Manuel Trujillo Durán National & International Short Film Festival, FMTD
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Backed by the prestigious University of Zulia, we are the longest-running short film festival in Venezuela, organised by the Cine Club Universitario de Maracaibo since 1981, in turn the first to be established in the country, in 1962, prior to the creation of the National Film Archive of Venezuela (1966).
The name of the festival was chosen because of the historical importance of the pioneer Manuel Trujillo Durán for the development of the production and diffusion of cinema in Venezuela, who only 13 months after the projections made by the Lumière brothers in Paris in December 1895, made possible the exhibition on 28 January 1897 at the Baralt Theatre in Maracaibo, of two of his films, an event recognised as the first cinematographic projections in the country.
HISTORY:
The origins of the FMTFD date back to the project drawn up by the professors of the University of Zulia: Gabriel Arriechi, Fernando Perdomo and Ricardo Ball, who with the unconditional support of Sergio Antillano, Rosa María Salom and Rafael Araujo organised the first edition, which took place from 28 to 31 January 1981 in various cultural spaces in Maracaibo.
TODAY:
Since its 15th edition in 2020, the festival has opened its doors to works and filmmakers from all over the world.