Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican American Memoir of Music and Belonging

Feature Documentary

Los Angeles Premiere

A profoundly personal story of a musician who leads his students on a journey of cultural affirmation during a four decade span that placed their community into the bullseye of America’s crisis of democracy. The film features archival footage that captures the growth of community youth from teen to adulthood, and features a Who’s Who of culturally influential collaborators that include Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Lalo Guerrero, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Daniel Valdez, Ry Cooder, Flaco Jimenez, Preservation Hall, and others. A film by James Hall.

Director: James Hall

Producer: Eugene Rodriguez         

Website: https://www.loscenzontles.com/bofv/

Confessions to the Moon

Short film. 

Director: Rosa Navarrete

Producers: Patricia Zamorano, Rosa Navarrete, Mercedes Garcia, Lauren Ballesteros (exec prod)

Writer:  Lauren Ballesteros           

Cast: Rose Portillo, Linda Lopez Campo, Graciela Campos, Lauren Ballesteros, Marián Gutiérrez, Valeria Maldonado

Cinematographer: Alessandro Gentile

Editor: Isabella Rodriguez, Jenny Caceres

Instagram: @confessionstothemoon_shortfilm

Short

World Premiere

Head of Household centers on Nine-year-old Joshua who lives in a home defined by chaos, fighting, and emotional neglect. As the Christmas season approaches, his parents’ constant conflict leaves him and his baby brother largely uncared for. To cope, Joshua retreats into schoolwork, where order and achievement offer him a sense of control missing from his home life. Forced to grow up too quickly, Joshua quietly becomes the most responsible person in the house. Small acts of care reveal a child carrying the weight of an adult role.

Director: Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre 
Producer: Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre
Writer:  Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre          

Cast: Joshua Castillo, Cindy Ball, Casey Ball, Jayden Castillo.

Cinematographer: Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre

Editor: Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre

Camera: Vince Garcia

Instagram: @papapaco.films

(Short)

To avoid deportation, an aspiring Haitian chef enters a fraudulent marriage with a passionate Dominican woman drowning in financial hardship. But as lies pile up and pressure mounts, the fragile arrangement spins into dangerous territory—where love, survival, and betrayal collide, and the dream of freedom could become their undoing.

Director:  Jacquin DeLeon 

Producer: Jacquin DeLeon, Nick Alexander, Natasha Ward, Lorena Jorge, Tz Shaw. 

Writer:    Jacquin DeLeon and Nick Alexander           

Cast: Nick Alexander, Efrangeliz Medina , Lorena Jorge, Orlando Leyba

Cinematographer: Snyder Derival

Editor: Itai Levin 

Awards: Audience Choice and Best national at Urban Film Festial, Nominated for best short film at Pan African Film Festival 

Los Chucos Suaves is a music video produced and directed by Adelaide Pilar Benavides as an homage to the late Lalo Guerrero and pachuco zoot suit era. As a music artist Adelaide is known for taking classic songs and giving them a modern west coast cumbia sound. As she did with this music video by using the old 40’s black and white movie style while integrating modern Chicano culture as well as Chicana empowerment by having all the main characters depicted as strong women in positions of power. Aside from the storyline and film style, the costume design in this video consists of over 20 custom tailored zoot suits by internationally known business El Pachuco Zoot suit; established in Fullerton, California in 1978. In the end, Adelaide aims to share with the audience a piece of the joyous and colorful culture of the Pachuco and Pachuca without even needing to use color.

Director/Producer: Adelaide Pilar Benavides

Editor: Tony Soto

Cast: Adelaide Pilar, Sophia Barajas, Elsa Estrella, Rockin’ Randy, Ernie Pachuco King Glez, Peter Barajas, Vanesa Esterella

Also recently selected for Cines Las Americas International Film Festival, Chicano Hollywood Film Festival, Intercultural Voices Film Festival and GramoFrame Music Video Awards

IG: @adelaidepilarmusic

YouTube: Adelaide Pilar

website: AdelaidePilar.com

Odio A Mi Mama( I Hate My Mom)

Short

World Premiere, USA Premiere, West Coast Premiere, Los Angeles Premiere.

A quick insight into the mindset of a son who holds resentment towards his mom, but eventually comes to understand his mom as her own person, to forgive to heal and move on.

Director: Ramces Villa

Producer: Ramces Villa        

Cast: Karina Villa, Teresa Torres, Ramces Villa

Cinematographer: Ramces Villa

Editor: Ramces Villa

Victor De La Torre for Music

Instagram: studioamiigo

Noche Noir

Short Film

10th LA Latinx Film Festival) 

World Premiere

Description/storyline 

A cryptic message—you are being framed. run for your life.—plunges a woman into a Lynchian noir labyrinth, where nothing is real, no one is safe, and escape may come at the cost of her identity.

Director: Marissa Chibás

Producer: Rui Xu, Katia Gomez

Writer: Marissa Chibás          

Cast:  Jhayna Duarte, Katia Gomez, Joe Zhang, Peter Mark, Morgan Danielle, Paige Innis, Gabe Rivas, Alexandra Tejada, Juan Ayala, Angela Rosado, and Brian Nai.

Cinematographer: Nico Savignano

Editor: Melissa Balint

Paredes Entre Tú y Yo (Walls Between You and Me)

Short

With her father's long-awaited green card interview just one day away, Miriam, a 21-year-old aspiring chef, returns home expecting to celebrate her birthday. Instead, she discovers her estranged father needs her help to secure his future in the United States. As old wounds resurface and unspoken grief lingers between them, father and daughter must confront years of resentment while navigating the fragile space between obligation, identity, and love. Set against the backdrop of a family food truck and an uncertain future, Paredes Entre Tú y Yo is an intimate portrait of forgiveness, sacrifice, and the ties that bind immigrant families across generations.

