I C O N I C . L A T I N E . C A S T I N G D I R E C T O R .

Marion Dougherty

. Amanda Mackey. Ethel Winant. These are just a few of the manycastinggreatswhoputthestarsweknowtodayincinemaandtelevision screens around the world Then emerged the icons that fought for representation pertaining to diversity and gave the world a deeper glance at thedifferentfacesthatmakeAmericawhatitistoday Fromsomeofthemost amazing performances by the legendary cast brought together in 1985's “The ColorPurple” byReubenCanon, iconicfilmclassicssuchas “StandandDeliver” and “BoyzntheHood” castbyJakiBrown, andthecontinuousworksbyVictoria Thomas and Kim Coleman; the increment in representation in film and television has finally been seen A significant portion of the North American population, however, would remain unrepresented or misunderstood; mainly thatoftheLatine/Latinxcommunity

The arduous machine known as "Hollywood" had little knowledge of the complexity of the Latine community. Sure, Jose Ferrer was the first Latino to be nominated for best supporting actor in 1948 Anthony Quinn would take the Oscar in 1952 and 1956 Rita Moreno would win in 1961 It would take 29 years until the next nomination for Andy Garcia, andanadditional 10 forBenicioDelToro’swin. The numbers of the overall Latine representation, however, hasremainedminiscule In 2022, Latinerepresentationwas just 5 2% ofleadactorsand 5 1% ofco-lead/ensembleactors in feature films Even smaller, has been the number of Latinecastingdirectors BobMorones ClaudiaBecker Julia Flores The amount of Latine casting professionals continuedtoremainminute Thenroseavoice Avoicethat would transcend limitations From Mexico City to Los Angeles, the voice would showcase a particular talent for castingthroughoutallLatinAmerica Avoicethatnotonly has fought and stood firm with the importance of Latine representation, but one that continues to educate on the vastness and definitions of our community This is the voiceofcastingdirectorCarlaHool

Carla Hool was born in Mexico City; her family being involved in the arts for a few generations. Her great grandmother was a founder for El Pecime (Periodistas Cinematograficos de Mexico), her grandmother a ballerina and choreographer, who worked with Mexican legends Pedro Infante and Cantinflas. Her father, Conrad Hool is a producer known for a plethora of films including “Man on Fire”, “One Man’s Hero”, and “2Hearts”.

“SinceIwaslittle, mydadwouldbringmetosetwithhim, ” saysHool “Ineverreallyconsideredbeinginthebusiness I studied art history and wanted to study art restoration But I got married young, had twins, and ended up becoming a yoga teacher Then came the divorce, ” Hool laughs

“One day, out of the blue, my father called and said ‘Hey, I’mshootingafilminMexico, andIwantyoutoworkwith me ’

“MydadlivedinLAandIwasinMexico, andeventhoughI had gone to set with him many times before, working in theindustrynevercrossedmymind Peoplealwaysasked me ‘Areyougoingtobeactress?Youshouldbeanactress!’ And I would always respond ‘no’ I’ve no personality for that. Itwasn’tuntilmydadinvitedmetoworkwithhimand gave me a position in the casting department, that it becameareality, ” Hoolsmiles.

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