The third edition of the International Film and Environment Festival of the Caribbean, Isla Verde will be held from April 6 to 12, 2025, in the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, reaffirming its commitment to environmental education and the promotion of sustainable development through film and various artistic manifestations.

Chaired by actor, director and visual artist Jorge Perugorría, winner of the 2024 National Film Award, the event has been consolidated as a space for reflection on the ecological challenges facing the Caribbean and the world and, for the second consecutive occasion, has the fundamental collaboration of the program ‘Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity’, implemented by UNESCO and financed by the European Union.

AN EXPANDING FESTIVAL

This year, Isla Verde received more than 100 applications from 24 countries, with an outstanding presence of works from Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and France. In addition, for the first time, films from Bangladesh, India, Senegal and Indonesia will be included, broadening the diversity of views on the relationship between human beings and their environment. After a rigorous selection process, 38 works have been chosen to compete in the different categories of the competition.

The free screenings will be held at the Cine Caribe in Nueva Gerona, and will be extended to other venues in the city and in the town of La Fe, ensuring greater participation by the local public.

On this occasion, and as a novelty, the Festival will have Spain as Guest of Honor, which is why the opening day will feature the Cuban premiere of the feature film “Mariposas Negras”, an animated documentary awarded the Goya Award for Best Animated Film 2025.

HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAMMING

In addition to the screenings and special presentations that usually take place during the Caribbean International Film and Environment Festival, Isla Verde will host in this edition an extensive ENVIRONMENTAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM “LEARNING IN THE GREEN ISLAND”, with about 20 workshops, conferences, training and exchanges, related to ecology, sustainable tourism, biodiversity and circular economy. These spaces, coordinated by the Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez para la Naturaleza y el Hombre (FANJ), Galería Taller Gorría, the Isla Patrimonial project and Cinema Planeta, from Mexico, will be attended by national and international experts and scientists, and will be open to the Pinero public.

During this week, the Transcultura program of UNESCO and the European Union, in synergy with the FANJ, will hold three training workshops aimed at promoting cultural and creative industries as an engine for the promotion of sustainable tourism. Topics such as sustainable entrepreneurship, community-based tourism and creative photographic tourism experiences will be taught, respectively, by Spanish entrepreneur Rafael Fernandez, professors Luis Barreiro and Niurka Cruz Sosa, from the San Geronimo College in Havana, Spanish photographer Hector Garrido and Cuban Sandy Leon de Armasy. Forty young artists and entrepreneurs from the Isle of Youth, the rest of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti will participate in these training workshops.

Likewise, the Elementary School of Art, Leonardo Luberta, will be the official venue for various workshops in plastic arts, film, dance, theater, music and body mobility, taught by artists who annually join the Isla Verde event, a multicultural event that in its first two editions has reached some 5,400,000 people in the Special Municipality.

There will also be community activities such as reforestations, beach clean-ups and recycling activities, in continuity with the environmental impact initiatives that have characterized the film event. The Pinar del Cine, an initiative promoted by Isla Verde, will grow this year with the planting of new pine trees, in addition to the 2,500 specimens planted in previous years, contributing to the revitalization of the soil and its productive use.

The Isla Verde 2025 Festival will begin with an inaugural concert by Alain Pérez, renowned Cuban musician and composer, Latin Grammy Award winner in 2021. The closing event will feature Kelvis Ochoa, winner of the 2006 Goya Award, who will give a concert at the Presidio Modelo, an emblematic historic site on the Isle of Youth.

 JURIES AND SPECIAL ISLA VERDE AWARDS  

The jury of the Isla Verde 2025 Caribbean International Film and Environment Festival brings together prominent personalities from the worlds of film, literature, science and photography, guaranteeing a multidisciplinary evaluation of the works in competition. In the Feature Film category, the jury is composed of renowned Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, director and screenwriter Lucía López Coll, playwright and filmmaker Arturo Sotto, Spanish photographer Héctor Garrido, and biologist Fabián Pina, who will provide an integral view of the cinematographic narratives.

For Short Films, the jury is made up of environmental scientist Tamara Figueredo, writer Reinaldo Montero, artistic director Sahily Moreda Gallardo, actor Vladimir Cruz and photographer Humberto Mayol, combining artistic experience and ecological sensitivity.

In addition, in the new Cinema in Construction category, dedicated to projects in development, we will feature film director Kiki Álvarez, actress Laura de la Uz, and the artistic and organizational director of Orizzonti Hub, Antonio Urrata (Italy), who will promote new voices in cinema with innovative approaches.

Furthermore, the Isla Verde Special Awards recognize the impact and legacy of institutions, projects, and individuals who have significantly contributed to environmental conservation and scientific outreach. This year's awards recognize the Flora and Fauna Business Group for its work in the management of protected areas and sustainable development in Cuba. Tribute is also paid to biologist Dr. Jorge Ramón Cuevas (1941-2000), a pioneer in environmental education and scientific outreach in the country, whose work on television and with NGOs left an indelible mark. The Jardines de la Reina Conservation Project is also recognized, responsible for the preservation of one of the best-preserved marine ecosystems in the Caribbean, which aspires to become a World Natural Heritage Site. Finally, the legacy of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (1928-1980, Spain) is recognized, a naturalist and popularizer whose work transformed ecological awareness in Spain and beyond, promoting the protection of wildlife through audiovisual media.

VISUAL ARTS “From the Island to the Moon 2.0”

The exhibition "From the Island to the Moon 2.0," part of the main program of the Isla Verde International Caribbean Film and Environment Festival, returns as a space for dialogue between contemporary art and environmental concerns. Organized by the La Sindical platform in collaboration with the magazine El Oficio, the exhibition brings together more than 30 Cuban, Caribbean, Brazilian, and European artists from diverse disciplines such as architecture, design, and the visual arts.

The works will explore fundamental themes such as climate change, sustainable development, recycling, social inclusion, and the ethical and aesthetic relationship between humans and nature. The exhibition will be held at the Isle of Youth Vocational School of Art and the Presidio Modelo, offering guided tours for the local public and Festival participants.

Community interaction will be encouraged through participatory pieces and the involvement of children and young people in artistic creation. Additionally, selected artists will be part of the festival's workshop program, addressing the historical relationship between art and the environment. As a new feature, a Contemporary Art Residency in Isla Verde will be launched, featuring works by Alejandro González and Leonardo Luis Roque, the results of which will be presented at the 2026 edition.

In this edition of the Festival, the National Visual Arts Awards will play a prominent role. José Ángel Toirac and Manuel Mendive, two of the most important exponents of the visual arts in Cuba, will offer a talk, sharing their vast experience and interaction with nature and sustainability.

ORGANIZERS

The Festival is an initiative of the Isla Verde Local Development Project and is organized by the Galería Taller Gorría, the production company Four Wives, and the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Man. It also receives the support of the European Union and UNESCO through the Transcultura Program. With this third edition, the Isla Verde International Caribbean Film and Environment Festival continues to consolidate itself as a platform for dialogue, action, and artistic creation in favor of the environment.