Our History

For more than two decades, the aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival has been presenting a panorama of challenging and unique Latin American films by Latino artists living in Canada and abroad. In November 1993, a group of Latin American film and video makers held the first Cruzando Fronteras conference in Toronto, with the participation of 39 active artists. As part of this conference, a curated selection of over 30 independently-produced films and videos that demonstrated the talent and creativity of Latin American film and video makers was presented to the public.

Through this initial conference, communication was established among a national network of participants eager to learn about each other's works. During the conference, it was a revelation to uncover the thematic diversity of work produced by Latino artists within the framework of Canadian culture; the films addressed issues surrounding race, sexual orientation, gender, politics, and many other themes.

Continuing to highlight the extraordinary diversity found in works by Latino-Canadian artists and artists from the Latin diaspora, the aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival has taken place in Toronto annually since 1995. aluCine is the longest-running Latin film festival in Canada, providing a voice for numerous filmmakers who would otherwise go unheard.