My favorite interaction regarding FilmScene’s upcoming Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival is on an Instagram post promoting the snacks available during the three-day fest. The post sports a cross-section of Latin American snacks found in a tienda near you; Ricolino Duvalín’s, Gansito cakes, Chupa Chups and more. Though hot sauce is promised for the popcorn, it’s the suggestions on the comments that got me nodding my head in agreement: “please make sure you have Tajín,” and “You need limon salt for the popcorn.”
Though it’s been years in the making, I’m not sure the programming team behind the Aquí y Allá Film Festival realized how seriously Latinos take their snacking preferences. Snacks aside, the inaugural festival has a lot of ground to cover “when it comes to programming a festival that is attempting to explore a topic as expansive as Latin America,” says FilmScene Programming Director Ben Delgado.
Little Village chatted with Delgado about the importance of Latin American cinema to him personally, the years-long journey to bring the fest to fruition, and the importance of celebrating art that contradicts disparaging narratives in precarious times.
As this is the inaugural iteration, can you talk about how the Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival came to be?
The first week on the job at FilmScene, Andrew [Sherburne, FilmScene’s executive director] and I talked about putting on a Latin American film festival. That was in the summer of 2021. I have a long history of programming Latin American film, including programming for one the largest and longest running: AFI Latin American Film Festival. Not only have I been programming Latin American cinema throughout my professional career, but it has also been key in my cinematic and cultural education. So the idea of doing this festival was never a question of if, but more a question of when. Now with major support from Johnson County, smaller donations from others and a committee of respected artists and community leaders, we’re ready to launch the first annual Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival.
Can you speak a bit on the festival’s themes of place and identity?
The festival name (which literally translates to “here and there”) comes from an Argentinian song made popular by a Mexican singer who was actually born in Costa Rica. It’s this spirit of cultural connection across Latin America and into the diaspora that formed the basis for the themes of the festival. The name also speaks to the complications of a sense of place that come with the immigrant experience, where you’re perpetually a stranger in a strange land — “no soy de aquí ni soy y allá.” This fractured identity of Latindad creates community. In and of itself, the grouping of a wide range of Latin American art brings together that community and speaks to a varied sense of place — a variety that highlights specificity as well as shared experience. So even when the films aren’t expressly tackling questions of identity and place, they’re still in conversation with the themes as a part of the festival lineup.
Trying to speak to the vastness of Latin American identity seems like such a daunting task. What considerations did the team have in regard to programming? Were there any films or programmatic elements that felt like a vital “get”?
When programming any festival, series or individual film, we always make sure we’re guided by the quality of the work first. But when it comes to programming a festival that is attempting to explore a topic as expansive as Latin America, you also have to know that you’re never going to cover it all — not with eight, 80 or even 800 films! So you have to do your best to be guided by the art while making sure to prioritize a diversity of cultures, geographies and filmmaking approaches.
Like the Refocus Film Festival, this is a festival of discovery, so all the films are still very new and making their way through the festival circuit. With that sense of discovery in mind, it’s always a unique pleasure to be able to introduce folks to an up-and-coming talent who has an undeniable voice at a young age and who we’ll expect to see more from in the future — that is Diego Hernández, the director of our opening night film (Un Techo Sin Cielo) who will be joining in person all the way from Tijuana, Mexico.
We are also very lucky to have Our Land from veteran filmmaker Lucrecia Martel. This was the strongest film I saw at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and the first film we confirmed for our lineup. In our inaugural lineup we also have a U.S. premiere of a short film called BAISANOS that really embodies the spirit of the festival with a “here and there” that takes us from Chile to Palestine. Those are a few highlights, but they’re really all “gets” for various reasons.
Latin American and immigrant populations have been, for better or worse, the subject of much national discourse under the current administration. How do you feel this festival speaks to that conversation at this moment in time?
There are films that speak directly to discrimination and immigration in both historical and contemporary contexts and how those histories have parallels to today. But the reality is that these films show us an overarching sense of community and resilience in the face of adversity. It’s important, particularly in precarious times, to celebrate the art that unifies us and shows us the beauty of humanity. So this work both speaks to the moment directly and contradicts disparaging narratives in its artistic brilliance. Rather than shying away from tough discussions, we’re turning the focus on lifting up voices and providing a space for artistic discovery and learning.
Anything else you think people should know about Aquí y Allá?
I want to be sure that folks know that this festival is for everyone — whether you speak Spanish, consider yourself Latin American, or none of the above. The tickets are also priced that way. All shows are free or pay-what-you-can. So we’re really calling on everyone to come enjoy at least one film over the weekend. And we don’t just have movies! We’ll have some ancillary events including an opening night party, award ceremony, poetry reading, art installation and more. All of those events are free and include free food.
