The Lima Film Festival, organized by the Cultural Center of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), is marking its 30th edition by raising prize money for Peruvian productions by 400%, according to artistic director Josué Méndez.
The increase comes at what Méndez described as a complicated moment for the arts. The festival also announced new sections, premieres of films awarded at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and tributes to three figures with importance to Latin America's artistic, social and political landscape: Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose film "El agente secreto" ("The Secret Agent") is nominated for an Oscar, and Peruvian director Marité Ugás and Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón, who together directed "Aún es de noche en Caracas".
Méndez spoke with reporters after a press conference at the PUCP Cultural Center.
Bigger prizes for Peruvian cinema
Méndez said this year there had been a stronger commitment to Peruvian cinema than in any previous edition. Prizes increased in every area that includes Peruvian film, he said, and some areas that never had prizes before, such as Mercado Lab, a space for film projects, will award prizes for the first time this year. The goal, he said, was to back Peruvian cinema both present and future with more cash prizes and prizes in services.
Méndez credited alliances for making the increase possible, pointing to the Cultural Center team's ability to strike partnerships with other festivals. Films that screen or win at the Lima festival, he said, also take part in international events including the Malaga Film Festival, DocsBarcelona and Chiledoc, which he said helps strengthen projects still in development.
Peruvian films draw sold-out crowds
Méndez said Peruvian films have been the first to sell out at the festival for several years running. The audience award has also gone to a Peruvian film in recent editions, he said, pointing to strong local demand for homegrown cinema.
An international showcase after Cannes
This year's lineup includes films that recently won prizes at Cannes. Méndez said that until a few years ago it would have been unthinkable for such films to come to Lima, since a movie that screens at Cannes typically aims for the next major festival. He said Lima has become that next stop, gaining enough international prestige that sales agents in Cannes now readily agree to bring films to the festival. Among this year's Cannes selections is "Fjord", a Cannes 2026 winner.
Tribute to Kleber Mendonça Filho
Méndez said the festival has built a special bond with filmmakers over the years, including Mendonça Filho, whose films have not only screened at the festival but won prizes in both fiction and documentary categories, earning the festival's Spondylus trophy more than once. Méndez said he hoped the director felt gratitude toward the Peruvian audience that has always embraced him, which he believes is why Mendonça Filho agreed to accept the tribute.
The timing is notable, Méndez said, because the tribute arrives at the peak of the director's career: Mendonça Filho won best director at Cannes and received an Oscar nomination for "El agente secreto", which is set during Brazil's dictatorship. Méndez described him as a deeply political filmmaker whose clear stance has drawn no shortage of confrontations, and called him a key figure in Latin American cinema across every era.
Asked whether honoring Mendonça Filho at a moment when filmmakers face persecution in several countries reflected a stance by the festival, Méndez said it did. He said the festival's encounters program will include talks on the situation facing Latin America, where support and funding for the arts are at risk, and on what must be defended so Peruvian cinema can keep telling stories as diverse and direct as it has in recent years.
Latin America, out of competition
A new section called "Latinoamérica - fuera de competencia" will feature films that rarely reach commercial theaters, Méndez said. He said festivals often remain the only place audiences can see them.
The section includes "Ser Hamlet", the debut feature by theater director Chela De Ferrari, which follows the journey of her acclaimed stage adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" performed by actors with Down syndrome. It also includes "Belén", directed by Dolores Fonzi and based on a case that mobilized Argentina.
New sections and screenings across Peru
The festival also introduced sections dedicated to cinema and music, and cinema and food. Organizers announced screenings in Lima, Cusco and Iquitos, with more than 130 films in the program. The Lima Film Festival runs from August 6 to August 15.
