SEVENTH ANNUAL LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LAVINE/KEN BURNS PRIZE FOR FILM AWARDED TO “AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ”
Director David Alvarado Wins a $200,000 Cash Prize for His Film
About the Renowned Playwright and Screenwriter Behind “Zoot Suit” and “La Bamba”
$2.6 Million Has Been Awarded Since 2019
Washington, DC – October 22, 2025 – The Library of Congress, The Better Angels Society, Ken Burns, and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation have announced the winner of the seventh annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film (Prize for Film): AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ. The film, which examines the extraordinary life of renowned playwright and screenwriter Luis Valdez and was directed by David Alvarado, was awarded a $200,000 cash prize.
In the film, Alvarado chronicles how Luis Valdez illuminated the Mexican-American experience on stage and screen, and transformed the American cultural landscape. Born in Delano, California in 1940, Valdez wrote his first plays in grammar school, had his first play produced when he was a student at San Jose State University, and created El Teatro Campesino alongside the United Farm Workers, helping to inspire a broader Chicano theater movement.
Following a sold-out run of his landmark play Zoot Suit in Los Angeles (1978), Luis Valdez became the first Chicano director to have a play presented on Broadway when it made its New York premiere in 1979. The hit film La Bamba (1987), written and directed by Valdez, was also a cultural phenomenon and the first Hollywood blockbuster to focus on a Hispanic family’s experience. The film adaptations of Zoot Suit and La Bamba were both selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.
AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ was specifically recognized by the Prize for Film because of the skill with which its vibrant storytelling weaves together events across the last half of the 20th century, the use of previously unseen archival materials, and the exploration of the successes and failures in the long career of Luis Valdez. The themes of family, creativity, and personal resilience resonate throughout the film, which features extensive interviews with Valdez and is narrated by Edward James Olmos, who starred in the original production of Zoot Suit. The filmmakers also worked with UC Santa Barbara to digitize over 80,000 feet of never-before-seen footage of Teatro Campesino that was deteriorating and at risk of being permanently lost.
The runner-up for the Prize for Film, DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer, will receive a $50,000 cash prize. The film explores how baseball became an unlikely national pastime in Japan, despite the country’s cultural and political tensions with the U.S during the 20th century. The film offers a new take on the history of American and Japanese relations and sports as a cultural mediator, examining the bond that baseball created between the two countries. The story is brought to life by rich archival materials depicting the game’s unexpected ambassadors, including Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Masanori Murakami, Warren Cromartie, and Ichiro Suzuki.
Four finalists (listed below) will each receive a $25,000 cash prize.
The Prize for Film provides critical recognition and resources to filmmakers who produce exemplary documentary films that tell compelling stories about American history. It was established in 2019 by the Library of Congress and The Better Angels Society, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging Americans with their history through documentary film. This award is bestowed annually by the Library of Congress in partnership with The Better Angels Society and provides a cash prize of $200,000 to one winner, a secondary prize of $50,000 to one runner-up, and $25,000 to each of four other finalists. Core underwriting for this prize is provided by a generous gift from Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine through the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation.
“AMERICAN PACHUCO captures the life of a singular artist and the pulse of a particular moment in American history,” said Ken Burns. “Throughout the selection process, the film was praised as dramatic, compelling, relevant, and joyful. It illuminates a figure whose career in the arts broke down barriers and built up a fuller understanding of our shared American story. For the runner-up, baseball is a topic close to my heart, and DIAMOND DIPLOMACY gave me an even greater appreciation of how America’s pastime can transcend borders.”
“Luis Valdez created space on stage and in film for Mexican-American stories. The Library of Congress is pleased to recognize a documentary that illuminates the life of this writer and director who seeks to ‘create a common vision that speaks to an audience,’” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Randolph Newlen. “Our runner-up documentary explores baseball as a form of cultural ambassadorship between the United States and Japan. These films help us see not only what came before us, but also how those stories continue to shape our present moment.”
“We are proud to join Ken, The Better Angels Society, and the Library of Congress in honoring this year’s extraordinary films,” said Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine. “We were excited to see the theme of family explored in the winning film, which can be a great access point to a broader examination of history.”
“Each year, the Prize for Film reminds us that both making and watching American history documentaries is a powerful form of civic engagement, said Katherine Malone-France, President and CEO of The Better Angels Society. “The films recognized this year connect us to the past, to each other, and to the wider world. We’re pleased to honor these films and the filmmakers who have worked so hard to bring these stories forward, unearthing and preserving archival treasures as they do so.”
