WORKING JIIFF

JIIFF LAB

For Ibero-American producers and directors with a fiction project in development.

January 22 to 26, 2025

WORKING JIIFF

JIIFF Lab

For Ibero-American producers and directors with a fiction project in development.

January 22 to 26, 2025

JIIFF LAB 2025

For producers and directors of fictional films from Ibero-America

JIIFF LAB grows one more year and becomes a benchmark laboratory in the region and throughout the world for Ibero-American fiction production.

Our fiction film project development laboratory, called JIIFF LAB, also had new developments this year. Eight pairs from Latin America were selected to work on their projects for five days in person. They participated in different networking events and attended the festival screenings.

In addition to the increase in selected professionals, this year the members of the eight projects participated in an opportunity to access the Southern Pfeffer Fund: a US$50,000 fund created to stimulate co-production and contribute to the production of a film.

For the second consecutive year, we had the support of the IBERMEDIA Program, which contributed to the 16 participants being able to attend and strengthen their projects in person.

Pfeffer del Sur Award

The Pfeffer del Sur Fund is a unique opportunity granted for the first time by Working JIIFF together with the Pfeffer Family. The jury, made up of Victoria Alonso (Argentina), Nicolás Celis (Mexico) and Renata de Almedia (Brazil) awarded the fund to Morir de Pie (Chile), by María Paz González and Giancarlo Nasi.

This private fund, the most important in Latin America to recognize the development of film projects, has the objective of promoting the Uruguayan audiovisual industry and its international co-production relationships. It is a substantial step to strengthen the creation of a film.

tutors

These are the tutors who accompanied the training and advice of the sixteen participants on the laboratory days.

Anahí Berneri

Anahí Berneri

Screenwriter and director. He wrote and directed six feature-length fiction films that were highly recognized internationally. Among them Alanis (2017- best direction in San Sebastián) and Elena Sabe (2023) produced for Netflix (non-English speaking world top ten). He also directed series for Amazon Brazil and HBO MAX. She is a thesis tutor at ENERC and holder of Audiovisual Narrative at UNA. He taught classes and tutorials at NOKA Mentoring (Spain), EICTV (Cuba), Maryland College Arts (USA), and Catholic University (Chile), among others.

Santiago Amigorena

Santiago Amigorena

Born in Buenos Aires, he moved to France in 1973. He has worked as a screenwriter on more than 40 feature films. He has also written 13 novels translated into more than 20 languages. His first film as a directorA Few Days in Septemberwas presented in the Official Selection of the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, and was distributed worldwide. His second film, Another Silence, was also at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 (Venice Days). His third film, Les Enfants Rouges, was presented in Rio and Beirut.

Pablo Sahores

SPECIAL GUEST
Pablo Sahores

He studied Business Administration at the Argentine Catholic University. He has worked at The Walt Disney Company since February 1995. He worked in the areas of Operations and Supervision of the film distribution business in Latam and also in local content production. He is responsible for the launch of more than 700 films in cinemas and executive producer of several Argentine films. He is also a plastic artist, having exhibited his works in Buenos Aires, Miami, New York and Santiago de Chile.

Cristiane Guzzi

PROJECT ADVISOR
Cristiane Guzzi

Since 2022, she has been the coordinator, together with Renata de Almeida, of the tables and market actions of the Meeting of Audiovisual Ideas, the market of the International Film Festival in São Paulo, held at the São Paulo Cinematheque. In addition, it manages institutional relations and sponsorship of the Mostra. She was Executive Director of the Tonks Group (2021-2024), leading projects such as Expocine, Exibidor Magazine and Cine Marquise. She is an evaluator of cultural projects, a postdoctoral fellow in film and literature, and has various specializations.

JURY

These are the jury members who participated in the final Pitching.

All members of the selected projects had to attend the Pitching session before the jury and other members of the industry.

Victoria Alonso

Victoria Alonso

Victoria Alonso, born in Argentina, is a key figure in Hollywood, noted for her leadership at Marvel Studios and her commitment to diversity. She oversaw 32 MCU films, generating more than $30 billion at the global box office, with hits like Avengers: Endgame and Iron Man. Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, she pioneered inclusive stories like Black Panther, Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel. Producer from Argentina, 1985, received awards such as the Golden Globe, Emmys, Goya, GLAAD Vanguard, among others, redefining modern cinema.

Nicolás Celis

Nicolás Celis

Mexican producer and founder of Pimienta Films, one of the most important production houses in Mexico and Latin America. He has produced more than 40 films, collaborating with directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Tatiana Huezo, Amat Escalante, and Jacques Audiard. His projects include Roma (Golden Lion, three Oscars) and Noche de fuego by Tatiana Huezo. He has been a juror at International Festivals such as Shanghai and Thessaloniki, and is a member of the Mexican and American Academies of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.

