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Screening of American Sons at the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival 2025
American Sons, produced by Laura Varela and produced/directed by Andrew James Gonzales, is an official selection of the 2025 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF)—an Oscar-qualifying festival that celebrates the richness and diversity of Latinx voices in cinema. Read more…
Screening of American Sons at the Houston Latino Film Festival 2025
American Sons, a deeply moving documentary produced by Laura Varela and produced/directed by Andrew James Gonzales, will have an official screening at the Houston Latino Film Festival on March 14, 2025. This poignant film offers an intimate and gripping look at the challenges faced by U.S. veterans as they navigate life after combat. Read more…
American Sons World Premiere at SXSW 2025
The highly anticipated documentary American Sons, Produced by Laura Varela and Produced/Directed by Andrew James Gonzales, will make its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. This powerful documentary, part of the festival’s acclaimed lineup (SXSW Official Selection), offers a gripping and deeply personal look at the enduring impact of war on U.S. veterans. American Sons stands among an impressive slate of thought-provoking films that aim to challenge and inspire audiences. Read more…
American Sons To Receive Grant from California Humanities
This year 18 media productions received the California Documentary Grant. Amongst those recipients was Laura Varela and Andrew James Gonzales’s American Sons, a documentary exploring the lives of a Marine Brotherhood and a Gold Star family. Read More…
‘Our Sorrow, His Honor’: Documentary Film on Westside Marine to Air on PBS
“Jorge ‘JV’ Villarreal knew from an early age that he wanted to be a Marine”, writes Nicholas Frank of the San Antonio Report. “The U.S. invaded Afghanistan while Villarreal was in middle school on San Antonio’s West Side…Villarreal eventually joined up after graduating from Memorial High School, trained at Camp Pendleton in Southern California and was dispatched to the Helmand Province in 2010.A few months later, Villarreal was killed in a action after stepping on an improvised explosive device. Thanks to footage he made during his training and combat tour, Villareal’s story will live on. His videos form the core of American Sons, a documentary film slated to air on PBS next year.” Read More…
A Work-in-Progress Screening and Filmmaker Panel Discussion – March 28, 2023
Join us for a screening of select scenes from this upcoming PBS Documentary American Sons produced by San Antonio Filmmakers Andrew James Gonzales and Laura Varela. This event is FREE and open to the Public (Pre-registration is encouraged). Representatives from Bexar County Military and Veterans Services will be on hand to provide information on available resources Read More…
AMERICAN SONS SELECTED FOR LPB 2021 FUNDING CYCLE
“We are very proud to support the extraordinary work of these filmmakers who truly represent the amazing diversity within our Latino creative community,” says LPB Executive Director Sandie Viquez Pedlow. “These productions also represent a vital step in addressing the dismal lack of Latino voices in today’s media; our passion and our mission is to correct that imbalance. These new projects remind us that there is an endless number of stories about our community that need to be told and we can’t wait to share them with viewers nationally.” Read More…
AMERICAN SONS DIRECTOR ANDREW GONZALES SELECTED FOR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANT 2021
“The Individual Artists Project Grants Program is truly a collaborative effort between our department and the many outstanding artists who call San Antonio home,” said Department of Arts & Culture Interim Executive Director Krystal Jones. “It is exciting to see the program come full circle with the support of 30 talented individuals and new and incredible artworks for residents and visitors to experience, enjoy and share.” Read More…
12 LATINO DOCS WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE ON PBS
Stand and Deliver actor Edward James Olmos, the co-founder and chairman of Latino Public Broadcasting, said in a prepared statement, “We’re very excited about this year’s funded projects. We have a high percentage of new filmmakers and there’s an urgency and passion and timelessness about their subject matter.” Read More…
AMERICAN SONS SELECTED FOR LPB 2019 FUNDING CYCLE
“Now more than ever, the stories and voices of Latinos must be heard,” says Edward James Olmos, co-founder and Chairman of Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB). “We look forward to working with these talented filmmakers; together we can reclaim our narrative and bridge the gap between our community and the nation at large — building bridges instead of walls.” Read More…
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