The GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF), an initiative of the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, announced the details of its 16th edition, which will take place on November 5, 6, and 7, 2026, in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The upcoming installment marks a significant milestone for the platform, which has now been working continuously for sixteen years to promote Latin American cinema and strengthen cultural ties between Mexico and the United States.
Since its inception in 2010, GLAFF has established itself as a film festival in Los Angeles that began as a sister project to the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG). Its mission is to support Latino, Latin American, and BIPOC filmmakers, while promoting new voices and supporting established careers within the audiovisual industry.
“Projects like this one are very visible in Mexico; in the United States, for various reasons, there are many more; and in recent years, even more so. But beyond recent developments, let’s continue to be resilient and support Mexican cinema, Ibero-American cinema, and Latin American cinema through this platform, which is celebrating its 16th anniversary,” notes Luis Gustavo Padilla, President of the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA.
One of the most significant aspects of this journey has been the ongoing collaboration with the FICG, particularly through GLAFF’s Work In Progress (WIP) program, which has served as a platform to support various film projects.
One notable example is *Querida Fátima* ( 2026), by Rodrigo Reyes and Lorena Gutiérrez Rangel, which, after participating in GLAFF’s WIP, was selected for the official competition at FICG41, where it won the awards for Best Mexican Film, Best Director, and the Audience Award in the Mezcal Award category.
As part of its growth strategy, GLAFF also partners with the “Borderlands” project, a center created by filmmakers Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera and led by Diego Nájera (Director of Development and Production at Borderlands Cinematic Arts) that, in collaboration with the Sidney Poitier New American Film School, strengthens the ties between film and Latino communities, as well as supports exceptional mid-career filmmakers in telling stories based on the experience of border regions.
With this new phase, GLAFF reaffirms its commitment to developing cinematic talent, building cultural bridges, and promoting stories that engage with diversity and the contemporary reality of Latino communities on both sides of the border.