Beginning last weekend, and continuing through this next weekend, the Costa Rica International Film Festival has been in Montezuma bringing together documentary and independent filmmakers to debut and share their works of art in this remote corner of the world.

At first thought, you might wonder as i did; “a film festival, in Montezuma? There isn’t even a movie theater there”. But what better place to celebrate unique ideas and themes than in a place far removed from the blockbusters of Hollywood? Sitting in on a few of the documentaries presented last weekend was inspiring to our guide JC who watched “La Musa en la Montaña” about community projects in Costa Rica’s mountainous Monteverde, and “Extinction Soup” which discussed the problem of hunting sharks for their fins to use in some cultural cuisines. “It’s great because it creates consciousness about these issues”, says JC who left feeling like there was so much more work we could do and create to help the community and environment. Because film expresses visually what newspapers or articles sometimes cannot, the messages and stories that come through in these documentaries become that much more compelling. Film festivals like this make it easier to see that there are other communities in the country or around the world that are doing impressive things every day to improve life. Being able to see and hear the stories of how they are doing so is definitely inspiring and empowering.

Much like travel can bring new ideas, share art forms, and communicate international issues to distant places, film can also bring people together whether for important discussion on environmental or community problems, or for sheer entertainment. As the film festival continues we will look forward to some more of both education and entertainment factors. And in the meantime, we are thrilled that Montezuma has attracted so many creative and intriguing minds to share their ideas as well as learn about the rich culture and ideas that thrive from the Nicoya Peninsula. We can only hope that the peninsula has offered as much inspiration back to the filmmakers as it has received these past few days. Congrats to all the filmmakers and participants!

For a deeper look into culture and local life in the area, take a look at our “Let’s Get Local” tour.