The unexpected demise Nov. 6 of Chile’s Oscar-winning Sebastián Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”) cast a pall over the closing ceremonies of both the festival and industry section of the Santiago Film Festival (Sanfic), which wraps Nov. 8.
The red carpet portions of the industry and festival ceremonies held Nov. 6 and 7, respectively, were cancelled. “We dedicate the rest of this festival to Sebastián,” said festival director Carlos Nuñez and Sanfic Industria head Gabriela Sandoval, both visibly bereft. “His films will remain as his legacy but his passing is incredibly painful, especially because he had been so close to the festival since its very beginning,” said Nuñez.
Lelio’s family announced that the Cineteca Nacional (National Film Library) would be open to all those who wished to pay their respects this weekend. Real life also reminded some festival goers of Lelio’s last film, musical “The Wave” (“La ola”), which dealt with Chile’s violent 2018 student protests, when tear gas met some panel participants as they stepped out of a university. The students were protesting the latest move by the right-wing government of President Kast, whose system-wide budget cuts include education. They also called for the resignation of Justice Minister Fernando Rabat to resign over his sentence reductions for child sex offenders and human rights violators.
Among the nine Chilean pics in competition, the Best Picture award went to documentary “Monguen” by the late Antonio Caro who also died suddenly while working on his film, which led his producer to take over. Lelio was filming an adaptation of Alejandro Zambra’s novel “Chilean Poet” for Fabula and was also in pre-production on “Voyagers,” featuring Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
“I think this is a well-deserved recognition for ‘Monguen,’ a film that explores stories from the margins. It deals with a subject rarely addressed in Chilean cinema: Mapuche culture, the culture of the south and characters who don’t often get represented on screen. In this film, Antonio Caro brings those worlds to life and allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the culture of southern Chile,” Nuñez told Variety.
Best Chilean Director honors went to Thomas Woodroffe for his debut feature “Erratics” (“Bloques erráticos”), a subtle film that features French actor Denis Lavant. Lavant playing filmmaker Lucien Castelnau’s ghost who has been released from a glacier after a century into a futuristic Patagonia where technological advances collide with overlooked histories.
“He’s definitely a director to watch, and someone whose approach to cinema we find very compelling,” said Nuñez.
A tearful Paulina Garcia, accepting the Best Actress award for her role in “Love is the Monster” paid tribute to Lelio, displaying the Berlin Silver Bear statuette that she won for her performance in his 2013 drama, “Gloria.”
Among the international pics in competition, Paraguayan Marcelo Martinessi’s historical drama “Narciso” won Best Feature. Based on the eponymous novel by Guido Rodríguez Alcalá, it relates the story of a Paraguayan LGBT rock star who is found dead at the peak of his career. Through the prism of music and art, the drama explores facets of Asunción society during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.
‘Narciso’ Courtesy of Sanfic
“Martinessi is one of the most interesting filmmakers to emerge from Paraguay in recent years,” said Nuñez, adding: “We felt it was an important Latin American film to include, particularly given how little cinema is produced in Paraguay. Martinessi is one of the country’s most compelling voices, so the award felt thoroughly deserved.”
The Best Short recognition. from the 21 shorts in contention, went to Ariel Amor’s “Reina de Puerto,” set in Valparaiso where a 60-year-old trans woman forms a bond with young drifter.
The good news for the festival was that it saw a 10%-15% uptick in attendance, with final figures hovering between 35,000 to 40,000. “It’s been a very lively week, with filmmakers, cast members, actors and actresses introducing their films and meeting audiences. There’s been a real buzz around the festival, and we’ve seen packed cinemas,” said Nuñez.
Sanfic Industria Prizes
Meanwhile, Sanfic Industria unveiled a slew of awards, mostly in kind, to its over 100 participants in a variety of sections.
Sanfic Mórbido Lab
Honors at the genre project competition were split pretty evenly between three titles: folk horror/urban realism mix “Tonalli,” set in Mexico City’s hard-scrabble district of Tepito; the sadistic “The Hostess,” the return of extreme horror helmer Roberto San Sebastian and “L4IK4,” a 2D, stop motion and pixilation virtual world odyssey set in an alternate Cold War universe which marks the feature debut of rising Chilean animation star Simon Bucher. Most notably perhaps, “Tonalli” scored a co-production prize from co-organizer Mórbido.
WIP Iberoamericana
At WIP Iberoamericana, Sanfic Industria’s industry centerpiece, bearing out buzz “Hot Springs,” the feature debut of DP-turned-helmer Armin Marchesini Weihmuller, took swept three prizes, including the only cash prize on offer.
Produced by Argentina’s Gema Films, the film weighs in as a touching hybrid portrait of Evangelina and brother Luis, both over 80, vacationing briefly at a hot springs hotel spa – an affecting vision of old age, its infirmities, bedrock relationships and a resilient zest for life.
The sophomore outing of Yull Núñez, Indigenous eco-thriller “The Cry of Serankwa,” where a mining project in Colombia’s highest mountains confronts two former best friends, also scored a trio of awards.
