- 2005: First Spanish-language film in more than 15 years "Voces inocentes/Innocent Voices" set in El Salvador during the years of civil war in the '80s
- 1999: Directed "Message in a Bottle," starring Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn and Paul Newman
- 1994: Directed Meg Ryan in her emotional portrayal of an alcoholic wife and mother in "When a Man Loves a Woman"
- 1990: Directed first American feature, "White Palace," starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader
- 1987: Won major world-wide attention for "Gaby - A True Story," the poignant study of a woman he learned about from a television program, a writer coping with cerebral palsy
- 1982: Directed first feature, "Motel"
- 1976: Directed first short, "Silent Music"
- Returned to Mexico; directed short films and documentaries for the Instituto Nacional Indigenista, Conacine, SA and Centro de Producion de Cortometraje




