Welcome to the Cinemaissí Film Festival!

The 5th Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival Cinemaissí begins in Helsinki the 21st of October. This year we celebrate the Jubilee of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) in Helsinki, after which we go to Tampere.

The 2009 theme is Peoples In Movement and we'll present 27 films from all of 14 countries. This year's novelty is a showcase of the International Film and Television School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV), allowing us to view recent diploma works of some of its graduates.

We'll celebrate the jubilee of the ICAIC by a retrospective of our guest of honour, Cuban director Fernando Pérez Valdés. Moreover, in honour of the ICAIC, a unique selection of classics of the Cuban film will be shown in Andorra and Orion, in cooperation with the Finnish National Audiovisual Archive (KAVA) as a part of the Cuban Culture Week.

This year is not an exception: a day of Latin-American and Caribbean film for youth and children is part of the programme. Cinemaissíto is not only brimming with surprises and things to see, but also introducing the animation series The Children's Rights.

Do not miss the opening night of the Festival in Orion, where, in the presence of its director, Fernando Pérez Valdés, the film Life Is To Whistle (La vida es silbar, 1998) will be shown after which, the opening festivities will continue in Dubrovnik to the accompaniment of Cuban singer Erick Jon.