Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI)

Overview

The Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias (FICCI) is Latin America's oldest film festival, founded in 1960. The 65th edition takes place April 14 to 19, 2026, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia's Caribbean port city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The festival is free and open to the public, with a social and cultural mission that frames cinema as a vehicle for human consciousness, democracy, and inclusive societies.

The 65th edition marks the return of official competition after a period without competitive sections. FICCI 65 offers 11 sections: 10 official sections and 1 Work in Progress section. The festival awards USD 100,000 in total prize money across competitive categories including Best Feature Film and Best Short Film in the Colombia and Iberoamerica sections, plus an Audience Award for the Colombia section. FICCI 65 maintains its status as an Academy Awards-qualifying festival for Iberoamerican short films and documentaries, meaning recognized works can be notified directly to the Academy of Hollywood for Oscar consideration.

Submissions for FICCI 65 opened August 25, 2025, with an original deadline of November 30, 2025, later extended to December 7, 2025. Submissions are handled exclusively through the FestHome platform. The festival accepts feature films (over 60 minutes) and short films (under 60 minutes) in animation, fiction, documentary, and experimental genres. Films must have Colombia premiere status and must have been completed between 2025 and 2026. Notification of selection is March 17, 2026.

Submission Process and Fees

Submissions for FICCI 65 are handled through FestHome:

Submission requirements:

• Submission window: August 25 to December 7, 2025 (extended from November 30)
• Platform: FestHome exclusively
• Eligibility: Films completed between 2025 and 2026
• Premiere status: Films must have Colombia premiere
• Accepted genres: Animation, fiction, documentary, experimental
• Accepted formats for exhibition: DCP, Apple ProRes 4444, Blu-ray, or H264 Full HD or superior
• Subtitling: Spanish-language films must have English subtitles. English-language films must have Spanish subtitles. Films in other languages must have subtitles in both Spanish and English.
• Notification date: March 17, 2026
• Exempt categories: Cortos Universitarios (university shorts) and Tierra Adentro are exempt from submission fees

Films must not have participated previously in FICCI. The festival also accepts projects in post-production for the Work in Progress section.

Key Sections

The 65th edition features 11 sections, 10 official and 1 Work in Progress:

Competitive Sections

• Colombia - competitive section for Colombian features and shorts (fiction, documentary, essay, animation). Awards: Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Audience Award for Best Feature and Best Short
• Iberoamerica - competitive section for productions from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal. Awards: Best Feature Film, Best Short Film
• Cine en los Barrios (Cinema in the Neighborhoods) - competitive section bringing films to Cartagena and Bolivar communities, with any nationality or genre. Awards: Best Feature Film and/or Best Short Film
• Cortos Universitarios (University Shorts) - for Colombian students at national and international universities. No submission fee.
• Tierra Adentro (Inland) - for films shot in Colombian territories with limited cinema infrastructure. No submission fee. Includes economic recognition for selected films.

Non-Competitive Sections

• Internacional - films from countries outside Colombia and Iberoamerica, including the United States, Canada, non-Iberian Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania
• (S)paces of Time - films exploring temporal and narrative possibilities without duration or format limitations, a platform for innovative proposals
• De Indias - films shot in Cartagena or the department of Bolivar, or produced by filmmakers established in the region. Includes economic recognition for selected films.
• Cine Afro - productions centered on Afro-descendant cultures and realities
• Cine Indigena - films addressing Indigenous cultures and communities

Industry Section

• Work in Progress - space for Colombian and Iberoamerican projects in advanced editing stages, presented before sales agents, distributors, programmers, and national and international jury members

Awards and Prizes

FICCI 65 awards USD 100,000 in total prize money:

Colombia Section

• Best Feature Film (Premio a Mejor Película)
• Best Short Film (Premio a Mejor Cortometraje)
• Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Premio de la Audiencia a Mejor Largometraje)
• Audience Award for Best Short Film (Premio de la Audiencia a Mejor Cortometraje)

Iberoamerica Section

• Best Feature Film (Premio a Mejor Largometraje)
• Best Short Film (Premio a Mejor Cortometraje)

Cine en los Barrios Section

• Best Feature Film and/or Best Short Film

Oscar-Qualifying Status

FICCI 65 is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards (Oscars) in the categories of Iberoamerican short films and documentaries. Works recognized by the Curatorial Committee can be notified directly to the Academy of Hollywood for consideration. This status provides a direct pathway to Oscar eligibility for Iberoamerican filmmakers.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Colombian Filmmakers

The Colombia section is the festival's primary domestic competitive platform. The return of competition in the 65th edition restores prize opportunities after a period without competitive awards. The Audience Award specifically for the Colombia section provides recognition based on popular vote, complementing the jury prizes. The De Indias section offers additional recognition for films made in Cartagena or Bolivar, with economic compensation for selected films. Cortos Universitarios and Tierra Adentro are free to submit, removing financial barriers for student filmmakers and those working in underdeveloped regions.

