Overview
The Havana Film Festival, officially the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, is Latin America's longest-running politically engaged film festival. Founded in 1979 by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), the festival runs for 10 days each December in Havana. The 46th edition took place December 4 to 14, 2025, screening over 330 films from 42 countries to an audience of more than 31,000 spectators. The 47th edition is scheduled for December 3 to 13, 2026.
The festival's identity is inseparable from the New Latin American Cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which included filmmakers like Tomas Gutierrez Alea (Memories of Underdevelopment), Glauber Rocha (Black God, White Devil), and Jorge Sanjines (Blood of the Condor). ICAIC created the festival as the primary international showcase for this tradition of anti-imperialist, socially committed cinema.
The 2025 edition was dedicated to Alfredo Guevara on the centenary of his birth, honoring ICAIC's founder and first president. Mexico was the guest of honor. The festival also programmed a section dedicated to BRICS countries, an alliance Cuba recently joined.
For filmmakers working with Latin American or Caribbean themes, the Coral Awards are among the most historically significant competitive prizes in the region. The festival does not charge submission fees for its competitive categories. Registration is handled through the festival website or in person at the Casa del Festival (Calle 19 y 2, Vedado, Havana).
Submission Details
Submissions for the 47th edition (December 2026) open May 28, 2026, and close August 15, 2026.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Submission Platform | Official website (habanafilmfestival.com) or in-person at Casa del Festival |
| Submission Fee | No fee for competitive categories (registration fees per regulations) |
| Submission Deadline | August 15, 2026 |
| Eligibility Window | Films completed in 2025 or 2026 |
| Theme Requirement | Latin American or Caribbean themes (stories, characters, contexts) |
| Festival Dates (47th edition) | December 3 to 13, 2026 |
| Notification | Typically September to October 2026 |
Competitive Categories
- Fiction Feature - Latin American narrative features for the Coral Award for Best Feature Film
- Opera Prima - first-time feature directors
- Documentary Feature - Latin American nonfiction features
- Short Film - Latin American and international shorts
- Animation - animated features and shorts
- Otros Territorios - experimental cinema
- Arrecife - LGBTQ+ themed works
- Guion Inedito - unproduced screenplays
- Cartel - festival poster design
Eligibility Rules
Films must address Latin American or Caribbean themes. Films that have participated in previous editions or been screened at other Cuban film events are ineligible for competition. Films openly shared on digital platforms are also ineligible for competition.
Premiere Status Requirements
The festival does not require a World Premiere but excludes films previously screened at other Cuban festivals or previously submitted to past editions. Films available on digital platforms are excluded from competitive categories.
Key Sections
- Fiction Feature Competition - the Coral Award for Best Feature Film is the festival's top prize
- Opera Prima Competition - first features by Latin American directors
- Documentary Feature Competition - Latin American nonfiction cinema
- Short Film and Animation Competitions - shorts across fiction, documentary, and animation
- Otros Territorios - experimental and alternative cinema
- Arrecife - LGBTQ+ themed works
- Panorama Internacional - non-competitive international films
- Produccion en Curso / Postproduccion - projects in development and post-production competing for Coral Awards
- Encuentro de Coproduccion - co-production meetings connecting Latin American producers with international partners
Awards and Accreditation
The Havana Film Festival does not hold Academy Award qualifying status or FIAPF accreditation. The Coral Awards are the festival's top prizes, named after the coral reefs surrounding Cuba. The festival also awards FIPRESCI, SIGNIS, and Don Quixote prizes through partner organizations.
46th Edition Coral Award Winners (2025)
The 46th edition ceremony took place December 12, 2025, at Cine Charles Chaplin in Havana. Key winners:
Fiction Feature:
- Coral for Best Feature Film: Un poeta (dir. Simon Mesa Soto, Colombia/Germany/Sweden). Also won Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. Selected as Colombia's Oscar submission. Distributed by 1-2 Special in the US. Luxbox handles world sales.
- Coral for Best Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho for El agente secreto (Brazil/France). Also won Best Director and Best Actor (Wagner Moura) at Cannes 2025.