Renata de Almeida

Renata de Almeida

Trained in Radio and Television from FAAP, with specialization in film and documentary from The New School in New York, she is director of the International Film Festival in São Paulo since its 13th edition. He is responsible for film selection, programming, production, workshops, debates and editorial publications. He has co-produced notable films such as O Estranho Caso de Angélica (Cannes, 2010) and Do Visível ao Invisível (Venice, 2008). Awarded the State Governor Award (2011) and the Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite insignia (2017).

PARTICIPANTS AND PROJECTS

Adentro del ruido
(ARGENTINA)

Julieta Juncadella y Martina Juncadella

Julieta Juncadella and
Martina Juncadella

Lena, a 42-year-old writer, moves into a hotel in Buenos Aires. He must finish writing a book about his recently deceased mother. Caught between grief and her own motherhood, Lena slowly begins to adopt the identity of Elba, an older woman who works in a fabric store.
Julieta Juncadella (Argentina)
Film producer and curator. He studied at ENERC, UTDT and completed a master's degree in curating at Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola. He co-founded Una Presencia, producing award-winning shorts and the feature film Al Oriente, premiered at the Venice Biennale. He lives between Buenos Aires and Spain, where he directs the production and distribution company Vitrine Filmes España. In 2022 she produced Mission to Mars, premiered at the 2023 Berlinale Critics' Week.

Martina Juncadella (Argentina)
Actress, director, screenwriter and poet. He acted in films such as Cheese Face, Encarnación and Open Doors and Windows. He studied Literature at the UBA and directed award-winning shorts such as Fiora and I can't imagine being old. His project Inside the noise received international awards for its development. He co-directs the Socios Fundadores publishing house, published two books of poems and co-founded the production company Una Presencia.

Chovoré
(Bolivia)

Santiago Loayza Grisi y Alejandro Loayza Grisi

Santiago Loayza Grisi and
Alejandro Loayza Grisi

In the Bolivian Amazon, César (17), a young violinist, must put music and his dreams aside for an entire year while he completes his mandatory military service. He experiences the absurd and violent military world and submits to it with subordination, until the arrival of the forest fires that reveal to him the cruelty of the system and with which he discovers that the entire future of his community is at risk.

Santiago Loayza Grisi (Bolivia)
Born in Bolivia in 1984, he studied in Italy, in 2012 he completed a master's degree in audiovisual production in Spain. He is administrator and general producer of Alma Films where he produced more than 100 audiovisual projects. His most recent film, Utama, won the main prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Goya Awards. Utama has been shown to date in more than 100 festivals, winning 50 awards and becoming the most awarded film in the history of Bolivian cinema.

Alejandro Loayza Grisi (Bolivia)
Bolivian filmmaker. His debut feature Utama premiered at Sundance 2022 where it won the Grand Prize at the World Dramatic Competition, obtained 5 nominations at the Premio Platino, a nomination at the Goya, participated in more than 100 festivals and won around 50 international awards. Alejandro began his artistic career in still photography, later he jumped into moving images as a director of photography and from there he ventured into screenwriting and film direction.

DOS ABRAZOS
(Uruguay)

Josefina Del Campo y Valentina Lambach Montuori

Josefina Del Campo and
Valentina Lambach Montuori

The sweltering summer in which she finishes her studies in Barcelona, a young Uruguayan student receives a visit from her mother. Distance seems to have changed everything. The daughter's resistance to leaving is evident and the mother's silences about the years she lived in Barcelona as an exile are no longer secrets. Surrounded by desires and contradictions, two women begin to meet in a foreign but familiar land.
Josefina Del Campo (Uruguay)
Producer trained in the Technician in Production and Communication in Fashion, Editorial and Audiovisual, standing out in the audiovisual field. She began her career as a producer in the Casting Department of Cimarrón Cine, where she quickly went on to lead large national and international projects. She then joined the Original Content Coordination and Production Team, actively participating in the evaluation, development, production, dissemination and distribution of multiple projects.

Valentina Lambach Montuori (Uruguay)
She completed a Master's Degree in Film Direction at the Escola de Cinema de Barcelona. Screenwriter and director of the fiction short film Extraña (2016). Producer and co-director of the fiction short film Novia ke teremos (2024), selected in the Clermont-Ferrand Festival market 2025. Selected by the Acció Viver development program, of Dones Visuals (2022). He participated in the Ibero-American Audiovisual Project Development Course (CDPAI).

