Vancouver Latin American Film Festival unveils program of more than 70 films for event September 10 to 20
Highlights include Argentinian-Uruguayan opener A Loose End, and guest filmmakers Oscar Ruiz Navia and Mayra Hermosillo
A Loose End
Comparsa
VANCOUVER LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL will open its program of 70 films from 24 countries with the Canadian premiere of Argentinian-Uruguayan A Loose End on September 10.
The Spanish-language cop-on-the-run comedy combines Western, thriller, and rom-com elements—and marks the latest by Uruguayan actor and director Daniel Hendler.
VLAFF, one of the largest and longest-running Latin American film festivals in North America, will continue to September 20 at venues around town, including SFU Woodward’s, The Cinematheque, Cineworks (in the same building as The Cinematheque), as well as copresentation screenings with the Vancouver Queer Film Festival at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas.
Other highlights include a special guest appearance by renowned Colombian director, screenwriter, and producer Oscar Ruiz Navia. The fest will screen 2019’s Fait Vivir and 2025’s Tigers Can Be Seen in the Rain—both made since the filmmaker has relocated to Montreal.
Elsewhere, Mexican actress, director, and screenwriter Mayra Hermosillo is coming to the festival to present the Canadian premiere of her directorial feature debut, Vainilla. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2025 Morelia Film Festival, is set in the home of a multigenerational family of women. It’s currently nominated for Best Picture at the Mexican Academy of Film Awards. Hermosillo will also present Newborn, the 2024 feature in which she stars as the mother of an intersex baby and all the ethical questions she faces around gender assignment.
Meanwhile, six standout features will compete in VLAFF’s New Directors Competition. The titles include Mexico’s The Reserve, directed by Pablo Pérez Lombardini; Argentina’s Elder Son, directed by Cecilia Kang; U.S.-Guatemala coproduction Comparsa, directed by Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson; Mexico’s The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box), directed by Ernesto Martínez Bucio Castellanos; Ecuador’s Light Memories, directed by Misha Vallejo Prut; and Argentina’s Lovers in the Sky, directed by Fermín de la Serna.
The 2026 VLAFF Youth Jury, made up of 18 young filmmakers, students, and artistic creators based in B.C., will engage in online dialogues with all of the New Directors and choose the winner of the Youth Choice Award for Best New Director.
Meanwhile, 15 shorts, chosen from over 350 submissions from across Latin America, will compete for the fest’s top short-film prize, representing six countries and four languages—Spanish, Portuguese, Guaraní, and Nahuatl. The selected works include films by Indigenous, women, queer, and trans/nonbinary filmmakers. Several directors will attend in person.
And as ever, VLAFF will showcase Latin-Canadian cinema, including the Vancouver premiere of Copper, the 11th feature by the enfant terrible of Latin-Canadian cinema, Nicolás Pereda. Likewise, local filmmaker and artist semillitxs hernández velasco, codirector with his sister Tania Hernández Velasco, will present the Canadian premiere of their innovative, intimate feature film Our Body Is an Expanding Star. VLAFF is also preparing to show its largest-ever selection of Latin-Canadian short films.
Curated by Akira Iahtail and Masa’n Galindo, the program Following the Voices of Our Ancestors to the Future shines a spotlight on Indigenous futurism, and includes the cinematic essay “Sukkaillutit Uqaruk - Say It Slowly” by Inuk filmmaker Ashley Qilavaq-Savard. All screenings in this section are free. The Panamanian-Emberá coming-of-age feature The Dance of the Kokorrdit by Guido Bilbao and Elio Cunampio will screen under the heading of Films from Turtle Island and Beyond.
For the third year in a row, VLAFF and Vancouver Queer Film Festival will copresent Queer Pix, short films by 2SLGBTQ+ Latin filmmakers, followed by the Fuego/Fogo live performance and Latine DJ dance party at The Birdhouse on September 19.
Local artists will play live music at the fest’s free ¡ASÍ SUENA! Music Nights in the Cinematheque courtyard from Friday to Sunday evenings at 7:45pm.
At VLAFF.org, Earlybird Festival Passes are now on sale, with all other passes and tickets on sale August 4. 
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