San Juan Cinemafest -- Puerto Rico International Film Festival

Overview

San Juan Cinemafest is Puerto Rico's most important film festival. Founded in 2005 and held annually in November in San Juan -- the 500-year-old capital of the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico -- the festival presents Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and international cinema in one of the Caribbean's most historically rich and culturally vibrant cities.

Puerto Rico's unique status as a US Commonwealth with a Spanish-speaking Latino culture gives the festival an unusual position: it is simultaneously a US film event and a Latin American cultural institution. Puerto Rican cinema engages with this dual identity, exploring the island's Spanish colonial heritage, its African cultural contributions, its Indigenous Taino legacy, and its complex relationship with the United States.

San Juan's extraordinary Spanish colonial architecture, its beaches and mountains, and its dynamic arts scene create a festival environment that is simultaneously Caribbean and deeply American.

Key Sections

• Puerto Rican Film Competition -- new Puerto Rican features and shorts
• Caribbean Film Program -- films from across the Caribbean
• Latin American Panorama -- films from Latin America
• International Program -- curated international films
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features

What Filmmakers Should Know

San Juan Cinemafest accepts open submissions. For Puerto Rican filmmakers, this is the most important domestic platform. For US Latino filmmakers, the festival provides a Caribbean platform that connects mainland US Latino cinema with island cultures.

Major Awards

• Best Puerto Rican Film -- jury prize
• Best Caribbean Film
• Audience Award

Festival History

San Juan Cinemafest was founded in 2005 and has operated as Puerto Rico's primary film cultural event.

See Also

For Caribbean cinema, see International Film Markets. For Latin American cinema, see Film Festival Strategy.