For Iberoamerican Filmmakers

The Iberoamerica section accepts productions from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal. FICCI's Oscar-qualifying status for Iberoamerican short films and documentaries makes it a strategic festival for filmmakers targeting Academy Award consideration. The submission fee of USD 30 for shorts and USD 60 for features is moderate compared to other Latin American A-tier festivals. Films must have Colombia premiere status, meaning they cannot have screened publicly in Colombia before FICCI. The Work in Progress section provides a separate platform for projects in advanced editing, offering visibility before sales agents and distributors.

For International Filmmakers

The Internacional section accepts films from outside Colombia and Iberoamerica, including the United States, Canada, non-Iberian Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. This section is non-competitive. International filmmakers should note that FICCI is a free-admission festival with a social mission, which means screenings reach broad public audiences rather than industry-only crowds. The festival's location in Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, creates a distinctive cultural context for international films screening alongside Iberoamerican and Colombian work.

For Work in Progress Projects

The Work in Progress section accepts Colombian and Iberoamerican projects in advanced editing stages. Selected projects are presented to sales agents, distributors, programmers, and juries. This is not a submission through FestHome but a separate process. Filmmakers with projects in post-production should contact the festival organization directly for WIP submission details.

Free Admission and Social Mission

FICCI is free and open to the public. The festival describes itself as "an event with a social and cultural vision and, by choice, free access for all." This means films screen to general audiences, not just accredited industry professionals. For filmmakers, this provides broad public exposure in a major Caribbean tourist destination. The Cine en los Barrios section extends screenings to communities in Cartagena and Bolivar, taking films beyond the historic center to peripheral neighborhoods.

Festival History

FICCI was founded in 1960, making it Latin America's oldest film festival. The festival predates all other Latin American competitive festivals by at least a decade. For over 6 decades, FICCI has operated in Cartagena de Indias, a Caribbean port city whose old town is surrounded by 16th-century Spanish colonial fortifications and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The festival's identity is shaped by Cartagena's complex history as a walled colonial city, a major port in the transatlantic slave trade, and a Caribbean cultural center. Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born nearby and set much of his magical realist fiction in the Colombian Caribbean. The festival's engagement with this cultural context is reflected in sections like Cine Afro (Afro-descendant cinema) and Cine Indigena (Indigenous cinema), which center historically marginalized communities.

The 65th edition in 2026 marks the return of official competition to FICCI. Previous editions had moved away from competitive awards, but the 65th edition restores competitive categories across multiple sections. The festival's Oscar-qualifying status for Iberoamerican short films and documentaries reinforces its position on the international festival circuit.

FICCI is funded through Colombia's national cinema support mechanisms and operates with free admission as a deliberate policy choice. The festival's social mission frames cinema as a tool for "elevating human consciousness, strengthening democracy, and contributing to the creation of free, inclusive, and conscious societies." This mission distinguishes FICCI from commercially oriented festivals and shapes its programming toward films that engage with social, political, and cultural realities.

Practical Information

• 65th edition dates: April 14 to 19, 2026
• Location: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
• Admission: Free and open to the public
• Submission platform: FestHome
• Submission fees: USD 30 (shorts), USD 60 (features). Free for Cortos Universitarios and Tierra Adentro.
• Submission deadline: December 7, 2025 (extended from November 30)
• Notification date: March 17, 2026
• Premiere requirement: Colombia premiere
• Exhibition formats: DCP, Apple ProRes 4444, Blu-ray, H264 Full HD or superior
• Prize money: USD 100,000 total
• Oscar-qualifying: Yes, for Iberoamerican short films and documentaries
• Website: ficcifestival.com

See Also

For Colombian cinema context, see Bogota International Film Festival. For Latin American cinema broadly, see International Film Markets. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator to evaluate the cost-benefit of submitting to festivals with paid submission fees. For other Latin American festivals, see Mar del Plata in Argentina, FestCurtasBH in Brazil, or Cine Recobrado Valparaíso in Chile.