Award Winners
Jury & Audience Winner
Directed by Marlene Grinberg
Argentina – 2025
Jury Winner
Directed by Vickie Curtis
Guatemala, United States – 2025
Audience Winner
Directed by Jeremy Charles
United States, 2025
Jury Winner
Directed by Giorgio Giampà
Guatemala, Mexico, Italy, France – 2025
Honorable Mention
Directed by Gerardo Del Razo
Mexico – 2025
Jury Winner
Directed by Catalina “Yupi” Covarrubias
Chile, 2025
Jury Winner presented by the
Texas Film Commission
Directed by Julya Jara
United States, 2025
Audience Winner presented by
HEB
Directed by Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez
United States, Mexico – 2025
Jury Winner
Adelaide Pilar ft. Asdru Sierra
Directed by Adelaide Pilar
United States, 2024
Audience Winner
Como Las Movies, Nelson Valente Aguilar
Directed by Dante Ponzanelli
United States, 2026
Angela Chen – Narrative Feature Jury
Angela Chen is a Texas-born filmmaker known for emotionally resonant storytelling and visually captivating style. Her narrative feature received the Russo Brothers’ AGBO and AFI Development Grant and was a finalist for Tribeca Film Institute’s Untold Stories. Her films have screened at over 100 festivals, with premieres at SXSW, Tribeca, and the Austin Film Festival. She has directed commercial projects for Sony Pictures, Google, Audi, and Kia, amassing over 15 million views. An AFI Conservatory MFA graduate, she also studied Film and Television at UT Austin.
Rodrigo Alvarez Flores – Narrative Feature Jury
Rodrigo Alvarez Flores is a Mexican border-based filmmaker whose short films include Al otro lado (2016), winner of the Honorable Jury Prize at Outfest LA, and Al final de la noche (2019), presented at the Huesca International Film Festival. His debut feature Soy lo que nunca fui (Broken Borders) has screened at over 20 festivals, earning awards at the Guanajuato International Film Festival, Hola México Los Angeles Film Festival, and Cine Las Americas. He is currently preparing Rancheros as his second feature.
Luz Orlando Brennan – Documentary Feature Jury
Luz Orlando Brennan is an Argentine film and theater director, screenwriter, and producer trained at ENERC and the University of Buenos Aires. Her debut feature La estrella que perdí (2024) won Best Narrative Feature at Cine Las Américas and Best Director at the Chelsea Film Festival, and has screened at prestigious festivals including the Berlinale, San Sebastián, AFI, and BFI London. As a screenwriter, she has collaborated with directors Natalia Meta, Bárbara Cerro, and Diego Fried.
Mario Troncoso – Documentary Feature Jury
Mario Troncoso is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, creative entrepreneur, and founder of Doculab. With over 18 years of experience across advertising, documentary, and fiction, his work explores the intersections of art, culture, and community. He has contributed to Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, TIME, NPR, and PBS. His latest project, City of Songs, follows musician and actor Stephanie Hunt on a global journey uncovering the sounds and stories that define iconic cities including Mexico City, Tokyo, and Barcelona.
Steve (Esteban) Mines – Shorts Jury
Steve (Esteban) Mines is an Austin-based translator, interpreter, and UT Austin-trained lawyer whose lifelong connection to cinema has shaped how he understands language, culture, and storytelling. Raised in Argentina, he developed a deep appreciation for film long before streaming existed. He has attended festivals including Toronto, Cannes, SXSW, and the Austin Film Festival, and has been a Cine Las Americas devotee from its earliest days, where it bridges his Texas roots with the sounds and stories of the South.
Val Florez – Shorts Jury
Val Florez is a Colombian-American film and television professional and writer based in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019, earned a Producing Certificate from UCLA Extension, and participated in the California Film Commission Accounting Training Program. She currently works in production accounting, with experience on projects for Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., Apple TV+, and Amazon MGM Studios. She enjoys attending and supporting film festivals that showcase Latinx stories and filmmakers.
Jenny De La Fuente – Hecho en Tejas Jury
Jenny de la Fuente is a Mexican-born, Meisner-trained filmmaker, actor, and producer based in Austin, Texas. She studied Theatre at UT Austin and co-owns Pink Mud Productions, dedicated to raw, human-centered storytelling. As an actor, she appeared in the political drama Unknown Enemy on Amazon Prime Mexico. She wrote, starred in, and produced the award-winning short Somewhere You Feel Free, part of the 2025 Hecho en Tejas selection. Jenny is deeply committed to community-building and supporting the independent filmmaking community in Texas.
Minerva Villa – Hecho en Tejas Jury
Minerva Villa (she/her/ella) is a dynamic theatre director, performer, and photographer committed to inclusivity, diversity, and the transformative power of collaborative storytelling. With a B.F.A. in Acting from Texas Tech University and an M.Ed. in Education from the University of Illinois, she brings a rich artistic and educational background to her work. She is also the owner of Lens of Athena Photography, a studio dedicated to creating an inclusive space where every client feels valued, seen, and celebrated.
Gina Chavez – Music Video Jury
Gina Chavez (she/they) is a Latin Grammy nominee, internationally acclaimed recording artist, wife and philanthropist. Born in Austin, she is a 16-time Austin Music Award winner. Gina’s first all-Spanish language album, La Que Manda, was nominated for a 2020 Latin Grammy in Best Pop/Rock, making them the third Latine born in the continental U.S. to ever be nominated in history of the category (and the first queer Texan). Gina’s NPR Tiny Desk concert has more than 1.3 million views and she is featured on Brené Brown’s hit podcast, Unlocking Us, for which she co-wrote the theme music. Gina tours internationally as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department and runs Niñas Arriba a college fund Gina and their wife founded for young women in gang-dominated El Salvador.
