Cinema Under the Stars: The Alternative Community Screening Circuits Challenging the Official FICCI in Cartagena

What it is and context

While FICCI 65 —the oldest film festival in Latin America— occupies the screens of the Convention Center, the theaters of the Centro Histórico, and the hotels of Bocagrande from April 14 to 19, 2026, there is another Cartagena that turns on its own projectors. On the rooftops of Pozón, the patios of Torices, and the corners of Olaya Herrera, a community cinema circuit competes with the official festival using bike-generators, recycled speakers, and a curation that doesn't go through any press room.

This is not a protest against FICCI. It is a realization: the festival that was born in 1960 with a social and inclusive vocation —as its own website states— has increasingly focused its attention on paid venues and events in the ciudad amurallada. Those who live in the popular neighborhoods of the southeast, where the bus fare costs more than admission to many free screenings, were left off the festival map. Thus, the neighborhood film clubs that today challenge this logic were born. Not with declarations, but with screens.

The parallel FICCI: how neighborhood film clubs emerge

In Torices, a neighborhood of narrow streets and colorful houses climbing the hill of La Popa, a group of young people started screening films in 2022 with a borrowed projector and a white sheet. They call themselves Cine al Patio. They have no fixed venue: they use the patio of Doña Elvira's house, a 68-year-old woman who lends her terrace every Friday because “people here don't have money to go to the Centro, but they want to watch good cinema.”

Something similar happens in el Pozón, the largest and one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cartagena. There, La Pantalla del Sur —a collective formed by students from the University of Cartagena— organizes screenings every two weeks in the neighborhood's sports court. The energy comes from adapted stationary bikes: while the audience pedals, they generate electricity for the projector. “It's sustainable and participatory cinema,” explains Carlos Mercado, one of the founders. “If you don't pedal, there's no movie. So everyone does their part.”

In Olaya Herrera, sector Rafael Núñez, Cine desde el Andén operates, a project born during the pandemic that stayed. They screen on the street, with the tacit permission of the neighbors and the collaboration of the community action board. Their specialty: African and Latin American short films that never make it to FICCI screens. “The festival brings the big directors, but here we show those who don't have distribution,” says Laura Jiménez, programmer for the collective.

The map of active film clubs in 2026

• Cine al Patio (Torices) — Screenings every Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Doña Elvira's house (calle 31B # 17-28). Free admission.
• La Pantalla del Sur (Pozón) — Alternate Saturdays, 5:00 p.m. at the Villa Estrella housing complex court. Bring your own chair.
• Cine desde el Andén (Olaya Herrera, sector Rafael Núñez) — Wednesdays every 15 days, 7:00 p.m. at the corner of Don Ramiro's store.
• Proyecto Bici-Cine (Barrio Nelson Mandela) — Mobile screenings with no fixed date. Follow them on social media to find out where they land.

Screens on rooftops and patios: community screening formats

What distinguishes these circuits is not just the content, but the form. There are no velvet seats or Dolby sound systems. There are plastic chairs, wooden benches, and, at best, cushions on the floor. The sound comes from recycled car speakers connected to homemade amplifiers. The image is projected onto exposed brick walls or sheets stretched between two poles.

The bike-generator is the technical star. At La Pantalla del Sur, they have three modified stationary bikes with a car alternator and a power inverter. During the screening, attendees take turns pedaling. “When there are action scenes, people pedal harder and the image becomes brighter,” laughs Mercado. “It's as if the movie breathes with the audience.”

At Cine al Patio, they use a small gasoline generator, but they prefer the bike because it “generates conversation.” The neighborhood kids compete to see who can pedal the longest. Adults take the opportunity to talk about the movie while waiting their turn. “Community cinema isn't just about watching a movie,” says Doña Elvira. “It's about sharing a moment, having a coffee, lending a chair to your neighbor.”

Typical equipment for a neighborhood screening

• Portable LED projector (the kind that costs less than 300,000 COP in el centro)
• White sheet or whitewashed wall as a screen
• Recycled car speakers with a 12-volt amplifier
• Bike-generator or small electric generator
• 20-meter extension cords
• Portable cooler with water and sodas for sale

The invisible programmers: young people bringing African and Latin American cinema where the festival doesn't reach

Behind every film club, there is someone who spends hours searching for films, contacting independent directors, and negotiating screening rights. They receive no salary or sponsorship. They do it because they believe cinema is a tool for social transformation.

Laura Jiménez, 24, studies Social Communication at the University of Cartagena. Her specialty is contemporary African cinema. “At FICCI you see a lot of European and North American cinema, but almost nothing from Senegal, Burkina Faso, or Kenya. That's the festival's debt to the global south,” she states. She herself contacts African directors via Instagram, explains that she can't pay for rights, and asks permission to screen their shorts. “Most say yes. They know their cinema won't reach these neighborhoods any other way.”

Carlos Mercado, for his part, focuses on Latin American resistance cinema: documentaries about the struggle for land in Cauca, the defense of water in Bolivia, the armed conflict in Chocó. “My films aren't for entertainment,” he says. “They are so people know what's happening in other parts of Colombia and Latin America. Here in Pozón they know about violence, but they also want to understand that of others.”

Both agree that FICCI should do more to integrate these circuits. “The festival has a Cinema in the Neighborhoods program, but it's very limited: they go to three or four sectors, set up a tent, screen a movie, and leave. There's no continuity,” criticizes Jiménez. “We are here all year round. Not just during the festival week.”

Secret calendar 2026: free screenings in popular neighborhoods during FICCI

From April 14 to 19, while FICCI 65 dazzles in the Centro Histórico, the neighborhood film clubs have their own programming. This is what has been confirmed as of May 2026:

• Tuesday, April 15 — Cine al Patio (Torices) screens “Los conductos” (Colombia, 2020), by director Camilo Restrepo. 6:30 p.m. Free admission.
• Wednesday, April 16 — Cine desde el Andén (Olaya Herrera) presents a showcase of Senegalese short films. 7:00 p.m. Bring your chair.
• Thursday, April 17 — La Pantalla del Sur (Pozón) shows “El abrazo de la serpiente” (Colombia, 2015) with a bike-generator. 5:00 p.m. at the Villa Estrella court.
• Friday, April 18 — Special screening in the Nelson Mandela neighborhood with Proyecto Bici-Cine. Location and time to be confirmed on their social media.
• Saturday, April 19 — Joint closing at Doña Elvira's patio (Torices) with documentaries about the Barranquilla Carnival and palenque music. 6:00 p.m.

Important: All screenings are free. It is recommended to arrive early as capacity is limited (between 30 and 80 people, depending on the space). In case of rain, screenings are canceled or postponed for a week.

How to get to the screening points

If you are a tourist and want to attend, keep in mind that these neighborhoods are not on traditional tourist routes. Here's how to get there from the Centro Histórico:

• To Torices (Cine al Patio): Take a Ternera or Torices route bus from Avenida Santander. Get off at the Torices market stop and

Prices and how to get tickets

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Tips for attendees

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