From Border Hunters to Blind Ballerinas: 6 Must-See Latino Films at the Los Angeles Film Festival

Superheroes! Reboots! Remakes! Sequels! You can’t escape it: summer movie season is upon us. But if you’re not quite as taken with what Hollywood has to offer you, you may want to check out the many film festivals coming your way in the warm months ahead. The Los Angeles Film Festival, just released its program and it’s a welcome change of pace from the reheated and re-branded marketing efforts Hollywood is passing off as entertainment this summer. For starters, take these stats: across the five feature competition categories in the fest’s program, 43% of the films are directed by women and 38% of the films are directed by people of color. Try seeing that type of diversity at your local multiplex!

With an impressive Competition lineup, intriguing Buzz and Limelight sections, and a number of free screenings, combing through the festival’s program can be a daunting task. But don’t worry, we’ve gone through and singled out the Latino films you don’t want to miss. Yes, they include some films that rely on tired Latino tropes like a certain Cuarón feature on immigrants that was tapped as the Closing Night of the fest, but they also include innovative docs on juvie inmates and blind ballerinas, plus the groundbreaking docufiction Lupe Under the Sun that uses real farmworkers as actors. Check them out below.

The Los Angeles Film Festival runs June 1-9, 2016 at the ArcLight Cinemas.