International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival Announces 2025 Award Winners in Milestone Year
TL;DR
The IPRHFF 2025 winners gain prestigious recognition that elevates their careers and provides competitive advantage in the global film industry.
The International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival selected winners from 104 submitted films across 15 categories during its November 12-16, 2025 event.
The festival amplifies diverse Puerto Rican and Latinx stories, fostering cultural understanding and empowering underrepresented voices in global cinema.
Winners included films about legendary golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez and a thriller called Deformed among the 15th anniversary celebration selections.
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The International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival (IPRHFF) has announced the winners of its 2025 edition, marking a significant milestone during its 15th anniversary celebration. The festival, held from November 12-16, showcased 104 submitted films across various formats including shorts, feature films, documentaries, and music videos from Puerto Rico and international creators. This year's selections emphasized both emerging and established filmmakers whose work continues to expand the narratives of Puerto Rican and Latinx diaspora communities.
Veronica Caicedo, Founder and CEO of IPRHFF, expressed pride in recognizing what she described as powerful and inspiring films that reflect the festival's core mission. The festival's purpose centers on celebrating heritage, empowering storytellers, and amplifying the diverse experiences within the Puerto Rican community. The IPRHFF's broader mission involves creating platforms that allow diverse filmmakers to reach broader audiences and developing programs that connect local and international filmmakers with audiences throughout New York City and beyond.
Among the notable winners, the Best Narrative Feature award went to @love, while Remembering Big Juan: "Chi Chi" Rodriguez Story earned the Best Documentary Film honor. The screenplay categories saw Bruja winning Best Screenplay and La Doña taking Best Short Script. In the short film categories, Mulata received the Best Live Action Short award, and Playing Through was honored as Best Documentary Short. Betty Bird Goes to War received an Honorable Mention for its contribution to the festival's programming.
The festival also recognized outstanding individual achievements with Washington M. Perez winning Best Actor for his performance in Blink and Vanyarianna Ortiz Marquez earning Best Actress for her role in Mulata. The Best Director award went to The Ladder, while A West Side Story Story received the Estrella Boriquena Award. Additional category winners included A Media Luna for Best Music Video, Deformed / Deforme for Best Thriller, and Last Words for the Audience Choice Award.
The importance of these awards extends beyond mere recognition, as they represent a growing movement to amplify Puerto Rican voices in global cinema. By highlighting films that explore issues inherent to Puerto Rican heritage and its diaspora, the festival fosters a collaborative environment for artists from various countries to engage with stories relevant to the broader Latino community. This year's winners demonstrate the continuing evolution of Puerto Rican storytelling and its increasing impact on the international film landscape.
Curated from Noticias Newswire
