My Family (1995)

Director:

Gregory Nava

Writers (WGA):

Gregory Nava (written by) &
Anna Thomas (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three generations of dreams.

Plot:

Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Mexican Immigrant | Baby | Nudity | Female Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Edward James Olmos	...	Paco
Rafael Cortés	...	Roberto (as Rafael Cortes)
Ivette Reina	...	Trini
Amelia Zapata	...	Roberto's Girlfriend
Jacob Vargas	...	Young Jose
Emilio Del Haro	...	Oxcart Driver
Abel Woolrich	...	Oxcart Driver
León Singer	...	El Californio (as Leon Singer)
Rosalee Mayeux	...	Maria's Employer
Jennifer Lopez	...	Young Maria
Alicia del Lago	...	Maria's Aunt
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	The Boatman (as Thomas Rosales)
Anthony Gonzalez	...	Baby Paco
Michael Gonzalez	...	Little Paco
Esai Morales	...	Chucho
Constance Marie	...	Toni
Benito Martinez	...	Young Paco
Greg Albert	...	Young Memo
Cassandra Campos	...	Little Irene
Maria Canals-Barrera	...	Young Irene (as Maria Canals)
Belladonna Campos	...	Baby Irene (as Susana Campos)
Jonathan Hernandez	...	Young Jimmy
Jenny Gago	...	Maria
Eduardo López Rojas	...	Jose
Cris Franco	...	Young Gerardo
Salvador Hernández	...	Mariachi (as Salvador Hernandez)
Samuel Hernández	...	Mariachi (as Samuel Hernandez)
Juan Jiménez	...	Mariachi (as Juan Jimenez)
Jesus Alberto Guzman	...	Mariachi
José Mario Rodríguez	...	Mariachi (as Jose Mario Rodriguez)
Arturo Palacios	...	Mariachi
Michael DeLorenzo	...	Butch Mejia
Valente Rodriguez	...	Chucho's Friend
Eddie Ayala	...	Another Friend
Romeo Fabian	...	Eddie (as Romeo René Fabián)
Bel Hernandez	...	Eddie's Mom
Jeanette Jurado	...	Rosie
David Salas	...	The Original
Bill Mondragon	...	The Original
Eric Mondragon	...	The Original
Dennis Jimenez	...	The Original
Alex Tanasi	...	The Original
Seidy Lopez	...	Lena, Chucho's Girlfriend
George Lopez Jr.	...	Ballplayer #1
Moses Saldana	...	Ballplayer #2
Brian Lally	...	Officer
Ernie Lively	...	Sergeant
Bart Johnson	...	Young Officer
Jimmy Smits	...	Jimmy
Peter Mark Vasquez	...	Prison Guard
Scott Bakula	...	David Ronconi
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Irene
Ruben Sierra	...	Gerardo
Mary Steenburgen	...	Gloria
Willie C. Carpenter	...	I.N.S. Guard
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Isabel Magaña
Delana Michaels	...	Judge
Enrique Castillo	...	Memo 'Bill'
Pete Leal	...	Old Man on Balcony
Valerie Wildman	...	Sunny, Gloria's Friend
Michael Tomlinson	...	Dr. McNally
Saachiko	...	Nurse
Emilio Rivera	...	Tamalito
Paul Robert Langdon	...	Carlitos
Angelina Estrada	...	Woman with Groceries
Dedee Pfeiffer	...	Karen Gillespie
Bibi Besch	...	Mrs. Gillespie
Bruce Gray	...	Mr. Gillespie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Blanco	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Jaime Campos	...	Club Dancer (uncredited)
Marita De Leon	...	Chucho's Neighbor (uncredited)
Del Zamora	...	Hall Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Gregory Nava

Writing credits (WGA)
Gregory Nava		(written by) &
Anna Thomas		(written by)

Produced by
Francis Ford Coppola	....	executive producer
Nancy De Los Santos	....	associate producer
Guy East	....	executive producer
Laura Greenlee	....	line producer
Lindsay Law	....	executive producer
Tom Luddy	....	executive producer
Sergio Molina	....	executive producer: Mexico
Anna Thomas	....	producer

