Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (Havana Film Festival)

Overview

The Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, known internationally as the Havana Film Festival, is Latin America's longest-running politically engaged film festival. The 46th edition ran December 4 to 14, 2025, in Havana. The festival received 2,051 submissions and selected 114 titles, 30 screenplays, and 30 posters for competition. The closing ceremony took place at the Charles Chaplin Cinema, the festival's primary venue.

The 2025 Coral Awards were dominated by two films. Un poeta (A Poet), directed by Simon Mesa Soto (Colombia), won the Coral for Best Feature Film and the Coral for Best Actor for Ubeimar Rios. The film also won the Don Quixote Award from the International Federation of Film Societies and the Signis Award from the World Catholic Association for Communication. El agente secreto (The Secret Agent), directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho (Brazil), won five awards: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.

Honorary Coral Awards were presented to Estudios Churubusco (on its 80th anniversary) and to actor Gael Garcia Bernal. The festival is organized by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC).

Submission Details

The festival accepts submissions from filmmakers, screenwriters, designers, and producers working on Latin American or Caribbean themes.

Submissions are accepted in fiction feature films, first feature films, documentary feature films, short films, animation, and other territories (films from outside Latin America). Screenwriters can apply for the Unpublished Screenplay Award. Designers can submit posters for the Coral Poster Award. Directors and producers can submit films for the Coral Post-Production Award.

The festival does not use FilmFreeway. Submissions are handled through the festival's official process. Filmmakers should consult the official festival website for current submission guidelines and forms.

Coral Awards

The Coral Awards are the festival's top prizes, awarded across multiple categories:

Feature Film Categories:

Documentary Categories:

Animation Categories:

Other Categories:

Festival History

The Havana Film Festival was founded in 1979 by ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos) to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. The festival was conceived as a platform for New Latin American Cinema, the movement of politically engaged, socially committed filmmaking that emerged across the continent in the 1960s and 1970s, influenced by Third Cinema theory and the work of filmmakers like Fernando Birri, Tomas Gutierrez Alea, and Glauber Rocha.

The festival has operated continuously for 46 editions, surviving the collapse of Soviet support in the early 1990s, the US embargo, and Cuba's severe economic difficulties. The Coral Award, named after Cuba's coral reefs, has become one of the most historically resonant prizes in Latin American cinema.

The festival has played a significant role in the visibility and distribution of Latin American cinema, providing a space for filmmakers from across the region to screen their work in a context that prioritizes political and social engagement over commercial considerations. The festival's programming consistently includes films from every Latin American country, with additional sections for films from other territories that share thematic concerns with Latin American cinema.

What Filmmakers Should Know

The Havana Film Festival is the primary platform for Latin American cinema within Latin America. Films with politically engaged content, social justice themes, and perspectives from the Global South find particularly receptive audiences. The Coral Award carries significant weight in Latin American film circles, though it has less commercial impact than awards at A-list festivals like Cannes, Venice, or Berlin.

US filmmakers attending Havana should be aware of current travel regulations between the United States and Cuba, which have varied under different administrations. Filmmakers should consult current US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations before planning attendance. The festival does not use FilmFreeway, and submission processes may differ from standard international festival procedures.

The festival does not operate a film market. Distribution deals are not a primary activity at Havana. The festival's value lies in audience access, regional networking, and critical recognition within Latin American cinema. Filmmakers seeking international distribution should not expect deal-making at Havana, though the festival can generate regional buzz that supports subsequent festival runs.

The festival screens across multiple Havana venues including the Charles Chaplin Cinema, Yara Cinema, Acapulco Cinema, Infanta Cinema, the Glauber Rocha Foundation, and the 23 y 12 Cinema. The festival atmosphere is public and accessible, with strong local audience attendance. The closing night awards ceremony at the Charles Chaplin Cinema is the festival's signature event.

The 2025 edition received 2,051 works and selected 114 titles for competition, making it a competitive but accessible festival for Latin American filmmakers. The submission deadline is typically in August, later than most European festivals, which aligns with the December festival dates.

Past Winners

The 2025 (46th edition) Coral Award winners are listed above. Here are the preceding editions:

2024 (45th Edition) Winners:

• Coral Best Feature Film: La cocina by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico/USA) - a kitchen-set drama about undocumented workers in a New York restaurant. Ruizpalacios previously directed Museum (2017) and Police Story (2016), both of which screened at Berlin.
• Don Quixote Award: Sujo by Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero (Mexico)
• Coral Post-Production Award: Machado by Julian Tagle (Argentina)

2023 (44th Edition) Winners:

• Coral Best Feature Film: Totem by Lila Aviles (Mexico) - also won Coral Best Screenplay and Coral Best Art Direction (Noemi Gonzalez Martinez). The film world premiered at the Berlinale 2023 in competition, was selected as Mexico's entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, and was released in the US by Sideshow and Janus Films in January 2024.
• Special Jury Prize (Feature): El auge de lo humano 3 by Eduardo Williams (Argentina)
• Coral Best Director: Rodrigo Moreno for Los delincuentes (Argentina) - also won Coral Best Cinematography and Coral Best Editing. Los delincuentes premiered at Cannes 2023 in the Un Certain Regard section.
• Coral Best First Feature: Levante by Lillah Halla (Brazil) - premiered at Cannes 2023 in the Critics' Week section
• Coral Best Documentary: El juicio by Ulises de la Orden (Argentina)
• Coral Best Actor: Miguel Gonzalez for El otro hijo (Colombia)
• Coral Best Actress: Ilona Almansa for El otro hijo (Colombia)
• FIPRESCI Prize: En el camino by David Pablos (Mexico)

