Whether you joined us for a screening, discovered a new filmmaker, attended a community event, or celebrated Latin American cinema with us in another way, we want to hear from you.

Our VLAFF 2026 Audience Survey closes on October 31, and there’s still time to share your feedback!

Your thoughts help us understand what resonated with audiences, what we can improve, and how we can continue creating meaningful spaces for Latin American cinema and culture in Vancouver.

The survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and every response helps us plan for future editions of the festival.

Bonus: Complete the survey for a chance to win a Full Festival Pass or a ticket pack for our 25th anniversary in 2027!

Share your feedback before October 31!

Thank you for watching, celebrating, and building VLAFF with us. ¡Hasta la próxima! Até a próxima!

From emerging voices in Latin American cinema to powerful short films, we’re delighted to announce the winners and special mentions of the New Directors Competition and Shorts in Competition.

New Directors Competition

Youth Choice Award – Best New Director

The Devil Smokes (And Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)
Directed by Ernesto Martínez Bucio | Mexico

Special Mention

The Reserve
Directed by Pablo Perez Lombardini | Mexico

Shorts in Competition

Best Short Film

Agua Fría
Directed by Meme Cabello and Antonia Martínez Valls | Chile

Special Mention

Baixada: In Cubatão’s Waters
Directed by Renato Martin de Castro | Brazil

Congratulations to All Our Filmmakers!

Congratulations to all the filmmakers whose work was part of VLAFF24, and a heartfelt thank you to this year’s juries for their time, thoughtful discussions, and commitment to celebrating Latin American cinema.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for another unforgettable edition of VLAFF.

¡Felicitaciones a todas, todos, todes!

In 2026, 96 volunteers generously shared their time, energy, and care to support screenings, events, filmmakers, artists, and audiences at the 24th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. From front-of-house and box office support to hospitality, cinema operations, photography, videography, and community events, their contributions helped bring this year’s festival to life and make VLAFF a welcoming space for connection, discovery, and celebration.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who volunteered with us this year. Below, we are honoured to recognize the volunteers who opted to have their names shared publicly.

VLAFF would not be possible without the generosity and collective effort of our volunteer community. Thank you for sharing your time, skills, and enthusiasm, and for helping us bring Latin American cinema, stories, music, and community together in Vancouver.

As we look ahead to VLAFF’s 25th anniversary in 2027, we carry with us the care and commitment that make this festival what it is. We look forward to celebrating another year of cinema and community with you!

Thank you! ¡Gracias! Obrigadx!

The VLAFF Team

Photos by Bruno Martin del Campo

IN HER PLACE
Chile
Dir. Maide Alberti

This is the debut narrative feature from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi (Chile). Alberdi has directed the renowned, award-winning documentaries THE MOLE AGENT and THE ETERNAL MEMORY, both of which received Oscar nominations for Best Documentary. In this new film, Alberdi skillfully helms a period thriller, demonstrating her versatility as a director; At 43, she is already a major figure in world cinema. IN HER PLACE is based on the true story of writer María Carolina Geel, who killed her lover at the Crillon Hotel in Santiago, Chile, in 1955; the film offers a reinterpretation of a story from Alia Trabucco Zerán’s book *The Murderers*.

IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS
Venezuela
Dirs. Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugas

Familiarity with the cinema of Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugas—winners of the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival for PELO MALO  (2013)—is essential to understanding recent Venezuelan cinema. They once again use Caracas as their setting, this time with a screenplay based on the novel *La hija de la española* by Karin Sainz and featuring a spectacular performance by Natalia Reyes, who must fight against those trying to seize her home amidst the city’s turmoil.

A POET
Colombia
Dir. Simon Soto Mesa

A gem of recent Colombian cinema, A POET—the title alone explains why this film is part of the lineup—features an original screenplay penned by the director. It follows a poet, Oscar Restrepo, through the streets of Medellín; his obsession with poetry has brought him no glory. Aging and erratic, he has succumbed to the cliché of the poet living in the shadows. The film’s greatest asset is the humor—get ready to laugh heartily.

“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)

His connection to Argentina is also profound. Hendler is the partner of the renowned actress and director Ana Katz, to whom VLAFF has already dedicated exhibitions, and together with Buenos Aires director Daniel Burman, he made four feature films, exploring, among other themes, Jewish identity in Buenos Aires. One of those films, The Broken Embrace, earned Hendler the Best Actor award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004.

A Loose End, our opening film, is Daniel Hendler’s third feature film as a director: a perhaps lesser-known facet of his career, but no less significant. 

