2025 Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival
May 25 -July 6
180+ films. 25+ countries. No stereotypes. No exoticism.
Just real stories told from the inside.
180+ films. 25+ countries. No stereotypes. No exoticism.
Just real stories told from the inside.
What’s on
- 180+
Films - Genres
- Narrative features
- Documentaries
- Shorts
- Animation
- Experimental
- 26
World premieres - 68
Debut works from first-time filmmakers
About
Nothing gets you closer to a culture than sharing the everyday with its people. Breathing in their context, borrowing their routines, living their joys and fears as your own.
That’s what we love about independent film festivals — the chance to live someone else’s life, down to the most intimate detail. To witness their humor, their unfiltered homes, their worn-out kitchens, and their loud families. To see what landscapes they wake up to, how they were raised, what they value, and what keeps them up at night. Watch life as it is and feel the world through their eyes.
It’s like travel, yes — but the kind where you meet locals, crash at their place, go to school with them, clock in at their job, dance at their party, cry in their bathroom. You walk a mile in their shoes, and suddenly, the world becomes larger, more complex, and more yours. That’s how empathy happens. That’s how you end up staring out the window with a cigarette, contemplating life and asking better questions.
This is not a cinema about Latin America—it is Latin America speaking for itself. No exotic filters, no clichés, no folkloric gloss. These are just filmmakers telling stories about themselves, their families, their neighbors, their cities, their traumas and celebrations—the way they actually feel.
If you, too, believe the world is more tangled than we give it credit for,
If you, too, feel the ocean roaring somewhere just beyond your line of sight,
If you, too, want better answers —
PHLAFF is already calling.
PHLAFF isn’t just about Latin America as a geography — it’s about cultural intersections. Many of the films are about Latin Americans living in the U.S., Europe, or Asia. The festival explores life between worlds: migration, identity, bilingualism, and cultural adaptation.
That’s what we love about independent film festivals — the chance to live someone else’s life, down to the most intimate detail. To witness their humor, their unfiltered homes, their worn-out kitchens, and their loud families. To see what landscapes they wake up to, how they were raised, what they value, and what keeps them up at night. Watch life as it is and feel the world through their eyes.
It’s like travel, yes — but the kind where you meet locals, crash at their place, go to school with them, clock in at their job, dance at their party, cry in their bathroom. You walk a mile in their shoes, and suddenly, the world becomes larger, more complex, and more yours. That’s how empathy happens. That’s how you end up staring out the window with a cigarette, contemplating life and asking better questions.
This is not a cinema about Latin America—it is Latin America speaking for itself. No exotic filters, no clichés, no folkloric gloss. These are just filmmakers telling stories about themselves, their families, their neighbors, their cities, their traumas and celebrations—the way they actually feel.
If you, too, believe the world is more tangled than we give it credit for,
If you, too, feel the ocean roaring somewhere just beyond your line of sight,
If you, too, want better answers —
PHLAFF is already calling.
PHLAFF isn’t just about Latin America as a geography — it’s about cultural intersections. Many of the films are about Latin Americans living in the U.S., Europe, or Asia. The festival explores life between worlds: migration, identity, bilingualism, and cultural adaptation.
25+ countries
Countries represented:
Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, U.S. (with a focus on Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Dominican communities), Spain, and Portugal.
The lineup also includes films by Latin American diasporas in Europe and North America — which expands the geography and deepens the relevance. PHLAFF becomes not just a cinematic showcase, but a cultural mirror.
Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, U.S. (with a focus on Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Dominican communities), Spain, and Portugal.
The lineup also includes films by Latin American diasporas in Europe and North America — which expands the geography and deepens the relevance. PHLAFF becomes not just a cinematic showcase, but a cultural mirror.
- A music programEvery year, PHLAFF invites musicians and sound designers to create curated playlists that “speak” to the film program. It’s not just a soundtrack — it’s a whole sonic ecosystem. You watch a film, and then hear its echo in a track that plays on your way home. This isn’t cinema with music. It’s culture as reverb.
- More than just filmAlongside the screenings, PHLAFF includes exhibitions, spoken word, dance performances, lectures, and community gatherings. It’s less a festival, more a full cultural season.
- HistoryThe festival was born in 2012 as a series of DIY screenings — a small independent project with just a few showings in modest venues and cultural centers. It grew out of a desire to give voice to Latin American filmmakers who weren’t being invited to major festivals. Today, it’s a prestigious platform with an international program — but the spirit of “garage” activism remains.
When and where
May 25 – July 6, 2025
Philadelphia + Online
Events are spread across the city.
Tickets are affordable — and often free.
Full schedule at phlaff.org