33rd Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival

Chicano Film Showcase

Centering on Chicanx filmmakers, stories, and cultural sympathies, this showcase highlights films that explore cultural bridges across diasporic and U.S.-based Latine communities, grounded in shared memory, movement, and evolving identity.

Showtimes: Wednesday, March 17, 2025: 7:00 (Digital Gym Cinema) (w/ filmmaker Q&A to follow)

Program

Azul (15 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Santos Arrué
Synopsis: Mourning her sister’s passing, AZUL is isolated by her grief. Yearning for connection, she catches sight of The Lady Lowriders. Enamored by their energy, she finds respite while on her first cruise on the streets of LA.

Barrio (3 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Alexander Ibarra
Synopsis: In the heart of Portland’s shifting landscape, Frida confronts the enigma of her future while working as a cashier at her aunt’s Mexican bakery. Our protagonist and her aunt grapple with the imminent closure and bittersweet farewell of their bakery amidst neighborhood gentrification.

Corazón en el Diamante (12 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Martha Rodriguez|
Synopsis: Cecilia, a 15-year-old baseball player, and her mother Gloria face immigration struggles and family sacrifice. As Gloria fixes her expired green card, Cecilia fears losing her life in the U.S., and together they find strength in love and resilience.

Palmas (20 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Aric Lopez
Synopsis: Rooted in the subversive tradition of Mexicanidad, “Palmas” confronts viewers with the haunting histories of the Kizh-Gabrieleño tribe, the displacements of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop at Dodger Stadium, and the Palm Tree, presenting a triptych experience of Los Angeles rarely seen.

Compas (10 min, USA, 2025)
Directors: Aric Lopez & Daniel Roman
Synopsis: Compas is a short documentary that explores a community of day laborers in the heart of Downtown LA, moving fluidly between pain and joy, intense labor and moments of alleviation, experiencing intimately the rich lives of the men and women who have quietly helped build the city of Los Angeles.

Lessons Learned in Cotulla (13 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Oddett Garza
Synopsis: Lessons Learned in Cotulla shares the stories of Mexican American women navigating barriers in education in Texas during the 1970-1990s. Through interviews and archival footage, it honors their grit and accomplishments despite the odds.

Rafael (17 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Juan Rodriguez
Synopsis: A grief-stricken comedian self-sabotages her comedy career in a desperate attempt to get out of her head.

The Good Boy (10 min, USA, 2025)
Director: Esmerelda Hernandez
Synopsis: The Good Boy follows an 8-year-old boy who unknowingly risks a stray dog’s life. When learning that the innocent dog will be entered into a dog fighting ring to win prize money for his ailing mother, Isaac realizes he doesn’t want to hurt the animal but will betray his family if he sets it free.