Viña del Mar International Film Festival
# Viña del Mar International Film Festival

The Viña del Mar International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Viña del Mar, FICVIÑA) is a Latin American film festival held annually in Viña del Mar, Chile.

## History

The idea for a Chilean film festival was born in 1962, when the Viña del Mar Film Club was created by a group of film aficionados. In 1963 the first Amateur Film Festival was held, and the following year the festival opened to films from the Latin American region. This festival dropped the “amateur” to become Chile’s first international film festival in 1967, inaugurated by Aldo Francia.

Between 1970 and 2000, the festival was suspended due to the political climate in Chile. In 2007, the festival celebrated its 40th anniversary. The festival became free for visitors in 2012 and 2014, Mexico was the invited guest.

## Award

Awards for the festival are the Paoa, a statue made of wood from the Pou tree native to Easter Island. The statues have two heads, representing the duality of day and night. Each statue is made by hand by Miguel Nahoe and no two are identical.

The official competition of the festival is divided into the following categories:

* International Feature Film Competition
* International Documentary Competition
* International Short Film Competition
* International Animated Short Film Competition
* National Short Film Competition
* Regional Documentary Competition
* Short Film Competition for National Film Schools
* Documentary Competition for National Film School
* Work in Progress
* Competition for Best Film Soundtrack

### Gran Paoa Prize Winners- Best International Film

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director | Country |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2003 | Sub terra | Sub terra | Marcelo Ferrari | Chile |
| 2004 | Machuca | Machuca | Andrés Wood | Chile |
| 2005 | In Bed | En la cama | Matías Bize | Chile |
| 2006 | Forbidden to Forbid | Proibido Proibir | Jorge Durán | Brasil |
| 2007 | The grain | O Grão | Petrus Cariry | Brazil |
| 2008 | The Pope's Toilet | El baño del Papa | César Charlone and Enrique Fernández | Uruguay |
| 2009 | Huacho | Huacho | Alejandro Fernández Almendras | Chile |
| 2010 | Portraits in a Sea of Lies | Retratos en un mar de mentiras | Carlos Gaviria | Colombia |
| 2011 | The Colors of the Mountain | Los colores de la montaña | Carlos César Arbeláez | Colombia |
| 2012 | Death penalty | Pena de Muerte | Tevo Díaz | Chile |
| 2013 | The Golden Dream | La Jaula de Oro | Diego Quemada-Díez | Mexico |
| 2014 | Heli | Heli | Amat Escalante | Mexico |
| 2015 | The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime | El patrón: radiografía de un crimen | Sebastián Schindel | Argentina |
| 2016 | From Afar | Desde allá | Lorenzo Vigas | Venezuela |
| 2017 | Last Days in Havana | Últimos días en La Habana | Fernando Pérez | Cuba |
| 2018 | The Heiresses | Las herederas | Marcelo Martinessi | Paraguay |
| 2019 | Monos | Monos | Alejandro Landes | Colombia |
