This year’s Tribeca Film Festival (June 4–15) brings a powerful lineup of U.S. Latino and Latin American films spanning fiction, documentary, and music. From Indigenous resistance in the Brazilian Amazon in Yanuni (Closing Night Gala), to Puerto Rican class tensions in Esta Isla, to poetic Chilean and Mexican coming-of-age tales (Cuerpo Celeste, Twelve Moons), these stories pulse with political urgency and emotional depth. Sci-fi meets social commentary in Uruguay’s A Bright Future and the gritty redemption drama Kites set in Rio’s favelas. U.S. Latino directors spotlight untold stories—from racetrack laborers in Backside, to language preservation in Runa Simi, to Kalief Browder’s legacy in For Venida, for Kalief. Music takes center stage too, with intimate portraits of Depeche Mode, Becky G, and competitive a cappella in Just Sing. Tribeca 2025 shows Latino cinema in all its complexity: bold, personal, and boundary-pushing.

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), taking place May 28 – June 1, 2025, is a vibrant celebration of Latino stories told through film, television, animation, and music. Now an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival for Best U.S. Latino Live Action and Animated Shorts, LALIFF continues to elevate diverse voices on a global stage. This year, the festival debuts LALIFF Eastside, a new spotlight on L.A.-based filmmakers sharing powerful, crowd-pleasing stories. With the LALIFF Industry Forum offering networking and career-building opportunities, and the LALIFF Film Market connecting U.S. Latino films with buyers and distributors, this is more than a festival—it’s a launchpad for talent and a must-attend event for film lovers.

The 2025 festival will present 21 feature films from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela. These films are part of the main feature lineup, in addition to the Opening and Closing Night selections. Among them are four world premieres, including Brownsville Bred and Papa Melissa, both developed through the Works in Progress finishing fund. 

The New York-based festival ended in May but a special edition is headed to Elizabeth, New Jersey at the Ritz Theater. Stay tuned for more details at colfilmny.com

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) is a premiere international event dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latino perspective, whether through film, television, digital, music, art, or any other vehicle, regardless of platform.

The nation's longest-running Latino film festival returns for its 41st edition, called Frontera In Focus. It will present local and international films, including the Femme Frontera and Texas Filmmakers Showcases.

San Antonio: July 11 - 14. Full details here.

Hola Mexico will bring contemporary Mexican cinema to Los Angeles for the 11th year this spring.

Los Angeles: May 31 - June 8. Full details here.

The Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PHLAFF) was established in 2012 and has become the Greater Philadelphia region’s only festival showcasing the extraordinary and innovative work of emerging and established Latin American and Latino filmmakers. Each year, the Festival includes screenings of ground-breaking works from all genres. Festival programs attract a diverse audience, developing a new space in the Philadelphia region where filmmakers, actors, and producers can meet with other artists, engage with audiences and present and discuss innovative work.

Philadelphia: May 30 - June 2. Full details here.

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents the 14th edition of its Latin Wave festival, featuring contemporary cinema from across Latin America.

Houston: May 2- 5. Full details here.

The 22nd Annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival presents world-class narrative and documentary feature and short films and videos, as well as experimental, animation, and music video selections, in competitive and non-competitive sections.

The festival showcases contemporary films and videos from Latin America (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) and the Iberian Peninsula. Films and videos made by or about Latinxs in the U.S. and the rest of the world, as well as films and videos by or about Indigenous groups of the Americas are also invited to participate.

Austin, TX: May 1 - 5. Full details here.

HFFNY celebrates its 20th year with a selection of Latino films from the U.S. and abroad, with a special focus on Cuba.

New York: April 9 - 16. Full details here.

One of the nation’s largest and most prestigious Latino film festivals celebrates its 35th birthday in 2019! The Festival promotes Latino culture in the United States by presenting the best and most recent films from Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. The Festival is non-competitive. However, the most popular feature narrative, documentary and short are given the Audience Choice Award.

Chicago: March 28 - April 11. More info here.

The Houston Latino Film Festival will be presented on March 28th - 31st, 2019 at Talento Bilingue de Houston and The MATCH. Join us for a weekend to celebrate and enjoy compelling films from the brightest and emerging filmmakers from the U.S., Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

Houston: March 28 - 31. More info here.

