Lima Film Festival turns 30 with over 130 films and Béla Tarr tribute

The Lima Film Festival (FICL) marks its 30th anniversary this year, presenting an extensive program of over 130 films across 14 competition and exhibition sections. A special retrospective will honor the work of Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, including a screening of his cult classic 'Sátántangó' (1994), a seven-and-a-half-hour epic.

Organized by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), the festival will run from August 6 to 15. Organizers described the event as "a week where cinema brings us together as a community." The program includes a section for previews, the Béla Tarr retrospective, a focus on Latin American cinema co-produced with France, and an 'Out of Competition' section.

This year's festival introduces new sections dedicated to cinema and music, and cinema and gastronomy. It will host 90 national and international guests. The festival also announced a 25% increase in prize money for the Latin American Film Competition and a 400% increase in funds for the best Peruvian film.

Artistic director Josué Méndez detailed that the Peruvian competition will feature seven films, including fiction and documentaries. The Latin American fiction competition will screen 15 films from various countries, while the documentary competition will show 11 films. Additionally, the festival will present acclaimed films like Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord' and Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey,' alongside 8 co-productions between Latin American countries and France.

The festival will also include a screening of animated short films with free admission, a showcase of 13 restored Peruvian cinema classics by Filmoteca PUCP, and the retrospective 'Béla Tarr, Time, Waiting and the Limits of Cinema.' The 30th FICL will extend its reach with traveling exhibitions in Iquitos and Cusco, and workshops at the Museum of Art of Lima.