Cinema Tucsón (formerly Tucson Cine Mexico)

Overview

Cinema Tucsón is a monthly Mexican cinema screening series at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Presented by Cinema Tropical and the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona, the series launched in 2021 as the successor to the annual Tucson Cine Mexico film festival, which ran for 17 years from 2009 to 2020. Screenings take place one Wednesday evening per month from September through May (excluding December), with each screening featuring a new or notable Mexican film, often accompanied by Q&A sessions with the film's director or producer. Admission is free.

For Mexican filmmakers, Cinema Tucsón provides a direct channel to US borderlands audiences. The series has programmed films that later received distribution in major US hubs like New York and Los Angeles, and in some cases screened Mexican films before their theatrical release in Mexico itself. The 2025 to 2026 season screened 8 films from September 2025 through April 2026, including The Devil Smokes (Ernesto Martinez Bucio), Las Marthas (Cristina Ibarra), Sleep Dealer, Take It Away (Adrian Alejandro Arredondo and Myrna Perez), We Shall Not Be Moved (Pierre Saint Martin), Vanilla (Mayra Hermosillo), OCA (Karla Badillo), and Asco: Without Permission (Travis Gutierrez Senger). The series resumes in September 2026 after a summer break.

If you are a Mexican filmmaker or a US-based Chicano/Latino filmmaker with a completed feature, Cinema Tucsón is programmed curatively rather than through open submissions. Co-programmers Carlos A. Gutierrez and Vicky Westover select films in consultation with a 12-person community committee. For inquiries, contact Cinema Tucsón through the Cinema Tucsón website or Cinema Tropical. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator for broader festival circuit planning.

Key Sections

• Monthly Screenings - one Mexican film per month (September through May, excluding December) at the Fox Tucson Theatre, typically at 7:00 PM on a Wednesday. Each screening is approximately 90 to 120 minutes including Q&A.
• New Mexican Cinema - the primary programming focus, featuring recent Mexican films across fiction, documentary, and experimental genres. Most screenings are new productions from the current or previous year.
• Classic Films and B Movies - occasional screenings of older Mexican films and genre cinema, providing historical context alongside contemporary work.
• Filmmaker Q&A Sessions - many screenings include post-film discussions with the director, producer, or other key creatives, giving Tucson audiences direct access to Mexican filmmaking talent.
• Special Screenings - occasional non-Wednesday or extended screenings, including festival-style events and partnerships with community organizations.

Programming and Venue Details

Venue: All screenings (except as noted) take place at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701. The Fox Tucson Theatre is a historic Art Deco venue that opened in 1930 and operated as a movie palace until 1974. It reopened in 2005 after restoration and now functions as a performing arts center and cinema. The theatre seats approximately 1,200, meaning screenings rarely sell out, and walk-up attendance is generally possible.

Schedule: The 2025 to 2026 season ran from September 2025 through April 2026, with screenings on the following dates:

All films screen in Spanish or Spanish and English with English subtitles. The season resumes in September 2026.

Admission: Screenings are free, supported by a combination of cultural organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, and local businesses.

Partners and sponsors: Cinema Tucsón is presented by Cinema Tropical and the UA Center for Latin American Studies, in partnership with the Fox Tucson Theatre and the Mexican Consulate in Tucson. Sponsors include Rio Nuevo, La Estrella Bakery, Splitseed Productions, the University of Arizona's Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Southwest Center, Downtown Tucson Partnership, HSL Properties, Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery at Pima Community College, Film Tucson, and Visit Tucson. Media sponsors include 92.5FM Urbana, La Poderosa 105.3FM, and KXCI 91.3FM.

What Filmmakers Should Know

No open submissions: Cinema Tucsón is programmed curatively by co-programmers Carlos A. Gutierrez (also co-director of Cinema Tropical) and Vicky Westover (former director of the University of Arizona's Hanson FilmTV Institute). A 12-person community committee participates in programming decisions. Filmmakers should reach out directly through the Cinema Tucsón website or Cinema Tropical to inquire about screening opportunities.

