Apr 17, 20132 min read

Jenni Rivera’s Acting debut in Must See Film “Filly Brown”

Edward James Olmos: “A Must See Film”

By Edward James Olmos

The time has come for all of us to take action and to help ensure that we’ll see more Latino movies. On April 19th , the movie Filly Brown opens in 200 theaters around the United States. The movie, which I’m honored to be a part of, is a story about an 18 year old Latina poet, Filly Brown, who is also a rap artist who sings her poetry. It’s an honest story about a 21st Century family. Additionally, Filly Brown is full of great music – the beats are infectious and are immensely enjoyable.

Filly Brown is blessed by a great cast. It features an amazing newcomer, Gina Rodriguez, in the lead role of Majo Tonorio aka Filly Brown. Gina was wonderfully multifaceted in her complex role – her talent will impress all

Jenni Rivera gives the performance of a lifetime as Filly’s mother. I feel she deserves to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the honesty of her portrayal. I’m saddened that we lost such a marvelous person far too soon.

The father role, Lou Diamond Phillips, gives his best performance since Stand & Deliver. The rest of the cast is just as talented. I’m honored to share the screen with such fine performers. The filmmakers have done an outstanding job of packaging from the cast to the music to the settings.

Beyond the film, attending this movie-especially on opening weekend-will send the message to movie studios that the audience wants to see more Latino themed films. If Filly Brown succeeds in the box office, we will start to see our stories told in major motion pictures. We are 52 million Latinos and major studios are still not telling our stories.

Show your support for Latino films by going out and supporting Filly Brown. If the movie does not perform at the box office, the film studios will get the impression that Latinos are not interested in Latino based films or films that represent their culture.

I cried the first time I saw the film. I know you’ll find the film just as emotionally impacting as I did. Thank you for your consideration of Filly Brown.

Filly Brown in theaters April 19th. You can find a list of all the theaters where Filly Brown is showing HERE.

Its only playing in 200 theaters, so please support this film in the first weekend so it can get a wider distribution.