The Academy Museum revealed plans for a new exhibit called “Cinelandia: Celebrating Mexican American Cinema,” which will showcase the rich history of Mexican and Mexican American films.
The museum is planned to open in September 2027, around the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The exhibit will feature films from Mexico and the United States, starting with silent films and continuing up to today’s movies.
According to Academy Museum associate curator Sophia Serrano, the concept for the exhibit originated in 2019, but actual development didn’t start until late 2022.
Serrano explained that this work built upon a prior research and programming project they completed with support from the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles x Latin America initiative, before the Academy Museum opened its doors in 2021.
The exhibit primarily showcases Mexican American films, while also exploring how they relate to movies from Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries – including productions made in Hollywood and around the world.
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The exhibit will feature films celebrating Day of the Dead, including “The Book of Life” and Disney’s “Coco.” It will also showcase the Spanish-language version of the classic horror film “Dracula,” alongside director Luis Valdez’s movies “La Bamba” and “Zoot Suit.” The work of Gregory Nava will be celebrated with screenings of his films “El Norte,” “My Family/Mi Familia,” and the Jennifer Lopez biopic “Selena.”
The festival will showcase iconic Mexican films like “Santa” (1932), the country’s first talking movie, and “Enamorada” from 1946. It will also feature works by Mexico’s celebrated filmmakers – Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro Iñárritu – who have all won Oscars.
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The “Cinelandia” project is being developed with the help of curator Serrano and a 12-member advisory panel of experts. This panel includes cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, UC Santa Cruz professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso, LACMA’s Rita Gonzalez, animator Jorge R. Gutiérrez, filmmaker Cristina Ibarra, Pitzer College professor Jesse Lerner, director Carlos López Estrada, University of Arizona professor Orquidea Morales, director Gregory Nava, UCLA professor Chon Noriega, University of Texas at Austin professor Charles Ramirez Berg, and USC professor Laura Isabel Serna.
Since nearly half of Los Angeles County residents are Latino, Serrano explained that the exhibit hopes to reach those communities and highlight their significant contributions to the area’s unique culture.
According to Serrano, Mexican American cinema is deeply woven into the history of Los Angeles. This exhibition aims to connect with all of Los Angeles, highlighting the stories behind many popular films made by Mexican and Mexican American filmmakers. It’s designed to be enjoyable for people of all ages and backgrounds, bringing the community together to celebrate this significant cultural legacy.
Like past exhibits focusing on underrepresented groups, the Academy Museum isn’t avoiding difficult topics about Latinos in Hollywood. It will explore both how Latino characters have been stereotyped in movies and the ongoing lack of representation within the film industry itself.
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Jacqueline Stewart, as the Academy Museum’s chief artistic officer, will oversee film screenings and events, connecting the history of cinema to modern audiences.
Serrano explained that the films and artists in the exhibition explore and respond to these difficulties in many different ways. A key focus of the show is to highlight the perspectives of the filmmakers themselves, using their own words through interviews, quotes, and collaborative projects. Combined with the numerous original items on display, the exhibition aims to tell a genuine and captivating story about this important history.
I’m so excited about this exhibition because it’s finally going to showcase just how much Mexican American artists have given to the art world – contributions that have often been overlooked or simply not celebrated enough. It feels incredibly important to me that this show doesn’t just display their work, but really brings those moments of power and inspiration to life in a way that’s both engaging and informative.
“Cinelandia” isn’t the first time the museum has featured exhibits focusing on communities often overlooked in history. In 2022, they presented “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971,” which celebrated the contributions of Black filmmakers from the beginning of cinema up through the Civil Rights era. The exhibit—on display until April 2023—explored topics like how Black people were portrayed in early films (from 1897 to 1915), the history of “race films” created by and for Black audiences (1910s-1940s), and movies connected to the Civil Rights movement.
The museum’s current exhibit, “Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital,” tells the story of how Jewish producers and studio heads built Los Angeles into the center of the film industry.
2026-07-23 00:31