What the Return of Costa Rica’s Film Festival Tells Us About Resilience — and Reinvention

As the Costa Rica International Film Festival returns after a multi-year pause, there’s a quiet story underneath the headline — one about reinvention, leadership, and why festivals still matter.

It’s not just about one country’s cinematic comeback. It’s about what happens when cultural events are treated as ecosystems, not just events. And for us at BIFF, still building our first edition, it’s a timely reminder of what’s at stake.

New Leadership, New Era

The appointment of María Lourdes Cortés as the festival’s new programming head is more than administrative reshuffling. It’s a statement of intent. Cortés brings decades of experience as a historian, critic, and scholar of Central American cinema — someone with deep roots in the region’s film identity.

Why does this matter?

Because programming isn’t just about taste. It’s about cultural memory. It’s about choosing what stories get centre stage — and what stories get reclaimed.

“When you hand programming to someone who understands both the present and the past, you get more than a lineup. You get a vision.”
— Steve McCarten, Festival Director

Festivals as Cultural Archives

Costa Rica’s return to the festival scene reflects something many of us feel post-pandemic: film events aren’t luxuries — they’re cultural infrastructure. They gather people. They reflect identity. They build bridges.

And when those institutions pause or disappear, it’s not just a gap in the calendar. It’s a cultural silence.

That’s why BIFF believes in long-term thinking. In building something that doesn’t just “run” once a year, but contributes meaningfully to how people in a place connect with cinema.

Relevance Over Hype

Costa Rica IFF’s reboot is grounded, not flashy. There’s no celebrity launch. No viral marketing campaign. Just a renewed focus on Latin American filmmaking and the rediscovery of neglected cinematic histories.

And maybe that’s the point.

At BIFF, we’re inspired by festivals that resist the noise and invest in relevance. The ones that ask: who’s not being heard right now? Whose work needs to be seen more than sold?

“The best festivals don’t just premiere the newest film. They protect the ones that would otherwise get lost.”
— Steve McCarten

Setting the Standard from Year One

A Model for BIFF — and a Reminder

As we programme our first edition, Costa Rica’s return reminds us that festivals aren’t defined by how big they are — but by how deeply they’re connected to place, history, and people.

Leadership matters. Taste matters. But above all, care matters.

If BIFF can grow into a space that feels as necessary to Bournemouth as CRFIC is to San José, we’ll know we’re on the right path.

Cinema isn’t just about what’s next.

It’s about what still deserves to be seen.