Director: Jacob Franco 

Producer: Catalina Garayoa and Gonzalo Martin

Writer: Catalina Garayoa           

Cast: Catalina Garayoa, Pedro Pano, Gary Gunter, Gonzalo Martin

Cinematographer: Augusto García

Editor: Rommel Villa Barriga

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paredesentretuyyo/

Prick

Short

 After learning her husband has been in a life-threatening car crash, Ana must make a difficult decision.

Director: Natalie De Diego

Producer: Viviana Chavez, Christine Odilia

Writer: Natalie De Diego             

Cast: Chelsea Rivera, Jeff Hoover, Maria Sager, Alexa Rachelle Jennings, Sybil Rosen

Cinematographer: Tom Pritchard

Editor: Natalie De Diego, Jason Hardwick

Prick won Best Drama at the L.I.F.E/ Latina Independent Film Extravaganza 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prick_shortfilm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558386543617

The Book of Sami

 Short

US Premier

Sami is an intelligent, resilient young woman who comes of age documenting the hostile world around her. She fills the pages of a journal with her aspirations, doubts, victories, and failures. Years later, that journal is discovered by a man who becomes the narrator of her story.

Director: Bertrand Alfonso

Productor: Luis Vera

Writer: Bertrand Alfonso

Cast: 
Alondra Torres as 16-Year-Old Sami

Yohana Cabrera as 24-Year-Old Sami

Mia Cadena as 6-Year-Old Sami

Cinematographer: PeterFresh (Pedro A. Ciares)

Editor: Haymee Quirino and Jason Romero

Official Award Winner

Kaia International Film Festival – Best Short Film

Los Angeles Film Awards – Best Narrative Short, Best Director & Special Jury Award 

Website: https://www.studioproductora.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioproductora

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioProductora

Documentary

 Docuvision International Film Festival, 16th Puerto Rico Film Festival 2025 (PRFF), 13th Boston Indie Film Festival, 10th Dallas Movie Fest, 15th Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PHL)

 In the documentary THREADS OF LIGHT, blind sculptor Luis Felipe Passalacqua takes us by the hand and step by step into his sensitive world; he and the camera coexist, from the professional to the most intimate. His sense of humor and positive attitude are his allies in overcoming the hurdles in pursuing his dreams

Director: Berenice Manjarrez Vericat

Producer: Berenice Manjarrez Vericat, Bienvenida "Beni" Matias           

Cast: Luis Felipe Passalacqua

Cinematographer: Berenice Manjarrez Vericat

Editor: Gisela Rosario Ramos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilosdeluzdocu/

Documentary Short

Los Angeles Premiere 

 Framed by today’s immigration debate, a son traces his family’s journey from undocumented newcomers to American citizens, revealing how those labeled a threat have always been a gift to the nation.

Director: Miguel Lepe Jr

Producer: Miguel Lepe Jr & Giselle Doyle

Writer: Miguel Lepe Jr          

Cast: Miguel Lepe Sr, Mercedes Lepe, Azucena Lepe, Sonia Martin, and Miguel Lepe Jr

Cinematographer: Andrew Degner

Editor: Carolina Silva

Composer: Omar Monzon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leafcutter_productions/

Short Documentary

Los Angeles Premiere

Farmersville, a small town within the Central Valley, was once the subject of the Farmersville Film Project, a series of films aimed at supporting social progress. This documentary returns to the town with open questions rather than expectations, exploring how the community’s present compares with the expectations of voices from its past.

Director, Savannah Gasca, was born and raised in Farmersville, with a family who have lived in the town for generations. Growing up, she often struggled with pride in where she’s from because of the town’s name and overall reputation; it was typically the subject of jokes and ridicule. At the same time, she’s always felt a sense of belonging and attachment to this community, and she wishes to explore both the pride and challenges that come with being from Farmersville. She’s motivated to give voice to the lived experiences of her community, with the hope that this film sparks local conversations of pride, change, and expands pride to other small communities that may feel forgotten.

Director: Savannah Gasca

Producer: Yaretzi Alvarez

Cinematographer: Levi Yin

Editor: Abby Kottke

Instagram: @fromfarmersvilledoc

Short Film

World Premiere

After a failed attempt to connect with his son, Andrés confronts an entity that feeds from his loneliness.

Director: José Rodríguez García

Producers: José Rodríguez García and Valerie Vega Reyes

Writers: José Rodríguez García and Valerie Vega Reyes               

Cast: Raymond Rassi, Noryzel García Pérez,  Aurelio Rodríguez

Cinematographer:  Valerie Vega Reyes

Editors:  José Rodríguez García and Valerie Vega Reyes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmeshucar/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/filmeshucar

Narrative Short
La Estrella is a tender portrait of a tight-knit Mexican-American family grappling with the entrance of fentanyl into their community. Set across two timelines, the story follows José, a gentle, but withdrawn teenager unable to gain his momentum, and his older brother Diego, a charismatic and ambitious college student struggling with the stress of family expectations.

Director: Gabriela Díaz Arp @gabriela_arp
Producer: Anna Jimenez Lyle @annajimenezlyle
Writer: Gerardo Coello Escalante & Amandine Thomas              
Cast: Maria Sager, Israel Alexander, Ramiro Salinas, Anett Castro, Santiago Varela, Rose Bianco
Cinematographer: Lara Aqel
Editor: Cecilia Delgado

NoMore Hurt Award, Best Mental Health Film, March 2026

ETHOS Film Awards, Award for Recovery Advocacy, April 2026

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/song4charlie/
Twitter: https://x.com/SongforCharlie
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/songforcharlie/
Your Film's Trailer: (must be a youtube or vimeo unrestricted link) https://vimeo.com/1123054227/19f3aec12a