43rd Chicago Latino Film Festival – Poster Contest 2027

Submission Deadline: December 1, 2026
Eligibility: International
Entry Fee: Free
First Prize: US$1,000
Organizer: International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC)
Festival Dates: April 15–26, 2027
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

About the Competition

The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC) is inviting artists and designers from around the world to submit original poster concepts for the 43rd Chicago Latino Film Festival, scheduled for April 15–26, 2027.

Recognized as the longest continuously running Latino film festival in the United States, the Chicago Latino Film Festival showcases films from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. The festival celebrates cultural diversity and the power of cinema to bring different communities and stories together.

Artists, graphic designers, illustrators, collaborative teams, and design firms worldwide are invited to create an original poster for the festival’s 43rd edition.

The winning design will become the festival’s official visual identity. It may appear on printed programs, the festival website, invitations, digital advertisements, T-shirts, merchandise, the festival trailer, social media platforms, and animated promotional materials.

Competition Theme

“Latino Stories for Movie Lovers”

The poster should reflect the moviegoing experience and celebrate the cultural diversity of Latin America and the broader Ibero-American world.

Artists are encouraged to explore cinema, storytelling, the experience of watching films, and the connections between different cultures through visual design.

The concept should represent the festival’s broad cultural diversity rather than focus on a single country or cultural identity.

Required Poster Elements

Every design must include the following text:

• “43rd Chicago Latino Film Festival”
• “April 15-26, 2027”

The number “43rd” must also be incorporated into the visual design.

Additional creative guidelines:

• The poster should celebrate the diverse cultures of Ibero-America through film.
• The moviegoing experience should be central to the concept.
• Avoid references to a single country, specific cultural artifacts, historical figures, symbols, or icons.
• Avoid stereotypes and clichéd cultural imagery.
• The design should be original, creative, and visually compelling.
• The winning design must be adaptable for animation.
• Mock-ups showing the artwork on T-shirts, posters, and merchandise are encouraged.

Eligibility and Entry Requirements

• The competition is open to artists worldwide.
• Individual artists, collaborative teams, and design firms may enter.
• Each individual, team, or firm may submit up to 3 different designs.
• Preference will be given to artists based in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as Latino artists living anywhere in the world. This is a preference, not a geographic restriction.
• Entries will be reviewed anonymously. The artist’s identity will not be disclosed to the selection committee until a winner has been selected.
• The selection committee consists entirely of the Chicago Latino Film Festival’s core team.
• Only digital submissions will be accepted.
• Entrants must own the full copyright to their submitted designs and all included elements.
• Applicants must disclose the tools and software used to create their artwork.
• Fully AI-generated artwork will not be considered.

Technical Specifications

Initial submissions must:

• Be submitted in JPEG or PNG format.
• Include a preview image; lower-resolution previews are acceptable.
• Follow the official page’s stated maximum preview file size of 100 MB.
• Be designed for a final vertical poster size of 18 × 24 inches.
• Have a final resolution of 150 DPI.
• Use RGB color mode.

The winning designer will also be required to provide:

• Editable, digitized layered artwork suitable for editing and animation.
• A visual style guide listing color matches, fonts, and other relevant design information.
• Additional technical information about the artwork.
• The artist’s signature incorporated into the selected design.

Minor design adjustments may be requested by the festival. The artwork must be easy to adapt for different print and digital formats.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be evaluated based on:

• Visual appeal
• Content and relevance to the theme
• Creativity and originality
• Representation of the festival’s cultural diversity
• Adaptability to different media
• Promotional and marketing potential
• Potential for animation

Prize

First Prize: US$1,000

The winning design will become the official poster and visual identity of the 43rd Chicago Latino Film Festival.

The selected artwork may be used in printed and digital festival materials, programs, invitations, social media, advertisements, merchandise, trailers, and animated promotional content.

The winner is expected to be announced in late January 2027.

Copyright and Important Notice

Entrants must own the full copyright to their submitted designs and may be required to certify ownership upon request.

By submitting an entry, participants acknowledge and agree that the Chicago Latino Film Festival will have unlimited rights to use or display submitted designs at any time and in any manner. Such uses may include print and electronic publications, promotional brochures, posters, and other corporate communications materials.

This provision applies to all submitted entries, not only the winning design. Entrants are strongly encouraged to review this copyright provision carefully before submitting their work.

Submission and Contact Information

Entries must be submitted through the online application form available on the official competition website.

Submission Deadline: December 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Chicago local time.

For applicants in Türkiye, this corresponds to December 2, 2026, at 9:59 a.m.

For submission assistance:

Email: design@latinoculturalcenter.org
Phone: +1 312 431 1330

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION WEBSITE