Congressman Joaquin Castro nominates 27 Latino movies for inclusion in National Film Registry

A month after putting out a nationwide call for suggestions of Latino-driven movies to add to the National Film Registry, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro has unveiled a list of 27 such titles he nominated for inclusion in the archive.

The nominees, which Castro submitted last week, include Michelle Rodriguez' first film, Girlfight; the 2002 biopic Frida, starring Salma Hayek as artist Frida Kahlo; and Eugenio Derbez's 2013 Spanish-language comedy Instructions Not Included.

"Given the film industry's continued exclusion of Latinos, we must make a special effort to ensure that Latino Americans' contributions to American filmmaking are appropriately celebrated and included in the National Film Registry," Castro wrote in his nomination letter. "The continued exclusion of Latinos in the film industry affects Latinos seeking opportunities in the industry and shapes how Latinos are perceived, stereotyped, and misunderstood in American life."

Vivien Killilea/Getty U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro

Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio, added, "Movies remain a crucial form of storytelling, and movies are uniquely accessible to the public. The media and entertainment industry is the narrative-creating and image-defining institution in America."

Every year, after reviewing titles nominated by the public and conferring with members of the National Film Preservation Board, the Librarian of Congress adds 25 movies to the National Film Registry. Nominated titles must be at least 10 years old to qualify. As of now, only 24 Latino films are included in the registry — comprising less than 3 percent of the 850 movies preserved.

"We're 20 percent of the country, but only 3 percent of the films in the National Film Registry have anything to do with Latino lives and culture," Castro told EW last month. "So this is an effort to help do better."

The congressman added, "The Latino narrative is largely missing from the American narrative, so Latino contributions in business, government, culture, and just about every other space are not recognized to the degree that they merit. To me, when we think about telling the Latino story, we have to first recognize the contributions of, in this case, Latino filmmakers, actors, directors, and so forth."

Courtesy Everett Michelle Rodriguez in 'Girlfight'

Check out Castro's full list of nominations below.

• My Family (1995), by Gregory Nava

• Like Water for Chocolate (1992), by Alfonso Arau

• …And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him (1994), by Severo Pérez

• Blood In Blood Out (1993), by Taylor Hackford

• Raising Victor Vargas (2002), by Peter Sollett

• Frida (2002), by Julie Taymor

• I Like It Like That (1994), by Darnell Martin

• Walkout (2006), by Edward James Olmos

• Mosquita y Mari (2012), by Aurora Guerrero

• The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), by Robert Redford

• Under the Same Moon (2007), by Patricia Riggen

• American Me (1992), by Edward James Olmos

• Tortilla Soup (2001), by María Ripoll

• Mi Vida Loca (1993), by Allison Anders

• Instructions Not Included (2013), by Eugenio Derbez

• Maria Full of Grace (2004), by Joshua Martson

• Girlfight (2000), by Karyn Kusama

• La Mission (2010), by Peter Bratt

• Sleep Dealer (2008), by Alex Rivera

• Alambrista! (1977), by Robert M. Young

• Our Latin Thing (1972), by Leon Gast

• Up in Smoke (1978), by Lou Adler

• A Better Life (2011), by Christopher Weitz

• Gun Hill Road (2011), by Rashaad Ernesto Green

• In the Time of the Butterflies (2001), by Mariano Barroso

• American Experience: Roberto Clemente (2008), by Bernardo Ruiz

• The Longoria Affair (2010), by John J. Valadez

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