The Cartagena International Film Festival (FICCI) will open its doors to all lovers of the seventh art tomorrow, March 16, 2022 at the Proclamation Palace, inside the walled city. 

The opening film of the 61st version of FICCI will be La Roya, a film by Juan Sebastián Mesa that explores the misunderstanding between two opposing worlds, the rural and the urban, with outstanding cinematography, direction and a performance from Juan Daniel Ortiz in the leading role.

"It is a great privilege to open the Cartagena Film Festival, the most important film festival in Colombia and one of the oldest in the world. It will be very special to show the film in the country for the first time. It will also be the opportunity for the main actor to see it, he has not seen it so far, as well as several people from the team, including the Colombian producers, who will be able to appreciate it on a big screen," said Mesa in an interview to local media.

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In his twenties, Jorge is the only one of his friends who has remained in the village, taking care of a coffee farm inherited from his father. In charge of his ailing grandfather, with a bittersweet relationship with his cousin Rosa and amid the majestic and imposing solitude of the landscape, Jorge spends his days determined to make progress on the coffee plantations that give him more and more work and less and less money.

Felipe Aljure, Artistic Director of the festival, mentioned that "the world is here," emphasizing all moviegoers that will be in attendance from March 16 to 21 to see world cinema in 'La Heroica.' 

This year, the FICCI returned to its traditional in-person format, since it never bet completely on the digital platform. In the 2021 version called 'FICCI Interruptus,' more than 150 films were screened during eight months in open spaces and on the big screen, with all the COVID-19 protocols.