Fundacion del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (FNCL)

Overview

The Fundacion del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (FNCL) is a private cultural foundation based in Havana, Cuba, dedicated to the development and integration of Latin American cinema. Founded on December 4, 1985, by the Comite de Cineastas de America Latina (C-CAL), the FNCL brings together filmmakers from 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries. If you are a Latin American filmmaker seeking regional co-production networks, training opportunities, or connections to the continental cinema community, the FNCL is the primary pan-regional institution.

The FNCL was founded under the presidency of Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and is currently directed by Alquimia Pena Cedeno. Its headquarters are at the Quinta Santa Barbara in the La Coronela neighborhood of Havana. The foundation celebrated its 40th anniversary in December 2025, receiving the Coral de Honor award and recognition from the Cuban government. Review the FNCL official site for current programs and member country listings.

History and Origins

The FNCL traces its origins to the Comite de Cineastas de America Latina (C-CAL), founded in September 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela, when over 40 Latin American filmmakers gathered in solidarity with Chilean filmmakers and the Chilean people following the 1973 military coup against President Salvador Allende. The C-CAL operated from 1974 through 1982 as a committee of solidarity and coordination among Latin American filmmakers.

In April 1985, the C-CAL resolved to create a broader foundation. On December 4, 1985, during the VII Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, the founding act of the FNCL was signed at Casa de las Americas in Havana. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was named president. The foundation was created as a non-profit entity to contribute to the development of Latin American cinema, foster regional integration, and build a shared audiovisual universe reflecting the realities, struggles, and aspirations of Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2016, the FNCL received recognition from Ibero-American heads of state and government at the XXV Ibero-American Summit in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, acknowledging its contribution to regional cinema and audiovisual production.

Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television (EICTV)

One of the FNCL's most significant creations is the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television de San Antonio de los Banos (EICTV), founded in December 1986, one year after the FNCL itself. Located near Havana, EICTV is one of the most respected film schools in Latin America and the developing world.

EICTV operates as a three-year residential program specializing in fiction directing, documentary, screenwriting, photography, editing, and sound. The school accepts students from across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with instruction provided by visiting working filmmakers rather than permanent academic faculty. This practitioner-based teaching model keeps the curriculum connected to current industry practice.

The school has produced graduates who have gone on to win awards at major international festivals and who form a continent-wide network of alumni that facilitates co-production and professional collaboration across borders. EICTV celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2020.

Ibero-American Co-Production Framework

Latin American film co-production operates within a distinctive regional framework centered on the Ibermedia Program, an Ibero-American co-production and distribution fund supported by Spain, Portugal, and Latin American countries. Ibermedia provides financing for co-productions involving multiple Ibero-American countries and has been one of the most significant mechanisms for supporting Latin American cinema financially.

For filmmakers based in Ibero-American countries, Ibermedia co-production funding requires genuine creative and financial participation from multiple Ibero-American countries. The program operates through annual application cycles with specific eligibility requirements tied to the participation of producers from at least two member countries.

National Film Institutes and Directors Associations

The FNCL connects national filmmakers associations across Latin America, each operating within distinct national funding systems:

Argentina's DAC also manages collective copyright rights for Argentine directors, making it one of the most established directors' organizations in the region. Brazil's ABRA operates within the Brazilian public funding system administered by ANCINE. Mexico's film industry is supported by IMCINE with director representation through national associations.

Contemporary Latin American Cinema

Latin American cinema has achieved significant international recognition across multiple generations. Argentine directors including Lucrecia Martel, Pablo Trapero, and Lisandro Alonso represent the Nueva Ola Argentina (New Argentine Cinema). Brazilian directors including Walter Salles, Kleber Mendonca Filho, and Fernando Meirelles have achieved major international distribution. Mexican directors Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu have won multiple Academy Awards while maintaining connections to their national cinema traditions. Chilean, Colombian, and Peruvian directors increasingly appear in major festival competitions.

The FNCL's role in this ecosystem is structural: it provides the institutional connective tissue between national cinema communities, facilitates the co-production relationships that enable cross-border financing, and maintains the historical memory of the Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano movement that established the conceptual framework for Latin American cinema as a unified regional project.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Latin American filmmakers: The FNCL and its network provide connections to the continental cinema community. The EICTV is a training option if you are early in your career and want a residential program with practitioner instructors. The Ibermedia Program is a funding pathway if your project involves co-producers from multiple Ibero-American countries. Contact your national film institute (INCAA, ANCINE, IMCINE, etc.) to understand what domestic funding is available before seeking regional co-production financing.

For international co-productions with Latin America: The Ibermedia Program, national film institute co-financing, and bilateral co-production treaty arrangements provide multiple financing pathways. Understanding which national associations represent directors in each potential co-production territory, and what rights protections apply under local copyright law, is essential pre-production work. The FNCL can provide institutional context but does not directly broker co-production deals.

For filmmakers seeking training: The EICTV accepts applications from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The three-year residential program is highly competitive. Contact the school directly through the FNCL website for current application requirements and deadlines.

See Also

For the Mexican film institute that supports Latin American co-production, see IMCINE Mexico in this directory. For major Latin American film awards, see Platino Awards and Ariel Awards in this directory. For estimating co-production budget structures across multiple countries, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator.