As is typical of short-film programs, the Las Vegas Latino Short Film Festival ranged in quality from amateurish to mediocre to surprisingly effective. Organizers put together a program with movies from several Latino cultures, bookended by two highlights from Spain: Jorge Molina’s wry dark comedy The Parking, about a man comically waylaid in a parking garage; and Pilar Palomero’s sweet fable Nino Balcon, about a boy who grows up with his head stuck in a railing.

Like other niche festivals in town, the LVLSFS drew a mostly older crowd from its target community, but it filled the theater at the Springs Preserve and provided a showcase for an underappreciated corner of filmmaking. With CineVegas out of the picture, we need events like this more than ever.