Latin cinema in the U.S. is getting ridiculous, and by ridiculous meaning bigger than big.

It was one thing when Amorres Perros came out in 2000, causing a mini-sensation at the Oscars. When Y Tu Mama Tambien was released a year later, Hollywood studio heads knew this Latin craze wasn’t a fluke. Names like Bernal, Cuarón, Iñárritu, and Luna, became staples in Latin cinema. It was clear the talent was there and it was always there, except now the masses were paying attention.

One man ahead of the game was founder of what is now the premiere urban Latino film festival, Calixto Chinchilla. The New York Latino Film Festival launched in ’99 and has grown steadily each year debuting amazing feature films, shorts, documentaries from around the globe and this year’s roster of selection is no exception.

Here are some highlights:
Opening night always starts off with a bang, (last year’s Trade was phenomenal) though this year American Son stars Nick Cannon, now known as Mariah Carey’s lackey, which has some of us scratching our heads to see if Cannon can pull off playing a marine who comes home for a short visit during the Thanksgiving holiday and ends up falling in love. What makes this a highlight is the supporting cast, which includes indie favorite Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind) and Jay Hernandez (World Trade Center.)

Aside from the other premieres, which include Talent of the Barrio, starring Daddy Yankee (say what?), and The Ministers starring Harvey Keitel and John Leguizamo, there is Days of Wrath. Directed by Celia Fox, the film, starring Wilmer Valderrama, Laurence Fishburne and Taylor Diggs, is about conflict between a Latino and an African American gangs that was propelled by a carjacking of a rap star and the killing of a mother.

South of Pico, directed by Ernst Gossner, captures the lives of four strangers who all witness they same accident, which puts their character to the test. Lokas, directed by Gonzalo Justiniano, shows Charly, a Latino homophobe who finds out his father is gay and has a live-in boyfriend.

Malta con Huevos, directed by Christobal Valderrama, tells the tale of two unlikely friends who live together only to have their lives in complete disarray. Things in their lives go haywire, but the cause of this insanity could be a weird dream, a time traveling machine or pure bad luck.

The film festival also features two documentaries on Big Pun and Celia Cruz. And this is just a piece of the pie. The film festival is featuring more than 100 films so, which ones are you going to see?