Stills from Hummingbirds and Problemista
Two Latinx films, the documentary Hummingbirds by Mexican-American directors Estefanía “Beba” Contreras and Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, and the fiction film Problemista by Salvadoran-American comedian Julio Torres, have been nominated for the 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards, presented by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Winner of the Berlinale’s Grand Prize in the Generation competition, Hummingbirds was nominated for Outstanding Documentary. The film follows directors Silvia and Beba as they tell their own coming-of-age story, transforming their Texas-Mexico border hometown into a wonderland of creative expression and activist hijinks. Filmed collaboratively during the final summer of their fleeting youth, this cinematic self-portrait of queer punk-rock rebellion celebrates friendship and joy as tools of survival and resistance.
Problemista, Torres’ debut feature, was nominated for Outstanding Film – Wide Theatrical Release. The film stars Torres as Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unique ideas to life in New York City. With time running out on his work visa, he takes a job assisting an eccentric art-world outcast, his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dreams. The film is a surreal exploration of the challenges within New York’s art scene and the U.S. immigration system.
Torres also earned a nomination in the Outstanding New Series category for Fantasmas, his surreal HBO series that explores personal loss through a fantastical six-part tale centered on the disappearance of a gold oyster earring.
Additionally, HBO’s Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, co-directed by Mexican-American filmmaker Carlos Estrada and Zachary Manuel, was nominated for Outstanding Documentary.
The winners of the 36th GLAAD Media Awards will be announced on March 27 in Los Angeles.
