The Sundance Film Festival is well-known not only for showcasing the best of independent film, but also as a showcase for diverse cinema. Latin America cinema has had solid exposure at the festival over the last few years and looks poised to continue to get the same level of notice at this year's showcase.

That said, it is interesting to take a look at years past and see which Latino films benefitted from earning a spot in Park City.

1. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 

Last year's film is not Latino on the surface, but it was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and won the top award at the festival. While the film did not end up as a major awards contender, it still got a tremendous amount of buzz thanks to its showcase at Sundance.

2. The Stanford Prison Experiment

Another film directed by a Latin American filmmaker, this time Kyle Patrick Alvarez (the film also stars Moises Arias, the son of Colombian immigrants). The film premiered at Sundance in 2015 and acquired a distributor a few months later.

3. To Kill a Man 

The Chilean film bowed at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was an instant hit. The film managed to get the Grand Jury Prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and was Chile's selection that year to compete at the Oscars as the Best Foreign Language Film. It did not get picked, but certainly managed to earn traction at Sundance.

4. Elite Squad 2

The Brazilian film was a big hit when it was unveiled at the Spotlight section of Sundance 2011 before going on to become hugely popular thereafter. The film was directed by Jose Padiha and stars Wagner Moura, both better known these days for their work on "Narcos" for Netflix.

5. Old Cats

Yet another 2011 film, this one directed by Sebastian Silva and Pedro Peirano. This was one of the first chances that the world had a chance to see Silva's talent, which has burgeoned into such films as "Magic Magic," "Crystal Fairy" and "Nasty Baby."

 6. Ticket to Paradise

Not among the most heralded of films at Sundance, but the Cuban film was one of 14 films selected into the World Cinema Dramatic Competition in Sundance 2011; the film was selected from over 1,000 submissions and was directed by Gerardo Chijona.