Indie cinema in a colonial town
Every November, Villa de Leyva shifts gears: the colonial mansions and cultural venues around the historic center turn into screening rooms. The Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Villa de Leyva — the town's independent film festival — has been running for nearly two decades and has carved out its own spot on Colombia's cultural calendar. Recent editions have screened around 120 films from some 20 countries, with one detail that makes it remarkable: entry is free.
For a traveler, the math is hard to beat. You get a heritage town built around one of Latin America's largest cobblestone plazas, an international cultural program, and no ticket costs. November is also a relatively quiet season here, so you experience the town without the crowds of Christmas or Holy Week.
What to expect
The selection mixes Colombian and international work: features, documentaries and shorts from independent circuits that rarely reach commercial theaters. Screenings are spread across cultural venues in the historic center, many of them in the evening — which gives the whole thing a particular magic: stepping out of a film and walking home over cobblestones under the cold, clear Boyacá sky.
Two practical caveats. First, exact dates are confirmed each year. The festival typically lands in mid-November, often on a Colombian long weekend (a "puente" — when a public holiday is moved to a Monday, creating a three-day weekend that sends Bogotá pouring into the countryside). Check the official channels of the festival and the Alcaldía de Villa de Leyva before locking in travel. Second, the detailed program — titles, venues, showtimes — is published close to the event dates, so book the trip first and build your screening schedule once the lineup drops.
Planning the trip
Villa de Leyva sits about 3 hours by car (roughly 165 km) from Bogotá; buses take closer to 3.5–4 hours. Buses leave from the capital's Terminal Norte and Terminal Salitre for approximately COP 40,000–45,000 (verify current fares); a rental car makes it easier to explore the surrounding valley between screenings. Full directions are in our getting here guide.
If the festival falls on a puente, book accommodation several weeks ahead: on long weekends the town's hotels run past 90% occupancy and the good options disappear fast. Our guide to Colombia's long weekends in Villa de Leyva explains how these three-day weekends work and how to plan around them.
Days out, film nights in
Since most screenings run in the afternoon and evening, your days stay free for the region's highlights. Pair the festival with Casa Terracota, the Pozos Azules, the fossil museum, or a hike to the La Periquera waterfalls; the Gondava dinosaur park is a favorite if you're traveling with kids. For a ready-made structure, follow our 3-day Villa de Leyva itinerary and swap the evenings for festival screenings.
November weather: bring real layers
Villa de Leyva has mild days and cool nights year-round, and in November you feel that swing. Evening screenings plus the walk back through town call for genuinely warm clothing, not just a light sweater.
Where to stay for the festival
This festival rewards staying close to the action but sleeping far from it. El Limonar is a private, solar-powered two-bedroom cottage in the countryside 5–10 minutes from the historic center: near enough to make the last screening of the night without stress, and removed enough to sleep in total silence and wake up surrounded by mountains. Free parking, fiber WiFi and a pet-friendly policy make it work equally well for film-loving couples and families. And after the credits roll, the countryside offers its own late show — the star-filled sky we describe in our stargazing guide. See the house in detail on our accommodation page.