Original Music by
Mark McKenzie		(orchestral music score)

Cinematography by
Edward Lachman

Film Editing by
Nancy Richardson

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins
Roger Mussenden

Production Design by
Barry Robison

Art Direction by
Adam Lustig		(co-art director)
Tony Myers

Set Decoration by
Suzette Sheets

Costume Design by
Tracy Tynan

Makeup Department
Ken Diaz	....	makeup designer
Corrina Duran	....	key hair stylist (as Corina C. Duran)
Luis García	....	assistant makeup artist (as Luis Garcia)
Jacklin Masteran	....	hair designer
Cesar Quiroza	....	tattoo designer
Thomas Real	....	department head hair stylist
Mark Sanchez	....	makeup supervisor
Maria Valdez	....	assistant makeup artist
Jay Wejebe	....	assistant makeup artist
Kentaro Yano	....	assistant makeup artist (as Ken Yano)

Production Management
Kim Aubry	....	post-production supervisor: American Zoetrope
Steve Barnett	....	post-production supervisor
Beth DePatie	....	production manager (as Beth De Patie)
Fred Fuchs	....	executive in charge of production
María Elena Mercado	....	production manager: Mexico (as Maria Elena Mercado)
B.J. Rack	....	executive in charge of production
Richard S. Wright	....	production manager: river unit (as Richard Wright)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lisa Campbell	....	first assistant director
Karen E. Frischmann	....	second assistant director (as Karen Frischmann)
Kris Krengel	....	first assistant director: river unit
Marla D. Saltzer	....	second second assistant director (as Marla Saltzer)
Enrique Vargas Torres	....	assistant director: Mexico (as Enrique Vargas)

