Film registrations practically doubled compared to the previous edition. 26 states and 76 countries participated in the selection.
The 25th International Environmental Film and Video Festival (Fica) was the edition with the most submissions of Brazilian and foreign films compared to all previous editions. The record numbers of entries in each category reveal the solidity of the festival and the relevance of the chosen theme. Fica takes place between the 11th and 16th of June, in the city of Goiás, and is organized by the Government of Goiás, through the State Secretariat for Culture (Secult), in co-organization with the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), through the Educational Radio and Television Foundation (RTVE).
In this edition, 1,078 films were registered, compared to 540 works in the 2023 festival. The amount represents practically double compared to the previous edition. Furthermore, in this 25th edition, 76 countries, from all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, submitted film proposals for the Washington Novaes International Exhibition, compared to 24 countries in last year's edition. In Brazil, 26 of the 27 states participated in the selection.
In total, there were 459 Brazilian films, 560 foreign films and 121 films from Goiás competing for entries. Just to give you an idea, the first edition had 154 entries, with the average across all editions of the festival being around 400 films registered. The best represented countries were Brazil, Iran, India and the United States, while the states were São Paulo, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
The Washington Novaes show has the largest number of entries, with 900 proposals, followed by the Cinema Goiano show, with 57 productions, the Indigenous Cinema and Traditional Peoples show, despite being new to this edition, received 50 films entered, and the The Becos da Minha Terra exhibition had 12 proposals registered, which reveals the strengthening of audiovisual production in the city of Goiás. The festival will award prizes ranging from R$ 5 thousand to R$ 35 thousand, in addition to trophies and honorable mentions.
The festival's programming director, Pedro Novaes, considers the festival's visibility and the purpose it proposes as drivers of this significant increase in registrations: “I think there are three things: the recovery of FICA's image as an extremely relevant festival, the fact that the environmental issue is at the center of the political debate and, also, the use of a new platform for registrations, Film Freeway, where hundreds of other important international festivals are already located”, he assesses.
Multicultural event
Fica 2024 has a vast free program, with competitive exhibitions, debates with big names in national and international cinema, environmental activities and cultural attractions.
The festival is supported by the Goiás Social program; of the State Secretariats for Resumption; of Science, Technology and Innovation (Secti); and Environment and Sustainable Development (Semad); Saneago; State University of Goiás (UEG), Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG); Social Service of Commerce (Sesc) and City Hall of the city of Goiás. This year the event also has as supporters the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), the National Museum of Indigenous Peoples/Funai, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Grupo Kelldrin and Saga BYD.
