Overview
The Icaro International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine Icaro en Centroamerica) is the longest-running and most significant film festival in Central America. Founded in 1998 by Casa Comal, a Guatemalan cultural NGO, the festival holds its 29th edition from November 6 to 29, 2026, in Guatemala City. The festival is produced with the backing of Guatemala's Ministry of Culture and Sports and operates through the International Network of Icaro Film Festivals, with satellite events in every Central American country from Guatemala to Panama, plus Cuba, Puerto Rico, New York, Los Angeles, Bogota, Buenos Aires, and Barcelona.
The 2026 edition carries the theme "Peace, Sovereignty, and Audiovisual Literacy," commemorating 30 years since the signing of Guatemala's Peace Accords that ended the country's 36-year civil war (1960-1996). This context is not decorative. Guatemala has the largest Indigenous population in Central America, with over half the population identifying as Maya and 21 distinct Mayan languages spoken alongside Spanish. The festival's programming engages directly with this cultural complexity, with sections dedicated to Indigenous cinema and regional identity.
The festival runs a two-tier competition system. Between July and October, each Central American country holds its own national Icaro competition to select films that advance to the international edition in Guatemala City in November. This structure means that Central American filmmakers compete first at the national level, then at the regional level against films from across the isthmus and the wider world.
Submission Details
Submissions for the 29th edition (2026) are open exclusively through FilmFreeway.
Submission period: April 12 to June 30, 2026
Competition areas:
- Central American (films from Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama)
- International (films from anywhere in the world)
Competition categories:
- Feature Fiction and Short Fiction
- Feature Documentary and Short Documentary
- Short Animation
- Short Experimental
Eligibility:
- Films must have been produced during 2025 or 2026
- Films in languages other than Spanish must have Spanish subtitles
- Submission grants a non-commercial exhibition license for all festival windows, including in-person screenings and official digital platforms
Notification: The official selection list will be published September 30, 2026, on festivalicaro.com.
The festival does not charge a submission fee for Central American filmmakers. International filmmakers should check the FilmFreeway page for current fee amounts, which vary by category and deadline period.
Key Sections
- Central American Competition - fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental films from the seven Central American countries, selected through national Icaro competitions
- International Competition - fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental films from outside Central America
- Indigenous and Community Cinema - programming focused on Maya and other Indigenous cinema from the region
- Icaro Network Screenings - traveling showcases that bring selected films to departments and municipalities outside Guatemala City, reaching audiences in rural and Indigenous communities
- Technical-Artistic Recognition - separate awards for Central American filmmakers in Direction, Cinematography, Screenplay, Production, Sound, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, and Acting
What Filmmakers Should Know
For Central American filmmakers, Icaro is the primary regional platform. The national competition structure means that a Guatemalan short or feature first competes at the national level (typically August-September) before advancing to the international edition in November. Filmmakers from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama follow the same path through their respective national Icaro nodes.
For international filmmakers, the festival offers access to Central American audiences that no other festival in the region can match. The festival's network extends beyond Guatemala to satellite events in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the United States (New York and Los Angeles), Colombia, Argentina, and Spain, giving selected films additional screening opportunities across at least 10 extra venues.
The festival covers travel and accommodation for selected filmmakers. The submission license is non-commercial and limited to festival windows, meaning filmmakers retain all distribution rights. Films that have screened at previous Icaro editions are not eligible for re-submission.
The 2026 edition's focus on peace and audiovisual literacy means programming will likely favor films that engage with post-conflict themes, Indigenous rights, social justice, and regional identity. Filmmakers whose work addresses these themes should consider Icaro a strategic festival target.
Guatemala's film industry is small but growing. Jayro Bustamante, whose film Rita (2024) was Guatemala's Oscar submission, is among the directors who have emerged through the ecosystem Icaro supports. The festival's connection to Casa Comal's educational programs and the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television (EICTV) in Cuba creates a development pipeline for Central American filmmaking that extends beyond the festival itself.