Ten years would pass before Hendler returned to feature films. In between, he acted—a lot—but he also directed series, broadening a perspective that seems to move naturally between different formats and styles.

With A Loose End, Daniel Hendler confirms himself as a director of enormous sensitivity and a distinctive voice within Río de la Plata cinema. This time, the setting is a territory the director himself has been traversing for decades: that back-and-forth between Argentina and Uruguay, between two countries that share a history, a culture, and a particular sense of humor, but that also reveal their own differences. 

Here, that shared territory once again becomes cinematic material. Hendler observes borders—geographic, emotional, and personal—with the same blend of humor, melancholy, and humanity that has characterized his work as an actor and director.

Let’s take a look back. Hendler made his feature film directorial debut with the endearing Norberto’s Deadline, a dramedy released in 2010 and enthusiastically received from its premiere at the Locarno Film Festival. In Hendler’s own words, the film “is about a guy who starts to discover his ability to lie.” Later came The Candidate, starring Ana Katz and Diego De Paula, where he again explores, through dramedy, the behind-the-scenes machinations and tensions of a presidential campaign in Uruguay.

The Pope’s Toilet (2008) was the first film from Uruguay to host the opening night of VLAFF. Now, we’re thrilled to welcome A Loose End as we kick off the celebrations of the very best in Latin American cinema!

Join us as we celebrate stories, voices, and filmmakers from across Latin America.

VAINILLA

VAINILLA (dir. Mayra Hermosillo), our Closing Night Film, received six Ariel nominations, including Best Film and Best First Feature. Additional nominations include Best Makeup (Alejandra Velarde), Best Production Design (Salvador Parra), Breakthrough Performance (Aurora Dávila), and Best Costume Design (Gilda Navarro). The film portrays a multigenerational household of women in northern Mexico during the 1980s. VAINILLA screens on Sunday, September 20. Tickets here.

THE DEVIL SMOKES

Directed by Ernesto Martínez Bucio,THE DEVIL SMOKES (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) is part of the New Directors Competition. One of the most-nominated films at this year’s Ariel Awards, it received eight nominations, including Best Film and Best First Feature. The film was also nominated for Best Director (Ernesto Martínez Bucio), Best Original Screenplay (Ernesto Martínez Bucio and Karen Plata), Best Supporting Actor (Bernardo Gamboa), Breakthrough Performance (Donovan Said and Laura Uribe Rojas), and Best Editing (Ernesto Martínez Bucio, Karen Plata, and Odei Zabaleta).

THE DEVIL SMOKES screens on September 11. Tickets here.

THE RESERVE

Also part of the New Directors Competition, THE RESERVE (dir. Pablo Pérez Lombardini) received six Ariel nominations. Pablo Pérez Lombardini was nominated for Best First Feature, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Additional nominations include Best Original Score (YOM), Best Cinematography (Moritz Tessendorf), and Breakthrough Performance (Carolina Guzmán).

Shot entirely in black and white, THE RESERVE screens on September 15. Tickets here.

BEST FICTION SHORT FILM

TECHIQ (dir. Missael Sánchez Arce) received an Ariel nomination for Best Fiction Short Film.

In this 30-minute short, a peasant couple waits for the bird known as Techiq to announce their son’s return while confronting illness and the appearance of a strange creature in the forest. Told in Spanish and Náhuatl, the film reflects Sánchez Arce’s commitment to Indigenous storytelling and safeguarding the Náhuatl language.

TECHIQ screens on September 12 as part of FOLLOWING THE VOICES OF OUR ANCESTORS TO THE FUTURE. Reserve a free ticket here.

THE ROLE OF CO-PRODUCTIONS

IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS and THE BLUE TRAIL are examples of the important role that Latin American co-productions play in contemporary cinema. Both films are directed by filmmakers from Venezuela and Brazil, respectively, and tell stories deeply rooted in their own countries and communities. Their Ariel nominations also highlight the cross-border collaborations that allow ambitious Latin American stories to be created and shared with wider audiences.

IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS, directed by renowned Venezuelan filmmakers Marité Ugás and Mariana Rondón, is based on the novel La hija de la española. The film received nine Ariel nominations, including Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. It will screen on September 14. Tickets here.

THE BLUE TRAIL, the latest film by visionary Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro, received seven Ariel nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. The film screens on September 13 and 16. Tickets here.

