The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an

international film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is the only competitive feature festival recognized by the

FIAPF The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...

in Latin America, and the oldest in this category in the Americas. The festival is organized by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA).

History

Created in 1954 by Jesus Miller, it was not considered to be a competitive festival, it was just an exhibition of selected international movies; during this stage the event was named ''Festival Cinematográfico Internacional'' (''International Cinematographic Festival''). In the early years famous international guests such as

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

, Edward G. Robinson and

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

attended the event. The festival continued in this way until 1959, when the Argentine Film Critics Association took charge of running it; during this time the festival was approved and recognized by FIAPF. In 1964 the festival moved temporarily to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, and the name was changed to ''Festival Cinematográfico Internacional de la República Argentina'' (''International Cinematographic Festival of the Argentine Republic''). In 1966 there was a military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

in Argentina; in 1968 and 1970 the ''Instituto de Cine'' took charge of the festival. From 1967 to 1969 the festival was cancelled because there were other festivals in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil. During the 1960s several well-known guests appeared, including: Paul Newman,

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

, Vittorio Gassman,

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ' ...

, François Truffaut,

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are '' Saturday Night and S ...

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

, Juan Antonio Bardem,

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

, Maria Callas,

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cel ...

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

Jacques Tati Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, film-maker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted the 46th greatest of all time ...

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

, George Hamilton. After the 1970 edition, the festival was canceled when Argentina entered an unstable sociopolitical period that culminated in the highly repressive military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. There were some attempts to reactivate it, but none succeeded until 1996, when the festival returned with new renovations. Since then there have been several changes. In the first years the event was not held in March; from 2001 to 2007 it returned to that month, and since 2008 it has been held in November. During this stage the festival was granted a 'Category A', the highest class assigned by

, making it the most important film festival of Latin America. Nowadays, after a history marked by unstable political situations in Argentina, the festival is in constant growth and slowly regaining its historical reputation.

Awards

The main prize of the International Competition had different names throughout the history of the festival, but in 2004 it was definitely changed to ''Ástor'' in honor of the Argentine musician Ástor Piazzolla. The twenty-second Mar del Plata Film Festival, held in March 2007, introduced a new competition specifically for Latin American film-makers. Now days, the festival helds four main competitions organised in various sections of the official selection: International Competition, Latin American Competition, Argentine Competition and, the more experimental one, Altered States Competition. Currently, the awards given by the jury at the International Competition are: Golden Ástor for Best Film, Silver Ástor for Best Director, Silver Ástor for Best Actress, Silver Ástor for Best Actor, Silver Ástor for Best Script, and a Special Jury Award.

Golden Ástor Winners

* * Denotes first win

Complete list of winners

References

External links

Official website

Mar del Plata Website with news, activities and information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mar Del Plata Film Festival 1954 establishments in Argentina Film festivals in Argentina Argentine film awards Tourist attractions in Mar del Plata Film festivals established in 1954 Spring (season) events in Argentina