WIP Iberoamericana also served recognition to Fernando Lavanderos’ “The Grass Along the Path,” an engaging but bittersweet teen love story set in 1990 which, thanks to the repeated on screen interruptions of the film’s crew, works as meta reflection of how Chile and film viewing have changed in the last 36 years.
Santiago Lab, Fiction and Documentary
Kudos spread wide with an Egeda cash prize going to Nicolas Acuña’s “Skin,” a custody battle three-way co-production from ‘Besieged’ producer Promocine.
Rita Hostt’s debut feature, a summer romance fantasy, took home the Syncro Fiction award towards its musical supervisión. The 1930-set historical drama “The Girl” (“La Niña”) from Sergio Castro San Martín and cancer survival documentary “La fragilidad de los cangrejos” won two awards each.
Here are some Highlights:
Alex de la Iglesia Talks About First Shoot in Chile
Spain’s Alex de la Iglesia visited the festival to talk about his absurdist comedy “The Misunderstanding” (“El Malentendido”) pointing out that it was his first time to shoot in Chile and thanked the festival for bringing him over last year for a Masterclass where he met his Chilean producer, Pablo Díaz of Rio Estudios (“Hidden Island”). “Sanfic set everything in motion and made all of this possible,” he said. The farce, which blends the Marx Brothers’ sardonic humor with the existential anguish of a war film, will be shooting in Santiago and its environs for the next four weeks, starting Nov. 9. “The Misundertanding” stars Benjamin Vicuña, who Iglesia worked with on his upcoming Netflix pic “Felicidades” in Buenos Aires.
Grupo Mórbido’s Pablo Guisa, Sitges’ Monica Garcia and Docs Mx’s Arizbeth Becerril Discuss Bringing Projects to a Global Audience
Among the most popular panels in the festival, its overriding theme was the need to bridge artistic ambition and commercial realities. Grupo Mórbido’s Pablo Guisa stressed that industry platforms must focus on getting films made, not simply moving projects from one lab to another. He said: “I’m not interested in being a cultural travel agent.” He argued that projects need both artistic value and commercial potential to lure financing.
The panelists also questioned the growing influence of streaming platforms and algorithms, whose decision-making processes remain largely opaque. Guisa encouraged filmmakers to trust their creative instincts rather than chase trends, while Arizbeth Becerril of DocsMX reminded the audience: “We don’t have a fucking clue” what the algorithm wants.
Despite the evolving changes in viewing habits, festivals remain essential spaces for discovery, networking and collective experiences, they pointed out. Sitges Film Fest director general Mónica García underscored their ability to offer something streaming cannot replicate: “Visibility and legitimacy,” stressing the importance of the theatrical experience and the sense of community they create.
Cineplex Boards Two WIP Titles
Among the first pickups at Sanfic Industria, Latin American distributor Cineplex boarded two projects at Sanfic’s pix-in-post section, WIP Iberoamericana: Panama-set “La Residencia,” written, directed and produced by Mariel García Spooner (“Algo azul”), and Indigenous eco-thriller “The Cry of Serankwa” by Yull Nuñez, whose three awards in kind will help him complete his lauded project.
Cineplex picked up both North and South American sales rights to “La Residencia,” which Cineplex managing partner Diana Dudek said “has the potential to resonate with international audiences.” “We immediately connected with the story of these three friends who, at a more mature stage of their lives, decide to reinvent themselves and move forward together.”
For “The Cry of Serankwa,” to which Cineplex acquired Colombian and Latin American rights, they said: “We felt a strong connection to its story and its portrayal of the sacred territories of Colombia’s Iku, Wiwa and Kogui communities in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.”
