Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (1999) explores the mass adulation and explosive posthumous recognition of Selena Quintanilla, the Tejano rock singer murdered by the president of her fan club in 1995.  Pushing beyond the mainstream media’s fascination with her violent death, Portillo interviews Selena’s family and friends as well as the devoted fans that pilgrimage to Selena’s grave in Corpus Christi, Texas, to pay homage to the slain star.  Moving and provocative, this humble investigative portrait explores Selena’s cultural significance as a pop icon and shines a light on the hopes, fantasies, fears, and realities of young Latinas today.     

Columbus on Trial (1992):  

"Lourdes Portillo's work with the irreverent comedy troupe Culture Clash, Columbus on Trial, is a nutty, technically superb staging of a court battle between Columbus (Herbert Siguenza) and an American Indian lawyer (Ric Salinas) that nobody really wins." -- Robert Koehler, L.A. Times, February…