Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Announces the 46th CineFestival San Antonio

 

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is proud to announce the full program for the 46th CineFestival San Antonio, scheduled for July 9 to 13, 2025. The festival will take place at the Carver Community Cultural Center (226 N Hackberry St), including a full slate of free screenings at the Little Carver Civic Center, and nightly premieres at the Jo Long Theater. More screenings will be presented at Santikos Mayan Palace (1918 SW Military Dr), including feature film premieres and free programs for Senior Cinema and Family Day. Festival pass information and the 2025 lineup is available here.  Individual tickets for all screenings are now available for purchase.

The festival leads with two prominent documentaries focusing on Tejano music and culture, the long-anticipated Selena y Los Dinos documentary about the Queen of Tejano music Selena, directed by CineFestival alumni Isabel Castro (MIJA, DARLIN) andTake It Away, directed by Adrian Alejandro Arredondo and Myrna Perez, tracing the life and career of Johnny Canales.

“At CineFestival, we share the pride that Selena y Los Dinos brought to the Mexican American communities of Texas and beyond, and we celebrate director Isabel Castro’s affectionate portrayal of an American icon and the family that rose to unprecedented success,” said CineFestival director Eugenio del Bosque.

“Thematically, the two great documentaries about Tejano music set the tone to a program that proudly represents the diverse tapestry that American culture and society are fortunate to be,” said del Bosque.  “Family, immigration, citizenship and civil rights are also strongly represented in the program, and women filmmakers dominate a large portion of this year’s festival, including Tejana filmmakers and authors, a showcase of US short films directed by women, and other national and international productions,” he added.

Feature Films:

• Carnalismo, directed by José Luis Cano; a family passionate about cumbias and low rider bicycles in Durango, Mexico, shares a culture where brotherhood between the different neighborhoods of the city is a refuge from social judgement and discrimination.

• Hola Frida (André Kadi, Karine Vézina), an animated feature that recreates the early life of Frida Kahlo with the brightness and whimsy of her famous oeuvre.

• Prodigal Daughter. Director and former punk artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after 16 years of silence, confronting haunting childhood memories and a troubled past as an undocumented immigrant in the United States.

• Selena y Los Dinos, directed by Isabel Castro, which chronicles the late star’s life and legacy through never-before-seen footage from the Quintanilla family’s personal archive. Produced by Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, Simran Singh, and David Blackman, and executive produced by Selena’s siblings, Suzette Quintanilla and AB Quintanilla III, the film chronicles the late star’s life and legacy through never-before-seen footage from the Quintanilla family’s personal archive. The film will premiere with director Isabel Castro and some cast members will be in attendance.

• Spring of the Vanishing, directed by Andrew Glazer. A haunting documentary tracing a mother’s search for her missing teenage son which uncovers mass murder and a conspiracy of silence at America’s doorstep.

• Take It Away, directed by Adrian Alejandro Arredondo and Myrna Perez, tracing the life and career of Johnny Canales, whose syndicated music variety show was appointment viewing in millions of households across North America and launched the careers of legendary musicians like Selena, Ramon Ayala, and Intocable. The film is Executive Produced by Texas Monthly.

• The Ladder, directed by Emilio Miguel Torres, a young up and coming talent and CineFestival Alumni. A science fiction story about age, second chances and morality in which an aging fisherman considers a mysterious procedure promising a fresh start.

• The Place In Between, directed by Laura Perez. When stoic L.A. lawyer Cassie is forced to return to Texas after the sudden death of her ex, she must face the angsty teenage daughter she gave up at birth. Tension flares as the two stubborn strangers embark on a reluctant road trip to scatter his ashes across Texas in a rundown ’62 Ford Fairlane. But as miles and memories collide, grief and grudges give way to a darkly comic journey toward forgiveness—and the fragile beginning of a bond that neither expected. The film is largely shot in San Antonio and produced by a team of 100% women including local cast and crew members.

• Uvalde Mom, directed by Anayansi Prado, which tells the story of Angeli Gomez, the mother who captured national attention when she rushed into Robb Elementary to save her two sons from a mass shooting.
• Valentina or the Serenity.  Mexican filmmaker Ángeles Cruz returns to her Indigenous community in Oaxaca for her second feature, a tender tale of loss and the power of love inspired by her own childhood.

The program will also include the Mesquite Award Nominees for Best Texas Short Film. This year, the nominees include 13 narrative films and three documentaries featuring stories that represent the special contributions of filmmakers currently living and working in the State and share stories that closely reflect the State’s rich Latinx culture and heritage, including films made by San Antonio based filmmakers.

Vistas de San Antonio is the program section featuring films made in San Antonio. This year, the section includes the feature film My Rocking Chair, directed by Alejandro Aldana, and 17 short films. These works include films made by established filmmakers, young emerging talent and student films from Northwest Vista College, St. Mary’s University, University of the Incarnate Word and UTSA.

The Texas Showcase includes 15 short films that also represent the work of both established and upcoming young talent working in Texas today, including student films from university and college programs.

CineFestival will also present a great collection of short films made by Latinx filmmakers from all over the U.S. This section includes award winning short films, and it represents a selection of works that thematically complement the rest of the program, some of which also have ties to San Antonio.

The program would not be complete without the always great section of Youth Films, which includes works made by artists 18 years old or younger, and this year will bring films from several media programs around San Antonio, and a few from other locations in Texas and surrounding states.

Photos and graphics courtesy Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.