There  also will be workshops and performances with guests including Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, a former principal at the Royal Ballet, Argentine actor Óscar Martínez, Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría and Oscar-winning Chilean screenwriter Gonzalo Maza. The event was founded by Cuban actress Ketty Rodriguez who, when she moved to London, was struck by the lack of Latin representation in a city famous for its multiculturalism, film and history.

She told BBC London: "Everything here is about community, is about connection, and the idea started because I couldn't find my people, I didn't know where they were, so I decided to do this festival and it's very successful, I'm very happy". Rodriguez says it is the first competitive Latino film festival of this size in London. "We have received hundreds of entries from all over Latin America, and can't wait to support and showcase features, documentaries, animation, and shorts from these incredible filmmakers," she stated.

Cuban dancer Javier Torres, who developed the festival idea with Rodriguez, said: "This is just the start of something great. We found a gap in the market, we found a necessity of the Latino community to come together and to give voice and narrative voices to Latin American filmmakers. "This is a platform for diplomacy, for culture, to get together and this is what we are building here."

Alongside entries from Latin America are stories made in London for Londoners. Victor Rios, a British-Bolivian filmmaker said the event was a chance "not just to celebrate people of Latin roots but also to celebrate British-Latino identity". He moved to the UK at 16, and has two short films in the selection. He said: "It's very crucial for people to understand that we are not just here passing by. We are part of society, and this festival is establishing that too. (BBC)