Art Department
Marc Alexandre	....	construction foreman
Aram Allan	....	construction coordinator
Guy Belegaud	....	carpenter
Craig Cisco	....	carpenter
David L. Corrick	....	carpenter (as David Corrick)
Ken Deubel III	....	lead painter (as Ken Deubel)
Terry Deubel	....	paint foreman
Mark Gantt	....	set dresser (as Mark V. Gantt)
Bernard Griesz	....	carpenter (as Bernard Grisez)
John Hamilton	....	on-location painter (as Johnny Hamilton)
Thomas V. Johnson	....	painter (as Thomas Johnson)
Carl Jones	....	carpenter
Lisa Keller	....	painter
Mark Knightley	....	carpenter
Teusa Koiwai	....	on-set dresser
Doug Lewis	....	property master (as Douglas C. Lewis)
Brent David Mannon	....	assistant props (as Brent D. Mannon)
Luis Monreal	....	on-location painter
Kathleen Ann O'Loughlin	....	painter (as Kathleen O'Loughlin)
Adam Pinkstaff	....	set dresser (as Adam P. Pinkstaff)
Nicholas Radell	....	carpenter (as Nick Radell)
Gabriela Robles	....	art director: Mexico
Charlie Rodriguez	....	on-location painter
Sally Romine	....	painter
Christian Roy	....	carpenter (as Chris Roy)
Mark Schouten	....	carpenter
Rochelle Seldin	....	set dresser
Laura Settlemier	....	lead person (as Laura Settlemeier McIntyre)
Jeff Snyder	....	set dresser
Patssi Valdez	....	design consultant
Troy Myers	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jose Araujo	....	sound mixer
Tina Canny	....	mix loader
Tony Eckert	....	foley mixer
David Frederick	....	adr editor
David Frederick	....	dialogue editor
Clare C. Freeman	....	dialogue supervisor
Jim Fulmis	....	sound mix engineer
Anton Herbert	....	boom operator (as Anton A. Herbert)
Evelyn Hokanson	....	adr recordist
Tom Johnson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jim Kallett	....	mix recordist
James Ketcham	....	stereo sound consultant: DTS (as Jim Ketcham)
Samuel Lehmer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rona Michele	....	assistant sound editor
Marnie Moore	....	foley artist
Cheryl Nardi	....	assistant sound editor
Hugo Noriega Valencia	....	boom operator: Mexico (as Hugo Noriega)
Osman Posada	....	cableman
Alex Stahl	....	sound mix engineer
Christina Tucker	....	adr mixer
Ethan Van der Ryn	....	sound effects editor (as Ethan Van Der Ryn)
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Marian Wilde	....	supervising sound editor
Steven Yeaw	....	apprentice sound editor
Sean England	....	sound transferer (uncredited)
Linda Folk	....	adr supervisor (uncredited)
Tommy Goodwin	....	foley mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lou Carlucci	....	special effects coordinator: FTS EFX, Inc.
Robert Calvert	....	special effects foreman (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David M. Garber	....	digital optical effects (as David Garber)
Patrick Phillips	....	visual effects
Olivier Sarda	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Laura Albert	....	stunt double: river unit
Rick Barker	....	stunt coordinator: river unit
Dan Bradley	....	stunt coordinator
Ben Bray	....	stunts
Craig Bray	....	stunts
John Cann	....	stunts
John Escobar	....	stunts
Randy Guiting	....	stunts
Eddie Perez	....	stunts
Alexis Scher	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Carroll Ballard	....	cinematographer: River Crew
Mike Booth	....	key grip: river crew
Martin Bosworth	....	best boy electric
James L. Carter	....	additional camera operator
Hector Chavez	....	grip: Mexico
Pablo Manuel Chávez	....	key grip: Mexico (as Pablo Chavez)
John De Blau II	....	electrician
Humberto De Luna	....	additional first assistant camera
John W. DeBlau	....	lighting design consultant (as John W. De Blau)
Glen Deitell	....	first assistant camera
Tomas Dominguez	....	grip: Mexico
Kirk R. Gardner	....	Steadicam operator (as Kirk Gardener)
Wesley Groves	....	video playback: Off Line
Wesley Groves	....	video playback: On Time
Jan M. Heyneker	....	key grip
Andreas Hutter	....	second assistant camera
David Inman	....	grip
Judy Irola	....	cinematographer: second unit
Roman Jakobi	....	electrician
Francis Kenny	....	additional camera operator
Matthew Libatique	....	camera loader
Stephen Lighthill	....	additional camera operator
David Luckenbach	....	Steadicam operator
Dominic Napolitano	....	additional first assistant camera
Eliza Putnam Parkerson	....	grip (as Eliza Parkerson)
Osman Posada	....	video assist operator
Terence Pratt	....	assistant camera
Mike Reyes	....	grip (as Michael Reyes)
Isidro Rosas	....	second assistant camera: Mexico
Martin Schaer	....	additional camera operator
Sandy Stanton	....	best boy grip
Rico Torres	....	still photographer
Antonio Uruñuela	....	second assistant camera: Mexico
Kristen Wheeler	....	electrician

Casting Department
Randi Hiller	....	casting assistant
Dixie Webster	....	extras casting (as Dixie Webster Davis)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carrie Bauer	....	on-set costumer
Vickie Brinkford	....	on-set costumer (as Vickie Brinkkord)
Christine Cantella	....	costumer
Tangi Crawford	....	wardrobe supervisor
Jeanine M. Davis	....	costumer (as Jeanine Davis)
Rudy Dillon	....	assistant costume designer
Sabine Kelling	....	on-set costumer
Shanna Knecht	....	additional wardrobe supervisor (as Shana Knecht)
Denise Martinez	....	costumer
Isis Mussenden	....	additional costumes
Jaime Ortiz	....	costumer: Mexico

Editorial Department
Ute Berthold	....	assistant film editor
Rob Bonz	....	post-production intern
Thomas Calderon	....	assistant film editor
Anthony N. Dicovitsky	....	dailies telecine
Heather Hughes	....	assistant film editor
Melissa Kent	....	additional film editor
Robert J. Lemos	....	post-production assistant
Sandra Montiel	....	assistant film editor
Barbara Riley	....	negative cutter
Arthur Tostado	....	color timer (as Art Tostado)
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant (uncredited)

