more active art film community there. She joined a group called Cine Manifest. This group made documentaries and started making longer films. She worked as an assistant on their film, Over-Under, Sideways-Down (1972).

After working with Cine Manifest, she learned more about filmmaking. She later earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1985. She focused on new and experimental filmmaking styles. After graduating, she began her career as a film producer and director. In 1976, she started her own film company, Xochitl Productions. She was active in many film groups. She worked to encourage more filmmakers from diverse backgrounds to join the film industry. In San Francisco, she became close with La Galería de la Raza. This was a community art space that showed Chicano and Latino art. She also advised on the CARA Exhibit (Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation). She served on the boards of the Film Arts Foundation and the Association of Independent Video and Film.

Lourdes Portillo passed away in San Francisco on April 20, 2024. She was 80 years old.

Her Films and Projects

Lourdes Portillo's films often explored stories about Latin America. They also focused on the experiences of people from Latin America living in the United States.

Early Films

While studying at the San Francisco Art Institute, she made her first film, Después del Terremoto (1979). She co-directed it with Nina Serrano. This film told the story of a refugee from the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua, living in San Francisco.

Her next film was The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (1986). She made this with Argentine director Susana Blaustein Muñoz. They met at the San Francisco Art Institute. The film showed the brave actions of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. This group of Argentine women gathered weekly in Buenos Aires. They wanted to remember their children who had gone missing during a military government. This film was a major moment in Portillo's career. It won 20 international awards and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1987. The film helped tell the world about the mothers and their missing children.

In her third film, La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead (1988), Portillo explored the Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead. She showed how Chicanos in the U.S. were bringing this tradition back to life.

Creative Collaborations

In 1992, Portillo worked with the Chicano comedy group Culture Clash. They created an experimental video called Columbus On Trial. This video was for the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage to the Americas. Portillo used humor and unique video techniques. She imagined Columbus in a modern courtroom. He was being charged for his harmful actions against Native Americans. They worked together again on Culture Clash: Mission Magic Mystery Tour in 2001. She also collaborated with the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Exploring Family and Culture

One of her most famous films is The Devil Never Sleeps (1994). This film truly shows Portillo's experimental style. It also highlights her strong connection to her Mexican heritage. The film explores the mystery around the death of her favorite uncle, Oscar Ruiz Almeida. Portillo looked into the many stories and rumors shared by her family about his life and death. She broke away from typical documentary styles. Portillo directly interacted with the film. She questioned what her family told her and showed her own thoughts. The film used clips from Mexican TV shows and even toy props to re-create family stories. The Devil Never Sleeps is a unique example of her experimental filmmaking. It covers topics like family life in Mexican culture, different roles people play, and private family matters. It's not just about her uncle's story. It also looks at power in Mexican society and culture. In 2020, The Devil Never Sleeps was chosen for the National Film Registry. This means it is considered an important film to preserve.

Films About Public Figures and Social Issues

Her film Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (1999) told the story of singer Selena. It explored the meaning Selena had for her fans, her public image, and the role of men in her life. Portillo was inspired after watching the movie Selena (1997). She felt that film focused too much on Selena's relationships with men. Portillo wanted to make a documentary that focused on Selena's fans and other details of her life. She faced challenges getting interviews and media. She also had a small budget. Despite these difficulties, her film won a Golden Spire award at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1999.

Her film Señorita Extraviada (2001) was inspired by a conversation she had in 1997. A friend showed her an article about 30 women found dead in Juarez, Mexico. Many young women were disappearing, and there were no answers. Portillo was concerned about the lack of attention to this issue. She decided to make a documentary about these missing young women in Juarez. She interviewed family members and explored the reasons why these cases were not being fully investigated.

Since her first film in 1979, Portillo produced and directed nearly a dozen more. Her work shows her creative style as a visual artist. Her films tell stories from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. They highlight the many different experiences of Latin Americans, both inside and outside the U.S. As a Latina filmmaker, she focused on stories about women's experiences. She also looked at how social, economic, and political systems affected these identities. Portillo's work combined art and politics. She showed the importance of speaking out against injustice for Latino people.

Awards and Recognition

Lourdes Portillo and her films received many awards, mostly from film festivals. Here are some of them:

• After the Earthquake/Despues del terremoto (1979)

• Diploma of Honor, Cracow Shorts Film Festival, 1979, Cracow, Poland

• The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (1986)

• Emmy Nomination, New and Documentary, 1986
• Academy Award Nomination, Best Documentary, 1986
• Special Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 1986
• Gran Prix Ex-Aquo, Certamen Internacional de Cine Documental y Corto Metrage, 1986
• Coral Prize, Feature Documentary, Festival Internacional de Cine Latinoamericano, 1986
• Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival, 1986
• Second Place for Documentary, Sydney Film Festival, 1986
• Prix du Public and Prix du Presse, Women's Film Festival, 1986
• Best Film, Global Village Documentary Film Festival, 1986
• First Prize, International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audio-visuals, 1995
• Among Six Best Films, International Documentary Association, 1986
• Caracol Prize from Union of Writers and Artists, International Film Festival, 1985
• Best of Northern California, National Education Film Festival, 1986
• Best Film, Sinking Creek Film Festival, 1986
• Women Journalists' Association Prize, Women's International Film Festival, 1986
• Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1986

• La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead (1988)

• Honors, International Documentary Association, 1989
• Best Feature Documentary, Athens Film Festival, 1989
• Director's Choice Selection, Black Maria Film and Video Festival, 1989
• Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival, 1990
• Special Jury Prize, Sinking Creek Film Festival, 1990
• Best Exploration of Belief Prize, VISTAS, A Film Festival of Contemporary Folklife and Popular Culture, 1990
• Outstanding Cinematic Achievement, Best of Category, Documentary Film, National Latino Film and Video Festival, 1991

• Vida (1989)

• Cine Golden Eagle, 1990
• Special Mention, San Antonio CineFestival, 1990

• Columbus on Trial (1992)

• Best Video, second place, Visual Artist Third Annual film and Video Festival, 1993
• Honorable Mention in Native American Studies, American Film and Video Association, Illinois
• The 1993 Whitney Museum Biennial, New York, New York

• Mirrors of the Heart (1993)

• Silver Hugo, Chicago Film Festival, 1994
• Silver Apple, National Educational Film and Video Festival, 1994

• The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)

• Best Five Documentaries of the Year, Independent Documentary Association, 1996
• Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1995
• Best Feature-Length Documentary, San Juan Cinemafest, 1995
• Best Documentary, San Antonio CineFestival, 1995
• Best Documentary, Mostra International de Filmes de Dones, 1995
• New Directors / New Films, The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1995
• Most Promising Latino Film, The Independent Feature Project, 1994
• Inclusion in the National Film Registry, 2020

• Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (1999)

• Golden Spire, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1999

• Recipient of CalArts/Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, 1999
• Señorita Extraviada (2001)

• Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
• Best Documentary at the Havana International Film Festival
• The Nestor Almendros Award at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival
• The Ariel, the Mexican Academy of Film Award
• Best Documentary, Cinequest San Jose Film Festival, 2002
• Audience Award for Best Documentary, Créteil International Women's Film Festival, 2002
• IDA Award for Feature Documentaries, International Documentary Association, 2002
• FIPRESCI Prize for International Competition, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, 2002

• Recipient of United States Artists (USA) Fellowship, 2008
• Anonymous Was A Woman Award, 2016

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Lourdes Portillo para niños

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women