Only the best films entered for the competition will be nominated for the different awards. Over 600 films are submitted every year, of which the festival selects a maximum of twenty to take part in the competition.

The spirit of the competition is clear: the competing filmmakers must try with each film to steer away from the well trodden paths and do it with a clear ethical commitment. From there on, they have total freedom in content and form. All non-fiction audiovisual formats that provide a reflection on reality can take part in the Official Section. The Jury is to assess films for quality, originality and, above all, their capacity to "open our eyes and help us see beyond appearances," in Jean Vigo's words.

Right from the very first edition, Punto de Vista accepted one of the main responsibilities of any film festival: to perform an educational role for the general public and rescue the memory of film from oblivion. Retrospectives was the section that took up this challenge. At every subsequent edition, Punto de Vista has attempted to raise awareness about the classics, provide access to filmographies under construction and give an airing to work from schools, currents and unknown cinematographies. Retrospectives provide the epicentre of the festival and define its tone, ambition and spirit.

These cycles can revolve around an author or a country or current. At the 2005 edition, for example, the spotlight was turned onto the French director and photographer Raymond Depardon, and in 2010, the work of Jem Cohen took centre stage. In 2006 it was Japan's moment of glory. The Film of a Thousand Years was a retrospective that recovered classic Japanese documentary films from the last 60 years. In the 6th edition, Las afinidades Vigo/Vigo affinities led us to rethink the French non-fiction film of the past decade, whereas Esencial James Benning/The Essential James Benning discovered the work of this American experimental filmmaker in 2009.

Other cycles might be organised around a common denominator, which could be a theme, an anniversary, an ephemerid or an historical event. They are transversal cycles that offer a cross-reading of the history of documentary film. The film-essay was the motif chosen for the 2007 edition. Entitled The thinking form, this cycle was the first retrospective on the contemporary film-essay organised in Spain, and one of the first in Europe. Two years later, in 2009, this section focused on found footage and appropriation in The afterlife of images.

This section showcases the vanguard of contemporary documentaries, the most daring films, uncomfortable directors, and works that are setting new courses in non-fiction. A place in which documentary film can become who knows what. A panoramic long shot that marks the centre of the world with a cross: that place in the festival and film where important things are happening. This was also true of The Central Region (1971) by Michael Snow, after which this section is named.

A section showing films that have never been screened in Spain before, the best of international film festivals and movies that have been widely acclaimed by critics around the world in the press, specialist journals, and film-related institutions.

A place that has already been visited by the likes of James Benning, David Lynch, Sharon Lockhart, Thomas Heise, Wang Bing, Ernesto Baca, Guy Maddin, Volker Koepp, Lee Anne Schmitt, Isaki Lacuesta, and many others.

A place in Spain where you can get an idea of what people are now doing in the land of non-fiction film. The Central Region turns Pamplona into a destination for films and fans, a meeting point for the most refreshing films and the most demanding audiences.

Inviting reflection on heterodoxy in documentary filmmaking in Spain, on the margins of the canon. This is the purpose of Heterodocsias/Heterodocsies, a project developed in Punto de Vista with the intention of being provocative. Heterodocsias/Heterodocsies is intended to be a bridge with the past and a launching pad into the future. It was created as a springboard for the boldest, most provocative unknown contemporary documentary filmmakers in Spain. And also to unearth buried or cursed names and look at the history of Spanish film from a different point of view.

This section is twofold -a space encompassing both experimentation and memory, innovation and history. Whereas Proyecto X Films/X Films Project gathers heterodox filmmakers in the present to build works for the future, Rewind takes a look at neglected, forgotten or lost heterodox films of the past.

This section raises questions regarding documentary heterodoxy and cinematographic practice within the limits of the canon. This is the aim of Heterodocsias, a project developed by Punto de Vista with an overt air of provocation. Heterodocsias seeks to be a bridge with the past and a springboard to the future. It aims to provide a platform to present the most daring, unknown and provocative works of the current non-fiction scene in Spain. And, at the same time, to recover forbidden or disappeared names and to look at the history of Spanish film from the other side.

Heterodocsias had the honour of being inaugurated in 2007 by the outspoken Basilio Martín Patino with the presentation of his works A la sombra de la Alhambra and El grito del sur. Patino described this transgressive point of the heterodox documentary openly and frankly. "My films are documented stories based around a concept from reality that is sometimes taken directly, but most of the time, I learned to make it up. I have difficulty distinguishing between truth and lies in film, where everything has always been a lie. Wonderful lies that have shaped us. But, in any case, making such tremendous cinema does give you a special kind of feeling. You spend the whole day in a trance".

Heterodocsias returns every year like a temporal game, revealing to us an unfamiliar memory, a restless present and a promising future.

The concept of documentary goes well beyond film to encompass a never-ending array of other aspects. In an attempt to include these aspects of documentary, Punto de Vista has created a space for those activities and events that cannot be part of the Festival's traditional sections. This space is the one made up by special sessions.

Unique special films, panels, discussions of unexplored topics or new trends, live music, shows that blend images with words and music, master classes, tributes, workshops and seminars. A wide range of activities that Punto de Vista considers necessary to draw a full map of documentary film. The special sessions are reinvented every year, making them an ever-evolving and fresh window onto the festival, rich and provoking in their confluence of styles and proposals.