¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Festival will premiere for the first time from Sept. 18 to Oct. 16, 2021 and began accepting submissions on July 22.

Presented by HITN, the festival is designed to support young, emerging Latinx filmmakers. The Cine Youth Festival aims to be a platform for information, inspiring and elevating the voices of those currently struggling to break through in the industry and gain visibility both on screen and behind the scenes.

"This initiative aims to shine a light on persuasive and unpublished Latino stories. We want to showcase the talent, vision, history and culture of historically underrepresented communities and give young Latinos a platform to express their perspectives through film," said HITN Marketing Director Lina Sands.

The festival's director, Alejandro Molina said that the central theme of the festival is to think about what brought the world to this moment in time and invites attendees to think about a future in which we are all seen, heard and all stories are told. In addition to its work to promote diversity and inclusion, the festival aims to invite discussion and reflection among the Latino content creator community about the issues that affect us today.  

In addition to the film festival, the organization will present a quarterly series of virtual panels with filmmakers, artists and creatives who will share their stories, experiences and knowledge to inspire young Latinos who dream of a future in the industry.

The festival is currently seeking submissions to present at the event. High school and college students who want to direct, shoot and create their own films are welcome to apply. Between fiction, documentary, drama, animation, comedy and narrative, in English or Spanish, films wishing to participate will be received through CineYouthFest.org. Filmmakers must be 16 years of age or older or, if younger, must present parental/guardian permission.

The top prize is $5,000 and an additional student scholarship of $2,000, as well as e-learning course certificates, will be awarded to those who achieve honorable mentions during the festival.