FICC Los Cabos presents its 2026 edition and solidifies Los Cabos as a platform for cinema and the creative industries

The Los Cabos International Film and Creativity Festival (FICCLosCabos) unveiled its 2026 edition and a vision that expands the role of a film festival within its region: beyond merely screening and celebrating cinema, it seeks to establish itself as a permanent platform for fostering connections between Baja California Sur, the Mexican audiovisual industry, and the national and international creative community. The Festival’s 14th edition will take place from December 9 to 13, 2026.

Through #BeyondTheScreen, FICCLosCabos integrates film, music, digital art, and animation into an ecosystem rooted in the unique characteristics of the destination: its identity, nature, connectivity, infrastructure, hospitality, and a growing creative community.

This vision is built upon five dimensions: A Creative Platform Anchored in Los Cabos; Platforms to Boost the Film Industry; Programming with a Global Pulse; Creative Community and Ecosystem of Influence; and Film and Creative Industries. Together, they define a festival whose capacity to generate connections, develop talent, and build industry infrastructure extends far beyond its annual programming.

“Beyond The Screen is no longer an aspiration; it is a reality—bringing together film, music, digital art, and animation within a unified narrative and industry model, with cultural tourism serving as its local expression in Los Cabos,” stated Paola Desentis, General Director of FICCLosCabos.

A cultural platform anchored in Los Cabos

The region itself is the starting point for FICCLosCabos. The presence of an internationally oriented cultural platform helps broaden the narrative of Los Cabos, incorporating film and the creative industries as drivers of identity, dialogue, and community, while offering new reasons for visitors to discover the destination.

In partnership with FITURCA, the Festival recognizes cultural tourism as a strategic component of Los Cabos’ competitiveness: a robust cultural offering enhances the visitor experience, diversifies travel motivations, and connects the destination with new national and international audiences. “The International Film Festival is a great opportunity to showcase Los Cabos as a destination for culture, creativity, and great stories. In 2025, 16% of our visitors explored local culture and gastronomy; events like this help us stay connected to the destination’s identity while fostering talent and generating benefits for our community,” stated Rodrigo Esponda, Director General of the Los Cabos Tourism Board (FITURCA).

Sharing this vision is the Los Cabos Hotel Association—comprising 97 hotels and 19,000 rooms—which has joined as a strategic partner of #BeyondTheScreen. Together, the Association and the Festival transform the destination’s hotel staff into active cultural ambassadors, serving as the primary link between the event programming and the visitors arriving in Los Cabos.

From Territory to Industry

One of FICCLosCabos’ primary objectives is to help Baja California Sur gain recognition not only as an extraordinary setting for cinema but also as a territory where stories can be developed, talent can professionalize, and the audiovisual industry can grow.

In collaboration with the Baja California Sur Film Commission, the Festival strengthens the bridge between the territory’s capabilities and opportunities within the national and international audiovisual industry. The diversity of locations, connectivity, infrastructure, services, and talent presents an opportunity to attract productions and generate a value chain that impacts hospitality, transportation, gastronomy, technical services, suppliers, and specialized employment.

The shared vision is to build an ecosystem where the cinema arriving in Baja California Sur engages in a dialogue with the cinema being developed within the region. Thus, FICCLosCabos serves as a platform connecting local talent, filmmakers, producers, institutions, companies, schools, and key players from the Mexican and international industry.

In this edition, that vision takes on a specific face: FICCLosCabos will pay tribute to Dolores Heredia, an actress born in La Paz, Baja California Sur. Her career path demonstrates that talent originating in this territory can reach great heights, establishing a benchmark within the national industry. Furthermore, her tenure as president of the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (2015–2017) confirms that this reach extends beyond acting to strengthen the institutional framework of the industry itself. In this sense, honoring her provides the clearest evidence that Baja California Sur does not merely host cinema—it also produces and projects it.

Alliances and Platforms Building Community and Industry

Alliances Sustaining the Experience: A Network of Venues and Local Partners: FICCLosCabos unfolds across Los Cabos through a network of venues that connects cinema, industry, hospitality, and the territory itself, making the destination an active part of the #BeyondTheScreen experience. Hotel El Ganzo: a creative hub hosting activities for the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund; Hotel Tropicana: a hacienda-style property in San José del Cabo and home to La Baja Inspira activities; JW Marriott Los Cabos: the venue for our 2026 Guest State’s activities and industry gatherings; Suelo Sur: the setting for the Awards Gala, where we will celebrate the talent and projects of FICCLosCabos; Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve: the site of special screenings in a setting that connects cinema, landscape, and hospitality; Casa Ballena: the venue for the welcome cocktail reception, a gathering of talent, industry professionals, and the creative community; Marina Puerto Los Cabos: bringing cinema out into the local area with special screenings that invite engagement with the destination; Cinépolis San José del Cabo: one of the Festival’s main venues and a central hub for film programming.

In 2026, FICCLosCabos is strengthening a network of local partnerships and industry platforms that extend its activities throughout the year.

Hotel El Ganzo has established itself as a key venue within this ecosystem. Its Art, Music, and Film residencies represent over a decade of creative community-building in Puerto Los Cabos. As part of this collaboration, the inaugural edition of the Hotel El Ganzo + FICCLosCabos Writing Lab will take place from December 6 to 12 in San José del Cabo. Mentors include Carlos Cuarón, Fernando Frías, Alejandra Márquez Abella, and Gibrán Portela, with a maximum of 12 participants. Call for entries.

Additionally, Cine Club Los Cabos is joining the official program, strengthening ties with local audiences and expanding spaces for gathering around cinema.

Industry platforms form another core component of #BeyondTheScreen. “La Baja Inspira” bolsters documentary filmmaking linked to Baja California Sur across three pillars—biodiversity and nature, historical memory, and sustainable development—thereby connecting cinema, scientific research, and local knowledge.

Key dates:

Announcement of the 5 selected projects: October 1

Meanwhile, the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund connects film projects in the post-production stage with strategic industry players through specialized support, mentorship, and collaborative networks, enhancing their prospects for completion and distribution.

Key dates:

Call for entries opens: July 24, 2026

Call for entries closes: August 28, 2026

Announcement of the 5 selected projects: November (estimated: November 10)

The collaboration with ESCINE brings training, cinematic rigor, and professional networking to these initiatives, guided by a central premise: building an industry means supporting talent, fostering connections, and creating the conditions for new projects to move forward. From Los Cabos to Mexico and the World

#BeyondTheScreen starts with cinema but recognizes that contemporary creative industries increasingly operate through convergence. Consequently, the 2026 edition once again integrates film, music, digital art, and animation, connecting disciplines, communities, and new forms of creation within a single platform.

Its programming—characterized by a global outlook—and its national and international partnerships foster a two-way dialogue: bringing new perspectives, talent, and key industry figures to Baja California Sur while simultaneously showcasing the region’s stories, capabilities, and creative community to the world.

In this way, FICCLosCabos solidifies a year-round active platform: anchored in Los Cabos, connected to Mexico, and open to the world.