The MAR DEL PLATA FESTIVAL's 19th. Edition will take place between March 11 to 20.

Hector Babenco’s powerful prison drama CARANDIRU, Brazil’s entry for the Academy Awards next year, will open the Festival, with Pupi Avati’s IL CUORE ALTROVO (Heart is Everywhere) set as the Closing Night Gala. Both directors will attend the Festival.
Carandiru was unveiled at last Cannes and will screen at Sundance achieving with mar del Plata opening a very respectable festival circuit.

First established in 1954, the Mar del Plata International Film Festival is the oldest in the Americas. In his second year in charge, noted director/writer Miguel Pereira is looking to build on the success of last year’s Festival, which attracted much acclaim and record crowds, with over 150,000 attending screenings, more than double the previous year.

Next year’s Festival will comprise the Official Competition; major retrospectives, including a major look at the work of one of the first Argentine directors to achieve international status, Fernando Birri; Raices (Roots), this year dedicated to a map of Italian cinema; La mujer e el cine (Women and Cinema), a selection of international films from women directors, which will be competitive for the first time next year; America Latina XX11 (a selection of the best work from Latin American countries); Near Darkness (a collection of films celebrating the bizarre); Vidriera Argentina (a showcase of all current Argentine films); Ventana Documental , a Documentary Section; Punto de vista (Point of View), a selection of films from around the world with definite viewpoints, as well as the ever popular Pantella al aire libre (Open Air screenings) and a section dedicated to showing the best graduation films from around the world.

“At root, we are a Latin American Festival, and I want Mar del Plata to be associated as the key meeting point for the Latin American film community, and with showcasing the best cinema from all around Latin America, “commented Pereira. “At the same time, though, we must bring the very best international films and film-makers here, so that we can exchange ideas, and celebrate together our passion for, and our belief in, the power of cinema.”