Dolores Huerta Biopic Update Shared As Filmmaker Gregory Nava Mourns Civil Rights Icon Following Her Death At 96

Frida screenwriter and Selena writer/director Gregory Nava is mourning the loss of his friend Dolores Huerta, the civil rights icon who died today at age 96.

Nava and his wife Barbara Martinez Jitner were by Huerta’s side in her final moments.

“We were blessed to be by Dolores’s side last night in Bakersfield, to say goodbye and stand with her family in love. Dolores was a great light and a fearless warrior for justice. She set the world ablaze with her passion for equality and inspired generations to discover their own power,” they said in a joint statement.

Throughout her life, Huerta fought for the rights of many, including, in large part, that of farmworkers and their families. Channeling that passion into action led her to co-found the labor union, the National Farm Workers Association, alongside Cesar Chavez, which later became United Farm Workers. She organized multiple boycotts that forced the agriculture industry to shift, leading to improved working conditions and the passing of legislation that secured the migrant farmworkers’ rights to bargain collectively, among many other achievements.

Finding inspiration in Huerta’s life, Nava announced in 2024 that his next film would be a biopic on Huerta, a passion project he will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Martinez Jitner. Earlier today, Nava confirmed the script has been completed, and he and his team will be taking the next steps to move the project along.

For many years, Huerta turned down offers to have her story told on the big screen, but she changed her mind. In recent years, she realized that a movie would be a way to inspire the next generation of activists and organizers.

Nava and Martinez Jitner’s message also said, “In these last few years, Dolores and her beautiful family welcomed us even closer, entrusting us with the telling of her life-its extraordinary courage, its struggles and joys, its deepest pain. It has been one of the greatest privileges of our professional lives, and a deeply personal trust. We will honor it with tenderness and care, carrying her voice
and her story to generations yet to come.”

The upcoming film’s producer Ivette Rodriguez remembered spending time with Huerta in the past three years as the legendary activist’s story continued to unfold.

“Dolores inspired generations to recognize their own power and fight for dignity and justice. This is an extraordinary loss, and my heart is with her family. It has been the greatest honor to know Dolores and to work with Gregory and Barbara, whom she entrusted with her life story. That trust is a profound responsibility—one that will be honored with the love, care, and respect she deserves,” Rodriguez said.

Huerta is also admired for being a staunch supporter of women’s and voters’ rights who didn’t shy away from pushing Washington to change policies for the better, even in later years. She is famously known for coining the term “Sí, se puede,” a rallying cry used first during a hunger strike in 1972. The term was translated into English as “Yes, we can,” most famously used by Barack Obama in 2004 during his run for the U.S. Senate and again in 2008 when he ran for president—both times with Huerta’s full support. President Obama awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Before Nava’s new film hits theaters, Huerta can next be seen participating in the Ellen Gavin-directed Blood Money, a four-minute short film that examines the billion-dollar business behind America’s ICE detention system, the human cost of immigration enforcement, and the power of collective action. The project serves as one of her last on-screen appearances.