After robust peer review of all submissions, six finalists were selected by a National Jury, composed of experts with deep professional experience and expertise in how we preserve, examine, and tell the stories of our shared past: documentary filmmakers Julianna Brannum and Yoruba Richen, film executive Jacqueline Glover, authors Lisa See and Douglas Brinkley, museum director Annie Polland, Chief of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress, Rachael Stoeltje, and oral historian Doug Boyd.
Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Newlen, in consultation with Ken Burns, selected the winner and runner-up.
The winner was awarded on October 21, 2025, at a ceremony in Boston featuring Newlen, Burns, and Valdez. Sponsors for the event include Bain Capital and Shelley and Jonathan Isaacson.
Since 2019, when the Prize for Film started, $2.6 million has been distributed among filmmakers. Winning films have included FLANNERY (Directed by Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco, S.J.); HOLD YOUR FIRE (Directed by Stefan Forbes); GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY: THE BANKRUPTCY OF DETROIT (Directed by Sam Katz and James McGovern); BELLA! (Directed by Jeff L. Lieberman); PHILLY ON FIRE (Directed by Ross Hockrow and Tommy Walker); DROP DEAD CITY (Directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn); and CARTOON KINGS (Directed by Asaf Galay). These – and other finalist films – have been distributed through theatrical releases, film festivals, and major streaming platforms.
Through 2023, almost all of the Prize for Film winners and finalists have been broadcast across PBS, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and more. Many of the films have played major festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, and DOC NYC. Past recipients have also been nominated for or won major awards, including The Peabody Awards, NAACP Image Award, Emmy Awards, and the IDA Awards.
To learn more about the seventh annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, visit www.thebetterangelssociety.org.
WINNING FILMS
Winner: AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ, directed by David Alvarado
From farm fields to Broadway, Luis Valdez transformed American theater during the turbulent 1960s and 70s. This documentary chronicles how one man’s visionary artistry illuminated the Mexican-American experience through powerful stagecraft and created landmark films, including La Bamba, that forever altered our national cultural landscape and collective identity as Americans.
Runner-Up: DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer
150 years ago, a bat and a ball forged a bond between two nations, inspiring such unexpected ambassadors as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Masanori Murakami, Warren Cromartie, and Ichiro Suzuki. DIAMOND DIPLOMACY reveals how the iconic American pastime lands in Japan, endures war and racism, and becomes Japan’s national pastime.
FINALISTS
THE INQUISITOR, directed by Angela Tucker
THE INQUISITOR examines the life of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whose electrifying voice and moral clarity during President Richard Nixon’s impeachment process captivated the nation. From the 5th Ward of Houston to the halls of Congress, Jordan offers a compelling blueprint for navigating one of America’s most turbulent political chapters.
ONE MORE MISSION, directed by Edward Gray
Soldiers who survive a war take on another risky mission. ONE MORE MISSION tells the stories of some of the thousands of veterans of the U.S. war in Vietnam who joined together to try to convince their fellow Americans to stop it.
SOUL PATROL, directed by J.M. Harper
When Vietnam’s first African American special operations long-range patrol (LRP) team reunites after 50 years of silence, they embark on one final mission: bearing witness to their untold chapter of American history.
THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT, directed by Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk & Pedro Kos
Three decades ago, the world was poised to stop global warming. Using exclusively archival material, THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT tells the origin story of the climate crisis and how a political battle in the George H.W. Bush administration changed the course of history.
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About Ken Burns
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. Future film projects include The American Revolution, Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
About The Better Angels Society
The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film. They are the pre-eminent organization supporting American history documentary filmmakers in ways that advance education and civic engagement. The Society works to ensure that films about American history by emerging and established filmmakers are completed, broadcast, promoted, and shared with wide audiences. The organization raises funds to support individual films in partnership with public media and
provides recognition and mentoring to student filmmakers through programs like the Next Generation Angels Awards in partnership with National History Day® and the Latest Generation Film Contest in partnership with the Lincoln Presidential Foundation.
About The Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation
Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine established the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation to focus a significant portion of their philanthropic efforts toward leveling the playing field for individuals and families. The Foundation works to address pressing social challenges in education, community and public service, health and welfare, discrimination, and poverty. The Foundation supports the multi-disciplinary efforts of organizations that serve to strengthen society through research, innovation, public policy, direct service, and advocacy.
About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Explore collections, reference services, and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
MEDIA CONTACT: dkctbas@dkcnews.com
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Photo by Merrick Morten