Always boasting a broad selection of Latin American films, the Miami Film Fest returns for its 36th edition this March.

Miami: March 1 - 10. Full lineup and details here.

Cine Latino Minneapolis St. Paul showcases 13 features from across North and South America, the Caribbean, and Spain—five of which are best foreign-language Oscar submissions—along with 13 short films. This year, Cine Latino puts the ​Spotlight on Women in Film, strong and talented women, both behind and in front of the camera, from around the Spanish-speaking world.​​

Minneapolis: Nov. 8 - 11. Full lineup and details here.

Several Latin American films are featured in this year’s fest, including the Colombian films Matar a Jesus and Pájaros de verano; Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma and The Guardians from Mexico; Chilean Tarde para morir joven; and:

¡Las Sandinistas!, Nicaragua/USA, 2018.

¡Las Sandinistas! reveals the untold stories of Nicaraguan women warriors and social revolutionaries who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, the ensuing US-backed Contra War, and documents their leadership in the continuing struggle for justice today. The film reveals a magical moment in world history when thousands of female rebel fighters transformed society’s definition of womanhood and leadership. Nicaraguan women from every social class fought on the front lines on an unprecedented scale in the Sandinista rebel army, and after the defeat of the brutal Somoza dictatorship, these same women pioneered groundbreaking nationwide medical, social, and education programs. Today, as the current Sandinista government is erasing these women’s stories of heroism, social reform, and military accomplishments from history books, these same women are fighting to reclaim history – and are once again leading inspiring popular movements for equality and democracy.

Tucson: Nov. 8 - 15. Full lineup and details here.

This year’s edition features several films from U.S.-based Latinos. Here’s one highlight:

Harvest Season, US, 2018
Lush and luxurious, California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys are known for their top-notch wine making. The unsung heroes of the industry are the vineyard workers and small producers, who lovingly oversee all aspects of the wine-making process, from vine to vintage. Unfolding over the course of one of the most dramatic harvests in history, Bernardo Ruiz’s film follows three people whose lives are rooted in wine making, immersing the audience in the challenging and unpredictable process.

New York: Nov. 8 - 15. Full lineup and details here.

This year’s festival includes several Latin American films: Argentina’s El Angel, Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, Paraguay’s Las Herederas and:

Pájaros de verano, Colombia, 2018.
In 1970s Colombia, a narco-trafficking era known as “la Bonanza Marimbera” pulls an indigenous Wayuu family into the fray as they enter the booming business of selling marijuana to Americans. Led by matriarch Ursula Pushaina, the “Birds of Passage”—drug runners—face the constant risk of violence and incarceration from the outsiders in Northern Colombia. The cultural differences between the native population and the newcomers begin a brutal war that threatens to destroy the Wayuu way of life. The strong and impulsive women and men must fight to maintain their livelihoods, culture, and traditions.

Charlottesville: Nov. 1 - 4. Full lineup and details here.

A place in Georgia where Latino film executives, directors and artists at the forefront of the Latino Film, TV, new media and animation industry can come together to discuss the future of our industry and create a vehicle to develop the next generation of Georgia Latino filmmakers. Includes films, workshops, and panels.

Atlanta: Oct. 26 - 28. Full lineup and details here.

NewFest, an international LGBT film festival, has films from Peru (Retablo), Colombia (Eva + Candela), Paraguay (Las Herederas), Brazil (Hard Paint), and many more.

Here’s one highlight:

Bixa Travesty, Brazil
Black Brazilian transgender singer Linn da Quebrada weaponizes the trans body and music for political protest. Linn and childhood friend Jup do Bairro use extravagantly costumed music performances to dazzle audiences while opposing their country’s white heteronormative order. Figuring her embodied existence as resistance, Linn eschews the role of cis woman, choosing a fluid gender identity instead. Full of funny and intimate moments, the film advocates for personal choice against a society that imposes static gender identity.

New York: Oct. 24 - 30. Full lineup and details here.

