The ICARO film festival is an international project with emphasis on the Central American region and defines itself as multicultural, divers, tolerant, pacific and democratic.
Its annual realization requires a committee of organizers represented in each country of Central America which is in charge of the call for proposals and the participation of the audiovisual sector. The organization committee cooperates with different entities and personalities of the Latin American and worldwide film industry thus to be connected to the international film festival landscape, to the Latin American film production and distribution market and to regional mediums of communication. A complex network of international collaborators and friends, private initiatives, national state institutes and the audiovisual sector has been established in the last decade.

During the month of November, the Central American Icaro festival takes place in Guatemala City. This festival has two competitive levels, one focusing on Central America with the objective of stimulating and prioritizing the regional production, and one concentrated on foreign contributions in order to link the festival to international cinema movements. At the same time the festival is divided in a cinema section and a video section, which allows the projection of all kinds of audiovisual types.
The nominated and awarded films of the Central American Icaro Festival in Guatemala City are being presented at the national Icaro Festivals in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, which take place between August and October each year. By this means, the Icaro Festival consists of six national festivals, headed by the Central American film festival in Guatemala City.
Since its beginning, the Icaro Festival has been developing and prioritizing its educational activities with the object of professionalizing the audiovisual sector and thereby sustain a future film industry in Guatemala.