The 2006 film about a Los Angeles quinceañera that won both major U.S. Dramatic prizes at Sundance is Quinceañera.
The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and received the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It was written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland.
The story follows Magdalena, a teenager preparing for her fifteenth-birthday celebration in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Its characters and conflicts examine family expectations, sexuality, religion, and changing urban communities.
The film’s title uses the Spanish term for the celebrant and celebration. It should not be confused with a documentary or a filmed real-life ceremony: Quinceañera is a narrative feature film. Emily Rios plays Magdalena, the central teenage character.