From East L.A. to Southern Brazil: 6 Must-See Latino Films at Outfest

From Berlin to Sundance, film festivals across the world have thrown their support behind LGBT representation in recent years, opening up important spaces for Queer cinema on a global scale. But while these efforts have played an integral part in the recent sea change in social consciousness, perhaps no other festival does it quite like L.A.’s massive yearly cinema shindig, Outfest.

Since 1982, Outfest has been on the cutting edge of Queer cinema, with the stated goal of “creating, sharing and protecting” LGBT stories for the audiovisual age. And as the festival has grown, so has its scope: Outfest now includes a plethora of awards for U.S. and international narrative features, documentaries, actors and actresses, along with a handful audience awards, and special program awards for Emerging Talent and Artistic Achievement.

Then of course, there are the parties. And there’s a whole lot of ‘em. In fact, Outfest’s opening night shebang has become one of Southern California’s premiere yearly LGBT events, and that’s just the beginning of 10 days worth of pura rumba. Plus, this year’s fest will feature series of rare performances from the world-renowned drag queen Lypsinka, a 10-year anniversary tribute to the L.A. classic Quinceañera, a panel on Trans representation in Hollywood, and a chat with openly gay MMA star Nick Jonas.

Oh, and in a milestone few festivals have ever been able to achieve, an admirable 40% of the festivals programming is by woman filmmakers. You go, Outfest.

Here’s a rundown of some of the Latino films featured in this year’s competition.

Outfest runs from July 9 through July 19, 2015 in Los Angeles.