SANFIC FESTIVAL WINNERS
CHILEAN COMPETITION
Best Film
“Monguen,” (Antonio Caro, Lemuntu Producciones, Totem Producciones, Chile)
Best Director
Thomas Woodroffe, (Erratics,” La Belle Affaire Productions, Un Puma, Chile, France, Argentina)
Best Performance
Sofía Paloma Gómez, (“Black Corp,” Carolina Adriazola and José Luis Sepúlveda, Iglo Cine, Chile)
Best Short
“Reina de Puerto,” Ariel Amor
Special Metnions, Shorts
“Ruidos molestos,” Felipe Salinas Kraljevic
“Que no te alcancen los lobos,” Josefa Berenguela Araya.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Best Film
“Narciso” (Marcelo Martinessi, La Babosa Cine, Guay Films, Bocacha Films, Pandora Film Produktion, BTeam Prods, Oublaum Filmes, Esquina Filmes, La Fábrica Nocturna Cinéma, Paraguay, Uruguay, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, France)
Best Director
“Coward” (Lukas Dhont, The Reunion, Versus Production, Lumen, Topkapi Films, Belgium, France, Netherlands)
Special Mention, Best Director
“Ashes” (Diego Luna, Inicia Films, La Corriente del Golfo, Animal de Luz Films, Perro Azul, Mexico, Spain)
Best Performance
“Love Is the Monster” (Neto Villalobos Brenes, La Sucia Centroamericana Producciones, Cine Infinito, Expansiva Cine, Clara Films, Avalancha Studio, Liminal Estudio, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Chile, Mexico)
Special Mention for Best Performance
“Coward” (Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, The Reunion, Versus Production, Lumen, Topkapi Films, Belgium, France, Netherlands)
SANFIC INDUSTRIA WINNERS:
WORK IN PROGRESS IBEROAMERICANO
Rio Foundation
“Hot Springs” (“Las Termas,” Armin Marchesini Weihmuller, Argentina)
Yagan Films Prize
“Zambra“ (Paula Leonvendagar, Invercine, Fundación Inversión Cultural (FINC), Chile)
Chemistry Post Production
“Hot Springs” (“Las Termas,” Armin Marchesini Weihmuller, Argentina)
Script Sounding
“The Cry of Serankwa,” (“El grito de Serankwa,” Yull Núñez, Cinequipos Producciones, Colombia)
Mowat
“The Cry of Serankwa,” (“El grito de Serankwa,” Yull Núñez, Cinequipos Producciones, Colombia)
Malaga Work In Progress, Mafiz
“The Cry of Serankwa,” (“El grito de Serankwa,” Yull Núñez, Cinequipos Producciones, Colombia)
LatAm Cinema
“Hot Springs” (“Las Termas,” Armin Marchesini Weihmuller, Argentina)
SANTIAGO LAB WINNERS: FICTION & DOCUMENTARY
EGEDA Chile
“Skin” (“Piel,” Nicolás Acuña, Promocine, Campocine, 3 Tabela Filmes, Chile, Argentina, Brazil)
SYNCRO Fiction
“Dedé,” (Rita Hostt, Oh My Gómez, Besos Contenidos, Argentina, Uruguay)
SYNCRO Documentary
“Cronica del oblivion,” Daniela de la Vega, Pulpo Films, Argentina
Marketing Movie Runner
“The Girl” (“La niña ) (Fiction) and “La fragilidad de loscangrejos “(Documentary)
Pablo Mondragón Music
“The Girl” (“La niña ) (Fiction) and “La fragilidad de los cangrejos” (Documentary)
MÓRBIDO LAB
CoProduction
“Tonalli,” (Jesus “Chiva” Rodriguez, Tirando Terror, Mexico)
Fantastic Pavilion Cannes
“The Hostess,” (“La Anfitriona,” Roberto San Sebastián, Monndo,CSC Films, Plátanobolígrafo, Spain)
Fantastic Pavilion Cannes, Round Table Participation
“L4IK4,” (Simón Bucher, Raimundo Bucher, La Mazmorra Studio, Chile)
ScriptSounding
“Chupacu” (Antonia Baudouin, Carneiro VerdeFilmes, Brazil)
Marketing Movie Runner
“Spring Curse,” (“Maldición en primavera,” Pablo Vergara, Coruya Cine, Argentina)
“The Hostess,” (“La Anfitriona,” Roberto San Sebastián, Monndo,CSC Films, Plátanobolígrafo, Spain)
FIPCA – FORMA
“The Hostess,” (“La Anfitriona,” Roberto San Sebastián, Monndo,CSC Films, Plátanobolígrafo, Spain)
“L4IK4,” (Simón Bucher, Raimundo Bucher, La Mazmorra Studio, Chile)
Cali Film Festival 2027 Participation
“Tonalli,” (Jesus “Chiva” Rodriguez, Tirando Terror, Mexico)
FANTASTIC WIP
South American Voices
“Viviendo con los muertos” (Nicolás Zukerfeld, Matías Rivera Bacile, Corazón Producción, Argentina)
Manticora Distribución MX Award
“Ruta al sol” (Jorge Leyva, Lilia Velazco, La Tuerca Films, Mexico)
Fantastic Pavilion – Fantastic Gala Award
“Ruta al sol” (Jorge Leyva, Lilia Velazco, La Tuerca Films, Mexico).
Mórbido Fest Award – Direct Pass
“Hiena” (Manuel Rodríguez, Panda Rojo Media, Mexico).
SoundLab – Fantastic WIP
“Extinción” (Frank Benitez Peña, Gustavo Espindola, Negrita Films, Colombia)
WOMAN IN FAN
Cartagena de Indias Award – Woman in Fan LAB
“Carnivora” (Julieta Morales, Ratelier, Chile).
SERIES
Series Mania Award – Series Lab
“The Wrath of the Butterflies” (“La ira de las mariposas”) (Erica Rozek, Luciana Lacorazza, Mil Grullas Cine, Argentina)
Conecta Fiction & Entertainment Award – Series Lab
“I’ll Be There” (“Asistiré,” Mercedes Córdova, Florencia Percia, Valeria Forster, Brava Cine, Argentina)