Ernie Bustamante

Emmy-nominated television writer, filmmaker, and educator Ernie Bustamante bridges the entertainment industry and the classroom through courses, guest lectures, workshops, and campus conversations. Drawing on more than fifteen years as a professional television writer and filmmaker, his teaching empowers students to tell authentic stories, understand the history of representation, and build sustainable careers in film and television.

An original university course created by Ernie Bustamante that examines the history, evolution, and cultural impact of Latinos in American television—from early portrayals and groundbreaking performers to today's generation of writers, producers, and showrunners.

Created to help prepare the next generation of Latino storytellers, the course combines television history, media analysis, and professional industry experience while encouraging students to critically examine representation and imagine the future of American television.

• Latinos in American Television
• Writing for Television Comedy
• Children's Television & Representation
• Documentary Filmmaking: From Concept to Distribution
• From Television Writer to Independent Filmmaker
• Building a Career in Hollywood

Ernie regularly participates in post-screening conversations and classroom discussions exploring documentary filmmaking, children's media, Latino representation, television writing, and careers in the entertainment industry.

• SXSW EDU
• Museum of the Moving Image
• San Diego Latino Film Festival
• Miami Film Festival
• San Francisco International Film Festival
• DOC NYC

Ernie has been featured as a television writing expert discussing storytelling, representation, and the craft of writing for television. His commentary has appeared in Yahoo Entertainment, where he analyzed the challenges of ending iconic television series such as Cheers and Seinfeld.

Ernie is available for semester courses, guest lectures, keynote presentations, campus screenings, workshops, and student Q&A sessions. Programs can be tailored for film and television, communications, media studies, Latino studies, ethnic studies, and interdisciplinary audiences.