Tijuana.- An ambitious film festival whose aim is to spark an interest in documentaries begins in Baja California on Friday.

The sixth annual traveling documentary tour, known as "Festival Ambulante," will present more than 80 works from 27 countries. The series runs from April 29 to May 5 at venues across the state.

"A documentary helps cultivate critical thinking and raises collective awareness of how we perceive and understand reality," said in a statement leading Mexican actors Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna y Pablo Cruz.

They founded the non-profit, national festival in 2005 taking documentaries not only to Mexico's commercial movie theaters but to public places such as parks, streets, galleries and museums.

Icunacury Acosta, a spokeswoman for the tour, said this year's edition will present major documentaries that have won international awards.

Among them will be "Wasted Land" (United Kingdom and Brazil 2010) about life in a trash dump in Río de Janeiro, the 2010 Audience Winner at the Sundance Festival and an Oscar nominee; and "Armadillo" (Denmark 2010) that follows a group of Danish soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, a

winner at Cannes.

"Los dos Escobar" (2010) also will be presented. A U.S.-Colombia co-production, the documentary analyzes how in the early 1990s the Colombian national soccer team became a world contender after decades of mediocrity at the hands of two men named Escobar: Andrés, the team captain, and Pablo, a drug lord that launched the so-called "narco- fútbol" phenomenon.

In addition, the tour also will present "Blur: No distance left to run" (Great Britain 2010), "Addicted in Afghanistan" (Afghanistan 2009), "Arms, Trafficking and National Interests" (France 2008), "Disorder" (China 2009),

"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975" (Sweden 2011),

"12 onzas" (Mexico 2010), "Cool it" (United States 2010) and "The Furious Force of Rhymes" (France 2010).

The series has grown over the years. Two more types of film were added for 2011, for a total of nine, which includes, profile, music, children's, Mexican filmmakers, among others.

In Tijuana, the documentaries will be screened at Cinépolis Plaza Río,

Alianza Francesa, Casa de la 9, Centro Cultural Tijuana (Cecut), Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura, Colegio de la Frontera Norte and Museo Interactivo El Trompo.

In addition, the independent cultural center La Escala, Parque Teniente Guerrero, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and Universidad Iberoamericana.

Baja California is one of 11 states in Mexico where the documentary tour makes a stop this year. And it's the second time that the documentaries will be shown outside of movie theaters to diverse audiences, some not familiar with this genre.

Some screenings will be accompanied by the filmmakers themselves, who will interact with the audience. And some Mexican directors will give lectures.

"This film genre gives us an opportunity to reflect and question a series of events," said Diego Luna. "It's a great tool to do this."