Hispanic Heritage Month—taking place this year from Monday, September 15 through Wednesday, October 15—ushers in a wave of film festivals across the United States that spotlight the latest works by US Latinx and Latin American filmmakers, bringing these stories to audiences nationwide. Beyond celebrating the diversity of voices and perspectives from these communities, the festivals also create vital spaces for cultural exchange and dialogue.
With programming that ranges from powerful dramas to lively comedies, the festivals invite audiences to engage with the complexity and richness of Latinx and Latin American life. Many also include conversations, workshops, and networking opportunities that nurture new voices and strengthen the next generation of filmmaking talent.
Don’t miss them!
GAINESVILLE LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
Gainesville, FL: September 11 — 28
Presented by the Latina Women’s League, the 21st edition of the Gainesville Latino Film Festival in Florida highlights Latin American culture through film, music, and dance. This year’s theme is “Enriching Cultures, Empowering Communities”, which aims to recognize that “migration is not a loss, but a transformation — of both people and places.”
Some of the titles on this year's lineup include Alex Rivera's docu-thriller on young undocumented immigrants who get arrested by Border Patrol The Infiltrators, Prodigal Daughter / Hija pródiga by Peruvian filmmaker Mabel Valdiviezo, and the Uruguayan film We Are Our Mountains / Somos nuestras montañas by Federico Lemos.
HOLA MEXICO FILM FESTIVAL
Los Angeles, CA: September 12 — 20
The largest Mexican film festival outside of Mexico, Hola México Film Festival returns for its 17th annual edition for a week-long celebration of Mexican cinema. From gripping dramas to heartfelt comedies, thrilling documentaries to spine-tingling horror, this year’s festival brings together an exciting lineup of films that showcase the richness and diversity of Mexican storytelling.
The opening night film is Cars, Weed & Rock 'n' roll / Autos, Mota y Rocanrol by José Manuel Cravioto, and includes also Corina by Urzula Barba Hopfner, La falla by Alana Simões, and Lazaro by Night / Lazaro de noche by Nicolás Pereda.
NEW YORK LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
New York, NY: September 13 — 22
The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF) is the premier Urban Latino film event in the country. Since its founding in 1999, the NYLFF produces culturally relevant and entertaining experiences that build audiences for Latino cinema, support the film community with professional development and foster relationships for Latino talent. Programming includes the flagship film festival in New York City, competition programs and community programs.
Some of this year’s spotlight screenings include Esta Isla, the powerful Tribeca-winning debut narrative feature from Puerto Rican filmmakers Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero, the Argentine film The Virgin of Quarry Lake / La virgen de la Tosquera by Laura Casabé, and Marianna Brennand’s Manas from Brazil.
AFI LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Silver Spring, MD: September 18 — October 9
The AFI Latin American Film Festival is one of North America’s largest and longest-running showcases of Latin American cinema. Now in its 36th year, the festival is one of Washington’s top cultural events and features award-winning films, in-person conversations with filmmaker guests and exciting embassy-hosted parties. With the inclusion of films from Spain and Portugal, the festival celebrates Ibero-American cultural connections during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Don’t miss your chance to see film festival favorites, local box-office hits and debut works by promising new talents. Join a diverse audience of film lovers!
The festival will open with the acclaimed Cannes Film Festival award-winning The Secret Agent / O Agente Secreto by Kleber Mendonça Filho from Brazil. The Centerpiece selections are the U.S. premiere of Uruguayan filmmaker Daniel Hendler’s comic caper A Loose End, direct from its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which follows a cheese-loving cop on the lam in Uruguay, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, a dazzling Technicolor-hued fantasy starring Diego Luna, Tonatiuh and Jennifer Lopez.
NEWFILMMAKERS LOS ANGELES' INFOCUS LATINX & HISPANIC CINEMA
Los Angeles, CA: September 19 — 20
On September 19 and 20 NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) will host its annual NFMLA Film Festival InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema program.
The selection features three short film programs showcasing significant and thought-provoking independent films by emerging filmmakers from and working in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela, Canada and the United States.
CINEMA TUCSÓN Presents: The Devil Smokes
Tucson, AZ: September 24
Cinema Tucsón, the cultural initiative featuring monthly screenings of Mexican films at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre, is proud to present The Devil Smokes by Ernesto Martínez Bucio. Set in Mexico City in the nineties, as crowds prepare to welcome Pope John Paul II, the Palacios López children are left waiting for someone who never returns—their mother. While their father sets off in search of his missing wife, the five siblings remain behind under the erratic care of their grandmother Romana, in a household where superstition and fear begin to take root.
