It’s been 11 wonderful days celebrating Latino Cinema. Meeting with such talented filmmakers, actors, designers, and other crewmembers involved in making quality cinema was a wonderful experience. In its 30th edition, we enjoyed great movies, Arte Latino, Sonido Latino, Sabor Latino, concerts, filmmakers’ Q&As, and much more.
Big thanks to everyone who attended the film festival and all volunteers, Board, community partners, sponsors, elected officials, venues, media outlets, and SDLFF’s staff. You’ve all helped continue this wonderful San Diego-Baja California Border region tradition. We can’t wait to see you next year!
PREMIO CORAZON AWARD WINNERS 2023
BEST YOUTH FILM
(DIR. LAURA GABRIELA BOLIVAR FIGUEROA)
The neighborhood is waiting for the year that begins. Aurelio in his home prepares dinner for a special visit. Hours pass and the chair is still empty.
BEST FRONTERA SHORT
(DIR. ANDREA FALCON)
Sappho’s Café is a place that brings LGBTQIA+ people together, creating a safe and kind space to be who they are without judgement. The LGBT residents of Tijuana live in a city with no protections for their community and little places that feel safe enough to presents themselves as they want to, so Hayde and Achi, founders of Sappho’s, make a promise to always have their doors open to their community in their cozy café. Our Safe Place talks about the struggles and hardships of our community, but it also highlights the beauty and resilience of who are in it.
BEST FRONTERA FEATURE
(DIRS. CARLOS HAGERMAN, JORGE VILLALOBOS, AND PRODUCED BY MARIANA MARÍN)
HOME IS SOMEWHERE ELSE, a fully animated documentary, narrates three stories which share similar fears, hopes and emotions around living the undocumented experience: Jasmine, an 11 y/o US citizen who lives afraid of her undocumented parents being deported; Sisters Evelyn and Elizabeth -a US citizen and an undocumented immigrant respectively- separated by their different migratory status; and Lalo, who was deported from his home state of Utah to Mexico at 23 y/o and since then has become an advocate to this generation of returnees and deported Mexicans through his spoken word poetry.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
(DIR. BY SUSANA LIRA)
The documentary “Socorro” follows the struggle of community leader Socorro do Burajuba, president of the Association of Caboclos, Indigenous and Quilombolas of the Amazon.
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
(DIR FARIDE SCHROEDER)
Clara brings her newborn daughter to visit her family in Mexico where they participate in an ancient forest ritual in which they discover they are inevitably connected to the power of their female lineage.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
(DIR. JASMIN MARA LOPEZ)
A lyrical and sensitive autobiographical exploration of the filmmaker’s family history with child sexual abuse and a culture of silence. ¡Viva Mujeres! Showcase (Content Advisory: Discussions of sexual abuse).
Silent Beauty Teaser – Eng/Sp from Jasmin Mara López on Vimeo.
BEST FEATURE FILM
(DIR MANUELLA MARTELLI)
In the early days of Pinochet’s dictatorship, a sheltered woman spending her summer by the beach is asked by the family priest to take care of an injured young man. She is inadvertently drawn into the world of the Chilean political opposition and must face real-world threats she is unprepared to handle. Spotlight Films Showcase.
MIGRANT VOICES FILM COMPETITION WINNERS
Presented by San Diego Union-Tribune
1st Place Winner – Love Has No Borders (Pamela Oliver Muñoz, Director)
2nd Place Winner – Soñadora (Jr Rodriguez, Director)
3rd Place Winner – Encuentros (Dario Guerrero, Director)
