The San Diego Latino Film Festival will celebrate its 29th year of diverting from euro-centric cinematic standards and challenging stereotypes by giving Latinx filmmakers a chance to tell their own stories through their lens.
On its opening night on March 10, the festival will premier the documentary Pepe Serna: Life is Art at 7 p.m. The film, produced by Edward James Olmos, tells the veteran actor’s life story through Serena’s own words.
Pepe Serena, who is expected to attend, has appeared in films such as Scarface and The Jerk.
Over the years, the San Diego Latino Film Festival has advocated for inclusive and diverse cinematic storytelling about the Latinx identity. The festival will feature entries from the United States, Mexico, Central America, and Spain, showing over 200 shorts and features, and a virtual slate as well.
Film entries like “La Caja” and Los Guardianes del Maíz are partnerships between U.S. and Mexican filmmakers.
Attendees may find a South Bay flair in entries like The Kitchenistas, a documentary featuring a group of National City women who developed a sisterhood to mentor, advocate, and bring high-quality food to homes and schools.
Desde La Equina explains how the boxing movement began in Tijuana, and La Recua depicts how Darío Higuera Meza, a saddle maker in Baja California Sur, set out to honor “Los arrieros”, the muleteers of Baja’s donkey pack-trains.
The festival is expected to run through March 20. Individual screenings cost $12 – in-person they take place at AMC Mission Valley 20. All-access passes start at $225.
In addition, events during the festival incliudes the Migrant Voices Today competition, at 7 p.m. on March 15, and on March 19, Youth Visions, a screening of shorts at 2 p.m., along with the Sabor Latino food, beer, and wine fest, at 1 p.m.
Visit San Diego Latino Film Festival to view festival passes, schedules, film guides, and more.