Winner of the Best First Feature Award at the Berlin Film Festival, Ernesto Martínez Bucio’s remarkable and beguiling debut captures the uncanny blur between childhood fantasy and haunting reality. Mixing the intimacy of home movies with the disquiet intensity of its framing, the film weaves a portrait of a family teetering between devotion and madness, innocence and dread. Elevated by luminous performances from its young, non-professional cast, it is a tender yet unsettling tale of abandonment, belief, and the invisible forces that shape a generation.
CINEFEST LATINO BOSTON
Boston, MA: September 24 — 28
CineFest Latino Boston is an annual film festival conducted in Boston, highlighting stories by and about Latinos.
The festival is committed to using the power of film to break stereotypes, bring cultures and communities together and reveal the complex issues affecting the Latinx community in the United States, as well as communities in Latin America and Spain.
PORTLAND LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Portland, OR: September 24 — November 12
The Portland Latin American Film Festival (PDXLAFF) serves the community as a non-profit cultural promoter under the guidance of the Hollywood Theatre. We are dedicated to showcasing perspectives of Latin American culture through an exploration of Latin film and increasing the visibility of Latin American cinema locally. PDXLAFF presents films with universal appeal that can be enjoyed by native Spanish, Portuguese, and English speakers, and other lovers of the Latin culture.
The 19th edition of the film festival hosted by the Hollywood Theatre will screen a diverse lineup of new and classic films, including Tribeca award-winning film, Esta Isla by Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero.
https://hollywoodtheatre.org/series/portland-latin-american-film-festival/
GEORGIA LATINO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Atlanta, GA: October 2 — 5
2025 marks the 14th anniversary of the Georgia Latino International Film Festival (GALIFF), produced every year in Atlanta during Hispanic Heritage month. Founded by the Georgia Latino Film Alliance (GALFA), an Afro–Latino multi-disciplinary arts nonprofit, the festival aims to develop, promote and increase awareness of Latino cinema among Latinos and other communities by presenting a wide variety of films, music and entertainment.
MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL’S ¡VIVA EL CINE!
Mill Valley, CA: October 2 — 12
Presented by the Mill Valley Film Festival, ¡Viva el Cine! celebrates the richness of Ibero-American cinema, encompassing films in Spanish and Portuguese languages and Latinx and Latin American cinema from around the world.
The initiative curates a selection of films that resonate deeply with these communities, bringing the finest international and independent films to the screen.
NORTH CAROLINA LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL: A Message From The Elders"
Durham and Chapel Hill, NC: October 3 — 16
Hosted and presented by UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, The North Carolina Latin American Film Festival (NCLAFF) celebrates the power and artistry of Latin America’s film and audiovisual production.
This year, the festival is titled “A Message From The Elders” that tells stories of indigenous peoples and the ecosystems they protect, who are at the center of much debate today. Minority stories that speak loudly to the majority that benefits from the environmental services and conservation of the diversity of the planet, and from the labor that sustains the threads of life on this part of the planet.
MSP FILM'S CINE LATINO
Minneapolis, MN: October 8 — 12
Cine Latino returns October 8–12 to The Main Cinema for five days of Spanish- and Portuguese-language films, special guests, fiestas, food trucks, and more!
The 13th annual celebration of Latin American, US Latino, and Ibero Cinema honors the longstanding film traditions across these communities, showcasing a richness of stories, the beauty of place, and vibrant cultures through the power of film.
RAZA CÓSMICA
San Antonio, TX: October 9-11
Science fiction has stoked a sense of wonder and liberation for people of color for generations. Launched by MonteVideo in 2021 to showcase sci-fi and speculative films by Latinx and BIPOC filmmakers, Raza Cósmica is the signature program in our ongoing efforts to support Latinx-themed independent film screenings for underserved communities. The 5th annual festival runs October 9-11, 2025 and spotlights films from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Scotland, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and the United States.
Lucia Garibaldi’s feature film, A Bright Future, will open the festival fresh off its Tribeca premiere where it won the Viewpoints Award for its original and inventive voice.
HAITIAN DOMINICAN TRANSNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
New York City, NY: October 9-12
Nou Akoma Nou Sinèji Haitian Dominican Transnational Film Festival aims to showcase art and films from emerging and accomplished industry professionals of the Haitian Dominican African Diaspora to authentically reflect our community’s diverse experiences and backgrounds.
Its programming in 2025 promotes cultural diversity through various art genres, including dramatic, documentary, experimental, short films, and panel discussions.
SEATTLE LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
Seattle, WA: October 10 — 18
Aiming to bring audiences and filmmakers together for an educational experience and to support the magic of filmmaking as part of Hispanic and Romance Language Cinema globally, the Seattle Latino Film Festival showcases groundbreaking films each year.
