The 51^st edition of the International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias (FICCI) is already under way in Colombia. It began on February 24 and will continue until March 3, 2011. This year, Mexico is the guest country of honor. The opening film is the award-winning film Los colores de la montaña [The Colors of the Mountain], a 2010 Colombia/Panama co-production by Carlos César Arbeláez.

FICCI is a gateway to the most relevant production in new Latin American cinema and a launching platform for Colombian cinema. Most of the films in the program do not have national distribution; therefore the FICCI is the only opportunity for the regional public to see true gems of contemporary cinema. This year’s program includes more than 90 films including fiction and documentaries, feature films and short films, representing 25 countries. There are many other film industry activities taking place, including the official competitions, training events, and the participation of national and international guests.

Among the international guests who have flown to Cartagena are Spanish actor Luis Tosar who is presenting Jorge Coira’s 18 comidas [18 Meals]; Willem Dafoe and his wife Giada Colagrande, who is presenting her own film A Woman; director and producer Carlos Reygadas, who is showing his film Batalla en el cielo [Battle in the Sky], which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2005; Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga participates in the Official Short Film Competition with El pozo [The Well]; actress Geraldine Chaplin, director Arturo Ripstein, and actor Damián, are part of the juries for the  Colombia at 100%, the Official Ibero-American Competition, and the Official Short Film Competition, respectively.

For full article (in Spanish), see http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/texto.aspx?cod=11842

For more details, see http://www.bulletfilm.com/festival/international-film-festival-of-cartagena-de-indias-ficci

Shown here, a scene from Arbeláez’s Los colores de la montaña.