With just two theaters and twenty films, nearly three decades ago, the memorable Latin American Film Meeting (Elcine) emerged, a space created by the Catholic University to showcase works from the region that rarely reached commercial theaters. Over the years, that meeting grew, added new venues, and became the Lima PUCP International Film Festival. Although Latin American cinema remains the heart of its competitions, its programming now also includes top-level premieres from around the world, as well as tributes and retrospectives. From August 6 to 15, it will celebrate its 30th edition with more than 130 films and several new additions.
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One of the main novelties is in Acclaimed, the section that will bring together ten of the most anticipated auteur films of the year, many of them from the latest Cannes Festival. The main attraction will be “Fjord,” a new drama by Romanian Cristian Mungiu, who won the Palme d’Or in 2026 and allowed the director to repeat the top prize he had already won in 2007 with “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.” Starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, the film addresses the clash between a Romanian family with religious convictions and the Norwegian child protection system. The story divided opinions at the French festival.
Also coming from Cannes is “Hope: the First Impact,” the return of South Korean Na Hong-jin ten years after “The Wailing.” Its cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell in a science fiction story that begins with the appearance of a creature in an isolated community and escalates to cosmic proportions. The selection also includes “Leviathan,” by Andrey Zvyagintsev, winner of the Grand Jury Prize; “Fatherland,” by Pawel Pawlikowski; “Coward,” by Lukas Dhont; and “Paper Tiger,” by James Gray. Added to these are “Parallel Tales,” by Iranian Asghar Farhadi, and a special screening of “Oppenheimer,” by Christopher Nolan, on 35 mm film.
Competition Sections
The anniversary also brings new sections. Latin America – Out of Competition will present works by recognized filmmakers, such as “Being Hamlet,” by Chela de Ferrari; “Belén,” by Dolores Fonzi; and “Loose End,” by Daniel Hendler. Pre-premieres will bring together seven productions starting their international journey here. Cinema and Music will group films in which songs are a central part of the story, while Cinema and Gastronomy will do the same with stories intertwined with food; among the latter is the Peruvian documentary “Ceviche,” by Fernando Landavere.
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The official competition will include 15 Latin American fiction feature films, 11 documentaries, and 7 Peruvian productions. The programming also includes tributes to filmmakers Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás, and to Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho, who will offer a masterclass. The PUCP Film Archive will recover classics of Peruvian cinema such as “The Hungry Dogs,” “Days of Santiago,” “Paper Dove,” and “Don’t Tell Anyone.” There will also be more than 50 meetings with filmmakers, around 100 guests, and free screenings in Lima, Cusco, and Iquitos. Thus, that small meeting from 1997 reaches its 30th edition transformed into the country’s biggest cinematic celebration. //
The festival will take place at the PUCP Cultural Center, NOS PUCP, Cineplanet Alcázar, Cineplanet San Miguel, the French Alliance of Miraflores, the MALI, and other venues. Tickets can be purchased at the box offices of each location and, virtually, on the festivaldelima.com website.
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