Major Awards
- Icaro Statuette - awarded to the best film in each category, in both Central American and International sections
- Technical-Artistic Awards - recognition for Central American filmmakers in 9 craft categories: Direction, Cinematography, Screenplay, Production, Sound, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, and Acting
- Audience Award "Roberto Diaz Gomar" - voted by festival audiences, named after the late Guatemalan actor
Festival History
Icaro was founded in 1998 by Elias Jimenez Trachtenberg and Rafael Rosal Paz, both graduates of the EICTV in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba. The festival began as a local platform for Guatemalan film and video productions. By its third edition in 2000, the volume of submissions from neighboring countries prompted the festival to expand to a regional format.
In 2008, the festival formalized its two-tier structure: national Icaro competitions in each Central American country from August to September, feeding into the international edition in Guatemala in November. This structure has been instrumental in building a coherent Central American audiovisual movement, inspiring the creation of sister festivals in Costa Rica and Panama, as well as regional funds like Cinergia and Programa Ibermedia.
The 28th edition in November 2025 honored Cuba's EICTV with the Icaro of Honor award, recognizing the school's role in training filmmakers across Latin America. The festival's closing ceremony is held at the National Palace of Culture in Guatemala City.
Over 28 editions, Icaro has built an archive of Central American cinema that documents the region's post-conflict cultural production, Indigenous filmmaking, and the emergence of national film industries in countries that lacked them a generation ago. The festival's traveling exhibition program guarantees selected films at least 10 additional screenings across and beyond the Americas.
Past Winners
2025 (28th edition):
- Best Central American Feature: Espina (also won Best Production and Best Actress)
- Best International Experimental Short Film: AtmoSphaira
- Icaro of Honor: Cuba's EICTV (Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television)
2024 (27th edition):
- Best Central American Feature: Memories of a Burning Body by Antonella Sudasassi (Costa Rica). The film also won Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Production, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing. It previously won the Panorama Audience Award at Berlin and the Platino Award for Cinema and Education in Values.
- Best Actress: Ariana Chaves Gavilan for La Piel del Agua
- Best Actor: Orlando Alexis Ortiz for Me Dicen El Panzer
2023 (26th edition):
- Best Central American Film: La Hija de Lazaro (also won Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Sound Design)
- Best International Fiction Feature: In the Fire
Notable Alumni Films
- Ixcanul (2015) by Jayro Bustamante - Guatemala's first Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film. The film won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and was distributed by Kino Lorber in the United States. Bustamante emerged through the Central American filmmaking ecosystem that Icaro supports.
- Memories of a Burning Body (2024 Icaro winner) - Antonella Sudasassi's Costa Rican feature swept 6 Icaro awards including Best Central American Feature. The film won the Panorama Audience Award at Berlin and the Platino Award before its Icaro success.
- Un Poeta (A Poet, 2025 Icaro opening film) - Simon Mesa Soto's Colombian film won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes 2025. The film was distributed by 1-2 Special and Luxbox handled international sales.
Watch
Submission Tips
- Central American filmmakers compete first at their national Icaro competition (August to September) before advancing to the international edition in November. Submit through your country's national Icaro node.
- International filmmakers submit through FilmFreeway. The festival does not charge a submission fee for Central American filmmakers.
- The 2026 edition theme "Peace, Sovereignty, and Audiovisual Literacy" means programming will favor films engaging with post-conflict themes, Indigenous rights, social justice, and regional identity.
- Films in languages other than Spanish must have Spanish subtitles. Submission grants a non-commercial exhibition license for all festival windows including in-person screenings and official digital platforms.
- Selected films receive at least 10 additional screenings through the Icaro Network across Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the United States, Colombia, Argentina, and Spain.
Industry Reputation Notes
Icaro is the longest-running and most significant film festival in Central America. Over 28 editions, it has built a coherent Central American audiovisual movement through its two-tier national and international competition structure.
Compared to the Havana Film Festival, which covers Latin American cinema more broadly, Icaro focuses specifically on Central American filmmaking with dedicated sections for Indigenous and community cinema. The festival's connection to Casa Comal's educational programs and Cuba's EICTV creates a development pipeline for Central American filmmakers.
The festival covers travel and accommodation for selected filmmakers, and the submission license is non-commercial and limited to festival windows. The Icaro Network's traveling exhibition program guarantees selected films additional screenings across at least 10 venues in and beyond the Americas.
See Also
To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For Central American cinema and regional distribution, see International Film Markets. For Indigenous filmmaking, see American Indian Film Festival. For festival strategy guidance, see Film Festival Strategy.
