Int'l Festival of New Latin American Cinema kicks off in Havana, Cuba

HAVANA, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 38th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema kicked off on Thursday in Havana, with hundreds of movie buffs lining up early to catch one of hundreds of films to be screened over the next 10 days.

Screenings at more than 10 theaters in the city began as early as 10 a.m. local time (15:00 GMT), though the official inauguration ceremony was to be held in the evening at the Karl Marx Theater, with the showing of the Oscar-nominated Argentine film "The Distinguished Citizen."

"Citizen" will be competing for the title of Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017 Academy Awards, as will another festival entry, "Neruda," from Chilean director Pablo Larrain.

Last year, Larrain won the festival's top prize, the Gran Premio Coral, with his drama "The Club."

As one of the most important festivals of its kind in Latin America, this year's edition received nearly 2,000 entries, out of which more than 400 were selected, from feature-length films to documentaries, shorts and animations.

Feature-length films from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Argentina and Chile, are in competition.

This year's festival pays homage to Cuba's International Film and Television School (EICTV), which was established 30 years ago by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and award-winning Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, among others.

The school is located in San Antonio de los Banos, in Cuba's Artemisa province.

The event, which touts itself as an alternative to mainstream film festivals and their narrow focus on Hollywood blockbusters, is expected to draw U.S. filmmakers Oliver Stone and Brian De Palma, as well as Brazilian actress Sonia Braga and other industry personalities.