26th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Program

The 8th annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase features short films by women and non-binary filmmakers from the U.S.-Mexico border regions of El Paso, Texas, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México.

The Sepulveda family reunites to revive a cherished tradition in honor of their late grandfather. But as they come together, long-held secrets and simmering tensions threaten to unravel their close-knit bonds. The biggest revelation: matriarch Anselma's risky move to help her grandson Matias puts their family restaurant and livelihood at stake, forcing them all to reassess their roles within the family.

From the Colombian coast to New York City, CATAPUM is a powerful story of three women across three generations who discover strength in Bullerengue, an ancestral musical tradition, using it to resist, heal, and celebrate life. Their daily routines, the landscapes they inhabit, and the songs they carry reveal the depth of their experiences, interwoven with the cultural richness of Bullerengue. Themes such as oral tradition, race, community, immigration, and identity emerge within this context. As their individual stories unfold, they converge into a collective memory, offering a narrative of the Colombian armed conflict that honors the universal healing and reconciling power of music.

These shorts represent individual and community topics and concerns in their contemporary contexts. The works screened in this category are eligible for a Jury Award for Best Documentary Short.

Celebrate a special section of the Festival showcasing works by filmmakers 19 years or younger. The works screened in this category are eligible for Jury and Audience Awards for Best “Emergencia” Youth Film.

GOD SAVE TEXAS is a documentary trilogy that takes viewers on a journey through one of the most controversial states in the union, guided by three directors, each with a unique and personal perspective. In episode 3, LA FRONTERA, Mexican-American filmmaker Iliana Sosa explores how Nepantla, a Nahuatl word for the concept of “in-between-ness”, characterizes her relationship to both her Mexican heritage and her hometown of El Paso, Texas, and how that unique hybridity allowed the city to come together and heal in the wake of a devastating 2019 mass shooting.

In Colombia, a nation marred by profound racial and socio-economic disparities, a Black woman from a rural background challenges the status quo by launching a presidential campaign. Reappropriating the term “igualada,” Francia Márquez, catapults a movement to the upper echelons of power, by refusing to “know her place.” Fifteen years in the making, this documentary peels back the curtain on how unprecedented change can happen.

In the not-so-distant future of 2084, Ángel finds himself trapped as a climate migrant in an unspecified smart city, under constant surveillance. Amidst a bleak and oppressive existence, Ángel makes a living by cultivating plants, preserving the fading wisdom of seeds. Within this desolate landscape he crosses paths with Sofia, another climate migrant who works at a recycling facility. Fate intertwines their lives when a chance encounter reveals an unexpected connection: a shared language. Fueling Ángel's longing for human connection and a glimmer of hope, he reaches out to Sofia. Aware of the omnipresent digital monitoring, Ángel decides to communicate with her through the timeless medium of pen and paper, fostering an intimate, clandestine bond. As their secret correspondence unfolds, a friendship grows between Ángel and Sofia as does their desire for liberation from excessive control.

Rosa still lives by her husband’s rules despite the fact that he died six months ago. Her worsening relationship with her son has left her estranged from her only family. When she meets Juan, a divorcee, with whom she shares her passion for tango, she starts to rediscover herself and something starts to change. But before she can move on she's confronted with some uncomfortable truths.

Amidst the redwood trees on the California-Oregon border sits one of the most infamous prisons in US history - Pelican Bay. For decades, it held mostly Black and Brown men alone in tiny cells for indefinite periods based on questionable evidence. Then one day in 2013, 30,000 prisoners went on hunger strike. THE STRIKE weaves together, thread-by-thread, a half century of personal and criminal justice history into a single, compelling narrative around the drama of the 2013 hunger strike to end indefinite isolation. Grounded in testimonies from the hunger strikers themselves, the film details how the protest was conceived from a whisper inside the halls of Pelican Bay to a colossal feat across California prisons. With unprecedented access to state prison officials and never-before-seen footage from inside Pelican Bay, THE STRIKE reveals the panic that gripped the highest echelons of state government.

Join us for screening and party at Nepantla. The works screened in this category are eligible for Jury and Audience Awards for Best Music Video.

The films are personal and each telling rich stories that will resonate with viewers. The works screened in this category are eligible for a Jury Award for Best Narrative Short.