Notable Alumni

The Havana Film Festival has a long history of recognizing films that went on to international success:

• Totem (2023 Coral winner) - Lila Aviles's second feature world premiered at the Berlinale 2023 in competition, where it won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Paris-based sales agent Alpha Violet sold the film to Sideshow and Janus Films (North America), New Wave Films (UK), and distributors in 15+ territories including Japan, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The film was selected as Mexico's official Oscar submission for Best International Feature. Aviles's debut The Chambermaid (2018) screened at over 50 international festivals and was also Mexico's Oscar submission.
• La cocina (2024 Coral winner) - Alonso Ruizpalacios's film also screened at the Berlinale. Ruizpalacios is a Mexican director whose previous films have screened at Berlin and other major European festivals.
• The Club (2015 Coral winner) by Pablo Larrain (Chile) - was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and selected as Chile's Oscar entry. Larrain later directed Jackie (2016) and El Conde (2023), both of which received Academy Award nominations.
• Birds of Passage (2018 Coral winner) by Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego (Colombia) - was selected as Colombia's Oscar entry for Best International Feature and screened at Cannes 2018 in the Directors' Fortnight.
• El agente secreto (2025, 5 Coral awards) by Kleber Mendonca Filho (Brazil) - received 3 Golden Globe nominations. Mendonca Filho previously directed Bacurau (2019) and Aquarius (2016), both of which screened at Cannes.
• Un poeta (2025 Coral winner) by Simon Mesa Soto (Colombia) - premiered at Cannes 2025 in the Un Certain Regard section, where it won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. The film was selected as Colombia's Oscar submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.

Submission Tips

The Havana Film Festival does not use FilmFreeway. Submissions are handled through the festival's official website and process. Filmmakers should consult habanafilmfestival.com for current forms and guidelines, as the process differs from standard international festival procedures.

The geographic focus is strict: films must address Latin American or Caribbean themes. Films from outside Latin America can submit to the "Other Territories" category, but they must share thematic concerns with Latin American cinema. Pure European or North American films without Latin American connections are not the festival's target.

The submission deadline is typically in August, later than most European festivals. This aligns with the December festival dates. Films completed in 2024 or 2025 were eligible for the 46th edition (December 2025).

Two restrictions are unique to Havana: films must not have screened at other international festivals in Cuba, and films must not have been shared publicly on digital platforms. The second restriction means films available on streaming platforms or VOD are not eligible. Verify your film's online availability status before submitting.

The festival accepts submissions in fiction features, first features, documentary features, short films, animation, unpublished screenplays, and posters. The Coral Post-Production Award provides post-production support for selected projects, which is valuable for Latin American filmmakers working with limited budgets.

Political and social engagement is the festival's programming DNA. Films addressing social justice, inequality, political resistance, indigenous rights, and Global South perspectives find the most receptive audience. The festival was founded to celebrate New Latin American Cinema and Third Cinema theory, and this orientation continues in its programming choices.

Industry Reputation

The Havana Film Festival is the primary platform for Latin American cinema within Latin America. It has operated continuously for 46 editions, surviving the collapse of Soviet support in the early 1990s, the US embargo, and Cuba's severe economic difficulties. This longevity gives the Coral Award significant historical resonance in Latin American film circles.

The festival does not operate a film market. Distribution deals are not a primary activity. The festival's value lies in audience access (strong local attendance across multiple Havana venues), regional networking among Latin American filmmakers, and critical recognition within the Latin American film community.

The Coral Award has less commercial impact than awards at A-list festivals like Cannes, Venice, or Berlin. However, the festival's track record of recognizing films before their broader international success is notable. Totem (2023), Birds of Passage (2018), and The Club (2015) all won the Coral before achieving international distribution and Oscar recognition. Un poeta (2025) won the Coral after winning the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes and before being selected as Colombia's Oscar submission.

For US filmmakers, attendance requires awareness of current travel regulations between the United States and Cuba. Consult the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations before planning attendance, as these regulations have varied under different administrations.

The festival screens across multiple Havana venues including the Charles Chaplin Cinema, Yara Cinema, Acapulco Cinema, Infanta Cinema, the Glauber Rocha Foundation, and the 23 y 12 Cinema. The atmosphere is public and accessible, with strong local audience attendance. The closing night awards ceremony at the Charles Chaplin Cinema is the festival's signature event.

Watch

:::youtube{videoId="cEYx_vOof1w"}

:::

Official US trailer for Totem by Lila Aviles, winner of the 2023 Coral for Best Feature Film at the Havana Film Festival. The film world premiered at the Berlinale 2023 and was Mexico's Oscar submission for Best International Feature.

:::youtube{videoId="lCFaQKaOXNU"}

:::

Official trailer for La cocina by Alonso Ruizpalacios, winner of the 2024 Coral for Best Feature Film at the Havana Film Festival. The film is distributed by MUBI and is set in the kitchen of a New York restaurant.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. For Latin American cinema history and context, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For distribution deals in international cinema, see Distribution Deals Explained. Visit the official Havana Film Festival website for current submission guidelines.