I was skeptical going into the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Selena y Los Dinos, the new documentary about Selena Quintanilla directed by Isabel Castro (who also made Mija) in collaboration with the surviving Quintanilla family.

A new documentary film on the pop sensation Selena Quintanilla, titled ‘Selena y Los Dinos,’ made its premiere at Sundance Film Festival.

The tale of her short life and horrible death has been retold over and over, most famously in the 1997 movie “Selena” starring Jennifer Lopez and most recently in the widely panned 2020 Netflix series “Selena: The Series.

Bookending her film with TV interviews in which Selena talks about her career ambitions and, poignantly, how she would like to be remembered, Castro takes a standard chronological approach. The film charts the Texas-born Selena’s rise from singing at quinceañeras,

If a live performance can be deemed hallowed ground, then Selena Quintanilla at the Houston Astrodome in February 1995, a month before her untimely death, certainly qualifies. From that night, the heartfelt opening verse of her anthem "Como La Flor" sounds like a prayer,

The musician's family executive produces, narrates and provides previously unseen archival footage for director Isabel Castro's affectionate film, premiering at Sundance.