Music Department
Pepe Avila	....	composer: folklore music (as Pepe Avila)
Kevin Benson	....	music supervisor
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer
Rolf Johnson	....	music editor
Mark McKenzie	....	orchestrator
Gregg Nestor	....	music preparation
Sharon Smith	....	music editor
James D. Young	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
William R. Bain	....	transportation co-captain
Robert Bress	....	driver (as Robert A. Bress)
Mark Brown	....	driver
Dennis Goble	....	driver (as Dennis Hugh Goble)
Robert F. Hartman	....	driver
Cory Huber	....	driver
Kevin Jackson	....	driver
Jeffrey Landis	....	driver (as Jeff Landis)
Darryll Legendre	....	driver
Michael McDuffee	....	driver (as Mike McDuffee)
Antonio Molina	....	transportation coordinator
Craig Williams	....	transportation captain
Adam Pinkstaff	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Richard Andres	....	set production assistant
Saudhi Batalla	....	production assistant: Mexico
Jeff Behlendorf	....	post-production auditor
Fahey Benton	....	on-set medic
Candice D. Campos	....	assistant production coordinator
Francis Ford Coppola	....	presenter
Miguel Delgado	....	choreographer
Kathy Edwards	....	assistant accountant (as Kathy D. Edwards)
Will Evans	....	production executive: Majestic
Anthony Figueroa	....	production assistant
Consuela G. Flores Norte	....	actor liaison (as Consuelo F. Norte)
Carla Fry	....	production executive: New Line
Octavio Gaitan-Diaz	....	production assistant
Pat Gonzalez	....	craft service
Jill Gurr	....	script supervisor
Julie Hansen	....	production accountant
Irene Hernandez	....	production assistant
Julie Huntsinger	....	assistant: Tom Luddy
Kevin Hyman	....	completion bond: Film Finances, Inc.
Ruth Jackson	....	production executive: Majestic
Bill Kinder	....	post facilities manager
Rick Kusnier	....	set production assistant
Pearl A. Lucero	....	production coordinator
José Antonio Macías	....	assistant production coordinator: Mexico (as Jose Antonio Macias)
Barbara Martinez Jitner	....	assistant: Gregory Nava (as Barbara Martinez-Jitner)
Patricia Mata	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Pedro Mata	....	assistant location manager
George Maxwell	....	production assistant (as George C. Maxwell)
Gabriel Medina	....	additional security
Leticia Mercado	....	production assistant: Mexico
Lorenzo O'Brien	....	translator: Spanish
Valerie Ozeta	....	production assistant
Martha Pilcher	....	location manager (as Martha Claire Pilcher)
Maggie Pope	....	production executive: Majestic
Paul Prokop	....	auditor: New Line
Maria Regan	....	client services
Luis Reyes	....	unit publicist
Nayeli Robles	....	production assistant: Mexico
Rubén Rodríguez	....	additional security (as Ruben Rodriguez)
Felipe Salazar	....	production assistant
Ron Scott	....	dailies timer
Burton Sharp	....	loop group coordinator
Yalda Tehranian	....	production executive
Javier Torres	....	production assistant
Arthur Tostado	....	laboratory liaison (as Art Tostado)
Derek Jan Vermaas	....	assistant accountant
Conchita Villa	....	production assistant
Tristan Whalley	....	international marketing
Mark Wyman	....	business affairs
Adalberto Álvarez	....	production assistant (as Adalberto Alvarez)
Fernando Cubillas	....	assistant: Edward James Olmos (uncredited)
Joe Zimmerman	....	stand-in: Mr. Smits (uncredited)

