Following its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Roadside Attractions has acquired the critically-hailed (100% on Rottentomatoes/35 reviews) documentary RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT, and is planning a robust theatrical release on June 18, 2021, only in theaters.   Roadside took North American rights excluding the TV license to PBS' American Masters, which will present the exclusive U.S. broadcast premiere of the doc after a broad theatrical release. The deal was negotiated by Matt Burke and Josh Braun of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers with Roadside's Howard Cohen and Angel An.

Over a 70+ year career, Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time.  Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in "West Side Story" (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.

RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno's talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for LatinX representation and forged the path for new generations of artists.

In addition to Moreno, others featured in the Mariem Pérez Riera-directed doc include George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo.