28th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
May 13 – 17, 2026 | Austin, Texas, USA
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Cine Las Americas invites filmmakers, producers, and distributors to participate in the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, now in its twenty-eighth year. The festival showcases contemporary films and videos from Latin America (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) and the Iberian Peninsula. Films and music videos made by or about Latine/x in the U.S. or the rest of the world, as well as films and music videos by or about Indigenous groups of the Americas are also invited to participate.
To be submitted for consideration, projects must have been completed after January 1, 2024. All entries are also eligible to participate in the festival’s non-competitive sections. For all works where the spoken language is not English, English subtitles and/or narration are required.
FESTIVAL AWARDS
The festival grants the following awards, designated to the director(s) of the film:
- Jury Awards in the categories: Best First or Second Narrative Feature ($1200 USD); Best Documentary Feature ($1200 USD); Best Narrative Short ($500 USD); Best Documentary Short ($500 USD); Best Music Video ($500 USD); Best Emergente Youth Film ($250 USD).
- Audience Awards in the categories: Best First or Second Narrative Feature ($800 USD), Best Documentary Feature ($800 USD), Best Hecho en Tejas (Made in Texas) Film ($500 USD), Best Music Video ($500 USD), and Best Emergente Youth Film ($250 USD).
- Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) Award for Best Hecho en Tejas (Made in Texas) film ($700 USD).
SUBMISSION DEADLINES
Submissions should be at the Cine Las Americas office by the following dates and times:
- Early Bird Deadline: November 9, 2025 (Non-refundable entry fee $35 USD)
- Deadline: December 12, 2025 (Non-refundable entry fee $40 USD)
- Late Deadline: January 15, 2026 (Late entry fee $80 USD)
- Youth Films Deadline: January 15, 2026 (Youth Films pay no entry fee)
HOW TO SUBMIT
All entries this year must complete an entry form via our platform.
ENTRY FEES
- Each film submitted by the early bird deadline is required to pay a non-refundable fee of $35 USD.
- Each film submitted by the regular deadline is required to pay a non-refundable fee of $40 USD.
- Films submitted after the regular deadline and before the late deadline are required to pay a non-refundable late fee of $80 USD.
- Youth Film entries pay no fee.
- Students or NALIP members: Please reach out to entries@cinelasamericas.org for $10 discount code. Verification required.
Entry fees can be paid online during the submission process using our submission platform.
INQUIRIES
Email: entries@cinelasamericas.org
ELIGIBILITY
General guidelines by which the festival determines eligibility:
- Contemporary films and music videos from Latin America (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) and the Iberian Peninsula are eligible to participate.
- Contemporary films and music videos made by Latine/x (from any part of the world) AND/OR about Latine/x (in any part of the world) are eligible to participate.
- Contemporary films and music videos made by Indigenous groups of the Americas AND/OR about Indigenous groups of the Americas are eligible to participate. Please note that a film or video does not have to be both made by AND about Latine/x or Indigenous groups of the Americas; either of these elements will qualify a film for submission and review.
- Contemporary films made by Latine/x filmmakers or about Latine/x subjects that are filmed in Texas are eligible to participate in the Hecho en Tejas category and will be considered for audience and jury awards. Projects submitted for this category, but not filmed in Texas, may be moved to another category and would not be eligible for awards in this category.
- Projects must have been completed after January 1, 2024.
FILM SELECTION
Feature length and short films of all genres will be considered including dramatic, documentary, experimental, animation, and music videos. A pre-selection committee will screen official entries prior to recommendation to the final programming committee. Preference is given to regional or national premieres, as well as to films that have not screened theatrically in Austin or on national television in the USA prior to the festival.
Disclosure of all screenings is a prerequisite of application. Especially films that have screened in Austin, films that have been broadcast with coverage in Austin, and films that are available for viewing openly online. Failure to disclose a film’s screening history, even if this history changes after submission, may affect the festival’s final programming decision; this may include canceling the participation of a film after it has been selected for the festival, to protect the integrity of the program.
The Cine Las Americas Film Festival Programming Team reserves the right to determine the eligibility and final programming decision of any submission.
YOUTH FILMS
As part of the annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, CLA presents “Emergente”, a special competitive section open to youth filmmakers ages 19 and under. Original film, video and music video productions are accepted. The Emergente Youth International Film Festival will be showcased on a separate weekend from the 28th annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (May 13-17, 2026).
RUNNING TIME CONVENTIONS
Total running time of 50 minutes or more is considered a Feature Film.
Total running time of 49 minutes or less is considered a Short Film.
LANGUAGES
For all works where the spoken language is not English, English subtitles and/or narration are required.
CAPTIONS & AUDIO DESCRIPTIONS
In an effort to provide a more accessible festival experience for all, we ask that filmmakers consider submitting with 1) closed captions in English for the English dialogue in their films to accommodate those with limited hearing or processing challenges, and 2) provide an “audio description file” in English for audience members who are visually impaired.
In the case of acceptance, Cine Las Americas will inform filmmakers of venue capabilities and again encourage these accommodations if possible.
We hope to expand accessibility in the future to offer screenings that fully accommodate Portuguese and Spanish-speaking viewers as well. But please stay tuned for any new developments as we get closer to the festival.
SECURE PREVIEW SCREENERS
A secure (i.e. password protected) screener must accompany each submission. We accept secure online screeners through FilmFreeway. If a film is selected to participate in the festival, a digital copy of the film will be required immediately upon acceptance to be used for promotional purposes.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Rough cuts and works-in-progress that are 90% complete may be submitted but must arrive by the regular submission deadline of December 12, 2025 to be considered. If a work-in-progress is selected for possible festival participation, a final, subtitled copy must be submitted for review by January 15, 2026. If a work-in-progress is selected for competition and a final, subtitled copy is not turned in by the above date, the corresponding submission will be disqualified.
ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION
All participants will be notified via FilmFreeway whether or not their work has been accepted. A preliminary list of selected films will be announced at cinelasamericas.org by March 20, 2026.
EXHIBITION FORMATS
Films will be screened from DCP and digital H.264 files. The final exhibition format for selected films will be decided between the programming team and the participating filmmakers, depending on the technical capacity of the different festival venues.
PROGRAM SCHEDULING
The festival reserves the right to determine in which program section the selected films will screen, and to schedule selected films at the date, time and location of its choice.
PROGRAM SECTIONS
- First and Second Narrative Features in Competition
- Documentary Features in Competition
- Narrative Shorts in Competition
- Documentary Shorts in Competition
- Hecho en Tejas
- Music Videos
- Emergente Youth Films
- Panorama: Non-competitive section for Features and Shorts
GUEST PARTICIPATION
The festival holds Question & Answer sessions with filmmakers and/or cast members who are in attendance at screenings.
REGISTRATION
Registration for Filmmakers and other Industry Members will be available at cinelasamericas.org closer to the festival dates. Inquiries, please contact register@cinelasamericas.org.
HOSPITALITY
Everyone is encouraged to attend the festival, where our staff and volunteers will work to make every participant’s stay in Austin a rewarding experience. However, Cine Las Americas can only provide travel and hotel arrangements for a very limited number of participants. The Festival will identify and extend invitations to those attendees it may be able to host. Traditionally, one representative for selected shorts films or music videos, and two representatives for features. Any additional affiliates will need to provide payment for their own travel and stay. For inquiries, please contact hospitality@cinelasamericas.org.
CATALOG AND PRESS
Cine Las Americas will provide access via on-line screeners of selected films to the local press for reviews and interview opportunities. Traditionally, a festival brochure is published and archived on our website for future reference. Print source information is published in the festival brochure and on the festival website.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
You are welcome to bring promotional materials for films such as postcards when attending the festival. The festival reserves the right to distribute promotional materials for selected films in accordance with the overall festival promotional strategy.
AGREEMENT
1) I have read, understood and complied with all eligibility and entry requirements.
2) I am legally authorized to submit this film or music video to the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival.
3) If the film or music video is selected to participate, I am legally authorized to and will provide a copy of the film or video for public screening during the dates of the festival in one of the eligible Exhibition Formats listed in the current Call for Entries guidelines.
4) I have disclosed the release schedule of this film to the best of my knowledge, including theatrical, television, and on-line versions of the film; I understand that in the case that between the submission date of the film and its potential screening at Cine Las Americas, the film is scheduled for any kind of public exhibition in Austin and/or its vicinity, I must notify Cine Las Americas immediately.
5) Film Selections and Juried Films
a) Cine Las Americas makes all final film selections, including determining which are in competition. Should a potential conflict of interest be identified as a result of the filmmaker receiving support from CLA Board members or staff, every effort will be made to work with the filmmaker to address any questions and ideally keep the film “in competition”. If CLA determines the film can’t be in competition, the filmmaker reserves the right to withdraw the film from the festival and receive a refund for their entry fee. Alternatively, films accepted into CLAIFF but not eligible for awards have the option to be screened during the festival, only in a non-competitive category.
b) Selected jurors are responsible for identifying to the CLA Festival Director any association with any film they may be judging. Should a CLAIFF juror have an association with any film entry they are judging – including but not limited to as a volunteer, fiscal support, donor, contractor, crew, consultant – select film will not be judged by the particular juror and be assigned to another juror.
6) Submissions selected for Cine Las Americas International Film Festival will be included in the Cine Las Americas archives housed and maintained at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin. Archives are for research and academic purposes only and not for public screenings. Archives serve a long term purpose of contributing to capturing the cultural record and timestamp for future generations to discover. If a filmmaker prefers their film not be included, please email Cine Las Americas at cine@cinelasamericas.org.