The film Quinceañera, which won two Sundance awards, was released in 2006.
Written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, the film follows Magdalena, a teenager in Los Angeles whose planned quinceañera becomes entangled with family conflict and unexpected pregnancy. Emily Rios plays Magdalena.
The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the Dramatic Competition. Those honors brought attention to its portrayal of Latino family life and queer characters.
The movie is a fictional drama, not a documentary about universal quinceañera customs. Its story uses the celebration as a setting for questions about family, faith, identity, and community in Los Angeles.