Caribbean Film Festival returns to Naples with award-winning films

NAPLES, Fla. — The Caribbean Film Festival is made its way back to Naples on Thursday.

In 2025, David Garonnzik, Naples Cimeatheque's founder and owner, hosted Naple's first Caribbean Film Festival at Paragon Theatres. Garonnzik said the festival exceeded expectations, and this year's lineup is set to impress even more.

The four-day festival begins on Feb. 19 and runs through Feb. 22. What started as a small love letter to Southwest Florida's Caribbean community blossomed into a larger passion project.

The festival promises an extraordinary collection of films. Among them is "BOCA CHICA" from the Dominican Republic, a film that explores the issue of sex tourism.

"BOCA CHICA" has been screened at more than 30 international festivals and has won multiple awards, including the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

While the film's location is rooted in the Dominican Republic, Gabriella Moses, director of "BOCA CHICA," said its themes resonate with audiences across different cultures.

"I've had the opportunity to travel with the film now for some time and really see how it resonates with people within the diaspora, Caribbean diaspora, and Latin American Diaspora. People who you wouldn't even necessarily think, maybe class-wise or culturally, that the story might resonate with," said Moses.

Although Moses won't be able to attend this screening in person, she hopes the film opens dialogues about exploitation.

"Even though we're dealing with some very serious subject matter around the exploitation of young girls, we also have a very hopeful message and there's a lot of heart... it's about more so following your dreams and this dark underbelly, even though we're exposing a truth," Moses said.

She wants those who attend the festival to be educated on trafficking in the state.

"Maybe you'll learn something. I think that's one part of it," said Moses. "Learn and open your eyes to aspects of exploitation that's happening, actually, very much in our backyards in the United States. Specifically, there's quite a big trafficking situation in Florida itself, as so many ports exist in Florida."

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Garonzik said Caribbean culture has a deep history in Florida.

"It's your neighbors. When you come to Naples, Florida. These are the countries right off our coast. These are all our neighboring islands," said Garonzik. "Like I said last year, we're closer to Jamaica than we are to Nashville, Tennessee, so to speak."

Garonzik still hopes to establish the event as an internationally recognized Caribbean film festival. He says the community's response to the films shown cemented his passion to bring the film festival back for a second year.

He said he received an overwhelming number of film submissions this year due to the previous year's success.

"Because of last year's festival, my presence and my relationship [with the Caribbean film community] was stronger," said Garonzik. "We made it happen, we established ourselves... and I'm looking forward to the 3rd annual fest."

Tickets for the festival are on sale now. 

Click here to purchase tickets to the opening night film. Click here to purchase tickets for other films featured.