Australia Is Getting a New National Latin American Film Festival

Another day, another new film festival announcement — and while we've probably made that claim before, it really is beginning to prove accurate. Come August, movie buffs will be able to immerse themselves in the big screen wonders of Latin America courtesy of Palace Cinemas' newest fest. Meet CINE LATINO: A New Festival of Latin American Cinema.

Not content with adding an American indie showcase and an Aussie offshoot of the documentary-focused Hot Docs to the mix already this year, the arthouse cinema chain is keeping the festivals coming. Screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide, CINE LATINO is the first country-wide event dedicated to Latin American cinema in Australia, featuring films from Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala and more.

Given that Latin America is made up of 20 Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries with over 600 million people — and has given rise to recent Oscar winners Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón — there's certain to be plenty of flicks to choose from. That'll be the task of Alex Castro, who previously oversaw the Melbourne Latin American Film Festival from 2004 to 2007.

That makes quite the number of cultural touring film fests gracing the cinema outfit's big screens in 2016, with the French Film Festival currently doing the rounds, the Spanish Film Festival rolling out from April, and the Scandinavian, Israeli, Italian and British festivals also on Palace's slate throughout the year — not that we're keeping count or anything. And while you'll never hear us complaining about too many film festivals, we are mighty curious about what new niche they might move into next.

CINE LATINO: A New Festival of Latin American Cinema will screen in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide from August 11 to 31. For more information, keep an eye on the festival website.

Image: Ixcanul (2015).