The 17th Annual Hola Mexico Film Festival wrapped with awards

The 17th Annual Hola Mexico Film Festival presented by Toyota 2025 concluded a record-setting year with sold-out screenings and announced this year's ‘Audience Award’ winners.

 “Café Chairel” /Director Fernando Barreda Luna
 
Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today Audience Award “Azul” / Director Santos Arrué
 
September 2025—Following a record-setting year with multiple sold-out screenings and additional showings added to theaters, the 17th Annual Hola Mexico Film Festival, presented by Toyota, concludes its successful season by announcing the winners of the 'Audience Award.'

This year’s Audience Award, “Café Chairel” by Fernando Barreda Luna, and the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Audience Award, “Azul" by Director Santos Arrué.
 
Both films have achieved the top position by garnering the maximum points in the audience award vote, confirming their popularity and appreciation among the viewers.
 
The festival featured 21 films and 17 short films from its filmmaker-focused program Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today.  Held in Los Angeles, the annual HMFF has become a staple, claiming the title of the largest Mexican cinema festival organized outside of Mexico.
 
Director Fernando Barreda Luna received the most audience votes for the film “Café Chairel”, learn more about the film here: https://www.holamexicoff.com/cafe-chairel/.

 
After receiving the most audience votes, “Azul” by director Santos Arrué took home the festival’s Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today award for best short entry: https://www.holamexicoff.com/tft/.
 
All award winners will receive a cash prize & a trophy.

Join us for the 18th Annual Hola Mexico Film Festival, taking place from September 25 to October 3, 2026.

About Hola México Film Festival:
Founded in 2008, Hola Mexico Film Festival, the largest Mexican Film Festival outside of Mexico, strives to highlight the best and brightest talents in Mexican cinematography. Spanning comedies, dramas, horror films, and documentaries, the festival showcases high-quality films in a festive atmosphere, accompanied by exclusive parties and outdoor concerts.

Samuel Douek, Founder & Director of the HMFF, earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from Mexico City's Anahuac University and his master's degree in Event Management in Sydney, Australia, where he founded Hola Mexico Film Festival. The festival has since grown into the largest of its kind outside of Mexico and is now a celebrated, yearly tradition held in the capital of the worldwide film industry, Los Angeles, CA.

About Toyota:
Toyota (NYSE: TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands and directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America (almost 48,000 in the U.S.).

For almost 70 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 47 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, the company’s plant in North Carolina will begin to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.7 million cars and trucks (more than 2.3 million in the U.S.) in 2024, of which more than 43 percent were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell).
 
More information: www.holamexicoff.com