In the early years famous international guests such as Mary Pickford, Gina Lollobrigida, Edward G. Robinson and Errol Flynn attended the event.

In 1966 there was a military coup d'état in Argentina; in 1968 and 1970 the Instituto de Cine took charge of the festival.

During the 1960s several well-known guests appeared, including: Paul Newman, Alberto Sordi, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Vittorio Gassman, Toshirō Mifune, François Truffaut, Karel Reisz, Catherine Deneuve, Juan Antonio Bardem, Anthony Perkins, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Maria Callas, Cantinflas, Andrzej Wajda, Jacques Tati, Lee Strasberg, George Hamilton.

Nowadays, after a history marked by unstable political situations in Argentina, the festival is in constant growth and slowly regaining its historical reputation.

The twenty-second Mar del Plata Film Festival, held in March 2007, introduced a new competition specifically for Latin American film-makers.