On a boat installed in front of the Cannes Festival and Congress Palace, representatives of the José Ignacio International Film Festival (JIIFF) organized various activities to bring Uruguay’s cultural identity to the world and promote the development of the national industry.
During the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the JIIFF was installed on board the Alhambra, a ship that for a week hosted meetings with prominent actors from the film industry. From 14 to 20 May, the delegation of Uruguay organized 10 events with co-production activities that will enable the enhancement and development of the Uruguayan audiovisual ecosystem.
The most outstanding news of the stay included the launch of a new film fund created to stimulate the development of Ibero-American projects. “It is fantastic to present our Pfeffer Del Sur Fund, which will offer vital funding to further boost the landscape of Latin American cinema on the world stage,” said Fiona Pittaluga, director and co-founder of JIIFF.
Accompanied by its partners Martín Cuinat, Mariana Rubio Pittaluga and Pablo Mazzola, Pittauga highlighted the collaboration and commitment of the Pfeffer family for an unprecedented financial support that will benefit the work of young filmmakers. “This is Latin America’s largest private fund for the promotion and development of fiction films,” he continued.
The week on board was inaugurated with a camaraderie cocktail between Uruguayan filmmakers and producers, journalists and special guests, celebrating the beginning of an intense week of work. As a welcome to the Alhambra there was a premiere cocktail of the film Simón de la montaña, Uruguayan, Argentine and Chilean co-production, which won the major prize in the Week of the Critics.
The Uruguayan delegation also included the team of the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU), led by its president Facundo Ponce de León, who pointed out the importance of having the ship's facilities as a mobile office for the management of potential strategic partnerships.
The meetings organized at the JIIFF headquarters enabled the exchange of projects and opportunities for international co-production through the presence of institutional representatives and producers from Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, among others. In addition, the partnership with Locarno Pro was strengthened, resulting in a second edition of U30 Latam, a programme aimed at film professionals under the age of 30, organized in Uruguay.
Further rapprochements were generated with films commisions of the world such as the German Federal Film Board (FFA), the Directorate General of Cinema of the Dominican Republic (DGCINE); the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), Proimagenes Colombia; Roma Lazio of Italy; the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Spain; Cinema do Brasil; and the British Film Institute. (BFI).
This list includes countries with which the Working JIIFF industry space already has partnerships, so the reunion in Cannes meant a great opportunity to continue to build, strengthen and deepen the link, as well as to build bridges for mutual growth.
Among these relationships was a new meeting with representatives of the British Film Industry, following the signing of a memorandum that certified a co-production agreement between Uruguay and the United Kingdom.
Another networking event took place during the cocktail of MUBI, one of the most innovative film streaming platforms internationally, which also acts as a distributor for JIIFF by bringing together films scheduled for each edition of the summer festival.
The Fiesta de Uruguay celebrated the efforts of the entire delegation, concluding an intense schedule of activities that brought together more than 200 filmmakers, producers, sales agents and talents to introduce JIIFF and Uruguay to the world. Each event was marked by the JIIFF production style with the gastronomy of Parador La Huella, Uruguayan drinks and music from the Ferona bar, seeking to bring to Cannes the essence of José Ignacio.
