Mexico at the AFI Latin American Film Festival 2026
Mexico’s program at the 37th AFI Latin American Film Festival presents a broad selection of contemporary Mexican cinema, including coming-of-age stories, dramas about migration and identity, comedy, and explorations of grief and family. The festival is one of North America’s longest-running and largest showcases of Latin American film, with award-winning features, filmmaker conversations, and Embassy-hosted events. Its inclusion of films from Spain and Portugal also highlights Ibero-American cultural connections during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The Mexican selection includes OLMO, SAD GIRLZ (CHICAS TRISTES), FLIES (MOSCAS), ASHES (CENIZA EN LA BOCA), CAMPEÓN GABACHO, EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOISE (LO DEMÁS ES RUIDO), and I AM MARIO (SOY MARIO). Several screenings include special presentations, filmmaker Q&As, or receptions.
When: September 16–October 7, 2026.
Showtimes: OLMO screens Thursday, September 17 at 5:00 PM; Friday, September 18 at 9:10 PM; Saturday, September 19 at 11:30 AM; and Thursday, September 24 at 5:00 PM. SAD GIRLZ screens Sunday, September 20 at 3:30 PM and Monday, September 21 at 7:10 PM. FLIES screens Friday, September 25 at 7:00 PM and Monday, September 28 at 9:00 PM. I AM MARIO screens Saturday, September 19 at 4:25 PM. CAMPEÓN GABACHO screens Friday, October 2 at 7:00 PM and Tuesday, October 6 at 9:20 PM. EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOISE screens Saturday, October 3 at 2:40 PM and Sunday, October 4 at 1:15 PM. ASHES screens Monday, October 5 at 7:00 PM.
OLMO: Fernando Eimbcke’s coming-of-age film takes place in 1979 New Mexico, following teenager Olmo as he tries to attend a neighborhood party while helping care for his bedridden father. With his mother overworked and his older sister eager to escape to the roller disco, Olmo and his friend Miguel set out to obtain his father’s stereo for the party. The film combines dry humor, family tension, adolescent awkwardness, a colorful visual style, and a disco soundtrack. It stars Aivan Uttapa, Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Andrea Suarez Paz, Rosa Armendariz, Melanie Frometa, and Diego Olmedo. It was an official selection of the 2025 AFI FEST and Berlin film festivals. Fernando Eimbcke directs and co-writes with Vanesa Garnica. The producers are Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Eréndira Núñez Larios, and Michel Franco. United States/Mexico, 2025, color, 84 minutes, in English and Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated.
SAD GIRLZ (CHICAS TRISTES): Fernanda Tovar’s coming-of-age drama centers on teenage best friends La Maestra and Paula, who spend their time swimming, having sleepovers, and navigating their first experiences with romance. After an anticipated party goes badly, Paula wants to move on while La Maestra seeks justice and struggles to support her friend. The aftermath tests their close friendship while examining girlhood, heartbreak, and female solidarity. Rocio Guzmán and Darana Álvarez lead the cast. Tovar directed and wrote the film, which is produced by Daniel Loustaunau and Araceli Velázquez. It won the Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation sidebar at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival and was selected for the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival. Mexico/Spain/France, 2026, color, 90 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated.
FLIES (MOSCAS): Set in a busy part of Mexico City, this bittersweet drama follows Olga, a solitary retiree who rents out her spare room to earn money for a medical procedure. Her carefully ordered life changes when an exhausted father arrives with his nine-year-old son. Fernando Eimbcke uses gentle comedy, an exploration of grief, and elements of magical realism involving a cosmic arcade game to examine unexpected companionship and emotional renewal. Teresita Sánchez, Hugo Ramírez, and Bastian Escobar star. Eimbcke directs, writes, and produces, with Vanesa Garnica as co-writer and Michel Franco and Eréndira Núñez Larios also producing. The film was an official selection of the 2026 Berlin and Toronto film festivals. Mexico/Spain, 2026, black and white, 99 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated. The film is presented as a centerpiece screening.
I AM MARIO (SOY MARIO): Sharon Kleinberg’s intimate drama follows Mario, a 40-year-old transgender cab driver saving money for gender-affirming care. When he can no longer afford his medication, an unexpected pregnancy forces him to confront how parenthood intersects with the masculine identity he has fought to establish. Supported by his mother and two sisters, Mario must reconsider his assumptions about his body, masculinity, and the future he wants. Oustin de León stars in the title role, with the film drawing on his own experience as a trans man. Kleinberg directs, writes, and produces, with Jaime Tiktin producing. It was selected for the 2026 Guadalajara and Toronto film festivals. Mexico, 2026, color, 98 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated. The screening includes a Q&A with filmmaker Sharon Kleinberg and producer Jaime Tiktin.
CAMPEÓN GABACHO: Jonás Cuarón’s visually inventive drama follows Liborio, a Mexican immigrant who crosses the Rio Grande and arrives in New York without money. After a bookshop owner gives him work and a place to stay, Liborio intervenes when he sees Aireen being harassed. A video of the incident goes viral through influencer Doble-Ú, unexpectedly drawing him into boxing and a new life. The film stars Juan Daniel García Treviño, Eddie Marsan, Leslie Grace, Rosario Dawson, Rubén Blades, and Cheech Marin, and explores love, resilience, immigration, and transnational identity. Cuarón directs, writes, and produces, with Aura Xilonen contributing the screenplay from her novel. Gabriela Rodríguez, Alfonso Cuarón, and Nicolás Celis produce. The film won the Audience Award at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival. Mexico, 2026, color, 108 minutes, in English and Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated. The October 2 screening includes a Q&A with Jonás Cuarón and a post-screening reception sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Institute.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOISE (LO DEMÁS ES RUIDO): Nicolás Pereda’s comic chamber film follows Tere, an accomplished musician and composer who has never received the recognition she deserves. She agrees to host fellow composer Rosa before Rosa’s first television interview, but the arrival of an inept film crew triggers a succession of disruptions, including a barking dog, a power outage, and Tere’s persistent musician daughter. As the afternoon develops, the women expose the vanity of their interviewers and the wider art world. Teresita Sánchez, Rosa Estela Juárez, Lázaro G. Rodríguez, and Francisco Barreiro appear in the film. Pereda directs and writes with Juan Francisco Maldonado; Catalina Pereda produces. It was selected for the 2026 Berlin, Toronto, and New York film festivals. Mexico/Germany/Canada, 2026, color, 71 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated.
ASHES (CENIZA EN LA BOCA): Diego Luna adapts Brenda Navarro’s novel into a drama about Lucila, a 21-year-old Mexican woman who travels with her younger brother Diego to Spain to reunite with their mother. In Madrid, Lucila works precarious jobs while struggling with displacement, family resentment, and the feeling of being an outsider. A tragic event eventually sends her back to her grandparents in Mexico, where she must reassess her family’s history and her own future. Anna Díaz, Sergio Bautista, and Adriana Paz star. Luna directs, writes, and produces; Abia Castillo co-writes, with Diego Rabasa adapting the screenplay from Navarro’s novel. Inna Payán, Valérie Delpierre, and Luis Salinas produce. Mexico/Spain, 2026, color, 98 minutes, in Catalan, English, and Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated. The film is presented as a special presentation.
Festival features: The festival includes in-person conversations with filmmaker guests and Embassy-hosted parties in addition to its screenings. The Mexican Cultural Institute sponsors the October 2 post-screening reception for CAMPEÓN GABACHO.
Ages: All listed films are not rated.
Tickets: Price not available.
Venue: AFI Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.