For the last twenty years, aluCine has presented 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 demonstrating the talent and creativity of Latin American film and video makers was presented to the public.

Through this initial conference, communication was established between a national network of participants who wished 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.

Still focusing on the extraordinary diversity found in works by Latino-Canadian artists and artists from the Latin diaspora, aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival has been taking 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. 

For the last thirteen years, aluCine has helped to establish contact between Latin American filmmakers living in Latin America and those residing in Canada. In addition to screening films in Canada and abroad, aluCine has been hosting performances and new media installations, symposia, panel discussions and talks from visiting artists since 2002, all of which focus on the state of contemporary image making in Latin America and among Canada’s Latin community.

As a Latin American media festival in Canada, aluCine facilitates a convergence of Northern and Southern aesthetic and cultural sensibilities, broadening common understandings of what it means to be Latino, both in Canada and internationally. aluCine seeks to keep the culture surrounding Latin short film alive and well, be it fiction, documentary, animation or experimental. In 2010, aluCine began to showcase independent feature films by Latino artists as well. aluCine is committed to functioning as an outlet for the Latino community as a whole while embracing our community’s extraordinary diversity.