BEST IBERO-AMERICAN FILM

The Ariel Awards also celebrate outstanding films from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal—the region known as Ibero-America. Three exceptional films nominated in this category are also part of VLAFF’s upcoming edition:

• THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO (Chile, dir. Diego Céspedes), screening September 11 and September 15. Tickets here.
• BELÉN (Argentina, dir. Dolores Fonzi), screening September 12 and September 14. Tickets here.
• A POET (Colombia, dir. Simón Mesa Soto), screening September 17. Tickets here.

Experience these nine acclaimed films at the 24th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, taking place September 10 – 20, 2026.

Explore the full program and get your festival pass here.

VLAFF would not be possible without the incredible volunteers who bring the festival to life each year. From welcoming audiences and supporting screenings to serving coffee, assisting at parties, capturing festival moments, and keeping everything running behind the scenes, volunteers are at the heart of the VLAFF experience.

Volunteering is a great opportunity to experience the festival from the inside, meet filmmakers and artists, build connections across generations, and become part of a vibrant community celebrating Latin American cinema and culture in Vancouver.

Volunteer Opportunities

A variety of positions are available throughout the festival, including:

• Box Office
• Cinema Crew
• Courtyard Crew
• Drinks Table
• Snack Table / El Cafecito
• Fiesta Host
• Logistics Driver
• Set-Up and Pack-Down Crew
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Festival Reels Coordinator

Some positions require specific qualifications, previous experience, additional training, or approval from the VLAFF team. Please review each position and shift carefully before registering.

Volunteer Benefits

• For every two hours of volunteering, volunteers receive one movie ticket.
• Volunteers who sign up for a minimum of three shifts will also receive a VLAFF T-shirt.

Mandatory Volunteer Orientation

Volunteer Orientation will take place on:

Thursday, September 3, 2026
7:15 – 9:15 PM

Orientation is mandatory for festival volunteers and will cover important information about festival venues, procedures, responsibilities, guest service, and what to expect during the festival.

Volunteers who are unable to attend should contact the Volunteer Coordinator to discuss an alternative arrangement.

Join the Team

New volunteers can complete the Volunteer Application and explore available opportunities through VolunteerLocal.

Returning VLAFF volunteers do not need to submit a new application. Simply log in, confirm that your profile and contact information are current, and select the shifts you would like to join.

Questions or problems accessing VolunteerLocal? Contact volunteers@vlaff.org.

We look forward to welcoming new and returning VLAFFers for eleven days of fantastic films, live music, visiting artists, parties, El Cafecito, popcorn with Valentina sauce, and community!

We are thrilled to unveil the Official Poster for the 24th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, taking place September 10 – 20, 2026, at The Cinematheque and venues across Vancouver.

This year’s Official Festival Poster was designed by the exceptionally talented Luis David Morán. At its centre, a young character peers through a handycam, one of several figures inhabiting the playful visual world created for VLAFF 2026. The image speaks to curiosity, observation, and the impulse to capture and share stories, while the three colourways reflect the many perspectives, personalities, and encounters that come together at VLAFF!

Please note that the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will now take place on Tuesday, July 14. Thank you for updating your calendar, we look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, June 29, 2026
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
6:30 PM (PT)
Online (Zoom link will be shared upon registration)

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, June 29, 2026 at 6:30 PM.

The AGM is an important moment in our annual cycle where we reflect on the past year, share updates on the organization, and vote on key governance matters, including the election of our Board of Directors.

Voting & Participation

Anyone is welcome to attend the AGM, however only current VLAFF members in good standing are eligible to vote .

If you are not yet a member, or need to renew your membership, you can do so here.

Board of Directors Elections 2026

This year, VLAFF will be electing multiple new members to our Board of Directors.

As part of this process, we recently opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) to invite community members who are interested in contributing to VLAFF’s governance, strategic direction, and long-term sustainability.

We are looking for a range of applications from individuals with diverse experience in arts and cultural leadership, community engagement, fundraising, communications, governance, and equity-focused work.

Selected candidates will be presented for nomination and election at the AGM.

Board members play a key role in supporting VLAFF’s mission to promote and celebrate Latin American, Latin-Canadian, and Indigenous cinema, and to foster intercultural dialogue through film and community programming. In addition to a passion for the arts and community, we are particularly looking for individuals who bring governance experience, strategic thinking, and skills that support the long-term sustainability, accountability, and growth of the organization.

How to Attend

Please RSVP for the AGM by emailing:
rsvp@vlaff.org

A few days prior to the meeting, registered attendees will receive:

• The Zoom link and access details
• AGM agenda
• Supporting documents for review in advance

Questions

If you have any questions about the AGM, membership, or the Board election process, please don’t hesitate to reach out at info@vlaff.org. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing this important moment with our community.