CineFest Latino Boston to Present LA BOLA NEGRA as Closing Night Film

CineFest Latino Boston has announced its fourth annual festival lineup, which will take place September 30 – October 4, 2026. Continuing in their growing success, the festival returns with a diverse lineup of narrative, documentary, and short features, filmmaker Q&A's, panels, workshops and community-centered programming.

Serving as a kick-off to this year's festival, CineFest will host a free community screening on Thursday, September 24 at Zumix in East Boston, featuring a series of shorts. The event is made possible by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council and is free and open to the public.

The documentary feature film American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, directed by David Alvarado, has been selected as the official Opening Night film. The documentary tells the story of Luis Valdez who emerged as an auteur from America's underclass: from migrant farmworker to revolutionary artist, Luis Valdez changed American culture. In the 1960s, his El Teatro Campesino performed on flatbed trucks and helped mobilize workers to win the first farmworker union contract. His Zoot Suit was the first Chicano play on Broadway. Despite critical rejection that killed the show, he persevered, creating La Bamba—a breakout blockbuster that authentically depicted Mexican-American life to the world. Now in its 60th year, El Teatro continues to be a beacon for Latino/a creators. This is the story of an artist who gave voice to the overlooked and opened pathways for generations.

Sponsored by El Planeta, Aún Es Noche En Caracas (It Is Still Night In Caracas), directed by Mariana Rondón & Marité Ugás, will also screen during opening night at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The film centers around Adelaida who, trapped in a city on the verge of collapse, buries her mother and is left completely alone. In the streets of Caracas, anti-government protests are brutally crushed. When she returns home, she discovers her apartment has been overtaken by women aligned with the regime. With no way out, she hides in the flat next door – only to discover the corpse of her neighbor. Adelaida descends into a claustrophobic spiral of confinement, fear, and growing despair – until she realizes that in order to survive, she must give up her identity and become someone else. The film will be followed by a Q&A with the directors.

Runa Simi will be presented as this year's spotlight film. Runa Simi, a documentary film directed by Peruvian filmmaker Augusto Zegarra, centers around Fernando Valencia, a 29-year-old voice artist from Cusco, Peru, who is an Indigenous activist, painter, and devoted single father. Known for his uncanny ability to voice multiple characters, he launched Quechua Clips—a viral project that reimagines iconic animated scenes in Quechua, the ancestral language of the Incas, also known as Runa Simi.

Fueled by a groundswell of support, Fernando sets his sights on an ambitious and quixotic dream—to dub Disney's 1994 classic The Lion King into Quechua, with the help of his spirited eight-year-old son, Dylan. Armed with a homemade studio and relentless resolve, Fernando navigates countless ups and downs, facing rejection, setbacks, and self-doubt. Yet through it all, his determination never wavers, turning his personal mission into a powerful call for language justice and cultural reclamation.

Closing out the festival following its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival, and serving as the Boston Premiere, is Netflix's critically acclaimed La Bola Negra. Directed by Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — known together as Los Javis — La Bola Negra follows three generations of men across pivotal moments in Spanish history, bound by pain, desire, and love. Carlos (Milo Quifes) longs to belong in a fractured Spain. Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) finds connection across enemy lines. And Alberto (Carlos González) uncovers a long-buried family secret — one that finally gives voice to truths the past tried to erase. Co-written by Calvo, Ambrossi, and Alberto Conejero, and adapted from Conejero's play La Piedra Oscura, the film also stars Miguel Bernardeau (Rafael), Goya winner Lola Dueñas (Teresa), Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz (Nené), Golden Globe winner Glenn Close (Isabelle), and Emmy-nominated Julio Torres (Juan Pablo).

Los Javis won Best Director at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival following a 20-min standing ovation after the film's premiere at the festival.

'These films represent just a small selection of the many extraordinary works currently being created by these talented filmmakers. Many are award-winning films that have premiered at prestigious festivals such as Sundance, Hot Docs, and SXSW. For most, this will be their one and only Boston screening, as some of the films bypassed Boston during their original theatrical runs' said CineFest Founder & Executive Director Sabrina Avilés.

'We're proud to serve as a conduit for bringing these noteworthy films to Boston audiences under the umbrella of CineFest. In doing so, we hope to demonstrate to filmmakers and audiences alike that Boston welcomes a wide range of voices and forms of visual storytelling. At the same time, we're expanding our mission to educate audiences, challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, and celebrate the richness and diversity of our cultural heritage.' added Avilés.

This year, CineFest Latino Boston will take place September 30 – October 4 with screenings at Zumix in East Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Rabb Hall at Boston Public Library, and Emerson Paramount Theatre. Additionally, CineFest will also host screenings at The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA for the first time. This is made possible by a grant from the Cambridge Arts Association.

Tickets for CineFest Latino Boston will go on sale soon starting at $15 for adults, while senior citizen and student tickets are discounted; please check specific venues for full pricing details. Information about the full lineup and how to purchase tickets is available at cinefestlatino.com.

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