HISTORIA DE MÉXICO
(MEXICO)

Gustavo Matheu Paredes y Aldo Álvarez Tostado Martínez

Gustavo Matheu Paredes and
Aldo Álvarez Tostado Martínez

Mexico City, 1994. Trinidad, a teenager who has recently arrived in the city, gets a temporary job at a fast food restaurant. As the country enters a frenetic transition to the neoliberal model, Trinidad begins to question every preconception about its identity, corporality, and future.

Gustavo Matheu Paredes (Guatemala)
Guatemalan producer and editor. His work has been recognized at prestigious ceremonies such as the Golden Globes, the Critics' Awards, the Goya, Ariel and he has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards for La Llorona (2019). His films have toured important film festivals such as Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, Tokyo, among others. His career stands out for his dedication to human rights, supporting projects that generate a positive impact on the global narrative.

Aldo Álvarez Tostado Martínez (Mexico)
Mexican interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores the idea of “country-fiction.” Selected for the VI Ghetto Biennale in Haiti, recipient of the Art Review-Casa Wabi Residency Award 2019, the Juan Soriano Award 2023 and the University Tower Sculpture Award 2024. His work is part of the collections of the NGV of Melbourne, MUAC, Denver Art Museum and the Émile Hermès collection. A member of lCS Film, he has taken filmmaking workshops at ESCINE and Invasión Cine and made audiovisual commissions for UN LIVE – Museum for the United Nations.

LA CARNE DÓCIL
(SPAIN)

Diego Saniz y Pedro Gusmão

Diego Saniz and Pedro Gusmão

Roberto, an ambitious Brazilian chef, starts working at Saturnia, the most luxurious and exclusive restaurant in northern Spain. While understanding his place in the productive pyramid of European tourism, he becomes involved in a plot of labor exploitation and cannibalism, realizing that every restaurant is built with immigrant blood.
Diego Saniz (Spain)
Having a diploma from the ECAM in Madrid, he has produced more than 15 short films that have been selected in more than 300 festivals and have won more than 50 awards. Festivals of the caliber of Clermont Ferrand, InterFilm, Bogoshorts, Moscow, GoShort, Seminci, Alcine or the Malaga Festival, among others. In 2024, the feature film “El Aspirante” will premiere in Spanish cinemas, after winning the Best Film award at the Atlántida Mallorca Film Fest. As a producer, he has participated in festivals and development laboratories such as the Cannes Festival, Locarno, Rotterdam or Port Post Docs.

Pedro Gusmão (Brazil)
Graduate in Journalism from the PUCRS (Porto Alegre) and in Screenwriting and Film Direction from the Bande à Part Film School (Barcelona). He has directed projects such as the short film Tauromaquia, the series Berry Routes and the making of the feature film O filme da minha vida, directed by Selton Mello. With the project La Carne Dócil he has participated in festivals and laboratories such as Blood Window, FRAPA, Cinequanon, MAFIZ or Bolivia Lab in addition to obtaining the support of the Ibermedia fund for co-development.

La Justicia
(Uruguay)

Juan José López y Matías Ganz

Juan José López and Matías Ganz

Justice, a legal melodrama, is an anti-police film. An absurdly naturalistic comedy about the private lives of prosecutors in northern Uruguay, along the border with Brazil. Crime scenes, interrogations and trials are just the environments in which these bureaucrats deal with their unrequited loves, resentments, extraterrestrial epiphanies and religious convictions.
Juan José López (Uruguay)
Studies economics at the University of the Republic. He has worked as an executive and field producer in the audiovisual field since 2004. In 2016, he founded Nadador Cine with Pedro Barcia. Since its inception, the production company has not stopped developing and producing, positioning itself as one of the most productive in terms of local filmmaking.

Matías Ganz (Uruguay)
Chilean director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2019, he premiered his first feature-length fiction film "Lina de Lima" at the Toronto International Film Festival, which participated in festivals such as: Mar del Plata, Palm Springs, Miami, Fribourg, FicValdivia (winner of best national feature film), Biarritz, among others. He is currently developing his second feature-length fiction film "Morir de Pie" Matías Ganz was born in Montevideo in 1987. He graduated from the Uruguayan Film School. He scripts, directs and edits his own projects, which include short films, music videos, fiction series, as well as his first feature film. Together with the composer Sofia Scheps, they create various audiovisual pieces related to contemporary music. He is a professor of scriptwriting and filmmaking at various public and private institutions.

