2023 Mexican-American Film and Television Festival & Awards

A man in a suit speaking at a podium on a stage in front of a large screen displaying multiple company logos, including UCLA, Walt Disney Company, and others, with a woman in a teal dress standing nearby and several trophies on a table.

2023 Theme: “Changing the Narrative, Recognizing Who We Are.”

In 2023, the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation (MACEF), a 501(c)3, celebrated the second annual Mexican-American Film and Television Festival & Awards at Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles.

The mission of the Mexican-American Film and Television Festival & Awards is to provide Mexican-American and Chicano filmmakers, who represent 40 million Americans of Mexican descent, a venue to showcase, promote and celebrate their beautiful art. A place for the Mexican-American and Chicano filmmaking community to network, honor each other, show support and promote each other. A place for Hollywood to see our best filmmakers, as well as talented newcomers, and learn how we Mexican-Americans want our unique culture and people to be represented: as an important part of the American fabric rather than the old stereotypical images.

THE ILLUSTRIOUS AWARDS

BEST DOCUMENTARY – Pepe Serna: Life Is Art (Luis Reyes, Director)
BEST SCREENPLAY FOR FILM – Situationship (A Film by Jay Diaz)
BEST TV SERIES: Inland Empire (Written & Directed by Renee J Vaca)
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC – Guero y Prieto
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Addicted To You (Director of Photography, Jeff Reyes)
BEST MALE ACTOR – Julio H Garcia (Sin Vergüenza)
BEST FEMALE ACTRESS – Sonia Balcazar (Addicted To You)
BEST DIRECTOR – Cynthia Martinez (First Voice Generation) BEST SHORT FILM – Guero y Prieto (Written & Directed by Mario Garza)
BEST FEATURE FILM – Entre Fronteras (Executive Producer, Julian Nunez)
CHAMPION OF CHANGE AWARD – United We Are Dreaming (Produced & Directed by Sharon Baker)

Poster featuring silhouettes of diverse people with overlapping American flags in the background. The text reads 'United We Are Dreaming,' and mentions a documentary about Defacto Americans seeking citizenship, directed by Pascal Dieckmann.

Promotional poster for the TV series 'Entre Fronteras' showing four characters against a backdrop of the US-Mexico border and city names.

Promotional poster for 'Inland Empire' showing four main cast members' photos, a scenic background with trees and hills, and colorful geometric design elements.

Four scenes from the movie 'Situationship': top shows two women hugging in a brightly lit medical or hospital room, middle shows a woman and a man sitting at a table by a window, the woman looks upset and the man appears to be talking, bottom left shows a woman with dark hair looking thoughtfully, and bottom right shows a man with a beard looking serious.

A man wearing a multicolored hat decorated with miniature figures, with text indicating it’s Pepe Serna, portraying a life as art.

Poster for the movie "Güero & Prieto" with a person's face in the background, large yellow text, and two smaller figures sitting at the bottom.

Poster promoting the First Voice Generation film festival featuring two young women and a young man, with logos of film festivals and a QR code.

A movie poster for 'Addicted to You' featuring a family of three—an adult man and woman, and a young girl—standing against a shattered glass background.

Poster for the documentary "Sin Vergüenza" featuring a man with a camera walking on a desert landscape near the Arizona-Mexico border, with mountains in the background. The poster includes award laurels and mentions the film's focus on border issues, featuring two men, Chuss Parias and David "Dafene" Yaldez.

The Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Luis Valdez in recognition of his contributions to improve the lives and image of Mexican-Americans and all Latinos in film.

Close-up of an older man with gray hair, glasses, and a mustache, wearing a black suit with a purple stole and a gold patterned tie, in a formal setting.

THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD

“For Being an Example to Follow By Our Mexican-American Film Community and Your Commitment To Fair Representation”

We honored Frank Rodriguez, senior vice president and assistant general sales manager at Searchlight Pictures, with the President Exemplar Award.

A middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and a patterned tie, smiling at the camera against a plain white background.

HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR FILM FESTIVAL BOARD 2023

Dr. Jose-Luis Ruiz — President MACEF

Author, Researcher, Activist, Cosmetic Dentist
Jerry Velasco — Chair of Judging

Actor, Producer, Councilman, Activist
Bel Hernandez — Programming Director

CEO, Founder and Publisher of Latin Heat Media, Actress, MACEF Advisory Board member