From ‘Babel’ to ‘Tortilla Soup,’ these are the 30 movies Congressman Castro is nominating to the National Film Registry

SAN ANTONIO — Congressman Joaquin Castro has shared his list of nominees for induction into the National Film Registry, featuring Academy Award winners like “Birdman,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Frida” in his latest push to include more Latino productions in the esteemed catalogue. 

The San Antonio congressman submitted 30 films in all for consideration after asking the public for input in recent weeks, an annual ritual he began in 2021. His efforts have helped get movies like Robert Rodriguez’s “Spy Kids,” “American Me” and “Selena” into the registry.

 This year’s nominees also include the 1992 romance “Like Water for Chocolate,” Alfonso Cuaron’s sensual coming-of-age drama “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” the animated family film “The Book of Life” and Best Picture winner “Birdman,” which was shot by the Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. 

“Movies remain a crucial form of storytelling that is far-reaching,” Castro wrote in his nominating letter to the National Film Preservation Board. “I look forward to continuing to work together to expand Latino representation in the National Film Registry.”

The registry, currently 900 movies strong, selects 25 new ones each year to immortalize, prioritizing works that showcase “the range and diversity of American film heritage.” The picks are typically announced each December. 

Some of Castro’s nominated films showcase Latino life and characters; others are Hollywood productions incorporating Latino talent behind the camera. Read on to see his full list of 2025 nominees:

• “Chicano!” (1996, directed by Hector Galan)
• “Frida” (2002, directed by Julie Taymor)
• “Like Water for Chocolate” (1992, directed by Alfonso Arau)
• “Y Tu Mamá También” (2001, directed by Alfonso Cuaron)
• “Under the Same Moon” (2007, directed by Patricia Riggen)
• “Tortilla Soup” (2001, directed by Maria Ripoll)
• “The Milagro Beanfield War” (1988, directed by Robert Redford)
• “Cesar Chavez” (2014, directed by Diego Luna)
• “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006, directed by Guillermo del Toro)
• “Motorcycle Diaries” (2004, directed by Walter Salles)
• “Mi Vida Loca” (1994, directed by Allison Anders)
• “Instructions Not Included” (2013, directed by Eugenio Derbez)
• “Chicano I & II: The Mexican American Heritage Series” (1971, directed by Leo A. Handel)
• “La Mission” (2010, directed by Peter Bratt)
• “Blood In Blood Out” (1993, directed by Taylor Hackford)
• “Babel” (2006, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
• “125 Franco’s Blvd” (2010, directed by Sia Nyorkor)
• “Don’t Let Me Drown” (2009, directed by Cruz Angeles)
• “Bless Me, Ultima” (2012, directed by Carl Franklin)
• “Walkout” (2006, directed by Edward James Olmos)
• “Gotta Kick It Up!” (2002, directed by Ramon Menendez)
• “Mosquita y Mari” (2012, directed by Aurora Guerrero)
• “Gun Hill Road” (2011, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green)
• “American Experience: Roberto Clemente” (2008, directed by Bernardo Ruiz)
• “Birdman” (2014, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
• “The Book of Life” (2014, directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez)
• “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988, directed by Pedro Almodovar)
• “A Better Life” (2011, directed by Chris Weitz)
• “Born in East L.A.” (1987, directed by Cheech Marin)
• “The Burning Season” (1994, directed by John Frankenheimer)