The 47th CineFestival San Antonio, the nation’s original and longest running Latinx film festival, exhibits Chicanx, Latinx, and international Latin American cinema, with a strong focus on regional and local filmmaking.
This year's CineFestival represents a return to some of its roots presenting films that reflect the rich Latinx and Chicanx cultural and musical traditions of the U.S. That includes a large selection of short films made in San Antonio and the Lone Star State, the U.S. and Latin America, which represent the creativity, talent and fiercely independent voices of Latinx and Chicanx artists who continue to tell stories that matter to them and CineFestival audiences, many times at the fringes of the mainstream industry.
Highlights include the San Antonio premiere of MEXICANAMERICAN, a documentary directed by newcomer Eddie Sanchez, who weaves present-day interviews and the VHS home movies his family once sent across the border, exploring how and why his parents migrated to the U.S. from Mexico, revealing a personal mosaic of one family's struggle to reconcile two cultures between two generations.
Closing night will feature the premiere of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner, American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez directed by Texas native David Alvarado. The documentary traces the career of pioneering playwright, teatrista, screenwriter and director Luis Valdez, who pushed Chicano storytelling against political resistance and industry skepticism.
Other feature films in the program include Let the City Speak, following the journey of Grammy Award-winning Chicano rock band Quetzal; Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History, which traces the rich legacy of Tejano communities from Spanish colonial settlements to the present; Soul Searchin’, diving into the passionate world of rare soul record collectors who devote their lives to finding, preserving, and sharing Black and Chicano soul music; and Who’s the Real Spanish Fly?, an immersive journey into the heart of Latin Freestyle and Hip Hop culture in Texas, featuring the legendary Lil Young of Swishahouse Records.
The 47th CineFestival San Antonio, the nation’s original and longest running Latinx film festival, exhibits Chicanx, Latinx, and international Latin American cinema, with a strong focus on regional and local filmmaking.
This year's CineFestival represents a return to some of its roots presenting films that reflect the rich Latinx and Chicanx cultural and musical traditions of the U.S. That includes a large selection of short films made in San Antonio and the Lone Star State, the U.S. and Latin America, which represent the creativity, talent and fiercely independent voices of Latinx and Chicanx artists who continue to tell stories that matter to them and CineFestival audiences, many times at the fringes of the mainstream industry.
Highlights include the San Antonio premiere of MEXICANAMERICAN, a documentary directed by newcomer Eddie Sanchez, who weaves present-day interviews and the VHS home movies his family once sent across the border, exploring how and why his parents migrated to the U.S. from Mexico, revealing a personal mosaic of one family's struggle to reconcile two cultures between two generations.
Closing night will feature the premiere of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner, American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez directed by Texas native David Alvarado. The documentary traces the career of pioneering playwright, teatrista, screenwriter and director Luis Valdez, who pushed Chicano storytelling against political resistance and industry skepticism.
Other feature films in the program include Let the City Speak, following the journey of Grammy Award-winning Chicano rock band Quetzal; Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History, which traces the rich legacy of Tejano communities from Spanish colonial settlements to the present; Soul Searchin’, diving into the passionate world of rare soul record collectors who devote their lives to finding, preserving, and sharing Black and Chicano soul music; and Who’s the Real Spanish Fly?, an immersive journey into the heart of Latin Freestyle and Hip Hop culture in Texas, featuring the legendary Lil Young of Swishahouse Records.
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