2022 Call for Entries Deadline: September 11
The ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Fest (¡TÚ22! Film Festival) is now accepting submissions for
its second annual festival celebrating the vision of aspiring Latino/a filmmakers. Entries will be accepted viaCineYouthFest.org through Sept. 11, 2022. The festival takes place from Oct. 9 to Oct. 16, 2022, closing Hispanic Heritage Month.
¡TÚ22! seeks to amplify the creative work of young Latino/a filmmakers (16+ years of age) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Presented by HITN-TV, the ¡TÚ22! Film Festival promotes and advocates for young, emerging Latino/a creatives in front and behind the camera. According to research by the Latino Donor Collaborative, Latinos make up only 5.5 percent of total media representation, even though they encompass almost 20 percent of the population of the U.S.
Through the ¡TÚ22! Film Festival initiative and a series of virtual “Cafecitos” chats leading up to the presentation of this year’s selected shorts, young filmmakers are exposed and connected to Latino/a role models who are breaking down barriers for underrepresented minorities and paving the way for a new generation of Latino/a storytellers. The online festival gives aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to amplify their voices and work towards a more diverse and inclusive film industry.
“We’ve seen an increase in the popularity and visibility of Latino/a stories at a national media level. Latino-focused films like Coco, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, and In the Heights, as well as films with a Latino/a protagonist like Beatriz at Dinner and the newly released Hustle have shown that our stories are both powerful and popular,” said Luis Alejandro Molina, ¡TÚ22! Film Festival Director.
“However, Latinos remain grossly underrepresented in the film community. Although Latinos buy 30 percent of all box office tickets, they hold leading roles in less than 5 percent of all films.” The goal of ¡TÚ22! is to change that.