MORIR DE PIE
(CHILE)

Giancarlo Nasi yMaría Paz González

Giancarlo Nasi and
María Paz González

Cruz (38) works as a simulated patient for students at a private university; an unusual and precarious field that is being replaced by artificial intelligence. In the midst of a labor crisis, reality breaks in when his neighbor jumps off the balcony in front of his eyes. Without any reaction, feeling that the simulations have invaded his life, Cruz sets out in search of something real, including justice and, why not, a little revenge.
Giancarlo Nasi (Chile)
A graduate of the ECAM in Madrid, he has produced more than 15 short films that have been selected in more than 300 festivals and have won more than 50 awards. Festivals such as Clermont Ferrand, InterFilm, Bogoshorts, Moscow, GoShort, Seminci, Alcine or the Malaga Festival, among others. In 2024, the feature film “El Aspirante” will be released in Spanish cinemas, after winning the Best Film award at the Atlántida Mallorca Film Fest. As a producer, he has participated in festivals and development laboratories such as the Cannes Film Festival, Locarno, Rotterdam or Port Post Docs. Film producer, founder and former president of the Chilean Academy of Cinematographic Arts and advisor/panelist at some of the most prominent festivals in the world. Specialized in international co-productions, he has produced more than 16 films with his company Quijote Films in Chile, highlighting titles such as: “La Tierra y la Sombra”, “Blanco en Blanco”, “Lina de Lima”, “Los Colonos”, among others.

María Paz González (Chile)
Chilean director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2019 she released her first fiction feature film “Lina de Lima” at the Toronto International Film Festival, which participated in festivals such as: Mar del Plata, Palm Springs, Miami, Fribourg, FicValdivia (winner of best national feature film), Biarritz, among others. She is currently developing her second fiction feature film “Morir de Pie”

SAL SI PUEDES
(ARGENTINA)

Fernando Díaz y Jeferson Cardoza Herrera

Fernando Díaz and
Jeferson Cardoza Herrera

A vampire blood trafficking network is forced to move its headquarters to a flower shop in a popular market square in Bogotá. And although the business seems to camouflage itself well in the midst of the daily routine of this place, the addiction to the blood of a new vampire will unleash a crisis that will expose the clandestine network and will make the community of the square arm themselves to confront these vampires and protect their home.
Fernando Díaz (Argentine)
Argentine producer, director and screenwriter with more than 50 national and international awards. Founder of MACHACO FILMS, a production company specialized in horror films. He produced hits such as Aterrados and Cuando acecha la maldad, the first Latin American film to win the Sitges International Film Festival and a box office record as the most viewed horror film in Argentine cinema.

Jeferson Cardoza Herrera (Colombia)
Founder of the film production company La Banda del Sur Films, with which he has made the short films Veintiocho de mayo, Malicia Indígena and Paloquemao, el mercado de los vampiros. The latter has won several awards such as the Macondo for Best National Short Film awarded by the Colombian Film Academy or Best International Short Film in Macabro, and has been selected in festivals such as Fantasporto, Regard, among others.

AWARDS

PREMIO PFEFFER DEL SUR
Thanks to the Pfeffer Family, the US$50,000 prize was awarded to Morir de Pie (Chile) by María Paz González and Giancarlo Nasi.

COLOUR JIIFF LAB AWARD
COLOUR is proud to support a project participating in JIIFF LAB with the comprehensive image completion of the feature film (up to 90 minutes), including confirmation, color and final delivery. The award was given to the project Adentro del ruido (Argentina) by Martina and Julieta Juncadella.

UNION DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Union values the opportunity to accompany projects in all their stages. This year, they awarded a special prize consisting of the creation of a teaser, which will help creators show the essence of their project in a clear and professional way, highlighting its potential to capture the attention of producers, distributors or possible allies. It was awarded to Chovoré (Bolivia) by Santiago and Alejandro Loayza Grisi.

MOSTRA DE SÃO PAULO AWARD
It consists of the participation of two projects in the “Encounter of Audiovisual Ideas” of the 49th edition of the Mostra de Sao Paulo. This industry program will allow to continue strengthening the project and establish new alliances for its production. It was awarded to two projects: La Justicia (Uruguay) by Matías Ganz and Juan José López, and Sal si puedes (Argentina) by Fernando Díaz and Jeferson Cardoza Herrera.

EL ESPACIO PARA COPRODUCIR FICCIÓN

THE PLACE TO CO-PRODUCE FICTION

JIIFF LAB is created as a space for the Encounter. Those who attend the lab have the opportunity to develop their feature-length fiction film projects and to dialogue with peers from the international industry, with those in charge of public policies focused on co-production and with production professionals who contribute to their training to create potential alliances.

Desarrollo

DEVELOPMENT

JIIFF LAB focuses on the development of feature-length fiction projects. It is a laboratory organized so that each director-producer duo can work on the script, the project design, its potential allies and then find their project strengthened to complete its financing and production.

JIIFF LAB 2024

JIIFF LAB 2024

The 2024 edition had the participation of representatives from 5 countries: Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Spain and the Dominican Republic. All participants were part of a laboratory that allowed them to develop their projects and attend special classes with producers and key figures in international film production.