The Costa Rica Film Festival (CRFF) returns for its 14th edition, running in San José from 23 July to 1 August, with a programme that highlights Afro-Caribbean cinema and female filmmakers. Under the theme "Cinema That Unites Us," the event opens with Allan Deberton's Berlin-winning "Gugu's World" and introduces a dedicated Afro-Caribbean section aimed at giving greater visibility to Afro-descendant communities and their stories.

The festival's line-up includes acclaimed titles such as Carla Simón's "Romería," Bi Gan's "Resurrection," Diego Céspedes's "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo," Ulrike Ottinger's Isabelle Huppert-led "The Blood Countess" and Lucrecia Martel's "Landmarks." Its main competitive strand, the Central American and Caribbean Feature Film Competition, showcases Costa Rican work from Hernán Jiménez, Kim Torres and Wainer Méndez Solano alongside entries from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panamá and Puerto Rico. On 26 July the festival will also host a Meeting of Female Filmmakers from Central America and the Caribbean, reflecting director Patricia Velásquez's push—following her tenure as the event's first female head—to make the festival a more inclusive, community-focused gathering.