From a Superhero Stoner to Mexican Hip-Hop: 8 Must-See Latino Movies at Urbanworld Film Festival

Mining its key word for its many connotations, the Urbanworld Film Festival – now in its 21st year – is intent on showing the vast variety of stories that can fall under the label “urban.” This includes: gritty tales that take place in city streets, documentaries that tackle race head-on, and Latino dramas that focus on intersectionality. These are but a few of the examples of projects you’ll find in the one-of-its-kind fest in New York City. The Urbanworld programmers pride themselves on supporting up-and-coming voices that are bringing new stories to the screen. It’s no surprise they’d find room in this year’s schedule to celebrate two high profile projects that fit the bill: the Ava DuVernay-produced series Queen Sugar and the Chad Boseman-led biopic, Marshall. 

“Our 2017 slate reflects an even deeper variety of content including new categories animation shorts, web originals and music videos in response to the changing landscape inspired by the cross-cultural community of makers and innovators,” said Gabrielle Glore, Festival Director & Head of Programming. “We are proud that Urbanworld remains the destination for storytellers and studios to connect with a viewing audience as we continue to take a lead role in inclusion, highlighting distinct voices and elevating content creators with diverse backgrounds.”

Take a look at the Latino projects that you’ll be able to catch during the fest. They include an animated short about two Puerto Rican grandparents, a high school sports drama, and a documentary on the independent hip-hop and rap scene in Mexico. And while you’re at it, check out director Alex Rivera (Sleep Dealer) talk about the Urbanworld’s original content initiative, a year-round offering of curated insights and information from talented makers and creators – proof that while the fest happens once a year, their commitment to original storytelling takes no seasonal breaks.

Urbanworld Film Festival runs September 20-24, 2017 in New York City.