What started as a small, student film festival almost two decades ago—with films from students at UCSD and community colleges here and in Tijuana—has grown into one of the largest and most well-respected Latino film festivals in the nation. The San Diego Latino Film Festival kicks off its 17th year March 11, screening 170 features and short films over the course of 10 days at UltraStar Cinemas at Hazard Center in Mission Valley.

The Festival: Sweet 17.

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Ethan Vanthillo, executive director and founder of Media Arts Center San Diego, which runs the film festival, says in 1998, when the festival began showing its films in the UA Horton Plaza, it gained a much wider audience. As a result, says Vanthillo, “We changed programming from having only students’ work to promoting feature films from major studios, and inviting actors and directors to attend. We started getting corporate sponsors too and have been very successful because of them.”

This year’s sponsors include Bank of America, Sharp Healthcare and Aero Mexico, among others. Moving to theatres with multiple screens permitted the festival to show a variety of works at the same time, showcasing the diversity of Latino culture, says Vanthillo.

“It wasn’t just Mexicans, but Chicanos, Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians and Argentineans, too," he says. "In the early days of Latino cinema, it was all East L.A., like Edward James Olmos, but now it’s international in scope."

Vanthillo points, by way of example, to the director Alfonso Cuarón, who directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but who also directs films in Spanish. Guerrero Del Toro directs the forthcoming Hobbit film and also made The Labyrinth. Carlos Saura screened his documentary Fados at the festival last year, and this year is bringing his new film, Io, Don Giovanni (I, Don Giovanni), which has been made in Italian and German, about the librettist of the Don Giovanni opera.

The film festival gives audiences a chance to travel to Latin American countries without the expensive air ticket, says Vanthillo. Opening night is March 11, and the best way to see films that night is to purchase a Gala pass, which includes one of the four films being shown and a party afterward at the Se San Diego Hotel, with live music, drinks and appetizers. Families can participate in a special program on March 14th at 11 a.m., when Nickelodeon will bring in its Spanish language celebrities Dora and Diego from the show Dora the Explorer. Among the family friendly films being screened is Carlitos, a live-action soccer film from Spain.

Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night screening includes visits from directors and actors. Vanthillo says some 70 personalities will come through town during the festival, including former Law & Order star Benjamin Bratt on March 20. His brother, Peter Bratt, directed the film La Mission. Many of the luminaries will be familiar to those who watch telenovelas, and will be signing autographs and photos in the theater’s lobby. The website has a special guest section with information about visiting celebrities, as well as a complete list of films and screen dates. Tickets can also be purchased there.