The New York Latino Film Festival Returns September 15 – 24

Opening with ‘Story Ave.’ featuring Luis Guzman

The Festival kicks off Latino Heritage Month, once again, with record-breaking submissions, and an impressive roster of films, panel discussions, a free outdoor event, and more

New York, NY  — The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF), the nation’s premier Latino film festival kicks off Latino Heritage Month from September 15 to 24, 2023 with an impressive roster of 116 films from nearly 20 countries. Held, once again, at Regal Union Square (850 Broadway, NYC), NYLFF will open with the NYC premiere of Amazon Prime’s film Cassandro (2023, 99 min. USA), starring Gael Garcia Bernal, the film follows the true story of a gay wrestler from El Paso who rose to international stardom. Presented by Kino Lorber, the Festival will screen Aristotle Torres’ debut feature Story Ave (2023, 94 min. USA), starring Luis Guzman as an MTA worker held up by young graffiti artist Kadir (Asante Blackk) in a robbery gone right. HBO Documentaries will present You Were My First Boyfriend (2023, 97 min. USA), the heart-warming story of Cecilia Aldarondo as she revisits her 1990s adolescence. Also showing is Radical (2023, 122 min., USA), the story of actor Eugenio Derbez as a teacher in a Mexican border town who tries a radical new method to unlock their students’ potential. Music lovers can enjoy Sony Pictures Classics’ film Carlos (2023, 88 min., USA) that follows Santana’s journey from 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy winning global sensation. The Festival closes with a free outdoor event, presented by Jim Beam in Washington Heights’ Quisqueya Plaza featuring live music, and food. For more information on NYLFF 2023, visit www.nylatinofilmfestival.com.

“Amidst this historic moment in the entertainment industry, NYLFF continues to uphold the importance of stories as a powerful and important tool for collective social change. The Festival, for 23 years, has and will continue to offer Latino filmmakers and content creators a platform to highlight our stories. More than ever, we been ready.” Said Calixto Chinchilla, Founder, New York Latino Film Festival

“The New York Latino Film Festival has a rich history of celebrating Latino voices and the communities that inspire them,” said Axel Caballero, Vice President of External Engagement for Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are proud to be long-time sponsors of the event and wish the festival and its filmmakers a week of exciting and powerful programming.”

“We are thrilled to shine a light on independent film production in NYC by once again supporting the New York Latino Film Festival,” said Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Swinney Kaufman. “This year’s opening night film, Story Ave, directed by up-and-coming NYC filmmaker Aristotle Torres, is the perfect example of why this festival, and others like it, are so important; to provide a global platform to amplify diverse storytelling. Congratulations to Calixto Chinchilla, and team, on what is sure to be another terrific festival.”

        FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

This year, NYLFF will present an exciting line-up of feature films in various forms, including feature, documentary, and shorts from the United States and Latin America. Highlights include: Sony Pictures’ Dumb Money (2023, 104 min., USA), the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall video game store) into the world’s hottest company; in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the Festival will present a special screening of Beat Street (1984, 105 min., USA), the story of a DJ from the South Bronx and his best friend, a promoter, who try to get into show business; celebrating its 30th anniversary, NYLFF presents the film Blood in, Blood Out (1993, 180 min., USA) based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo; Playing Sam (2023, 89 min., USA), the story of a non-Spanish-speaking Latina actress from the Bronx who struggles to fit into Hollywood; and Simón (2023, 99 min., USA) follows a Venezuelan freedom fighter exiled in Miami who has to cope with trauma and guilt. From the Caribbean, the Festival will present Boca Chica (year, 90 min., Dominican Republic), the tale of a musically-gifted young woman determined to find her voice and escape the threats of betrayal and prostitution on the beaches of her hometown in the Dominican Republic.

The FUTURO Digital Conference returns, presented by Off the Cuff with a day-long forum spotlighting leaders and top social influencers in digital content (creators and distributors), mobile app companies and mobile technology leaders targeting the market. To complement the Festival, FUTURO presents an exciting new roster of web series, including DOMINICANYORK (2022, 12 min., USA), a dives into the breakups, secrets, purpose, and identity of 8 Dominican-American millennials; AMOR EN CUARENTENA (2022, 30 min., USA), a Spanglish series that follows Emi, a funny, dedicated and complicated Mexican-American teacher, as she looks for love with the help of friends and family during a global pandemic; MIGRANTS (2022, 7 min., USA), the story of two naive Brooklyn hipsters who set up a “Migrant Integration Initiative”in response to the news that the Texas governor was shipping migrants from Latin America to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

SPONSORS

NYLFF is presented by Warner Bros. Discovery. Major sponsors include HBO, Max, Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo, American Airlines, with additional Industry support by the Motion Picture Association. Additional sponsors include Regal Cinemas, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amazon Prime Video, Jim Beam, Shutterstock, Dale Tú – Instagram’s Latinx and Hispanic Creator Program, Instagram’s Latinx and Hispanic Creator Program, Cafe La Llave, The Center, The Hispanic Federation, Learn Filmmaking, Talento Unlimited and Third World Newsreel. This event is also made possible with the support of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. For sponsorship and brand partnership opportunities with the country’s leading Latino and Multicultural film organization, please contact Talento Unlimited via email at team@talentounlimited.com.