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WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.

Hispanic Heritage Month has officially started and movie fans have a big reason to celebrate.

The 35th annual AFI Latin American Film Festival returns to the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, from Sept. 19 through Oct. 10.

“We’re really excited,” associate film programmer Josh Gardner told WTOP.

“It’s one of our flagship festivals and it’s my favorite time of year. The festival does coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month. It features 43 films from almost every country in Latin America. One of the things that’s really important to us is to showcase the diversity of filmmaking and Latin America itself, so we have documentaries that are issue oriented, comedies, dramas, thrillers.”

The AFI Latin American Film Festival kicks off with an opening night screening of “La Cocina” by Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios.

“It’s set in a busy Times Square restaurant and follows a Mexican immigrant chef, who’s having an affair with the waitress, played by Oscar-nominated actress Rooney Mara, and follows the intense drama after $800 gets stolen from the cash register,” Gardner said.

“For any fans of ‘The Bear’ out there, which I know there are many, I think this might be a can’t-miss film in the festival for you. We’re really lucky that the director is joining us for a Q&A.”

Baseball fans will appreciate “Clemente” about late great Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente.

“This is a great documentary about Roberto Clemente’s life, charting it from his childhood up until his unfortunate passing,” associate film programmer Javier Chavez told WTOP.

“I’m Cuban, so while baseball is not actually a big thing in my life, it’s a big part of my culture, so it was great to see this perspective of someone who really opened the door for Latinos like myself and see all of his struggles, but also how great of a baseball player he was.”

Washington policy wonks won’t want to miss a pair of issue-oriented border documentaries.

“The first one is called ‘Borderland: The Line Within,’ which exposes the border surveillance system we have in the United States,” Gardner said.

“That is going to be followed by ‘State of Silence,’ which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s a really important documentary that exposes the dangers that journalists in Mexico face for speaking the truth. That’s produced by powerhouse Mexican actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.”

You also don’t want to miss the thriller “Ellipsis” by Spanish filmmaker David Marqués.

“This is the U.S. premiere, so it’s the first time anyone is going to see it here,” Chavez said.

“I describe it as Elena Ferrante meets Alfred Hitchcock, because it’s the story of a successful writer of mystery novels who writes under a pseudonym. He’s sequestered in his chalet working on his next novel when a mysterious stranger knocks on his door. Nobody knows where the writer is except his agent, so who is this man? Why is he knocking on the door?”

Find more information here.

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Listen to our full conversation here.

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