"Playing Sam" Gets Latine Storytelling Right — and We Should All Pay Attention

The saying that Black and brown people must work twice as hard to succeed in life, particularly in the States, still holds true today, with Hollywood serving as a prime example. It's 2024 — yet consistent, accurate, and positive Latine representation in media and entertainment remains lacking.

Shows that actually get Latine storytelling right, like Gloria Calderón's "One Day at a Time," Netflix's "Gentefied," Hulu's "This Fool," and Paramount's "De La Calle" continue to get canceled, even though Latines account for over 19 percent of Americans. We have a buying power of over $1.7 trillion, and we're avid entertainment consumers, consistently showing up at the box office in high numbers. Despite Hollywood's apparent claim that there's a lack of Latine talent in the country, Nuyorican director Ramon Pesante's feature film "Playing Sam," now streaming on Roku, illuminates the real issue: Latine actors are continually overlooked for roles that aren't stereotypical Latine archetypes.

Growing up as the child of a struggling Afro-Boricua actress from the Bronx, Pesante had a specific story that he wanted to tell. The NYC-based filmmaker, Emmy, and Webby-nominated writer, director, producer, and Silver Telly award winner created "Playing Sam," a "semi-autobiographical" film inspired by his mother that captures the struggles of breaking into Hollywood as a Latina actress. The feature follows Samantha (played by Jenni Ruiza from HBO's "Fantasmas"), a non-Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican actress from the Bronx. Sam's left to soothe her broken heart after her boyfriend's acting career takes off and he leaves her, while facing constant rejection for not fitting Hollywood's narrow stereotypes. Her accent isn't "Latina enough." Her look isn't "Latina enough." And her aura isn't "spicy enough." "Playing Sam" highlights the lack of diverse representation that sadly, still presents itself as a problem today.

"What struck me was the comparisons between my mother's experience and Jenni's experience. My first introduction to acting and the world of production and Latinos on screen or in theater was my mother's experience," Pesante tells PS. "She was a young aspiring actress in her 20s and 30s, and I got to see firsthand the woes of being an Afro-Latina, non-Spanish speaking actor who struggled to be seen for who she was — and not what she's not — and struggling to fit into this really small box that wasn't realistic."

Pesante recognized the same struggles his mother faced years ago as a Latina actress, affecting so many of his Latine actor friends today.

"It's been 30 years, and nothing has changed," says Pesante. "[Some] things have changed, but I noticed that there were still some similarities that [Latine actors are] still experiencing. The lightbulb moment for me was when I remembered hearing my mother practice an accent and me going, 'That's not you, mom. That's not who you are.' And her having to play up this accent [and] this spiciness."

There's a scene in the film where Sam is asked if she's an actress and what she's done. "What have I done?" she asks herself out loud before uttering, "Some stage and a lot of auditions." Sam's fellow Latine actor friends all find themselves in the same situation, constantly auditioning for roles only to learn that the casting director doesn't find them stereotypically Latine enough for the part.

"I know that it's low-hanging fruit to compare a white actor and a Latino actor, but Latinos have to be exceptional to be considered for a role," Pesante says. "They can't be 'too Latino' though. They have to be white-passing. They must have certain features for [casting directors] to go, 'OK, we'll accept this person, and they can play other roles because they just fit in so many different ways, and we can use that."

Before pursuing a multi-hyphenate career as a director, producer, writer, and filmmaker, Pesante started off as an actor himself.

"It scared me. I didn't want to be an actor. My mother made me do auditions and stuff like that," he shares. "As a kid, I did a little thing on the "Guiding Light," and I did a couple of extra roles, but I started seeing that I was falling into those patterns of, 'Hey, can you do the drug dealer thing? Can you do the abused child thing? And I didn't like the direction I was headed where people were asking for me to play stereotypical roles. I said, 'I don't want to do that.'"

Instead of ascending in the industry as an actor, Pesante became interested in becoming a change-maker to tell his community's stories. "I thought, how about I find a way to do them myself and create and feature characters that are normal to me? That feels relatable and will make viewers feel seen. Those were the things that drove me instinctually," he says.

Growing up in a family where everyone wanted him to take on service work, whether serving in the military or working as a garbage truck driver, it took Pesante time to figure out how to dip his toe into filmmaking. By his thirties, he had worked at media companies like BET and then on "The Wendy Williams Show," where he learned a lot about producing and scriptwriting. Simultaneously, he started branching out into writing and created his own short featured in multiple film festivals. Instead of waiting for Hollywood to greenlight his projects, Pesante realized the only way to make his dreams happen was to execute them himself.

"[I realized] I'm still going to have to make something to get my career as a filmmaker and director going, and I'm never going to get the opportunity from anyone," reveals Pesante. "I've always been stubborn that way. I [became] tired of people telling me to apply for this fellowship, or get a coach for this to get access to that. I'm sure I would eventually get access if I kept doing it. But if I waited that long, I wouldn't have developed the skills I have now because I did it myself."

It's hard not to notice a concerning dearth when we examine today's Latina actresses. We have icons like Rita Moreno and Salma Hayek. We have Latina actresses who are succeeding and fighting against stereotypes like Melissa Barrera, Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega. But considering Latines are the minority-majority in this country with the highest per capita annual film attendance at 3.3 times a year, we're the group that consistently boosts box office success — it makes zero sense that we aren't represented enough in front of and behind the camera. According to research by UCLA, only 7.2 percent of all film 2023 roles were held by Latines, with the share of Latine directors at a paltry 3.7 percent.

Actor John Leguizamo has built a platform on the lack of Latine roles that continue to disservice Hollywood. His latest project, "VOCES American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos," highlights the Latine community's significant impact on American culture and how these contributions are perpetually overlooked.

As a result, Pesante is on a mission to continue creating films like "Playing Sam" that showcase we are so much more than the stereotypes the industry still employs to diminish us.

"We are normal. We're not an archetype. We are still an archetype to the industry, but we are more," he says. "I don't want us to be archetypes anymore: the chola, the drug-abused woman, the prostitute, the drug dealer, the maid, the angry mom with the bata and the flip flops . . . I want to show that Latinas and Latinos can be more. We can be the caseworker instead of the person with the drug problem. Why can't a Latina be the person trying to help the person with the drug problem?"

"Playing Sam" premiered at 2023's American Black Film Festival and the New York Latino Film Festival. It nabbed Best Directing and Writing awards at both the Oscar Micheaux Film Festival and the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival. The cast also includes Marc Reign (NBC's "Law and Order: Organized Crime"), William DeMerrit ("Our Son"), Alana Johnson (Starz's "Power Book 2"), Victor Almanzar ("Riverside"), Phyllis Salaberrios ("The Refrigerator"), Julissa Peralta (Hulu's "Dress My Tour), and Jasmin Ruiz.

Even though "Playing Sam" became available to stream on Roku this Sept. 15, at the start of Latine Heritage Month, it hasn't garnered the attention it deserves — despite its powerful message and Pesante's relentless efforts to capture a story that challenges Hollywood's racism and gatekeeping problems. The film is a testament to what can be achieved when Latine creators seize control of their own narratives rather than waiting for Hollywood's approval. If we truly want more authentic Latine representation in film and television, we must create and support projects like "Playing Sam" that reflect our diverse experiences.

Johanna Ferreira is the content director for PS Juntos. With more than 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latine culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for numerous outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity.