Countdown begins for FIC Gibara 2025
- Written by Alionuska Vilche Blanco
- Published in Culture
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The 19th edition of he Gibara International Low Budget Film Festival (Festival Internacional del Cine Pobre de Gibara) will take place from April 15 to 19 in this coastal city, with the aim of revitalizing Cuban and community cinema, as recently announced by the organizing committee.
The event, which returns to its original name and community spirit founded by Humberto Solás, will include new features such as a technology forum and cross-cutting themes on gender and indigenous cultures; in addition to contests, workshops, forums and cultural activities.
The 2025 Lucía de Honor Awards will be presented to actress Verónica Lynn, critic Luciano Castillo, and the Casa Gitana project.
Ninety films will compete for the Lucía Awards in categories such as fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental film, after receiving more than 500 works from 30 countries, with Spain as the main contributor.
Sergio Benvenuto Solás, festival director, highlighted the Films in Progress section, which this year has the support of Mexican studios Churubusco and Italian studio Orizzonti for the post-production of award-winning projects.
International juries will evaluate the works: the fiction category, chaired by Cuban actress Jacqueline Arenal, will include Patricia Ramos (Cuba), Tarik El Idrissi (Morocco), Saraï Fiszel (France), and Yamandu Testa (Uruguay). The documentary will be evaluated by Alejandra Guzzo (Uruguay, president), Pedro Ortega (Cuba), and Marco Neri (Italy), while the animation category will be evaluated by Aramís Acosta (Cuba), Alicia Tellería (Spain), and Laura Pérez Gómez (Spain). The jury for Films in Progress is composed of Didier Couëdic (France), Antonio Urrata (Italy), and Osmanys Sánchez Arañó (Cuba).
The International Federation of Film Clubs will be represented as collateral juries by Lázaro Alderete (Cuba), Emma Fernández López (Spain), and Guillermo Ochoa (Cuba), while FIPRESCI will be represented by Lino Verdecia, Mayra Álvarez, and Ángel Pérez.
The film Natural Phenomena, by Cuban director Marcos Díaz Sosa, will open the festival at the Jibá cinema on April 15.