- Coral for Best Screenplay: Kleber Mendonca Filho for El agente secreto
- Coral for Best Actor: Ubeimar Rios for Un poeta
- Coral for Best Actress: Helen Mrugalski for Cuerpo celeste (Chile/Italy) and Denise Weinberg for El sendero azul (Brazil) (shared)
- Special Jury Prize: El origen del mundo (dir. Jazmin Lopez, Argentina)
Documentary:
- Coral for Best Documentary Feature: El principe de Nanawa (dir. Clarisa Navas, Argentina)
Opera Prima:
- Coral for Best First Feature: La misteriosa mirada del flamenco (dir. Diego Cespedes, Chile)
Animation:
- Coral for Best Animated Feature: Corazon de las tinieblas (dir. Rogerio Nunes, Brazil/France)
- Coral for Best Animated Short: Raptus (dir. Ivette Avila, Cuba)
Other Categories:
- Coral Arrecife (LGBTQ+): Dos veces bestia (dir. Luis Esguerra Cifuentes)
- FIPRESCI Prize: En el camino (dir. David Pablos, Mexico)
- Don Quixote Award: Un poeta
- SIGNIS Award: Un poeta
Past Winners
Recent Coral for Best Feature winners and their downstream trajectories:
- 2025: *Un poeta* (dir. Simon Mesa Soto) - Won the Coral for Best Feature, Best Actor, Don Quixote Award, and SIGNIS Award. Previously won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. Selected as Colombia's Oscar submission. Distributed by 1-2 Special in US theaters.
- 2025: *El agente secreto* (dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho) - Won Coral for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Previously won Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes 2025.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
The Havana Film Festival has been a launching platform for Latin American cinema since 1979. Specific recent alumni trajectories:
- *La misteriosa mirada del flamenco* (2025, dir. Diego Cespedes) - Coral for Best First Feature (Opera Prima). Chilean debut that gained regional distribution attention through the Havana win.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
The Havana Film Festival programs exclusively Latin American and Caribbean-themed cinema in its competitive sections. Films must address Latin American or Caribbean themes in their stories, characters, or contexts. If your film does not have a Latin American or Caribbean connection, it can only screen in non-competitive sections and cannot compete for Coral Awards.
The festival's free submission policy means cost is not a barrier. The trade-off is slower communication and logistical challenges due to Cuba's infrastructure. Plan for longer response times and be prepared to deliver screening materials through non-standard channels if standard shipping proves unreliable.
Films that have been publicly shared online are ineligible. This is stricter than many festivals that only exclude VOD or theatrical release. If your film has been posted on Vimeo, YouTube, or any public platform, it cannot compete.
The festival's industry section (Produccion en Curso, Postproduccion, Encuentro de Coproduccion) is one of the few platforms in Latin America specifically designed for politically and socially engaged cinema projects. Post-production awards include in-kind services from Cuban and regional post-production houses.
Industry Reputation Notes
The Havana Film Festival is the most historically significant competitive platform dedicated exclusively to Latin American and Caribbean cinema. It compares to the Mar del Plata International Film Festival (Argentina's FIAPF-accredited A-category festival) and the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico's largest industry-facing Latin American festival).
Unlike Mar del Plata, which holds FIAPF A-category accreditation and programs a broader international selection, Havana focuses exclusively on Latin American and Caribbean cinema. Unlike Guadalajara, which operates a large co-production market, Havana's industry program is smaller and more focused on post-production awards and co-production meetings.
The Coral Award for Best Feature Film carries weight across the region's film industries. The 2025 Best Feature winner Un poeta had already won at Cannes and been selected as Colombia's Oscar submission before its Havana screening, demonstrating that the Coral Award reinforces rather than establishes a film's trajectory.
Festival History
The Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano was founded in 1979 by ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos). The festival was created to provide a platform for the New Latin American Cinema movement. The festival has operated continuously for 46 editions, surviving the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis of the Special Period in the 1990s, and the ongoing effects of the US trade embargo. The Coral Award has been the festival's top prize since its founding.
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What Filmmakers Should Know
For Latin American filmmakers, the Havana festival is the most historically significant competitive platform for Latin American and Caribbean cinema. The Coral Award carries weight across the region's film industries. The festival's free submission policy means cost is not a barrier. The trade-off is that the festival's infrastructure has been affected by Cuba's economic situation. Communication with festival staff may be slower than at European or North American festivals. Filmmakers should plan for longer response times and be prepared to deliver screening materials through diplomatic channels or in-person delivery if standard shipping proves unreliable.
Films that have been publicly shared online are ineligible, which is stricter than many festivals that only exclude VOD or theatrical release. For international filmmakers, the competitive sections are restricted to Latin American and Caribbean-themed works. The key trade-off: the festival offers regional prestige and networking access to Latin American industry professionals, but limited infrastructure and no attached film market.
See Also
Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit strategy and Latin American premiere planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For Latin American film market analysis, see International Film Markets. For the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, Argentina's other major Latin American festival, see Mar del Plata. Submit through the official festival website.