The Hola Mexico Film Festival is the largest festival of Mexican cinema outside Mexico. The Hola Mexico Tour 2018 brings 8 of the best Mexican films that appeared during the 2018 Hola Mexico Film Festival in Los Angeles, including Me Gusta pero Me Asusta, Camino a Marte, Vuelven, Los Adioses, and more.

San Diego: October 19 - 25. Full lineup and details here.

The Tampa Bay Latin Film Festival will bring feature, documentary and short Latin American films to the Tampa Bay community. The Festival hopes to answer the questions: What is happening in Latin American film? Who are the emerging filmmakers from that region and what inspires them? The mission also includes spotlighting the work of Latin American filmmakers in the United States. 

St. Petersburg: Oct. 19 - 21. Full lineup and details here.

MVFF’s ¡Viva el Cine! showcases 15 prize-winning Spanish language and Latin American films that seek to engage and embrace the Spanish speaking audience.  These public screenings create a unique community where history, culture, and identity can be explored through the magic of movies.  With new stories from Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Spain, Argentina, and the US, ¡Viva el Cine! presents images of Latinos that are authentic and diverse, reflecting upon the civilization and stories of our neighbors to the south.

San Rafael: Oct. 4 - 14. Full lineup and details here.

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers’ (NALIP) is hosting their 2018 Latino Media Fest, where Latinx filmmakers got the opportunity to showcase their talent and diverse voices. For the last year NALIP has been working with 10 incredible filmmakers as part of NALIP’s incubator programs. After many months of hard work, these Latino Lens Finalists were able to screen their short films in front of an audience for the first time at Century City’s AMC Theater.

Los Angeles: Oct. 3 - 5. Full lineup and details here.

The 2018 NC Latin American Film Festival brings together an eclectic selection of new films from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Ranging from political documentaries to sci-fi psycho-sexual dramas, from essayistic and autobiographic found (and historical) footage films to irreverent comedies, this diverse constellation of works is united by their cinematic exploration of moments of transformation (the beginning and end of revolutionary armed struggle) — the moments when individuals, communities, or even nations are at crossroads of dangers and/or possibilities. All films are free and open to the public.

Chapel Hill and Durham, NC: Oct. 3 - Nov. 12. Full lineup and information here.

Since its inception in 2001, the Boston Latino International Film Festival (BLIFF) has been committed to using the power of film to break stereotypes, bring cultures and communities together and reveal the complex issues that affect the Latino community in the United States and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Boston: Sept. 27 - 30. Full lineup and details here.

This year's festival includes new Brazilian film as well as a look to the past classics of Brazilian cinema. Carlos Diegues, one of the founders of Cinema Novo, is the subject of a retrospective including Orfeu, Deus e brasileiro, O maior amor do mundo, and Bye Bye Brasil.

Miami: Sept. 14 - 24. Full lineup and details here.

The Cine+Mas SF Latino Film Festival showcases the work of emerging and established filmmakers from the US, Latin America, Spain and Portugal with a distinctly Latin American/Latino experience or point of view. 

San Francisco: Sept. 14 - 30. Full lineup and details here.

Now in its 29th year, the AFI Latin American Film Festival is one of North America's largest and long-running showcases of Latin America cinema. With the inclusion of films from Spain and Portugal, the festival celebrates Ibero-American cultural connections during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Highlights from this year's slate of early announcements include Sundance Film Festival award winners THE QUEEN OF FEAR (Argentina) and TIME SHARE (Mexico); acclaimed genre-bending Brazilian werewolf movie GOOD MANNERS; Colombian graphic novel adaptation VIRUS TROPICAL, winner of this year's SXSW Audience Award; Peruvian drama RETABLO, winner of the Crystal Bear and Teddy Jury Award for Best First Feature Film at the 2018 Berlinale; and the U.S. premieres of Puerto Rican drama SILENCE OF THE WIND and historical epic MORAZÁN, the first official Oscar® submission for Honduras.

Silver Spring: Sept. 13 - Oct. 3 at AFI Silver.

A promising new wave of movies by female Latin America filmmakers will make a mark on the 14th Gainesville Latino Film Festival. Feature films, short films, speakers, and other events will take place in 13 locations in the Gainesville area.

Gainesville, FL: Sept 13 - 30. Full lineup and details here. All events are free admission.