LALIFF

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LALIFF 2021 Review – 2021 Los Angeles International Film Festival

LALIFF 2021

Angeleno’s are spoiled for film festivals. That’s despite the discontinuation of the LA Film Festival in 2018. Instead of being dominated by one single film festival like TIFF, Berlinale, or the London Film Festival, Los Angeles has a diverse range of brilliant film festivals that each cover different perspectives. PAFF is your go to for Pan African film, Outfest celebrates LGBTQ+ films, Shorts Fest covers many of the latest shorts, whilst AFI Docs screens the best recent documentaries. Similarly, LALIFF, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival showcases the global Latino experience on film. In a city dominated by Latinos, LALIFF is the premiere Latino film festival in the city, and likely the country. With plenty of premieres, round table discussions, and workshops, make sure you add it to your film calendar for next year. Read on for our full LALIFF 2021 review.

The Experience

With COVID-19 cases declining in California and Los Angeles, LALIFF 2021 was one of the first film festivals since the start of the pandemic that hosted in-person events in Los Angeles. All of the films had screening times at Hollywood cinemas for anyone to attend. However, as the festival coincided with the birth of my first baby, I was only able to make the most of the virtual portion of the festival, so our LALIFF 2021 review misses the in person events. Luckily for me, almost all of the films still had virtual screenings (other than the big premieres like In The Heights), so I was able to catch a lot of the festival, especially the international films that usually find it harder to fill theaters than the domestic premieres.

For this 20th edition of the festival, all of the round table discussions and industry workshops were hosted virtually, allowing anyone without time to attend or COVID-19 concerns to access some brilliant industry insider knowledge on offer. LALIFF 2021 is the first film festival that we’ve seen in Los Angeles that hosts industry events. It was also the first we’ve seen that screened films from local student filmmakers, which were boosted from placements ahead of some of the most anticipated international movies on the schedule, such as Executive Order. The combination of industry talks and student film screenings demonstrates LALIFF is committed to boosting the Latino film community by sharing knowledge from role models within the industry and giving screen space to help young filmmakers get seen. It was great to see the community connection – something that all film festivals should aspire to create.

A next step could be hosting some of the festival’s events within the Los Angeles’ Latino community as well as Hollywood. Whilst Hollywood might give the festival more visibility in the industry, screenings in community centers might boost the visibility of the festival amongst Latinos as well as the Latino community to the film industry. PAFF is one great example of this, moving from it’s humble start at the former Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in the center of Los Angeles’ African American community. The move has allowed the festival to expand into a multi-dimensional event with films at the theater and arts and crafts in the mall to celebrate Pan African culture and the African American community. Another example is the younger Central American International Film Festival held in the Plaza de la Raza cultural center, showcasing Latino films in one of the artistic hearts of Los Angeles’ Latino community. Showcasing some of it’s star films in the Latino community in Los Angeles could boost the community’s visibility to the film industry.

Wherever in Los Angeles LALIFF 2022 takes place, make sure you make the effort to attend.

The Films

As expected, there was a good representation of Latin American films screening at LALIFF 2021. Whilst the selection wasn’t as large as other film festivals, it’s 18 feature films represented a decent selection of countries with 9 countries represented at this year’s edition. LALIFF 2021 also did an OK job of representing directors from different background. 10 of the 18 feature films were directed by women which was great to see, and the festival also screened 2 films by Afro-Latin directors and 1 by an indigenous woman which was better than nothing. Other films also touched on the Afro-Latin and Indigenous experience, however it would be awesome to see further visibility for Afro-Latin and Indigenous directors and producers in future.

LALIFF 2021 also had a nice mix of genres to watch. There were the classic artistic festival films such as Nudo Mixteco and La Botera, protest films such as Landfall, dreamy coming of age journeys such as Papi, and pop films such as comedy satire The Best Families, and rom-com Something Blue. It even covered the big premiere of one of the year’s most hyped films in musical, In the Heights. There was something for every type of film fan.

