The Krioyo Film Festival 2026 will take place from October 26 to November 2, 2026, at Caribbean Cinemas in the Sambil Shopping Center in Willemstad, Curaçao. This third edition will feature 23 films from Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, and the Netherlands. The festival is based on a single idea: watching films in Papiamentu on the big screen.
Krioyo Film Festival 2026, a Concert Before the Screenings
On Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., the Dutch Caribbean Orchestra will give a free concert in Curaçao. This free concert precedes the screenings of the Krioyo Film Festival 2026, which will be open to the public starting Monday, October 26, 2026. The concert program features film music.
Giovanni Atalita, president of the Krioyo Film Foundation, summed up the issue in October 2025 by saying, “It’s not just entertainment, it’s an identity.” During Siman di Kultura, from September 28 to October 3, 2026, the Krioyo Film Festival 2026 scheduled six evenings of films in Papiamentu at the same Sambil movie theater. Ticket prices for the screenings have not been announced yet.
Three islands, 23 films, and a Nostalgia section
The Krioyo Film Festival 2026 has announced 23 films, both short and feature-length, from Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, and the Netherlands. The published titles are Horsepower, Kaya Ta Nos Arena, Makamba Pretu, E Brua Brua 2, Nos Eskudo, Seeing Ourselves, The Car, TUTU, Bassa Marea, Wichi, Porshon, Weg’i Ladron, Entre Nos, Bosnan Silensia, Sikkelcel, Ki te Plan?, Man Enough, On the Eve, Pas ku Ne, Off Center, Kurashi, Res./Her, E KAS, and Un Bunita Dia. Three more films make up the Nostalgia section. The screenings are grouped into blocks, named after hills on the three islands.
The Krioyo Film Foundation is adding workshops on filmmaking and acting on a film set. A special block is presented by a committee commemorating the history of slavery. Janella Refos, the foundation’s secretary, says she wants to give local stories a platform and the local language a voice.
Kadushi di Oro, a trophy that carries a Papiamentu word
At the Krioyo Film Festival 2026, the Kadushi di Oro Award honors those who work both in front of and behind the camera, explains Janice Welhous, a member of the foundation’s board. Kadushi is the Papiamentu name for a columnar cactus, Stenocereus griseus,. The trophy therefore translates to “golden cactus.”
At the first edition in 2024, the Kadushi di Oro was awarded to all 16 participating producers due to the lack of jury criteria. The awards ceremony was held aboard the Freewinds. In 2025, the Aruban film E Bruha, Bruhà by Desiree Croes won it, along with the award for best directing. The film tells the story of three women, a mother, her daughter, and her grandmother, who are confronted by a national park director who wants to evict them from their country home to make way for a tourist rental project. More than 2,000 people saw it in theaters in Aruba.
After the Krioyo Film Festival 2026, the 2034 Challenge
The Krioyo Film Festival took place in Curaçao from October 28 to November 3, 2024, featuring 28 films screened. Its organizers aim to establish it as a major Caribbean film festival by its tenth anniversary in 2034. In 2025, the festival announced 18 films divided into 14 blocks, running from October 27 to November 2. The 2034 target seems ambitious, but the groundwork is in place. Curaçaoan theaters remain consistently packed for films in Papiamentu, particularly among older audiences.
Eloise van Wickeren, Curaçao’s first film commissioner since 2017, believes that audiences need films in which they can see themselves reflected. She also points out that distributors rarely pick up Caribbean films, and that funding remains very scarce. With no other platform available, the Krioyo Film Festival 2026 is encouraging local filmmakers to make short films. The Curaçao International Film Festival held its twelfth edition from April 14 to 19, 2026, featuring a new Watapana Award for Caribbean filmmakers from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Suriname.
Language, therefore, plays the leading role. Papiamentu is spoken in Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire. Richès Karayib has already chronicled the career of Izaline Calister, a singer who performs in Papiamentu. In the world of cinema, the Krioyo Film Festival 2026 provides a similar platform for the island’s voices. Will it be able to attract audiences beyond Willemstad?
FAQ: Krioyo Film Festival 2026
The Krioyo Film Festival 2026 will take place from October 26 to November 2, 2026, at Caribbean Cinemas in the Sambil Shopping Center in Willemstad, Curaçao. A free concert will be held on Sunday, October 25, and public screenings will begin on Monday, October 26.
The organizers have announced 23 films from Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, and the Netherlands, plus three films in the Nostalgia section.
“Kadushi di Oro” refers to the grand prize of the Krioyo Film Festival, which the festival’s official website calls the Golden Cactus Award. “Kadushi” is the Papiamentu name for the cactus Stenocereus griseus.
