Honorees
Trailblazer Award – Ligiah VillalobosPioneer Award – Enrique Castillo
Career Achievement Award – Betty Kaplan
Trailblazer Award
LijiahVillalobos
Ligiah Villalobos is the Writer and Executive Producer of the feature film Under the Same Moon, (La Misma Luna). The film was an Official Selection at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and became
the highest sale for a Spanish-language film in the history of Sundance. After its release on March 19, 2008 by Fox Searchlight and The Weinstein Company, the film went on to break the 3-day
opening weekend record for a Spanish-language film. Made for under $2M, the film has earned over $23M worldwide. Born and raised in Mexico, Villalobos moved to the U.S. at the age of 11. She attended Brigham Young University, majoring in Cultural Geography and Dance. Before becoming a writer/producer, Villalobos held several positions at studios including Director of Programming for Buena Vista Productions where she oversaw all television production in Latin America, including eight #1 rated Disney Club Shows in six countries. She also developed the CD, Navidad en las Americas for Disney Records, which landed at #8 on Billboard’s Latin Chart, and two Prime Time TV Specials, which aired in 18 countries. She was later hired by Touchstone Television to oversee Walt Disney’s
prestigious Writers Fellowship Program and Director’s Training Program. After leaving Disney, Villalobos served as Director of Current Programming for the WB Network where she oversaw six prime time series. She then made a transition into film production as the VP of Creative Affairs at Esparza/Katz Productions. There she was involved in the development of two films, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge for HBO and Price of Glory for Newline. She was also a Co-Producer on the HBO Film, Walkout. Since becoming an independent writer/producer, Villalobos has coproduced the film,
Dancing in September (Official Selection at 2001 Sundance Film Festival), which premiered, on HBO in 2001 and the 2006 HBO film, Walkout. She has also been a staff writer on the NBC show, ED, the Head Writer on the #1 Nick Jr. series, Go, Diego! Go! and has developed projects for ABC/Studios, F/X, Showtime and NBC. Among several projects in development are Diego Ascending; an adaptation of the Israeli film Bonjour, Monsieur Shlomi for Salma Hayek’s production company, Ventanazul; Chavez, for producers, Dan Halsted, Max Kennedy and Lily Bright; La Raza, an historical 7 hour mini-series for Will Smith’s company, Overbrook; and two MOW’s with Alicia Keys’ Co, Big Pita, Lit’l Pita—Crew Six¸ set up at Hallmark Hall of Fame and Study Abroad set up at Nickelodeon. Villalobos was named, “One of the 25 Most Powerful and Talented Hispanic Women in the Entertainment Industry” by the Hollywood Reporter and Billboard Magazine in 2007 and was recently honored with the 2008 Norman Lear Writers Award at the Imagen Awards.
