The Inigo Film Festival 2019 in Panama

The Iñigo Film Festival (TIFF) was launched in 2005 by a German Jesuit on the occasion of World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne. Since then it has been repeated at every WYD: in Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016) and most recently in Panama. The competition is open to amateur filmmakers and regularly attracts between 60 and 80 candidates from all over the world. Its aim is to give young amateur filmmakers the opportunity to express religious, spiritual and social themes through a modern artistic means such as cinema.

The cinema enjoys a variety of narrative forms that are truly great for portraying the various areas in which the human being finds himself and for interpreting his inescapable calling to the beautiful, the universal and the absolute.” (John Paul II)

The theme of the film competition was “City of God”. The candidates had to express (through fiction, cartoons or documentaries – max. running time 20 minutes) the spiritual aspirations and experiences of today’s youth, the presence and/or absence of God in our secularized world, the dimensions of faith and justice.

On January 23, on the occasion of the WYD, the sixth edition of “The Iñigo Film Festival” was held in Panama, a film festival of short films organized by the Jesuits with the support of MAGIS and the EUM Province.

In the festive and spiritual atmosphere of the WYD, relaxation and recreation were not lacking: the young pilgrims were able to see the films of “The Iñigo Film Festival”, held at the Municipal Theatre in the centre of Panama City. The festival was run by representatives from Jesuit Communications – Asia Pacific (Jesuit work in social communications): Fr. Van Yen Nguyen SJ, Fr. Emilio Zanetti SJ (Director of TIFF) and Fr. Nono Alfonso SJ.

There were 45 short films in competition. The winner of the festival was the Japanese Yu Shibuya with the film “Repeat After Me“, followed by the French Michaël Barocas with “Deux mains” and the Peruvian Cristian García with the film “Conversacion”. The Mexican Augusto Castillo won the special prize as emerging filmmaker for “El Caminante Mayor” and the Italian Michele Bellio the prize as best filmmaker for humor for “Crisi mistica”.

The next TIFF will take place in Lisbon in 2022.