The 6th Hispano-American Film Festival, held in Toronto May 27 to June 1, wrapped with unofficial attendance numbers of over 7,500, up from around 6,000 patrons in 2002. The Montreal and Calgary HAFFs will run simultaneously June 12-15.

The purpose of the festival traditionally, says HAFF’s marketing director Alisson Larrea, has been to create an audience for the film work of Latin America and Spain in Canada, in addition to showcasing the work of Hispanic Canadians.

New this year was a program for 12 young Canadian filmmakers from Ontario colleges and universities who shot one- to 12-minute shorts that were screened over the course of the festival at Toronto’s Bloor Cinema.

-www.hispanoamericanfilm.com