America Ferrera is set to make her feature film directorial debut in the Netflix feature film, ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.’ The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Erika L. Sánchez. Linda Yvette Chávez will write the script for the movie.

The film and novel is about Julia Reyes – a teenager of first-generation immigrants who fails at being the ‘perfect daughter’. The ‘perfect daughter’ role belonged to her sister Olga, who tragically passed away in an accident on Chicago’s busy streets. The story centers around the family broken with grief and highlights the expectations and pressures Julia faces. 

Ferrera fell in love with the New York Times best-selling 2017 novel, ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter’ when she read it years ago and feels honored to direct Chávez’s adapted screenplay of Sanchez’s book. 

“The depth, wit and searing intelligence of her writing, and her young Latina heroine, struck me to my core and left me wanting so much more,” Ferrera said to NBC News. She went on to say, “The opportunity to direct the work of these two incredibly talented Latina writers is a dream come true. I can’t wait to share this film with the many fans of the novel, and to introduce this funny, profound, and resonant story to the world.”

Anonymous Content will partner with Aevitas Creative Management to produce “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.” The book’s author, Erika L. Sánchez, will also act as co-producer of the Netflix movie. 

While this is Ferrera’s first time directing a feature film, it is not her first time directing. She received credits for directing episodes of the NBC show Superstore and executively producing the Netflix upcoming series Gentefied. Ferrera’s also known for her influential acting work in projects such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ugly Betty, and Real Women Have Curves.

There is no official release date for I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Still, we highly anticipate its premiere on Netflix, which will most likely be sometime in 2022 due to COVID-19 safety protocols.