US borderlands audience: Tucson's location on the US-Mexico border gives Cinema Tucsón a unique audience. The city has deep connections to Mexican culture, and the series draws a mix of Mexican-American community members, university students and faculty, film enthusiasts, and Spanish-speaking residents. Co-programmer Carlos A. Gutierrez has noted that increasing attendance from Tucson's Spanish-speaking community is a priority, and screenings frequently include Q&A sessions in Spanish and English.

Early US exposure: Films screened at Cinema Tucsón have sometimes appeared in Tucson before their theatrical release in Mexico. Huesera (Michelle Garza Cervera), which screened at Cinema Tucsón in September 2022, had not yet been released in Mexican theaters at the time of its Tucson screening. The series has also programmed films that premiered at major festivals including Morelia, Tribeca, and Cannes before their US theatrical runs.

Awards-caliber programming: The 2025 to 2026 season included The Reserve (La Reserva) by Pablo Perez Lombardini, which won Best Mexican Film and Best Lead Actress at the Morelia Film Festival. Huesera, screened in a previous season, won awards at the Tribeca Festival. The programming consistently includes award-winning films from the Mexican and international festival circuits.

2025 attendance record: Cinema Tucsón reported its highest attendance figures to date in 2025, reflecting growing audience engagement with Mexican cinema in Tucson. The series has built a loyal regular audience over five years of monthly programming.

No submission fee: Because Cinema Tucsón is curatively programmed rather than submission-based, there is no submission fee. However, this also means filmmakers cannot simply submit a film and expect consideration. Building a relationship with Cinema Tropical or the programming team is the most effective approach.

Major Awards

Cinema Tucsón is a screening series, not a competitive festival. No jury prizes or audience awards are given. The value for filmmakers is in audience exposure, community engagement, and the Q&A format that allows direct interaction with Tucson's borderlands audience.

The predecessor Tucson Cine Mexico festival (2009 to 2020) was a competitive festival with jury prizes for Best Mexican Film, Best Chicano Film, and an Audience Award. These awards were discontinued when the format changed to a monthly screening series in 2021.

Festival History

Tucson Cine Mexico was founded in 2009 by Vicky Westover and Carlos A. Gutierrez as an annual film festival dedicated to Mexican cinema in the US borderlands. The festival ran every March for 17 years, becoming the longest-running Mexican film festival in the United States. During its annual festival format, Tucson Cine Mexico presented a selection of films over several days, creating a concentrated platform for Mexican cinema in the American Southwest.

After the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Westover and Gutierrez decided to change the format. Instead of condensing all films into a single annual week, they transitioned to monthly screenings throughout most of the year. This decision was driven by a desire to bring more Mexican cinema to Tucson, not just once a year. The new format launched in 2021 as Cinema Tucsón, presented by Cinema Tropical and the UA Center for Latin American Studies, in partnership with the Fox Tucson Theatre and the Mexican Consulate in Tucson.

The Fox Tucson Theatre, the series' home venue, is itself historically significant. The Art Deco theatre opened in 1930 and operated until 1974. For decades, it was dedicated exclusively to Anglo entertainment, making its current role as a dedicated home for Mexican cinema culturally meaningful. The theatre reopened in 2005 after restoration and now serves as a performing arts center and cinema.

Over five years of monthly programming (2021 to 2026), Cinema Tucsón has screened dozens of Mexican films including Dos Estaciones, Esto no es Berlin (Hari Sama), La Mami, Los Lobos, Noche de Fuego, Corina, Huesera, Sujo, The In Between, and many others. The series has hosted Q&A sessions with directors and producers, creating direct dialogue between Mexican filmmaking talent and Tucson audiences.

In 2025, the series reported its highest attendance figures to date. The 2025 to 2026 season ran from September 2025 through April 2026, with the series scheduled to resume in September 2026 after a summer break. The program continues to evolve, with co-programmer Carlos A. Gutierrez describing Cinema Tucsón as "an act of love" sustained by a dynamic combination of nonprofit cultural organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, and local businesses.

See Also

For Mexican cinema and international film markets, see International Film Markets. For Chicano and borderlands filmmaking, see Independent Filmmaking. For festival circuit planning and submission strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate festival submission fees across multiple festivals, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator.