The Seattle Latino Film Festival is holding its 10th festival next week.

The festival, which runs Oct. 5-13, includes screenings in 10 Seattle and Redmond theaters. The special guest list includes more than 20 personalities from the Ibero American and international film industries. Ibero America refers to a region of North America and South America where Spanish or Portuguese are the predominant languages spoken.

Seattle Latino Film Festival is hosting their tenth edition festival. The special guest list includes more than twenty personalities from the Ibero-American and international film industries. Photo courtesy of SLFF.

Debuting in Redmond is the Costa Rican film, “El Sonido de las cosas/The Sound of Things” by director Ariel Escalante. The showing will be at the SecondStory Repertory at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6. Escalante will be in attendance for a meet and greet, as well as a question-and-answer session after the screening.

The film is about nurse named Claudia, who is going through a mourning process in her life. Instead of reaching out for help, Claudia hides her mourning and forgets to care for herself. Everything reminds her of her inability to cry.

“It’s a character exploration on how long it takes to blow up,” Escalante said.

This is not Escalante’s first time addressing the theme of mourning. He has directed two short films in the past focused on the topic.

“The theme of mourning really interests me as I find it to be a really unbalancing time in a character’s life. From an intimate perspective, this subject touched me. It’s a good metaphor of what I live as a Costa Rican. The inspiration came from a long-term research I’ve been doing,” Escalante said.

Escalante said his film, “The Sounds of Things” has debuted in Russia, Europe, Latin America, Texas, California and for the first time, Washington.

The festival will feature a collection of new releases to the Pacific Northwest comprised of feature films, short films, and documentaries from twenty countries, in many languages, all subtitled in English. The celebration is taking place from Oct. 5-13. Photo courtesy of SLFF.

For eight years, Escalante has worked as a screenwriter and editor. This film is his debut as director in a feature film format. It will also be his first time in Seattle.

“It’s really exciting that we are still connecting with audiences around the world,” Escalante said. “It’s exciting to know that a film’s life, what you have to say and connecting with people, has no deadline.”

Latha Sambamurti, an SLFF board director, appreciates how this festival offers opportunities to learn and understand different cultures.

“It’s important to learn about other cultures so we can have a healthy attitude toward [other] cultures. This is going to make us have a beautiful strong community,” Sambamurti said.

The festival will run from Oct. 5-13. The opening celebration will be at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, with Spain being featured as the guest country.

For more information on the festival visit www.slatinoff.org.