The Houston Latino Film Festival is an organization dedicated to developing, promoting and increasing awareness of Latine culture among Latines and other communities by presenting a variety of art and films to the Houston area.

During the festival, films from all over the world will be screened with programming that represents the great diversity of themes and genres of Latino and Hispanic filmmaking & storytelling. The five-day festival also features opportunities for the audiences to participate in discussions with the directors at the screenings as well as a series of special events highlighting the diversity of the Latino culture. 2025 will mark the ninth edition of the Houston Latino Film Festival.

Our Mission: The Houston Latino Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and enlightening the communities of the South Texas region about other cultures and issues through film and video while also recognizing the contributions of the artists who are dedicated to the craft of independent filmmaking.

Awards & Prizes

The Houston Latino Film Festival will recognize and honor cinematic achievements in filmmaking that brings together all of the elements that make for a great film, including direction, acting, cinematography, screenplay and great storytelling for the following categories:

• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Narrative Feature Film
• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Documentary Feature Film
• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Short Narrative Film
• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Short Documentary Film
• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Student Film (short film or feature film)
• Jury's "Ojo" Award Best Texas Film (short film or feature film)
• Audience Award for Feature Film (Competition or Non-Competition)
• Audience Award for Short Film (Competition or Non-Competition)

A cash prize of $2500 will be awarded to the Best Student Film (*MUST SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION VERIFYING STUDENT STANDING or risk disqualification). Winners will be announced on Sunday, March 16th, 2025 after the Closing Night film with the exception of the Audience Award, which will be announced at a later date.

Rules & Terms

The Houston Latino Film Festival is open to professional and non-professional filmmakers working in the United States or abroad. Eligible entries must have been produced between 2023 to the present, have a Latino/a/e/x in an "above the line" position (Producer, Director or Writer) and/or subject matter must have a relevant theme to the Latine/Hispanic community. All film genres are eligible: documentary, narrative, animation and experimental.

Submission requirements (Please read carefully):

• All films submitted must be in final cut form.

• All short films must be 45 minutes or less.

• All films must have English subtitles for all non-English language entries.

• All submission requirements must be received by the deadline, November 30th, 2024. No late submissions past the Late Deadline will be accepted.

• Films that are publicly available online prior to the Festival may be considered for exhibition during the Festival, but we prefer that films not be publicly available online or for sale.

• A secure online screener link must be provided for press requests and internal festival use.

• Promotional materials must be sent digitally or delivered to the Festival office (3400 Main St. Houston, TX USA 77002) by January 26th, 2025.

• Exhibition materials (marketing & projectable files) must be sent digitally or delivered to the Festival office (3400 Main St. Houston, TX USA 77002) by February 9th, 2025.

• Fee Waivers and Discounts for residents from Houston, TX. Request at films@houstonlatinofilm.com. Must show proof of residency.

• Student entries must send an image of most recent student ID via FilmFreeway. Student ID must have been valid during production time of your project.

• Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses, royalties, release forms, clearances, and permits necessary to present their work. The Houston Latino Film Festival is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work.

• If your film is accepted to the festival, we will notify you via email with instructions for press materials.

Entry fees are per each film and are non-refundable. The Houston Latino Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify a submission, without refund of any kind, if eligibility requirements are not met including if eligibility status changes post-submission.
18 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Montserrat Larqué

    Good festival, you can feel the love for the cinema.

    April 2024
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  • Glenís Hunter

    I loved this festival so much, including the people who run it and the filmmakers present. The vibe was so chill and kind. The quality of work screened was superb. I truly believe that this will be one of the HOTTEST festivals to get into in the coming years.

    April 2024
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  • Charo Mato

    Thank you so much to the entire festival team for choosing "8 Cuentos sobre mi hipoacusia" and putting on such a wonderful festival. We enjoyed it very much!

    April 2024
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  • Danny Geraldo Martinez

    Such a well organized festival! The film selections, venue and staff were all top notch! We had a wonderful experience screening our horror film, "Lilith" and would absolutely submit another project to this festival in the near future! Thank you again!

    June 2023
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  • Charlie G

    What a beautiful film festival! This is our third year to participate and honestly it's my favorite film festival. Thank you again for the wonderful screening and hospitality.

    March 2023
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