Cayfest on Film 2026 will take place this weekend, promising to showcase a wide variety of local filmmakers’ creative works.
The screenings will be held at the Camana Bay Cinema on Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 March, starting at 1pm each day and running until 9pm and 6pm, respectively. Admittance to all of the Cayfest films is free of charge.
Part of Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s’ Cayfest 2026 and presented by Camana Bay, Cayfest on Film embraces this year’s theme of ‘Global Threads’, exploring how Cayman’s stories, histories and identities are interwoven across borders.
The Cayman National Cultural Foundation calls the festival a cinematic celebration of Cayman Islands stories, voices and vision and a successful follow-up to its 2025 edition, which was titled ‘Splice’. The foundation also says the works shown reflect connection, migration, cultural exchange and the shared experiences that bind people together through art.
The documentary ‘Compass: A 60-Year Legacy’ will kick off the festival on Saturday, followed by ‘Paradise Lost’, ‘Soul’d Out’ and a myriad of other films.
With regard to the opening film, Compass Media Publisher Tripp Donnelly said,”We’re honoured to have our documentary selected as one of the Cayfest on Film finalists … we worked hard on it, but even more importantly, it tells the story of the Compass throughout its history and also captures historical moments in the Cayman Islands. It is something we are not only proud of, but it also is very clear that the newspaper, and now Compass TV and Compass Radio, continue to be vital platforms for the discourse of the country.”
The Sunday lineup starts with ‘CNCF Cayman Makers: Dead Reckoning’ followed by ‘Tagged & Tracked: Shark Diaries’ and ‘Our Global Ocean: The Planet’s Blue Heart’, as other films. There will also be a Q&A panel with two of the local filmmakers.
The full list of films can be found on the Cayfest on Film website. Ratings for each are also provided.
An important aspect of Cayman culture
Cayfest on Film was curated by a panel of film professionals including Rita Estevanovich and Judy Singh Hurlston – both of whom sit on the Cayman Islands Film Commission Advisory Board – and Film Commissioner Brittany Kelly.
Speaking on Daybreak on 12 March, Kelly said, “This is our second year in this format, and we’re really excited about it. It was jam packed last year with so many incredible films, and we wanted to curate a bit tighter this year … and highlight the diverse talent that we have here in Cayman.”
Hurlston, who also appeared on the programme, said, “The curatorial panel worked to create a flow between the films, so many are thematic. Identity is a prevailing theme. There are also [films on] arts and heritage, environment and mental health.”
The curators encouraged people to attend each day or pop into those films that interest them.
Kelly said, “It’s an open-door policy, so if you have one project that you want to see, you can just walk in, walk out. It’s fully free. It’s a celebration and an exhibition, and we wanted to kind of create that accessibility, because it’s a very important aspect of culture to see ourselves reflected in the media we consume.”
The panel members said that they believed the film industry in Cayman will continue to evolve with Caymanians travelling and bringing their experiences back into their creative works.
Cayfest on Film also took place on Cayman Brac on Saturday, 7 March at the Alexander Hotel.
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