Director, writer, and producer, he became an internationally renowned filmmaker with his 1983 film El Norte for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Critic Roger Ebert called El Norte, which deals with the plight of people from Guatemala working without papers in the United States, “The Grapes of Wrath of our time.” El Norte garnered a number of international awards and in 1996 the film was named an “American Classic” and designated for special preservation by the United States Library of Congress.
In 1995, Nava continued his string of ground-breaking latino films, directing and writing the multi-generational saga My Family/Mi familia which starred Edward James Olmos and Jennifer Lopez, in her first film appearance. In 1996, Nava went on to direct the feature film Selena based on the life of the slain tejano superstar and the definitive breakout role for Jennifer Lopez, earning her a Golden Globe nomination. Nava then followed with Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998) starring Halle Berry, Larenz Tate and Vivica Fox. Nava is also the creator and executive producer of American Family, the first dramatic latino themed series in the history of U.S. broadcast television. Nava received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for American Family.
Nava wrote, directed and produced the feature film, Bordertown starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas. Bordertown is a political thriller based on the gruesome murders of over 400 women in Juárez, México. Nava also served as the screenwriter for the Oscar® nominated film, Frida (2002) which starred, Salma Hayek. In addition to his Oscar®, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations Nava has received five Imagen awards, three Alma awards, the Hispanic Heritage Award for the Arts at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the National Hispanic Heritage Foundation “Raul Julia” Award for Excellence, the Latino Spirit Award from the State of California and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Imagen Foundation.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia
