The 2006 independent film that shares its title with the celebration is Quinceañera. The film follows Magdalena, a teenager in Los Angeles whose family is preparing for her fifteenth-birthday celebration.
Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, the film combines a coming-of-age story with themes involving family, faith, sexuality, and gentrification. Emily Rios plays Magdalena, the central character.
The film is connected to the cultural meaning of a quinceañera, but it is not a documentary about the tradition. Its story uses the planned celebration as a setting for conflicts within an extended Mexican American family and neighborhood. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it received major recognition.