Stories from Latino L.A.

Edward James Olmos

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS (Axford) has achieved extraordinary success as an actor, producer and humanitarian. The Tony, Emmy and Academy Award® Nominated actor, is probably best known to young audiences for his work on the SYFY television series “Battlestar Galatica” as Admiral William Adama.  Although the series kept the actor busy during its run from 2003 through 2009, it didn’t stop him from directing the HBO movie “Walkout” in 2007, for which he earned a DGA Nomination in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television category.

Olmos’ career in entertainment spans over 30 years. Originally a musician, Olmos branched out into acting, appearing in many small theatre productions until portraying the iconic El Pachuco in “Zoot Suit.”  The play moved to Broadway and Olmos earned a Tony nomination for the role, which he revised in the 1981 film version. Olmos went on to appear in the films Wolfen, Blade Runner, and the Ballad of Gregorio Cortez before starring in his biggest role to date, that of Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the iconic 80’s television series “Miami Vice” opposite Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas.  During his time on the Michael Mann series, Olmos earned two Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations, resulting in a win from each.
In 1988, the actor was nominated for an Academy Award® and won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver.  He directed and starred in his first motion picture, American Me, in 1992.

Olmos’ passion for the arts grows every year, but he never forgets to give back to the communities that support him with their dedication and support. He is an international advocate, spokesman, and humanitarian working with organizations such as Thank You Ocean, Project Hope Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, The Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America, The River Keepers, Dr. Andros’ Diabetic Foot Global Conference and he speaks up to 150 times a year in schools, universities, and corporations.
Other credits as an actor include the motion pictures My Family/Mi Familia; Selena, which was a breakout film for Jennifer Lopez; and In the Time of Butterflies, in which he played Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.  In television, he enjoyed a recurring role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza in the NBC drama “The West Wing,” portrayed a widowed father in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams, and recently Directed the YouTube phenomena “The Short Film BP Doesn’t Want You To See,” featured on Larry King/CNN.

Alejandra Espasande Bouza

Alejandra Espasande Bouza holds a B.A. in Film Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and an M.A. in Moving Image Archive Studies from UCLA. Her research work centers on documenting LA based underrepresented stories with emphasis on early production, distribution, and exhibition of Spanish-language cinema in Los Angeles. She currently works as a Film Archivist for the Packard Humanities Institute collection of film advertisements, on deposit at the Academy Film Archive, and is a curator of the Getty Pacific Standard Time: L.A./L.A. – UCLA project: Classic Latin American Cinema in Los Angeles (1932-1960).

John Nein

John Nein is a senior programmer at the Sundance Film Festival and deals primarily with US and international feature films. He also plans the festival’s panels and runs the Institute’s film preservation initiative. John grew up in Europe and the United States, studied history at Carleton College and earned his MFA from UCLA’s Film Directing program, where he made several award-winning shorts and lobbied tirelessly for better coffee in the vending machines.