The quality of the films was good too. All of the 9 feature films I saw are worth your time with no duds in the mix. Here’s how they stacked up.

  1. Landfall
  2. Executive Order
  3. Fruits of Labor
  4. The Best Families
  5. Papi
  6. Nudo Mixteco
  7. Something Blue
  8. La Botera
  9. Between Fire and Water
LALIFF 2021’s Best: 1

Landfall is one of the best critiques of disaster capitalism and imperialism there is. It’s perfectly ordered observational scenes from around the island craft a country at crisis point. It’s an urgent warning to the precarious situation on the island following the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

The Runner Up: 2

A lightly comedic dystopian film, Executive Order fits perfectly within the highly divided Brazilian society. It’s great to see a movie in which reparations is the main focus and, like Bacurau, brings humor to a fiery contemporary context.

Two Personal Documentaries: 3 & 9

Fruits of Labor and Between Fire and Water are two brilliantly intimate documentaries which follow two teenagers trying to find their own identity. Fruits of Labor follows a student trying to support her family whilst studying for graduation in Central California, whilst Between Fire and Water follows a Black adoptee of an indigenous community trying to connect with his biological roots.

The Pop Hits: 4, 5, & 7

The Best Families, Papi, and Something Blue were three great movies to watch for the casual film viewer looking for some light entertainment. The Best Families features two dysfunctional families that lose it as a long held secret comes to light. Papi is a beautifully dreamy coming of age movie shot from the perspective of a kid missing her drug-dealing dad. Something Blue is the perfect film to watch if you’re looking for a cheesy romcom.

The Art House Festival Films: 6 & 8

Nudo Mixteco and La Botera are two art-house films which depict humble lives away from the bustle of the city. Nudo Mixteco features three storylines with indigenous women that piece together Amores Perros’ style in a remote Mexican town. La Botera follows a teenager growing up in a tough Buenos Aires neighborhood dreaming of being a boatwoman.

The Shorts

There was also a great selection of shorts which screened both in front of the biggest features of the festival as well as on their own in shorts only screenings. These included shorts from local student filmmakers as mentioned above, as well as shorts from up-and-coming filmmakers trying to break into the industry. Of the small selection we saw for our LALIFF 2021 review, we strongly recommend looking out for the following:

  • Nuevo Rico: a purple and pink neon infused animation that reminded me of the Akira look but with the bikes and sci-fi swapped out for reggaeton and the music industry.
  • The Libertarian: there should be more slave rebellion stories on film. The Libertarian uses a simple black and white animation to convey the terror of the slave ships and the bravery and power of the rebellion, connecting them to the African diaspora in the Americas.
  • Roach: if you ever wondered what Kafka’s Metamorphosis converted to animation might look like, check out Roach.

Overall LALIFF 2021 Review

Los Angeles has a lot of great film festivals and LALIFF is one of them. LALIFF 2021 was the most rounded film festival I’ve experienced in Los Angeles, featuring a diverse selection of international and domestic films from within the Latin American universe, as well as Q&A’s, round table discussions, and industry workshops that are usually only confined to the biggest international film festivals. It even has a nice portion of community outreach, screening a few shorts made by students at local school districts. Just as the Pan African Film Festival, hosted in Crenshaw, is the go to for Pan African film in Los Angeles, LALIFF is the go to festival for Latino film in the city. It’s celebration of Latin film should be a can’t miss event for any local film fan.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for individual reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF, giving more detail than the LALIFF 2021 review summaries.

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LALIFF 2026 – A Community Celebration of Latinos in Film

LALIFF 2026

Los Angeles is spoiled for film festivals. You can find film festivals representing communities from almost every part of the globe, from the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival to Outfest. LALIFF is one of the most popular film festivals in the city, and for good reason: it’s both the longest running and biggest Latino film festival in the country. If you missed it this year, make sure you grab a ticket this time next year!

