[1] The festival had its first edition in April 1999 and it was organized by the Secretaryship of Culture of the Government of Buenos Aires City.

The festival is held in the most important movie theatres of Buenos Aires, but also feature free open-air screenings in parks and squares all over the city.

In the first year the festival had 146 guests, among them Francis Ford Coppola, Todd Haynes, Paul Morrissey and others.

That year the festival screened more than 150 national and international films and had approximately 120,000 spectators.

With a great number of spectators and guests, the festival is permanently added into the Buenos Aires list of cultural events.