Qualla: Mar del Plata International Film Festival

Mar del Plata International Film Festival: Introduction

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Cannes has the Croisette. Venice has the Lido. Latin America has exactly one festival in their league, and it sits on an Argentine beach. The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is the only competitive feature festival in Latin America recognized by FIAPF at the top Category A tier - the same accreditation as Cannes, Venice and Berlin - and the oldest of its kind anywhere in the Americas. Every November the red carpet unrolls beside the Atlantic, and the resort that once drew aristocrats to bathe now draws filmmakers to compete. But the festival's real story is not its glamour. It is how many times it nearly died, and refused to.

Mar del Plata International Film Festival: Born in the Age of Peron

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

It began in 1954, founded by Jesus Miller during the presidency of Juan Peron, though in that first incarnation it was not a competition at all - simply a showcase of selected international films under the name Festival Cinematografico Internacional. The choice of venue was delib...

Mar del Plata International Film Festival: A History Written in Interruptions

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Then the interruptions began. In 1964 the festival decamped to Buenos Aires under a new name. A military coup struck Argentina in 1966. From 1967 to 1969 it went dark, edged out by rival festivals in Rio de Janeiro. And yet, even through the turbulence of the 1960s, the guest lis...

Mar del Plata International Film Festival: The Long Way Back

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Resurrection finally came in 1996. The festival returned, renovated, and slowly found its footing again - though even its calendar wandered, held in March from 2001 to 2007 before settling into its current November slot in 2008. With that revival came the prize that crowned it: C...

Mar del Plata International Film Festival: Still Fighting for the Lights

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The struggle did not end with the dictatorship. The festival is organized by INCAA, Argentina's National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, and it lives and dies by public support for the arts. In March 2024, the government suspended state funding to INCAA as part of sweep...