LALIFF Music 2025

Music in film. Film in music. Two powerful forms of expression, each with its own language, emotion, and rhythm but when they collide, something greater than the sum of their parts can emerge. Magic happens.

Music was there at the birth of cinema, long before color or special effects, guiding emotion and shaping story. Today, it’s nearly impossible to experience music without some visual or imagined narrative. A music video, a film score, even a fleeting scene that lives in our memory, all remind us how deeply these art forms are intertwined.

The vision for this year’s music program is to transform the festival’s many stages and spaces into platforms that celebrate the voices, sounds, and movements of our community. To spotlight music that not only represents Latinx identity but uplifts it, blending heritage, innovation, and story.

We are surrounded by narratives that ache to be heard. Some that demand a stage, others that ask for the intimacy of a dark theater. Through music and film, we create a space to feel, to remember, to celebrate. Let’s continue to embrace the transformative power of these two worlds and all the emotion, resistance, and beauty they bring when they meet.