MSU Latinx Film Festival returns with international films, music and conversations

By Isabella Figueroa Nogueira

The MSU Latinx Film Festival (LxFF), cosponsored by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, returned Feb. 19 -22 for its fourth edition, bringing international cinema, live music and conversations about immigration, environmental justice and identity to Michigan State University and venues across Lansing.

Founded in 2018 by Scott Boehm, an assistant professor of 20th and 21st Spanish culture, the festival has grown from six films over four days into the largest Latino, Hispanic and Latin American film festival in Michigan. Nearly all of this year’s films were Michigan premieres, and more than half were Midwest premieres.

Several selections were previously screened at major international festivals, including the Berlin International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. Boehm said many of the films had only one or two screenings in the United States before arriving in East Lansing.

“What you’ll find is something you would expect to see in New York or Miami or Houston or San Diego or LA,” Boehm said. “But it’s in Lansing.”

This year’s lineup featured 12 full-length films and shorts from Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Spain and the United States. Topics included immigration, racism, U.S. militarism in Latin America, child sex trafficking, class, ageism and environmental justice.

Environmental justice has become a permanent part of the festival’s programming. Boehm said the climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing the planet and that Indigenous and marginalized communities often feel its effects first.

One of this year’s invited filmmakers, Stephanie Boyd, co-directed the documentary “Karuara,” which follows Indigenous Kukama women in Peru as they fight in court to have their river recognized as a legal person with rights. Boyd said the film was made in collaboration with the community and that the women featured in the documentary were involved in the production process.

“The film also became part of the lawsuit,” Boyd said, explaining that footage and research were submitted as evidence. The case was won in 2024 after an appeals process.

Boyd said she and her team began the project in 2015 and returned to the community multiple times each year. The production included workshops with local journalists and art sessions with children whose drawings appear in the film’s animation sequences.

She said it is important to screen the documentary in the United States because the Amazon region holds a significant portion of the world’s freshwater and plays a major role in regulating the global climate.

“If the rivers are contaminated beyond the point where we can use the freshwater, then we’re all going to suffer. It’ll be a global disaster,” Boyd said.

The festival also welcomed Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón, best known for her 2013 film “Bad Hair,” which screened during LxFF’s first edition. Rondón returns to present “Boca Chica,” which she co-wrote, and “Zafari,” which she directed.

Other invited filmmakers include Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Charles Abelmann, Pedro Ivan Bonilla and Rhett Garcia, whose films explore issues ranging from U.S. intervention in Puerto Rico to cultural identity and migration.

For students, the festival offers both academic and personal engagement. Alana Powell, a sophomore majoring in human biology with a minor in Spanish, attended for the first time as a class requirement.

“I feel like sometimes people forget that Michigan and the United States aren’t the only place in the world,” Powell said. “Watching these films can bring awareness to different parts of the community that people probably have never even thought about.”

Powell said she appreciated hearing women-driven voices in the film she saw and learning about Indigenous communities affected by environmental changes.

Shae Thompson, a second-year master’s student in the Hispanic literatures program and a volunteer at LxFF, emphasized the importance of the festival for Lansing.

“It’s important that these communities are seen and heard in ways other than just hearing someone speak Spanish outside in the community,” Thompson said. “Films, performances and shorts help celebrate the culture and bring awareness to different issues in the Latinx community.”

Thompson has been involved with the festival since volunteering as an undergraduate in 2020 and returned this year as a graduate student to participate again.

Each screening included either a visiting filmmaker or a faculty expert who led a discussion after the film. Boehm said those conversations are central to the festival’s mission.

“We wanted to use the film festival as a platform to bring people together,” he said. “Through film and music, and to provide spaces to discuss what’s happening politically, culturally and socially.”

Music was integrated throughout the weekend. A documentary about flamenco artist “La Singla” screened at the Robin Theatre, a Lansing venue known for live music programming.

Boehm said the social aspect of the festival is as important as the films themselves.

“People want to gather together,” he said. “They want to have a good time, and they want to talk about what they’ve seen.”

Behind the scenes, the festival faces complex planning and budgetary questions.

“Probably all of the coordinating behind the scenes is harder than it looks,” Boehm said. “We never know what the budget is going to be for the festival until that year finally comes.”

Funding comes primarily from MSU and various university units, and due to budget uncertainties, some events were ticketed for the first time.

Despite these challenges, Boehm said he is confident in the festival’s future.

“I want to build upon the foundation we’ve laid, integrate music even more and expand awareness across the Great Lakes region. Faculty, staff and students working together on this festival is very uncommon and something I really love about it,” he said.

Boehm also credited the broader team, including Rael Silva from the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, as well as graduate and undergraduate students who helped make the festival possible.

Looking ahead, Boehm said he hopes the festival continues to expand its reach across Michigan and the Great Lakes region as it approaches its 10th anniversary in 2028.