Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros' directorial debut, April Captains (Capitaes De Abril), will inaugurate this year's 26th annual Iberoamerican Film Festival of Huelva, Spain (Nov 10-18).

Medeiros will also sit on the festival's official jury alongside Spanish director Juan Pinzas, Spanish critic Mirito Torreiro, and Brazilian producer Esdras Rubim, among others.

The 12 titles competing in the festival's official section for the top award, the Colon de Oro, include:

  • Francisco D'intino's Los Dias De La Vida (Argentina).
  • Cecilia Roth-starrer Una Noche Con Sabrina Love, from Alejandro Agresti (Argentina-Spain).
  • Las Aventuras De Dios, by Eliseo Subiela (Argentina).
  • Jorge Perugorria-starrer Estorvo, from Ruy Guerra (Brazil).
  • Zelito Viana's Villa-Lobos, Una Vida De Pasion (Brazil).
  • Ciro Duran's La Toma De La Embajada (Colombia-Venezuela-Mexico).
  • Coronacion, by Silvio Caiozzi (Chile).
  • Fernando Huertas' Terca Vida (Spain).
  • En Un Claroscuro De La Luna, from Sergio Olhovich (Mexico).
  • Ciudad De M, by Felipe Bygregori (Peru).
  • Manoel de Oliveira's Palabra E Utopia (Portugal).
  • Oro Diablo, from Jose Ramon Novoa (Venezuela-Spain).

    • The Colon de Oro comes with a $27,000 (PTS5m) award and $13,500 (PTS2.5m) in distribution assistance for the winning film.

    Huelva is also preparing sidebars dedicated to the latest in European cinema, the decade of Mexican cinema, Luis Bunuel, Iberoamerican films from the last year (not included in the official section), and Youth and Marginalisation in Iberoamerica. Tributes to veteran actors Federico Luppi of Argentina and Spain's Sara Montiel are also planned.