Thanks
Richard Alatorre	....	special thanks
Marie Eugenia Alma	....	special thanks
Christopher Ball	....	special thanks (as Chris Ball)
Karen Boccalero	....	special thanks: Self Help Graphics (as Sister Karen Boccalero)
Greg Boyle	....	special thanks: Jobs for a Future (as Father Greg Boyle)
Joel Castro	....	special thanks
Chickie Corral	....	special thanks
Joe Corral	....	special thanks
Mary Pina Cruz Sr.	....	special thanks
Jaime Cruz	....	special thanks: Youth Gong Services
Nicholas Frangakis	....	special thanks (as Nick Frangakis)
Maria Elena Gaitan	....	special thanks
Angelina Garcia	....	special thanks
A.P. Gonzales	....	special thanks
Linda Griego	....	special thanks: Rebuild L.A.
Diane Huffman	....	special thanks
Fred Huffman	....	special thanks
Richard W. Kopenhefer	....	special thanks (as Rick Kopenhefer)
Ralph Lardizabal	....	special thanks
Peter Loucto	....	special thanks: Musco America
Diane Marin	....	special thanks
Bill Martinez	....	special thanks: Youth Gong Services
Michella Mayorga	....	special thanks
Gloria Molina	....	special thanks
Ellen Moranski	....	special thanks
Alex Nogales	....	special thanks: The National Hispanic Media Association
Marusa Reyes	....	special thanks: Arrabal & Compania
Roquella Rios	....	special thanks
Erlinda Robles	....	special thanks
Valentine Robles	....	special thanks
Jose Luis Ruiz	....	special thanks: The National Latino Communications Center
Catherine Schindler	....	special thanks
Barbet Schroeder	....	special thanks
Alan Sharp	....	special thanks
Cathy Spanberger	....	special thanks
Lilly Tejadilla	....	special thanks
Sergio Tejadilla	....	special thanks
Angie Teran	....	special thanks
Ismael 'Smiley' Terreira	....	special thanks: Youth Gong Services
Frank Trejo	....	special thanks: Youth Gong Services
William Tyrer	....	special thanks (as Will Tyrer)

Production Companies

• American Playhouse
• American Zoetrope
• Majestic Films International
• Newcomb Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1999) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Araba Films (Spain)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (4 movies Mega Box )
• New Line Cinema
• New Line Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Prooptiki Video (1996) (Greece) (VHS)
• Rizzoli Corriere della Sera Home Video (RCS) (Italy) (VHS)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1997) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Vídeo Arte (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• FTS EFX Inc.

Other Companies

• American Zoetrope  soundtrack editing
• American Zoetrope  soundtrack mixed at
• C.A.S.T. Security  security
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies (as Chapman)
• Cinelease  lighting equipment
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals (as Cinema Research Corporation)
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  color processing
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  dailies processing
• Directors Sound  adr recording
• East L.A.  copyright 1994
• East West Records  soundtrack available on (as East/West Records)
• Film Finances  completion bond provided by
• Frank Inn Animals  animals
• Lacy Street Production Center  sound stages
• Lightworks (II)  edited on
• Newmarket Capital Group  production financing provided by (as Newmarket Group)
• Rescues Unlimited  set medic (as Rescues Unltd.)
• Sinclair, Tenenbaum & Olesiuk  legal services (as Sinclair, Tenenbaum, Olesiuk & Co., Inc.)
• Skywalker Sound  foley services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, some graphic violence and a scene of sexuality

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #33159)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

The final scene is duplicated shot-for-shot from the final scene of The World of Apu (1959).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Isabella is at the Sanchez home, we see a medium shot of Paco with a bowl of popcorn, and Memo. In front of them is a tray of taquitos. But a minute or two later, Irene brings out the same tray and sets it down on the coffee table in front of them.

Quotes:

Jimmy Sanchez:That was a political action. I'm a goddam revolutionary!

Movie Connections:

Features "I Love Lucy" (1951)

Soundtrack:

One Summer Night

A great work

Mi Familia is a mini masterpiece. It uses all manner of genre styles to tell its story and amazingly it works. This is a film with so much passion and significance it is almost tiring to praise it for fear of running out of breath. You could call this film an epic or a saga since it deals with many generations of the same family. The film never shies away from making a social comment or two and deals directly with the issues at hand in whatever time period it happens to take place in. The family has never had an easy life, but the closing statement rings true in that despite the hardships they have been made to endure they have lead an incredibly good life. More than twice this family is broken up by the racial hatred and civilly unjust policies of their times, but they always stick together and no matter what happens or who does what this family is truly unbreakable. All performances are fantastic but there is one the really sticks out. Jimmy Smits has proved time and again that he is a capable actor but his work in this film is simply amazing.