ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION Documentary to Premiere on PBS VOCES
Director Travis Gutiérrez Senger blends fiction and nonfiction with a new generation of Latinx artists.
A documentary examining ASCO, the Chicano art collective that emerged from Los Angeles in the 1970s, is set to premiere on the PBS series VOCES. Titled ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION, the film is executive produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna and directed by Travis Gutiérrez Senger, who combines nonfiction and fiction storytelling alongside a new generation of artists to explore the group's legacy.
Harry Gamboa Jr., Glugio 'Gronk' Nicandro, Willie Herrón, and Patssi Valdez met in high school and began making art as teenagers in 1970. They formed ASCO, from the Spanish word for disgust, and their work interrogated the Vietnam War, police brutality, Hollywood, and the art world through incendiary performances, photography, video, and muralism. Frustrated by the stereotyping and the lack of access for themselves and their peers, ASCO began creating work across Los Angeles. They reimagined entire films with Brown protagonists in a series of film stills entitled 'No Movies.'
By the 1980s, ASCO expanded to over 20 people, creating video works and theatrical productions with younger artists before the group disbanded in 1987. While each of the founders achieved success in the art world, ASCO remained in relative obscurity until the early 21st century, when a new group of curators began showcasing their work internationally and introducing ASCO to a new generation. They are now recognized as one of the major art groups of the 20th century.
The film examines ASCO's influence on today's artists, creating modern-day 'No Movies,' directed by Gutiérrez Senger and made in ASCO's collaborative spirit with the next generation of Latinx artists. These 'No Movies' reimagine what is possible in cinema and art, just as ASCO did, leading to an intergenerational pop-up exhibition featuring classic ASCO works alongside contemporary Latinx artists.
'ASCO: Without Permission' also includes interviews along with ASCO's archive, and celebrates a group of creators who were ahead of their time.
Says Director Gutiérrez Senger, 'My hope is the film is a manifesto, the ASCO manifesto, for the next generation of the Chicano and Latinx community, as well as any marginalized group that wants to take from ASCO's playbook. I hope the film inspires people to be daring and take risks, to be open to working and trusting one another. I'm honored to tell their story and help open the next chapter of Latinx history where our stories and work can be as bold and electrifying as ASCO's.'
'We're excited to present this documentary and share the groundbreaking work of artists who refused to be silenced, dared to stand up to institutions and brought their art into the streets for everyone in their community,' says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Producer of VOCES. 'Their work deserves to be widely known and this film does a brilliant job of bringing their art to life and conveying why they matter as much now as ever.'
VOCES 'ASCO: Without Permission' will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, VIZIO and LG Smart TVs.
A collection of digital learning resources drawn from the film will be available on PBS LearningMedia, a digital media platform offering PreK-12 educators thousands of free, high-quality classroom resources. The resources will be aligned with state and national learning standards and will cover topics typically taught in US History classes, including Latino American history, the Chicano movement, and the Vietnam War.
VOCES 'ASCO: Without Permission' is a co-production of North of Now, ANM Films, La Corriente Del Golfo Production and ITVS in association with Exile Content, Tiny Giant and Wild Child Studios. A presentation of VOCES.
About the Filmmaker
Travis Gutiérrez Senger (Writer/Director) is a Mexican American director, writer and producer. His recent project, 'ASCO: Without Permission,' a genre-defying film about the Chicano, avant-garde art group ASCO, premiered at SXSW 2025. The film is executive produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. The project has received support from the Ford Foundation, Film Independent, the Dolby Creator Lab and was recently given the Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latinx Film. His prior narrative and documentary projects, Desert Cathedral, White Lines and the Fever, along with a number of shorts, have won top prizes at festivals such as Tribeca, SXSW, and SIFF.
About VOCES
Produced by Latino Public Broadcasting, the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES features the best of Latino arts, culture and history and shines a light on current issues that impact Latino Americans. Devoted to exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience, VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience — on TV, online and on the PBS app. Luis Ortiz is series producer; Sandie Viquez Pedlow is executive producer.
About Latino Public Broadcasting
For over 28 years, Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) has been developing award-winning film and digital media that explores the history, arts and culture of Latino Americans, bringing these powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience on PBS — on TV, online and on the PBS app.
LPB projects have spotlighted Latino contributions to the arts (Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined, John Leguizamo's Road to Broadway, Raúl Julia: The World's a Stage); told the story of Latino icons from Dolores Huerta to Luis Valdez, Tito Puente to Celia Cruz, Ruben Salazar to Roberto Clemente; explored history and politics through a Latino lens (John Leguizamo's American Historia, Latino Vote 2024); and told stories from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Latin America (Water for Life, Reportero), many as part of its signature PBS series VOCES.
LPB programs have won over 130 awards, including three prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards as well as Emmys, Imagen Awards and documentary awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including Festival Favorite, Audience Award, NEXT Special Award for Creative Expression, and Best Director. LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. Sandie Viquez Pedlow is executive director of LPB; Edward James Olmos is co-founder and chairman.
Formed in 1970 by Harry Gamboa Jr., Glugio Gronk Nicandro, Willie Herrón, and Patssi Valdez, ASCO used performance, photography, video, and muralism to confront the Vietnam War, police brutality, and exclusion from Hollywood and the art world. The group, whose name comes from the Spanish word for disgust, expanded to more than 20 members before disbanding in 1987 and has since been recognized as one of the major art collectives of the 20th century.
