October 7, 2010 – Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The board of the Cartagena Film Festival recently appointed Mónika Wagenberg as the new director of FICCI, a festival that is shaping up as one of the landmarks in Ibero American cinema, and as a vibrant meeting point for filmmakers and film lovers .

"The forthcoming decade will be a particularly exciting time in the long and rich history of the festival, and I feel honored to be taking this position at such a critical moment.  I am very inspired to introduce initiatives which will demonstrate our passionate commitment to support, contribute to, and celebrate the current boom in Colombian cinema”, said the new director.

Wagenberg is co-founder and co-director of Cinema Tropical, a non-profit organization that promotes, programs and distributes Latin American cinema in the U.S. Over the years, she has worked with several film festivals, including The New York Film Festival; New York International Latino Film Festival; New Directors/New Films; and most recently, as Senior Ibero American  programmer at The Miami International Film International; Festival Director at the Latin Wave Festival, (at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston), and the Latin American delegate for the  Zurich Film Festival.

Her association with the programming of FICCI began two years ago, and her relationship with the festival has grown from strength to strength, culminating in her recent appolntment as director.

Mónika studied Comparative Literature and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a Masters Degree in Cinema Studies from New York University.