The Experience

This year was the first time I’ve covered LALIFF in person, and wow, it was buzzing. Whilst you could see the excellent film programming in the virtual versions of the festival during the pandemic, the heart of the festival beats for building community in-person. I usually dread the long bus journey to the tourist-trap of Hollywood, but the LALIFF bar takeover, life-filled cinema lobby, and the screenings made everything feel more welcoming.

LALIFF stood out from other festivals I’ve covered because of this atmosphere. It was the first festival I’ve been to where the screenings received screams, whoops of excitement, and big prolonged applauding, making it feel like a true celebration of film. The atmosphere was created by the presence of the talent, and their passionate entourages of family and friends. It felt like LALIFF is a place where you could bring along anyone, no matter their age or how loud they are, making it feel like a valuable third space for the Los Angelino community.

The Films

As with previous editions, the feature-film programming was impressive. With only 17 feature films screening across the 4 days of the festival, the programmers focus on quality rather than quantity. However, despite the low number of films, the festival represented a wide range of countries, from the less-established film industries of Bolivia and Honduras to the ever present on the festival circuit film producing nations of Argentina and Mexico.

LALIFF 2026 also balanced genres well through their programming. Even in the 6 feature films we watched, there was a wide range of genres. Here’s how the feature films we saw stacked up:

The Condor Daughter (Bolivia)

The Condor Daughter is a beautifully shot tale of tradition standing against the threat of expanding globalization. You’ll be transported to the awesomely scenic mountains of the Bolivian Andes and thrown into the Quecha culture of the Totorani community. You’ll follow Clara, a young woman working with her adopted mother as a midwife, as she battles the allure of modernity and fame. Read the full review here.

Eva (Honduras)

An immensely warm-hearted film which breaks traditional gender roles by casting Endry Cardeño, a trans-woman, as Eva, a grandma, forced to take care of her granddaughter. As per the idiom; “it takes a village to raise a child,” we find a small tight-knit community in Tegucigalpa, the largest city in Central America, instead of one of the murder capitals of the world. Read the full review here.

The Red Hangar (Chile)

The Red Hangar is a dark, gripping thriller that depicts the Chilean coup of 1973 in real-time through the eyes of a patriotic air force captain. It’s based on a true story and brings you right into the fascistic chaos with hand-held cameras following the captain as he questions his integrity. This one is for fans of political thrillers and those seeking films which represent Chile’s fall into fascism in the 1970s.

A Place of Absence & How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps

A Place of Absence and How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps are two personal projects that explore the immigrant experience and grief through the eyes of daughters and their mothers. Both films bring color to lives that have been hidden and invite the audience to join the filmmakers on their journey to process the trauma and experiences that have shaped their families and lives.

Fifteen (Mexico)

For something completely different to the above look out for this high-school lesbian body-horror comedy. Fifteen seamlessly merges a wide range of genres to make something that unbelievably works. It’s fun, funny, and a refreshing change to everything mentioned above. It reminded me a lot of Good Manners and Medusa – two wildly inventive genre-bending Brazilian films.

The Shorts at LALIFF 2026

We also caught a shorts segment, which was the highlight of the festival. The theater was packed with talent and some huge entourages of friends and family, which made the viewing a real atmospheric treat. The films below were all refreshing and unique and well worth seeking out.

  • #Blessed: this comedy short about Juanita looking for the love of her life is filled with plenty of tongue-in-cheek silliness, vivid colors, and pop editing to make it a very fun watch.
  • Loco: a man in his late 20s/early 30s hilariously tries to navigate an existential crisis without his parents knowing; “you don’t need therapy, you only need Jesus”.
  • Marga en el DF: captures the difficulty of relationships and the warm vibes of Mexico City accompanied by Selena through the experiences of a pregnant lady.

LALIFF 2026 Footnote

LALIFF 2026 was one of the most lively film festivals I’ve experienced in Los Angeles owing to the amazing job it did of welcoming talent and building community. It also had a diverse range of high-quality film-programming and events too. So if you’re in Los Angeles, brave the trip to the TCL Chinese theater complex in Hollywood next year to celebrate Latino film.