The MSU Latinx Film Festival — the largest Hispanic/Latino/Latin American film festival in Michigan — returns Feb. 19-22 with screenings and events across Michigan State University’s campus and the city of Lansing.
A biennial, curated festival, LxFF brings acclaimed independent films from Latin America and the Latinx diaspora to the Midwest, featuring works that are rarely screened in the United States and that invite audiences to engage with the world from new perspectives.
Now in its fourth iteration, the 2026 festival will include multiple Midwest and Michigan premieres of award-winning films that have been screened at only a few select film festivals in the United States. These include films like The Blue Trail, which earned three awards at last year’s Berlin Film Festival; Landrián, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in conjunction with the 2023 Biennale; and Through Rocks and Clouds and Zafari, both of which are soon slated for U.S. distribution.
“This year’s LxFF is the most robust festival we’ve put together in its four editions in terms of the combination of film screenings, invited filmmakers, live music and receptions,” said Scott Boehm, LxFF founder and director and associate professor of Spanish in MSU’s Department of Romance and Classical Studies. “I’m most proud of the quality of the film program, which is something you’d expect to find in major cities with large Latino/Latin American communities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston or Chicago and that you won’t find anywhere else in Michigan.”
Films in this year’s lineup represent eight countries — Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Venezuela and the United States, including multiple films from Puerto Rico — and include both fiction and documentary works. Altogether, the festival will present 12 feature-length films and a few short films addressing themes such as immigration, racism, U.S. militarism in Latin America, child sex trafficking, ageism, class inequality and environmental justice.
Beyond screenings, LxFF aims to foster public dialogue and personal reflection about the social, cultural and political questions raised by Latinx cinema through post-screening discussions, director Q&As and special events, while also creating space for informal, spontaneous, and transformative interactions among filmmakers, scholars, students, and community members.
Festivalgoers will have opportunities to engage with six invited filmmakers from Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States.
One of those filmmakers is Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón, best known for her film Bad Hair, who will present Zafari, which she directed, and Boca Chica, for which she co-wrote the screenplay. Audience members will have the opportunity to meet Rondón after the screenings.
Other invited filmmakers include Juan Carlos Rodríguez (Vieques), Charles Abelmann (Call Me Waya), Pedro Ivan Bonilla and Rhett Garcia (RIto de Paso), and Stephanie Boyd (Karuara).
All LxFF events held at MSU on Feb. 19 and 20 are free and open to the public. Off-campus screenings at The Robin Theatre on Feb. 21 and Celebration Cinema on Feb. 22 are $5 each per screening. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the LxFF website or at the door, pending availability.
University, community college, or high school students are encouraged to pick up a LxFF passport at any of the film screenings. Passports will be stamped following post-screening discussions and director Q&As, allowing students to document their attendance for instructors who offer extra credit for festival participation.
Music an integral part of the LxFF experience
This year’s festival includes a screening of La Singla, a documentary about a legendary but largely forgotten flamenco artist, as well as two live concerts. Local favorite Salsa Verde! will perform Feb. 20 at Urban Beat ($10 advance/$15 at the door) and The Hot Sun Duo will perform on Feb. 21 at the REO Town Clubhouse ($5 advance/$10 at the door). Both shows are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. to midnight. Live music also will be part of the festival’s closing reception at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Celebration Cinema.
“The mission of LxFF has never been more important,” Boehm said. “For four event-packed days we create a temporary space where people come together in celebration and to have a good time, but also to reflect and discuss some of the most urgent matters facing our society and the world today.”
For more information including a a full schedule of events, visit the LxFF website.
This story originally appeared on the College of Arts and Letters website.
