“In an underdeveloped society, people need someone to think for them.”

In the words of its director, Gutiérrez Alea, “if the film has any merit, it is the fact that it tends to unsettle the viewer. When the film ends, that’s when it begins to operate in people’s minds; when you leave the cinema, you are faced with another reality that offers contradictions, unresolved questions.”

“How do we escape underdevelopment? Every day I think it gets more difficult.”

Released in 1968, Memories of Underdevelopment is recognized as one of the best films in the history of Latin American cinema and is a milestone of Cuban cinema and stylistic innovation in its portrayal of an intellectual adapting to life after the revolution in a country in transition.

“In underdevelopment, nothing has continuity; everything is forgotten. People are not consistent.”

Based on novelist and screenwriter Edmundo Desnoes’s autobiographical Inconsolable Memories, Memories of Underdevelopment became the first feature-length film from postrevolutionary Cuba to be released in the United States, to high acclaim.

Screening Sept 18 at 4pm, at Cineworks (1131 Howe St – back alley entrance)

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF) is now accepting submissions for its 24th edition, taking place September 10–20, 2026 in Vancouver, Canada.

VLAFF showcases bold, diverse, and innovative cinema from Latin America and its diasporas, celebrating stories of identity, resistance, joy, culture, music, food, and community.

Final submission deadline: March 31, 2026
Early Bird deadline: February 15, 2026

All submissions must be made via FilmFreeway:
filmfreeway.com/vlaff

In Competition

New Directors Competition — First Features (Ópera Prima)

One of VLAFF’s most exciting sections, the New Directors Competition highlights first-time feature filmmakers whose debut works signal powerful new voices in Latin American cinema.

We welcome films that take creative risks, explore new cinematic languages, and bring urgent or intimate perspectives to the screen.

Eligibility

• First feature-length films (ópera prima)
• Latin American directors or films with Latin American content
• Fiction, animation, documentary, arthouse, hybrid
• 60 minutes and longer
• Production years: 2025–2026

Youth Choice Award for Best New Director
Each selected film receives a $300 CAD honorarium.

Short Film Competition

The Shorts in Competition section is the oldest competition at VLAFF and continues to be a launchpad for emerging and established filmmakers alike.

Each year, 15 finalist short films screen at the festival and compete for our Best Short Film Award.

Eligibility

• Fiction, animation, experimental, documentary, hybrid
• Maximum running time: 21 minutes
• Latin American content
• Production years: 2025–2026

Best Short Film Award
$750 CAD cash prize to the director.

Out of Competition

Feature Films

This section showcases outstanding feature-length films that expand cinematic conversations and resonate strongly with VLAFF audiences outside of the competitive framework.

Eligibility

• Feature-length films
• Latin American directors and/or Latin American content
• Fiction, animation, documentary, hybrid
• 60 minutes and longer
• Production years: 2025–2026

Indigenous Filmmakers from Latin America & Canada

Films from Turtle Island & Beyond

This section centers Indigenous filmmakers and collectives from across Turtle Island and throughout Latin America, highlighting stories rooted in sovereignty, land, memory, and community.

Eligibility

• Feature-length and short films
• Indigenous directors and filmmaking collectives
• Fiction, animation, experimental, documentary, hybrid
• Production years: 2025–2026

Canada Looks South — Latinx Canadian Filmmakers

Canada Looks South amplifies Latin-Canadian voices and Canadian filmmakers engaging with Latin American stories, cultures, and histories.

Latin American directors living in Vancouver are especially encouraged to submit.

Eligibility

• Feature-length and short films
• Latin-Canadian directors (permanent residents or citizens)
• Canadian directors with Latin American content
• Fiction, animation, documentary, hybrid
• Production years: 2023–2025

Thematic Sections

¡Así Sabe! — Food Films (Culinary Cinema)

A celebration of food as culture, memory, resistance, and joy. ¡Así Sabe! invites films that explore culinary traditions, kitchens, markets, and foodways across Latin America.

Eligibility

• Feature-length films
• Focus on food and culinary culture
• Fiction, animation, documentary, arthouse, hybrid
• Production years: 2025–2026

¡Así Suena! — Music Films

Now in its third year, ¡Así Suena! celebrates music on the big screen — from performance and rhythm to sound as identity and movement.

Eligibility

• Feature-length films
• Focus on music and sound
• Fiction, animation, documentary, arthouse, hybrid
• Production years: 2025–2026

¡Activismo! — Cinema of Social & Environmental Justice

This section features films that address historical struggles, social movements, political ideas, and environmental justice across Latin America.

Eligibility

• Feature-length films
• 60 minutes and longer
• Production years: 2025–2026

Queer Pix — Non-Competitive

A celebratory space for Queer short films that center Latin American perspectives, joy, desire, experimentation, and resistance.

Eligibility

• Short films by Queer directors
• Fiction, animation, experimental, documentary, hybrid
• Maximum running time: 21 minutes
• Production years: 2024–2026

Fee Waivers

A limited number of submission fee waivers are available for filmmakers for whom the fee represents a genuine barrier to participation.

Priority is given to filmmakers based in Venezuela, Argentina, and Cuba, as well as other contexts where submission fees pose economic challenges.

To request a waiver, contact programming@vlaff.org with a brief introduction to your project.

Share the Call

We invite you to share this call with your communities. We are seeking new voices, Afro-descendant and Indigenous filmmakers, experimental works, music and food films, Latinx Canadian perspectives, and stories of joy, resilience, and transformation.

THANK YOU! OBRIGADX! GRACIAS!