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The Santander International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine de Santander), usually held in August or September in Bucaramanga, is one of the most important film festivals in the region and the most recognized in the country after the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival.
Founded in 2009, the FICS was initially directed by the Santander actor Carlos Muñoz, until his death in 2016. Since then the festival has been guided by the director and screenwriter Sergio Cabrera.
The main objective of FICS is the dissemination of Colombian films, with a particular focus on directors from Santander, as well as the formation of a critical and educated audience in matters of cinema.
The festival alternates the screening of films that have not yet been released in the country, with conversations and workshops with industry professionals, who seek to instill a love for the seventh art, particularly among the youngest.
In recent versions of the FICS, national films such as Los Reyes del Mundo (2022) and Litigante (2019) have been screened, as well as international cinema classics such as Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino or El Discreto Encanto de la Burguesía by Luis Buñuel.
Likewise, FICS seeks to bring cinema to those who normally do not have access to it, with initiatives such as "Cinema Bajo el Cielo", which includes the screening of films outdoors in the marginalized neighborhoods of Bucaramanga and other municipalities in the department.
