For almost 10 days, from January 18th to 26th, 2025, we celebrated cinema and 15 years of JIIFF in José Ignacio. The festival began as a shared dream and has reached 15 editions thanks to passionate and courageous people eager to converse, debate, and embrace the unknown.
This year, we programmed both competitive and non-competitive feature films. One of the week's highlights was marked by the arrival of French director Jacques Audiard and Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, who presented Emilia Pérez out of competition at the Bajada de los Pescadores before an audience of nearly 3,000 people. In addition, we welcomed Italian filmmaker Maura Delpero and Argentine actor and producer Santiago Fondevila, who presen- ted Vermiglio in a special sold-out screening at Pavilion VIK. Before the week ended, we had the honor of receiving Uruguayan director Pablo Stoll, marking his return to filmmaking after 13 years with El tema del verano. The film was presented at JIIFF with the entire cast and crew just days before its official release in local theaters.
At the same time, our Short Film Competition, organized in collaboration with Fundación Diciembre, selected and screened eight Uruguayan productions, reaffirming the growing prominence of this competitive section. The jury, composed of Arauco Hernández (Uruguayan cinematographer and screenwriter), Maitena de Amorrortu (Head of Corporate Communica- tions at The Walt Disney Company Latin America), and Giancarlo Nassi (Chilean producer), awarded Carlota by Cecilia Moreira Pagés as the winner of this edition and gave a Special Mention to Del otro lado del mundo by Emanuel Sobré.
During JIIFF’s week, we also hosted Working JIIFF, our industry program, which welcomed over 50 directors, producers, and screenwriters from various nationalities. This year, for the first time, the Pfeffer del Sur Fund was awarded, providing $50,000 thanks to the Pfeffer family to support the development and co-production of fiction feature films in Ibero-America. The jury, was composed by Victoria Alonso (Argentina), Nicolás Celis (Mexico), and Renata de Almeida (Brazil), who awarded the fund to the project Morir de pie (Chile) by Giancarlo Nasi and María Paz González.
Alongside screenings and industry activities, younger audiences had their own space in ¡Corte!, our film workshop for boys and girls aged 8 to 18. Over a week, they learned to shoot a short film as a team, which was later premiered on JIIFF’s big screen in a special screening for friends and family.
Thank you for sharing this dream we call JIIFF with us.
JIIFF returns to the Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to 19 aboard the Alhambra boat, establishing itself as a platform to promote Uruguayan cinema and culture, as well as to strengthen alliances among Latin American countries. With over fifteen events focused on boosting Uruguay’s film industry, the initiative aims to position the country on the international stage with the support of institutions such as ACAU, Uruguay XXI, the Ministry of Tourism, and Uruguay Audiovisual. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, the Pfeffer del Sur Fund will award a $50,000 prize to support an Ibero-American feature film project in development, fostering co-production and the growth of the audiovisual sector in the region.
In the N15 edition of JIIFF we programmed feature films in competition and also out of competition that were premieres for Uruguay. Like every year, the winning film was chosen by the audience, who chose The Kingdom by director Julien Colonna. JIIFF films were screened at three different locations in José Ignacio: Bajada de los Pescadores, Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio and Pavilion VIK.
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In the 2025 edition, eight short films were selected and screened in a special session at Pavilion VIK with the presence of their respective crew members. It was a unique date for the directors, producers, and teams to experience the local premiere of their films firsthand. The jury, consisting of Arauco Hernández, Maitena de Amorrortu, and Giancarlo Nasi, awarded the title of Best Short Film to Carlota by Cecilia Moreira Pagés. Thanks to Fundación Diciembre, the Uruguayan filmmaker will travel in May to experience the Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, a Special Mention was given to Del otro lado del mundo by Emanuel Sobré.
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Thanks to the Pfeffer family, $50,000 was awarded to the project Morir de pie (Chile) by Giancarlo Nasi and María Paz González. The duo was one of the eight selected among 116 applications from all over Latin America that participated in the project development laboratory, JIIFF Lab, of Working JIIFF, our industry program. The jury was made up of Victoria Alonso, Nicolás Celis and Renata de Almeida.
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JJIIFF joins the family of major international film festivals that qualify for the Oscar® and becomes the first festival in Uruguay to integrate the list of Academy Award® Qualifying Festivals. Integrating this list means that the winning film of our 2025 Short Film Competition may be directly considered by the Academy® for the Animated, Documentary and Fiction Short Film category towards the next edition of the Oscar® Awards.
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A new edition of our film laboratory for boys and girls between 8 and 18 years old to learn how to film a short film. From January 18 to 24, with the help of film professionals and using equipment that is usually used in current productions, the different stages of a shoot will be addressed, from writing the script to the projection of the short on the big screen at JIIFF.
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Do you want to join our allies?. Our Sponsors and Benefactors support us in continuing to generate impactful actions. Today, Uruguay is a regional and international attraction in the audiovisual ecosystem, and JIIFF is a driving force of this change. Contact: info@joseignaciofilmfestival.com
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