The international call for entries was open from January to July 2025 and received 111 short films.
From this pool, 15 works were selected, representing 8 countries from the Caribbean, Latin America and their diaspora.
The festival kept the three sections that define its identity:
- From this side, devoted to the talent that keeps creating inside Venezuela.
- From that side, focused on Venezuelan filmmakers in the diaspora.
- From the other side, a bridge to our sister countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The screenings took place indoors and drew a diverse audience of neighbors, filmmakers, students and the general public.
Madrid
On Thursday, December 11, Caribe Atómico’s official opening took place in Madrid, presenting its new hybrid stage and screening Audio y el caimán, by Andrés I. Estrada, at Librería Sin Tarima.
From December 12 to 14, the International Short Film Competition was screened at Acción Triángulo, allowing Madrid audiences to discover a curated selection of new voices in contemporary Caribbean and diaspora cinema.
The screenings included introductions by directors such as Manuel Palenzuela and Jorge Thielen Armand, sparking a close and natural exchange with the audience.
One of the most moving moments of the festival was the Swiss children’s film afternoon, held at Banco del Libro thanks to the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Venezuela.
More than thirty children from San Blas, Petare, arrived by bus to share a film experience designed especially for them. Popcorn, laughter and wonder accompanied a screening that proved that cinema can travel even when people cannot.
The presence of the Swiss Ambassador, Gilles Roduit, and the conversation about everyday sustainability reinforced the symbolic value of this gathering, experienced as a true cultural bridge.
On Wednesday, December 10, Caribe Atómico held an online workshop on short film distribution, aimed at filmmakers and students with finished works.
For two hours, about 50 participants from Venezuela, the United States and Brazil shared questions, strategies and experiences in a dynamic, hands-on session that reaffirmed the festival’s commitment to audiovisual education.
“I’m leaving with clear tools to think about distributing my short film beyond festivals” (23 years old).
“This space helped me organize ideas and strategies I had needed for a long time” (47 years old).
As a reflective closing, the festival proposed a meeting to think about how Afro-Venezuelan identity is lived and represented in creative spaces.
The Instagram Live, moderated by Lilibeth Bolívar and featuring Paulette Abdallah and Keyberling Martínez, opened an honest conversation about representation, narratives and silences.
The conversation explored who tells these stories, how they are told and which voices still need space, serving as a living, collective assessment of the project’s cultural impact.
