Screenwriter: Luis Valdez

Producers: Bill Borden, Taylor Hackford

A sincere and thoughtful biopic on the life — and tragic death — of Mexican American musician Ritchie Valens. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Valens, who shoots to musical stardom with a love song for his girlfriend Donna. Even as his songs climb the charts, Ritchie struggles with his new-found fame, acceptance from Donna’s white family, jealousy from his own brother, and recurring nightmares of plane crashes. A Los Angeles essential, Luis Valdez’s thoughtful and touching film combines the rhythm of rock n’ roll with the romance of young love and the universality of the American dream.