This month of March brings four U.S. Latinx and Latin American film festivals, in California, Florida, and Texas. These events will screen numerous recent productions, in in a hybrid format, both with in-person screenings and streaming options, allowing local and national audiences to catch some of the best contemporary films from Latin American and from the U.S., made by Latinx directors.
Check them out!
MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL
March 4—13
Even though the Miami Film Festival is technically not a Latin American film festival, throughout the years it has become one of the most leading film festivals for the exhibition of Latin American cinema in the United States, and its 39th edition is no exception. The 2022 edition of the Florida event will screen over 120 films from 35 countries, with a sizable Latin American representation including the Oscar-shortlisted Panamanian drama Plaza Catedral by Abner Benaim as opening film. The festival will also present a spotlight on Dominican cinema—including the world premiere of José María Cabral’s Parsley / Perejil—and several films in their Ibero-American, first feature and documentary competitions.
SAN DIEGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
March 10—20
The 29th edition of the San Diego Latino Film Festival, presented by Media Arts Center San Diego, will be back in person for the first time since 2019 at AMC Mission Valley, with some titles also streaming online. This year, the festival boasts over 160 films from Latin America and the United States, plus special screenings, guest filmmaker and celebrity events, live music events, and the annual Sabor Latino Food, Beer & Wine Festival. Some highlights include Clara Sola by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, The Great Movement by Kiro Russo, and The Box by Lorenzo Vigas.
WATSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
March 11—20
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, the Watsonville Film Festival in California highlights Latinx filmmakers and stories that illuminate our shared humanity and inspire positive change. For a decade the festival has worked to shift disempowering narratives and to nurture an ecosystem for independent filmmakers in Watsonville and our Monterey Bay region. The 2022 edition will present over 30 films—all of them streaming for free—including Maite Alberdi’s Oscar nominated documentary The Mole Agent, Trisha Ziff’s documentary Oaxacalifornia: The Return, Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features, and La Casa de Mama Icha by Óscar Molina; plus a special in-person 20th anniversary screening of Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso.
HOUSTON LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
March 23—27
The 6th edition of the Houston Latino Film Festival, championing the art and craft of Latino filmmakers and screenwriters, will take place March 23-27 at MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston screening over 80 films from Latin America, live music and more. At press time, the lineup had not yet been made public.
