The first edition of Usina del Sur took place over three days in January 2017 within the framework of JIIFF. It emerged as an initiative of the National Film and Audiovisual Directorate of Uruguay (currently the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency, ACAU) to contribute to the internationalization of the country's film and audiovisual industries, creating a space that would contribute to the development of national and regional cinema by strengthening the post-production stage of carefully selected feature films, facilitating their completion, and with the advice of a group of international experts. The call was open to countries in the region, in order to foster the creation of networks and alliances and thus promote the entire national production chain. The invited countries were Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

From the total number of entries, six projects were selected and participated in screenings and pitching sessions before a specially convened jury composed of Anne Delseth (Switzerland), Eva Morsch (France), and Rossana Seregni (Italy).