Cine Las Americas presents the 2nd annual Emergente Youth International Film Festival, dedicated exclusively to celebrating filmmakers under the age of 19. This festival will showcase an inspiring selection of youth-created films from around the world, all chosen from a call for submissions. The festival grants a Jury Award ($250 USD) and Audience Award ($250 USD) for Best Emergente Youth Film.
The event, which is free and family-friendly, promises to be an unforgettable experience for attendees of all ages.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
11am — 3pm
All Ages
Nuestro Pasado Olvidado
Our Forgotten Past
Jimena Mendez
USA
What's Next?
Ella Ho
Canada
Happy 18th
Wenona Wenb
USA
On Avalia’s 18th birthday, her little brother and friends get together to celebrate her birthday after the loss of both her parents, mother leaving and father passing away. They share a moment together that shows how everyone belongs somewhere, they just need to find the right people.
The Room Writes Back
Evelyn Word
USA
A writer and fraud finds himself trapped in a room in an unknown location as he atones for his past plagiarisms and family he pushed away.
Once Upon a Fever Dream
Armando Betancourt
Mexico
Inspired by the four stages of sleep, a girl wakes up in a dreamlike garden, with no memory of who she once was. The world is silent, almost perfect… but empty.
Chasing the Light
Luca Martín Dainton
USA
A young adult is interviewed and reflects upon important, coming-of-age questions.
Ages 14+
RÉQUIEM: sobrepensar es perjudicial para la salud
REQUIEM: Overthinking is Harmful to Your Health
Yadhier De La Torre Guerrero
Mexico
A haunted loner is pulled back into his past by a mysterious letter, spiraling through memory, guilt, and illusion in a desperate search for redemption—or release.
Everything I'm Not; Everything I Am
Xavier Alexander
USA
Clayton Nonhof, a high schooler, learns how to process pressure.
Drop In
Grey Jackson
USA
Two skaters find a suitcase full of cash but their future of high living is spoiled by a ruthless criminal hellbent on seeing them wiped out.
Point-N-Shoot
Justin Castro
USA
Two sisters, newly settled into a strange house with their mom, stumble upon a spaceman action figure and a sinister goo, unleashing eerie, unexplainable events in this chilling found footage horror short.
BAJO TIERRA
UNDERGROUND
Víctor Manuel González Bucio
Mexico
Two young foreign miners become trapped underground in a 1941 American mine. As oxygen runs out, fear, intimacy, and buried truths begin to surface.
Revenge.exe
Vincent Salinas
USA
After being rejected by his crush, a young man turns to a sinister dark web virus with supernatural powers to exact revenge—but his obsession soon spirals into a nightmare beyond his control.
Picture Me Better
Xavier Alexander
Mexico
Marcus, a suicidal teen seeks to fix his past regrets. Faced between his past and the present, as his perception of true reality blurs.
Emergente Team
Christian D. Nelson
Emergente Youth International Film Festival Co-Director
Christian D. Nelson is an Austin, Texas-based Filmmaker and Educator whose body of work is focused on the creation and formation of original, imaginative ideas and artistic expressions. Under his production company Reel Retro Productions, he has directed and produced numerous award-winning short films that have been selections of such festivals as the Cannes International Film Festival, Oaxaca International Film Festival, Austin Spotlight Film Festival- and more. Christian continues his journey of growth, reflection and passion through his love for film and education through his role with the Austin Film Society as Production Services Manager and mentor within the AFS Creative Careers workforce development program.
Cerise Saucedo
Emergente Youth International Film Festival Co-Director
Cerise Saucedo is a director, actor, and educator from El Paso, Texas, who studied Radio-Television-Film and Mexican American & Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She serves as Co-director of the Emergente Youth International Film Festival and as an educator with Cine Las Americas’ program El Club de Clout, where she leads Content Creator workshops at Best Buy’s Teen Tech Center at the YMCA North Austin, empowering students to tell stories they are proud of. She previously interned with Cine Las Americas, where her passion for community-centered filmmaking took root.