Dolores Huerta, who worked hand-in-hand with Chavez during his crusade, saw the movie for the first time on Thursday in L.A. She said it's impressive. It's called "History is Made One Step at a Time" and some Hollywood stars like John Malkovich and America Ferrara play starring roles in the film.
The journey of Cesar Chavez has been recreated by producers in a movie with big names and a very Hollywood feel. Dolores Huerta lived what the movie shows. She is the co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union.
"It's dramatized, so they had to crunch a lot of information into an hour and a half, and so some things aren't exactly the way that they happened, but they definitely portray the struggles that we had to go through," said Huerta.
The movie depicts the struggles lived by farm workers, including Chavez, and how he balanced his role as a husband and father, while peacefully but passionately fighting for fair pay and better working conditions for those who worked the fields.
Actress Rosario Dawson plays the role of Huerta in the movie.
"This was one of the largest non-violent movements that took over the world," said Dawson. "You know, when you start really getting into the research and details of it, you're just baffled that he does not have a national holiday yet."
Huerta helped before the movie was complete, to make sure the information was accurate -- especially providing details of important events.
"Unfortunately they really didn't consult with me. I did find out when they were already in filming when I was able to get a copy of the script, and I saw that they had a lot of factual errors, like dates and things of that nature, and so I did contact them and I did ask them to correct some of these errors, and they did," said Huerta.
The film was shot far away from the Valley, in the north Mexican state of Sonora. It was four years in the making and a real challenge to get done.
"It was impossible to finance," said producer Pablo Cruz. "It was very difficult to shoot. It was very difficult to finish it, and now we're here."
Huerta believes the biographical story is educational and important because it shows how history was made right here, where we live.
"We not only want the Latino community because it kind of affirms what they know, what they've lived through and what they know about, but then we want the rest of the public to see it because you know, farmworkers feed us; they are out there in the fields every single day toiling to put the food on our table," said Huerta.
President Barack Obama also watched the movie during a special showing at the White House. In Fresno, the movie will be debuting on Friday, March 28, and running at least through April 3.
