Photo courtesy of City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.

The Latino Cultural Center will host its inaugural Dallas Latino Film Festival on Sept. 5, 2026, celebrating Latino storytelling, creativity and independent filmmaking.

As Texas’ film industry continues to grow, the festival will welcome submissions from emerging filmmakers, students, independent creators, production teams and first-time directors.

All genres are welcome, including narrative, documentary, animation and experimental films. Submissions must be original creations and 4 to 6 minutes in length. Films in a language other than English must include English subtitles.

Selected films will compete for awards including best short film, best director, best cinematography, best story/screenplay and the audience choice award.

The submission deadline is Aug. 5, with official selections announced Aug. 14.

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Syra Castillo is a recent graduate from Southern Methodist University and is the Lake Highlands Editor. She is a Dallas native and is passionate about local news. She studied English, journalism, and Italian while at SMU. She spends her time with family and tries to discover new places to eat across the city. You can email her at scastillo@advocatemag.com.