The nation’s original and longest running Latino film festival returns this summer with the 46th annual edition of CineFestival San Antonio. Presented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio’s annual celebration of independent Latinx and indigenous cinema will take place July 10 to 13, 2025.

CineFestival exhibits Chicanx, Latinx and International Latin American cinema with a focus on regional and local filmmaking, creating annual opportunities to survey the body of work produced by artists based in Texas and beyond, and fostering industry, business, and artistic opportunities among an average of 100 registered filmmakers in attendance every year.

CineFestival San Antonio traditionally hosts screenings, Q&A sessions, panels, workshops, receptions, and after parties. Featured programs include the Mesquite Award nominees for Best Texas Short Film, Texas and San Antonio showcases, and a selection of US Latinx and international feature and short films. Master classes and panels are designed for established filmmakers to share artistic insight and industry knowledge with attending filmmakers.

Almost 50% of the festival events are free and open to the public. Free community events include Family Day, a Youth Film showcase including work made by artist 18 years old or younger, a matinee Senior Cinema screening for the area’s elderly film lovers, and Cine en el Barrio.

Since 2017, CineFestival San Antonio has developed a strong focus on local and regional filmmaking, prioritizing films that are closely related to Texas and San Antonio, supporting regional filmmakers who are based in neighboring states, and including works made by Latinx and indigenous filmmakers working in the US and Puerto Rico. The festival includes a limited number of international works made by filmmakers from Latin America and Spain with an emphasis on Mexican films.

For over four decades, CineFestival San Antonio has hosted dozens of independent filmmakers and many of the industry’s pioneering U.S. Latino and Mexican films, actors, and directors. Highlights from past editions include appearances by Marcela Arteaga, Gina Rodriguez, Guillermo del Toro, Edward James Olmos, Benjamin Bratt, Jesse Borrego, Esai Morales, Aurora Guerrero, Raúl Castillo, Luis Valdez, Lalo Alcaraz, Cruz Angeles, Hector Galan, Adán Medrano, and some of the fresh voices in Latino film including Fernando Frias de la Parra, Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera, Chelsea Rendon, Steve Acevedo, Gian Cassini, Marcella Ochoa, Iliana Sosa, Severo Perez, Robie Flores, Leonor Maldonado, Tatiana Graullera among many young and established local and regional filmmakers.

Awards & Prizes

Rules & Terms
Only films made by Latinx, Chicanx or Native American filmmakers will be considered.
To be considered for this year’s program, films must be competed in January 2024 or later.
To be eligible for the Mesquite Awards, films should be made in Texas.
The festival programmers reserve the right to final selection and program positioning of all submitted films.

Awards & Prizes

A special panel of industry professionals and scholars will serve as members of the jury to choose the winners of CineFestival's Premio Mesquite Awards for Best Texas Short Films.

Rules & Terms

Feature and short films made in San Antonio: Open to works made by or about Chicano, Latinx or Native American filmmakers based in San Antonio, Texas. Films with thematic or production connections to San Antonio are encouraged to apply.

Feature and short films made in Texas: Open to works made by or about Chicano, Latinx or Native American filmmakers based in the State of Texas. Films in which the director, principal producer, writer or main acting talent are native to the state of Texas and are Chicano, Latinx or Native American are eligible for this section. Films thematically related to Texas’ Chicano, Latinx and Native American heritage are also eligible for this section. Short Films selected in this category are eligible to compete for the Mesquite Award for Best Short Film.

Feature and short films made in the United States: This section is open to works made by or about Chicano, Latinx or Native American filmmakers based in the United States and its territories. Films with thematic or production connections to Texas are encouraged to apply.

International Showcase: Open to films from Latin America and Spain with an emphasis in Mexican films, especially if related to border and immigration issues.

Youth Films: Open to films made by artists 18 years of age or younger. Priority is given to films produced in San Antonio and Texas. Limited to screen time capacity, the festival may be able to accept youth films made in the United States, Latin America, and Spain.

Entries will be pre-screened for eligibility by a selection committee and not all entries will be programmed. Films must be submitted with English subtitles if dialogue is in a language other than English. Films must have been completed on or after January 2024. The festival accepts student films as well as works in progress provided that the filmmakers guarantee the completion of the films by June 2025.

By submitting a film, the filmmaker guarantees full copyright ownership and clearance, and guarantees that if selected, a high quality screening copy will be provided.

CineFestival programmers are responsible for all programming decisions. The decisions of the programmers are final.
39 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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Hospitality
Networking
  • Ahuatl Amaro

    CineFestival and the Guadalupe Cultural Center are the beating heart of San Antonio's arts and culture. I've spent many holidays in San Antonio visiting friends, so the city has become a home away from home for me. I can't wait to share our next film at this year's CineFestival.

    April 2025
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  • Justin Cavazos

    CineFestival is very special. I've had distinct pleasure of being selected for this festival in 2023 and 2024 with my projects Cartier Crash and The Pencils respectively. Attending the premieres and the Q+A's have been highlights of my entire year. More specifically this year, I was able to have a longer and incredibly meaningful piece be selected. The experience given by the organizers is top tier. They remembered who I was and that I was selected last year when speaking personally with the organizers I was treated with the utmost respect. It's very well put together and I'm grateful I was able to be included in a block with such talented filmmakers and hope to submit again. I highly recommend this festival to anyone who has the opportunity to submit.

    August 2024
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  • Carlos Grimaldo Sanchez

    The 45th Cine Festival was nothing short of a cinematic extravaganza, a true celebration of creativity and storytelling.
    The festival itself was a haven for film lovers, featuring an impressive array of screenings, engaging panel discussions, and lively social events. The atmosphere was electric, with each film bringing its own flavor to the mix. It was a pleasure to have my film played on the screen among the other attendes and hope to be a part of the scene next year.

    July 2024
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  • Jose Sanchez

    It was an amazing experience attending CineFestival! Great communication with organizers. This is a must for any Latino filmmaker.

    July 2024
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  • Daniel Maldonado

    Although the regular venue was under renovation , they replaced it with a wonderful state of the art Alamo Drafthouse theater. An excellent choice.

    July 2024
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