Latino Film Festival returns to in-person showings

The 18th Gainesville Latino Film Festival returns to in-person attendance on Sept. 8 for the first time in two years due to the COVID pandemic.  

Latina Women’s League hosts the event that will run through Sept. 18. 

The festival consists of film screenings, speakers, music, and dance performances at various Gainesville locations. 

This year’s Latino Film Festival theme is “Reinventing Community.” It refers to the past two-plus years of social restrictions due to the global COVID pandemic. 

The event will present six films from several Latin American countries. In addition to the film showings, the festival will host dance performances at three different venues. 

All events are free and open to the public. 

For more information, visit the Gainesville Latino Film Festival website.  

Film and event schedule: 

• Film: “El agente topo” / “The Mole Agent” (2020, documentary, not rated, Chile), 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8, The Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Place. 

• Film: “La vocera” / “The Spokeswoman” (2020, documentary, not rated, Mexico), 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9, The Historic Thomas Center, 302 NE 6th Ave.  

• Story Time / La Hora del Cuento: Spanish Immersion storytelling for children, 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 10, Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th St. 

• IFÉ-ILÉ Dance Company: Afro-Cuban dance performance, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. Sept. 10, The Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Place. 

• Film: “Ya no estoy aquí” / “I’m No Longer Here” (2019, drama, rated mature audience, Mexico), 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11, UF Smathers Library East, 1508 Union Rd.

• Film: “499” (2020, documentary-historical drama, Mexico), 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15., The Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Place. 

• Film: “Historias del canal” / “Panama Canal Stories” (2014, rated-14, Panama), 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16, The Historic Thomas Center, 302 NE 6th Avenue. 

• Story Time / La Hora del Cuento: Spanish Immersion storytelling for children, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Sept. 17, Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th St. 

• Zumba with Yesenia: 7 p.m.-8 p.m. Sept. 17, Bo Diddley Plaza, 111 East University Ave. 

• Noche de Baile!: Salsa and Latin music performance by Gilberto de Paz & TROPIX, 8 p.m.-10 p.m., Sept. 17, Bo Diddley Plaza, 111 East University Ave. 

Closing ceremony: 

Film: “El abrazo de la serpiente” / “Embrace of the Serpent” (2015, not rated, Colombia/Argentina/Venezuela), 3:30 p.m., Sept. 18, UF Smathers Library East, 1508 Union Rd.