Tijuana.- The first major film library outside of Mexico City will be established in this city's cultural center.

In addition to presenting Mexican movies, the new space will screen acclaimed international films, which have not been regularly offered in this city since 2005.

The Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT) will build a 250-seat screening room to present 35 mm films. The facility, which will cost $826,000, is to open in July and will be named after Carlos Monsiváis, a respected author who died last year.

All of CECUT's film-related activities will be centralized in the new space, to be called Cineteca Tijuana, said Virgilio Muñoz, the center's director. This includes all films presented in the IMAX theater, the video screening room and the new cinematography room, plus the movie-related lectures and educational programs that the institution has offered for years.

The library will also house the first specialized collection of audiovisual works in Mexico, to include projects from local artists.

The new film library is a part of a national initiative to decentralize cinematography work, creating various film libraries across Mexico. The first of these will open in Tijuana, said Paula Astorga, who leads the National Film Library in Mexico City.

She said the goal is to create a network of sites where the national library's works can be exhibited, supported by cultural institutions, universities and public and private agencies.

Tijuana's cinematography project begins in March with the presentation of a series of 16 mm films, "Tribute to Claude Chabrol," organized by the French Embassy in Mexico City and the National Film Library. More information is available at the CECUT's site, cecut.gob.mx.

Omar.millan@sandiegored.com