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The 42nd edition of the Sundance Film Festival held in Utah attracted Latin American film makers for years. For 11 days, thousands of viewers gather in Park City and Salt Lake City for a total of 97 selections from all over the world however, Latin America is also a major force in global cinema, powered by some of the strongest creatives in the industry and each year, its influence only grows for both filmmakers and film audiences alike.
Sundance joined forces with movie theater company Cinépolis to present the Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2026. From April 30 to May 3, 2026, the city will be flooded with independent features, including documentaries, short films, and director panels.
Then, from April 17 to 25, 2026, Guadalajara will open its doors to host the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG in Spanish), the most established film festival in Latin America and the longest-running in Mexico.
In South America, there is the BAFICI, the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival. It will take place practically at the same time as the FICG, from April 15 to 26. The event will offer 13 days of independent cinema at venues throughout the city of Buenos Aires, including national and international screenings, talks, and special activities.
A few favorite Latin American films that made their festival debuts: documentary Jaripeo, the feature The Huntress, and the Peruvian short film ¡PIKA!, among other gripping productions. Then, the FICG will include movies like Barrio triste (Colombia-US), Hangar rojo (Chile-Argentina-Italy), La hija cóndor (Bolivia-Peru-Uruguay), and Precisamos falar (Brazil), along with other interesting names. Finally, the BAFICI will have five Latin American favorites: El gran movimiento (Bolivia), Deserto particular (Brazil), El pa(de)ciente (Chile), Cholo (Perú), and Eami (Paraguay).
TheyDream, by William David Caballero
What if there was a way to bring your loved ones back to life? This is the question William David Caballero and his mother try to answer with his film. Through a mix of media like animation, audio recordings, stop motion, and motion capture technology, they document their family’s loss while learning to let go of the pain.
Identity is everything for this film, but also for Guillermo “Chilly” Caballero, William’s father, who helped him learn his own name through repetition, over and over.
“He was the first one to ever record me, so maybe the story should begin with him,” says the Director during the film.
Although the stories took place in the US, it’s evident that the Boricua heritage runs through the Director’s veins. Despite the strong Latinx accents and references, the message of love and loss is universal and speaks to everyone who misses their loved ones and cherishes their memories.
Jaripeo, by Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig
Penjamillo, a rural town in Michoacán, México, is home to the annual jaripeo. This hypermasculine Mexican rodeo is not exactly the center of this documentary, but actually the secret queer culture that takes place behind the arena. Filmmaker Mojica, who was born in Queens but spent a part of his childhood in Penjamillo, shares with the audience a piece of his story.
“We have grown up with certain standards of beauty and attractiveness, influenced, for example, by Marlboro advertising. And we thought that you were either gay or masculine, as if you had to choose. But the protagonists of Jaripeo dismantle the archetypes of what it means to be queer or straight, masculine or feminine,” Mojica shares in an interview with El País.
Through deep talks with some of the cowboys at the scene, Mojico can revisit a time of his life marked by both wonder and pain.
(If you want to learn more about the horse riding scene in Latin America, read our previous article on vaqueras latinas.)
Pachuco Americano: La Leyenda de Luis Valdez, by David Alvarado
Winner of the Audience Award for US Documentary, The Leyend of Luis Valdez tells the story of Luis Valdez, one of the most important playwrights to explore his own Chicano culture.
“All artists draw from their own life experiences, to try to make sense of them to begin with, but then to share, right? To say, ‘I went through this.’ I remember that in my first plays, I was concerned I was being too honest. I said, ‘Oh, people are going to find that out about me’—that my family was on welfare or that there was alcoholism in my family. But actually, you have to face those realities because everybody has them. There’s nothing to hide,” said Valdez in an interview for Live Your Dreams Podcast.
We see the director’s life through the eyes of Edward James Olmos, the protagonist in some of his more iconic projects, such as Zoot Suit and La Bamba. Valdez’s stories on political resistance helped expand our view of what the US actually is like.
La Cazadora, by Suzanne Andrews Correa
Based on the true story of “The Bus Driver Hunter” from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, The Huntress is a drama/thriller that exposes the dangerous conditions Latinas have to face in order to survive. Luz (portrayed by Mexican actress Adriana Paz) takes matters into her own hands as she murders a bus driver in broad daylight. However, the film walks us through why she did what she did.
“I embarked on this journey with the intention of understanding the circumstances, injustices, and emotions that drove a woman to these desperate acts. As a director, I didn't want to judge, but rather immerse the viewer in the protagonist's perspective to achieve a deep and challenging empathy,” Andrews Correa told Agencia Quadratín.
Apart from learning Luz’s story, we get to take a closer look at how Mexico’s femicide culture works and how terrible it can become.
La Virgen de la Tosquera, by Laura Casabé
The Virgin of the Quarry Lake is an Argentinian film about a group of teenagers who fall for another boy over the summer. Natalia, the prettiest one in the group, feels a special connection with him, but the older and more experienced Silvia threatens to get in the middle. Its story and macabre plot come from the twisted imagination of Mariana Enriquez, an Argentinian writer who has taken the literary world by storm.
“In Mariana Enríquez's stories, I found a universe that I really wanted to translate into audiovisual form. It was practically begging for it: her stories evoke a very cinematic style of editing. She acknowledges her debt to Stephen King, among other authors, and is a huge film buff,” said Casabé in an interview with A Sala Llena.
This coming-of-age is set in December 2021, a dark time of economic crisis that seeps through the seams of the plot. The film received a Grand Jury Prize nomination (Dramatic) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, but it only premiered in Argentina this January.
All these films will soon be available to stream on a variety of platforms, so be on the lookout for some quality Latinx cinema!
Resumen en español
El artículo destaca cinco películas latinoamericanas presentes en el festival de Sundance. Estos largometrajes celebran la identidad latina desde puntos de vista muy diversos, por ejemplo, el documental o la mezcla de medios como la animación. Los temas también son muy variados: la memoria y el duelo familiar, la cultura queer y chicana, la violencia de género y el pasaje a la adultez son algunas de las problemáticas desarrolladas. En conjunto, estas películas logran captar a la audiencia con su orgullo latino como motor principal de sus respectivas tramas.