Pioneer Award
Enrique Castillo
Enrique is an accomplished actor/writer/director who began his career with Luis Valdez’s Teatro Campesino in 1969. As part of the Teatro, Enrique participated in workshops with English theater
director Peter Brook’s theater group that included now Academy Award winner Helen Mirren. In the early 70’s Enrique traveled with the Teatro to Paris when they represented the U.S. at the World Theater Festival. In 1978 Enrique made the move to Hollywood and was cast in the hit play Zoot
Suit, also created and directed by Luis Valdez, where he played one of the lead roles opposite
Edward James Olmos. Since then he has appeared in over 50 television shows and feature films, working with such notable film directors as Tony Scott, (Déjà Vu) Taylor Hackford, (Blood In Blood Out) Stephen Frears (The Hi-Lo Country) Wim Wenders (The End of Violence) Gregory Nava (My Family and El Norte) Oliver Stone (Nixon) and Tim Burton (Mars Attacks). Currently, Enrique can be seen on Showtime’s wicked television series Weeds (Mondays at 10 PM (PST) playing the lethal Cesar. This year marks his third season on the hit comedy, which was nominated for a SAG Ensemble Award and received 6 Emmy Nominations. Enrique is most recognized for his film role
of Montana in Taylor Hackford’s Blood In Blood Out where he played the inspirational (albeit terrifying) leader of the Mexican prison gang. In 1993, when the film was released, The New York Times singled out Mr. Castillos’ performance in their review. “Mr. Chapa, Mr. Bratt and Mr. Borrego are excellent, as are the members of the large supporting cast, notably Enrique Castillo, who appears as the leader of San Quentin’s Chicanos.” In Japan, a film critic said of his performance of Montana “He plays the role with the wisdom of Torquemada and strength of a Sandinista warrior.” Mr. Castillo was one of the founding member of The Latino Theater Company in the mid 80’s, where he starred in a variety of the company’s productions and was also a writer on two of the company’s plays, Stone Wedding and the multi-award winning play August 29. In the mid 90’s, Enrique adapted and directed the award-winning play The Last Angry Brown Hat, written by Alfredo Ramos, which toured to rave reviews for over four years. He then wrote and directed Veteranos: A Legacy of Valor, a theater piece honoring the military contributions by Latinos in America’s defense that had two national tours to standing ovations and much critical acclaim. Veteranos was awarded a special recognition by the Hispanic Congressional Caucus and received the prestigious Imagen Award for Best Live Theatrical Production in Los Angeles, CA. Enrique has written various screenplays including Yo Solo (I Alone), The Cobra, Valley of The Dead, Deerdancer and the screen version of The Last Angry Brown Hat. Valley of The Dead, the crime suspense thriller has been recently optioned by Concrete Images.
Enrique is currently in pre-production on the film The Last Angry Brown Hat, which he will direct as well as star in.
Career Achievement Award
Betty Kaplan
Betty Kaplan is one of the few internationally acclaimed Latinas who is truly bi-cultural, having been born in the United States (New York City) and raised in Venezuela (Caracas). Ms. Kaplan is comfortable both in Spanish and English. She has directed every genre from political thriller to a sultry, tropical western to military combat and has crossed the Amazon and the Orinoco River in pursuit of storytelling. Comedy, family drama and steamy love affairs are equally her forte. Her first film Of Love And Shadows was based on Isabel Allende’s bestselling novel and starred Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly, in one of her first grown up roles. Miramax Films and Disney released it. Sold all over the world, the film received both critical acclaim and audience approval. Her second film, Doña Barbara is based on Venezuela’s Gone With The Wind. This Latin American classic was released by Universal and inaugurated Eddie Olmos’ Premiere Latino International Film Festival to a sold out audience. It also introduced Univision’s new Premiere movie series to an all time “high rating.” Kaplan’s third film Almost A Woman based on Esmeralda Santiago’s book won the Peabody Award for “a powerful evocative new rendering of one of the most important American stories.” It was the first Latino-themed movie in forty years for Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theatre. She also directed Lifetime’s The Division, her episode earning the highest rating in the history of the series. She has just directed for Dick Wolf ’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Legacy, which aired to record ratings. Her film One Hot Summer for Maya Productions and Lifetime just delighted audiences and broadcasters. Before moving to the U.S. Betty directed the highest rated mini-series in the history of Venezuelan Television, which was the story of Simon Bolivar. It aired in all the Bolivarean markets to resounding accolades and success. A series of fourteen-docudramas on the lives of Latin American writers was written and directed by Betty in France, Spain, Venezuela, Peru, England,
and Nicaragua and won the coveted Guaicaipuro de Oro. Ms. Kaplan has also directed numerous
short films, music videos, commercials, documentaries. She studied film production at New York University and the Film Institute; acting with Sonia Moore and has a BA in Communications
from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas. She studied ballet with Nina Novak of the Ballet Russe de Montecarlo, performed in the theater as a child and toured internationally as a
dancer. She is currently Co-chair of the Director’s Guild of America’s Latino Committee.