The 20th Miami International Film Festival is to introduce its own co-production market, called Encuentros.

The event, which runs Feb 27 - March 1, is to follow a growing and successful new trend in festivals called whereby film projects in their early stages are presented to potential co-producers, financiers and distributors.

The first edition of Miami Encuentros will present seven Spanish-language projects from Spain and Latin America. Among them are La Nina Santa, the second feature of Argentina's Lucrecia Martel. Martel's directorial debut La Cienaga took home the Alfred Bauer prize for a film debut at the Berlinale in 2001.

Other projects by noteworthy directors include Familia Rodante by Pablo Trapero (Argentina), O Amor E Outros Objetos Pontiagudos by Beto Brant (Brazil), Aphrodite by Fernando Solanas (Spain), Changos En La Cama by Valentina Leduc (Mexico) and Spain by Montxo Armendariz (Spain).

Meanwhile, at the main festival (Feb 21 - March 1), comedies will bookend the 20th edition which runs from February 21st to March 1st.

Florida's premiere film festival opens with Spanish hit musical The Other Side Of The Bed by Emilio Martinez Lazaro and closes with French romantic comedy Jet Lag by Daniele Thompson.

Festival director Nicole Guillemet announced that the festival will present a Career Achievement Award to acclaimed Spanish Director Carlos Saura, who has made such notable films as Mama Cumple Cien Anos, Carmen, Flamenco and Tango. Set for Wednesday February 26th, the tribute will include a screening of Saura's latest opus, Salome.

The Miami International Film Festival Program for 2003 is as follows:

Premieres
Between Strangers, Director Edoardo Ponti, Canada/Italy
Don Quixote, Knight Errant (El Caballero Don Quijote), Director Manuel Gutierrez, Spain
The Dancer Upstairs, Director John Malkovich, USA
Dirty, Pretty Things, Director Stephen Frears, UK
Don't Tempt Me, Director Augustin Diaz Yanes, Spain
Kamchatka, Director Marcelo Pineyro, Argentina
Laurel Canyon, Director Lisa Cholodenko, USA
Lugares Comunes, Director Adolfo Aristarain, Argentina
Mondays In The Sun (Los Lunes Al Sol), Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Spain
Man On The Train, Director Patrice Leconte, France
The Other Side Of The Bed (El Otro Lado De La Cama), Director Emilio Martinez Lazaro, Spain
Salome, Director Carlos Saura, Spain
Till Human Voices Wake Us, Director Michael Petroni, Australia
La Virgen De La Lujuria, Director Arturo Ripstein, Mexico
Jet Lag, Director Daniele Thompson, France

Official Selection
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Balzac Et La Petite Tailleuse
Chinoise
), Director Dai Sijie, China/France
Bend It Like Beckham, Director Gurinder Chadha, UK
Dark Cities (Ciudades Oscuras), Director Fernando Sarinana, Mexico
City Of No Limits (En La Ciudad Sin Limites), Director Antonio Hernandez, Spain
Historias Minimas , Director Carlos Sorin, Argentina
House Of Fools, Director Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia
The Lover, Director: Valery Todorovsky, Russia
A Red Bear (Un Oso Rojo), Director Adrian Caetano, Argentina
Poniente, Director Chus Gutierrez, Spain

Dramatic Feature Competition
The Beat, Director Brandon Sonnier, USA
Gasoline (Benzina), Director Monica Strambini, Italy
El Bonaerense, Director Pablo Trapero, Argentina
Bungalow, Director Ulrich Koehler, Germany
The Black Box (La Caja Negra), Director Luis Ortega, Argentina
The Last Letter (La Derniere Lettre), Director Frederick Wiseman, France
The Devils (Les Diables), Director Christophe Ruggia, France/Spain
The Wait (La Espera), Director Aldo Garay Dutrey , Uruguay
Letters In The Wind, Director Ali Reza Amini, Iran
Nothing More (Nada Mas), Director: Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti, Cuba
Raising Victor Vargas, Director Peter Sollett, USA
The Sea, Director Baltasar Kormakur, Iceland/France/Norway
Something In The Air (Uma Onda No Ar), Director Helvecio Ratton, Brazil
Nobody's Life (La Vida De Nadie), Director Edouard Cortes, Spain
Washington Heights, Director Alfredo de Villa, USA