LALIFF is a premier international event dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latino perspective, whether through film, television, digital, music, art, or any other vehicle, regardless of platform.

Best U.S. Live Action Short Film
Best U.S. Animated Short Film
Best U.S. Episodic Short

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

U.S. Feature Films:
Any fiction film, documentary or animation in any genre made by Latino filmmakers in the United States with a total running time of more than 50 minutes are eligible for feature submission. World premiere must have occurred no earlier than January 1, 2023, and we will NOT be accepting feature films that have had commercial, theatrical, television or internet distribution in the United States.

Submission Deadlines & Fees:
Early Submission Deadline: January 9, 2024 | Fee: $45.00
Regular Submission Deadline: February 6, 2024 | Fee: $55.00
Late Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 | Fee: $65.00

U.S. & International Short Films:
Any fiction film, documentary or animation in any genre made by Latino filmmakers (in the U.S, Latin America and the diaspora) with a total running time of less than 50 minutes. World premiere must have occurred no earlier than January 1, 2023, and we will NOT be accepting short films that have had commercial, theatrical, television or internet distribution in the United States.

Submission Deadlines & Fees:
Early Submission Deadline: January 9, 2024 | Fee: $35.00
Regular Submission Deadline: February 6, 2024 | Fee: $45.00
Late Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 | Fee: $55.00

U.S. & International Episodics:
Scripted or non-scripted series in any genre made by Latino writers/filmmakers. Applicants may submit single or multiple episodes of the same project, provided that the total running time does not exceed 90 minutes, including credits.

Multiple episodes should be submitted as one continuous video file. Individual episodes may not exceed 60 minutes in length. Open submissions in this category are not eligible for the Festival if the submitted content has been made available to the general public via any platform (broadcast television, Blu-ray, DVD, streaming, VOD, etc.) in the United States. If the submitted content is a continuation of an existing series, only new episodes are eligible for open submission to the Festival.

Submission Deadlines & Fees:
Early Submission Deadline: January 9, 2024 | Fee: $35.00
Regular Submission Deadline: February 6, 2024 | Fee: $45.00
Late Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 | Fee: $55.00

U.S. Music Videos:
Open to independent artists who are located in the U.S., and who are submitting music videos that have not been released to the public, on any platform, to get launched at our 2024 edition as part of LALIFF Music.

Submission Deadlines & Fees:
Early Submission Deadline: January 9, 2024 | Fee: $35.00
Regular Submission Deadline: February 6, 2024 | Fee: $45.00
Late Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 | Fee: $55.00

SUBMISSION FORMAT

Submissions shall be submitted through FilmFreeway. It is your responsibility to ensure that your online entry contains correct information and is properly submitted. Films not submitted through FilmFreeway will not be considered. Only one film per entry form. Multiple entries on one application will not be considered.

We only accept submissions via Vimeo web link. If your video is password protected please include the password and be sure to not change the password for the duration of the decision-making process. Non-English language films must have English language subtitles at the time of submission.

** If selected, films must be available for projection in DCP and digital file.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Chiara Bonetti

    LALIFF was an experience we will certainly want to repeat! we met fantastic people and it was amazing to see our film screened in the Chinese theater in Hollywood!

    September 2023
  • Hansel Porras Garcia

    What a great experience LALIFF! Thank you for everything!

    June 2023
  • It was an honor to have our shortfilm 'Clinging to Air' be part of the official selection at LALIFF. Even when I had to attend some of their events only online, their communications and networking resources were brilliant! A great window to showcase Latinx talent.

    June 2023
  • LALIFF is such an amazing festival! From the epic-ness of the opening and closing night galas to the thoughtful Q&A's, I felt so valued as a filmmaker in the fest. Would recommend a thousand times over!

    June 2023
  • Anderson Bardot

    It was such a pleasure to be part of this incredible festival! 
    For sure, LALIFF is one of the top festivals in the world.
    Thank Jorge Molina and all the incredible staff for a brilliant 2023 edition.

    June 2023