JIIFF LAB 2025
For filmmakers and directors of fiction cinema from Ibero-America
JIIFF LAB grows once again and becomes a reference laboratory in the region and worldwide for Ibero-American fiction production.
Our fiction film project development laboratory, called JIIFF LAB, also had new features this year. Eight duos from Ibero-America were selected to work on their projects for five days in person. They participated in various networking opportunities and attended the festival screenings.
In addition to the increase in selected professionals, this year the members of the eight projects participated in a session to access the Pfeffer del Sur Fund: a $50,000 fund created to stimulate co-production and contribute to the production of a film.
For the second consecutive year, we received support from the IBERMEDIA Program, which helped the 16 participants attend and strengthen their projects in person.
Pfeffer del Sur Award
The Pfeffer del Sur Fund is a unique opportunity that, for the first time, is granted by Working JIIFF in collaboration 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 for recognizing the development of film projects, aims to boost the audiovisual industry of Uruguay and its international co-production relationships. It is a significant step in strengthening the creation of a film.
MENTORS
These are the mentors who accompanied the training and advising of the sixteen participants during the days of the lab.
Anahí Berneri
Screenwriter and director. She wrote and directed six highly recognized feature films internationally. Among them Alanis (2017 - Best Direction in San Sebastián) and Elena Sabe (2023), produced for Netflix (Top Ten worldwide in non-English languages). She also directed series for Amazon Brazil and HBO MAX. She is a thesis advisor at ENERC and head of Audiovisual Narrative at UNA. She has taught classes and mentored at NOKA Mentoring (Spain), EICTV (Cuba), Maryland College of Arts (USA), the Catholic University (Chile), among others.
Santiago Amigorena
Born in Buenos Aires, he moved to France in 1973. He has worked as a screenwriter on over 40 feature films. He has also written 13 novels, translated into more than 20 languages. His first film as a director, A Few Days in September, was 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 featured at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 (Venice Days). His third film, Les Enfants Rouges, was presented in Rio and Beirut.
SPECIAL GUEST
Pablo Sahores
He studied Business Administration at the Universidad Católica Argentina. He has been working at The Walt Disney Company since February 1995. He has worked in the Operations and Supervision areas of the film distribution business in Latin America, as well as in the production of local content. He is responsible for the release of over 700 films in theaters and has been the executive producer of several Argentine films. He is also a visual artist, having exhibited his works in Buenos Aires, Miami, New York, and Santiago de Chile.
PROJECT ADVISOR
Cristiane Guzzi
Since 2022, she has been the coordinator, along with Renata de Almeida, of the market sessions and actions of the Encuentro de Ideas Audiovisuales, the market of the Mostra Internacional de Cinema in São Paulo, held at the Cinemateca de São Paulo. Additionally, she manages institutional relations and sponsorship for the Mostra. She was the Executive Director of the Tonks Group (2021-2024), leading projects such as Expocine, Revista Exibidor, and Cine Marquise. She is a cultural project evaluator, a postdoctoral researcher in film and literature, and holds various specializations.
JURY
These are the jury members who participated in the final Pitching.
All members of the selected projects were required to attend the Pitching session in front of the jury and other industry professionals.
Victoria Alonso
Victoria Alonso, born in Argentina, is a key figure in Hollywood, known for her leadership at Marvel Studios and her commitment to diversity. She oversaw 32 films from the MCU, generating over $30 billion in global box office revenue, with hits like Avengers: Endgame and Iron Man. Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, she promoted inclusive stories such as Black Panther, Shang-Chi, and Ms. Marvel. Producer of Argentina, 1985, she has received numerous awards, including a Golden Globe, Emmys, Goya, and the GLAAD Vanguard Award, among others, redefining modern cinema.
Nicolás Celis
Mexican producer and founder of Pimienta Films, one of the most important production companies in Mexico and Latin America. He has produced over 40 films, collaborating with directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Tatiana Huezo, Amat Escalante, and Jacques Audiard. Some of his notable projects include Roma (Golden Lion, three Oscars) and Noche de fuego by Tatiana Huezo. He has served as a jury member at international festivals such as Shanghai and Thessaloniki, and is a member of the Mexican and American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Renata de Almeida
Graduated in Radio and Television from FAAP, with a specialization in film and documentary from The New School in New York, she has been the director of the Mostra Internacional de Cinema in São Paulo since its 13th edition. She is responsible for film selection, programming, production, workshops, debates, and editorial publications. She has co-produced notable films such as O Estranho Caso de Angélica (Cannes, 2010) and Do Visível ao Invisível (Venice, 2008). She has received the Governor of the State Award (2011) and the Chevalier of L’Ordre National du Mérite insignia (2017).
PARTICIPANTS AND PROJECTS
Adentro del ruido
(ARGENTINA)
Julieta Juncadella and
Martina Juncadella
Lena, a 42-year-old writer, settles into a hotel in Buenos Aires. She must finish writing a book about her recently deceased mother. Caught between grief and her own motherhood, Lena gradually begins to adopt the identity of Elba, an older woman who works in a fabric store.
Julieta Juncadella (Argentina)
Producer and film curator. She studied at ENERC, UTDT, and completed a master's degree in curating at Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola. She co-founded Una Presencia, producing award-winning shorts and the feature film Al Oriente, which premiered at the Venice Biennale. She lives between Buenos Aires and Spain, where she runs the production and distribution company Vitrine Filmes España. In 2022, she produced Misión a Marte, which premiered at the Berlinale 2023 Critics' Week.
Martina Juncadella (Argentina)
Actress, director, screenwriter, and poet. She acted in films such as Cara de queso, Encarnación, and Abrir puertas y ventanas. She studied Literature at UBA and directed award-winning shorts like Fiora and No me imagino siendo vieja. Her project Adentro del ruido received international awards for its development. She co-directs the editorial company Socios Fundadores, published two poetry books, and co-founded the production company Una Presencia.
Chovoré
(Bolivia)
Santiago Loayza Grisi and
Alejandro Loayza Grisi
In the Bolivian Amazon, César (17), a young violinist, must put aside his music and dreams for an entire year while fulfilling mandatory military service. He experiences the absurd and violent military world and submits to it with subordination, until the arrival of wildfires that reveal the cruelty of the system and make him realize that the entire future of his community is at risk.
Santiago Loayza Grisi (Bolivia)
Born in Bolivia in 1984, he studied in Italy and completed a master's degree in audiovisual production in Spain in 2012. He is the administrator and general producer at Alma Films, where he has produced over 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 showcased in over 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 in the World Dramatic Competition, received five nominations at the Platino Awards, one nomination at the Goya Awards, and participated in over 100 festivals, winning around 50 international awards. Alejandro began his artistic career in still photography, later transitioning to moving images as a director of photography, and from there moving into screenwriting and film direction.
DOS ABRAZOS
(Uruguay)
Josefina Del Campo and
Valentina Lambach Montuori
During the suffocating summer when she finishes her studies in Barcelona, a young Uruguayan student receives a visit from her mother. The distance seems to have changed everything. The daughter's resistance to leave is evident, and the mother's silence about the years she spent in Barcelona as an exile is no longer a secret. Enveloped in desires and contradictions, the two women begin to get to know each other in a foreign yet familiar land.
Josefina Del Campo (Uruguay)
A producer trained in the Technical Program in Production and Communication in Fashion, Editorial, and Audiovisual, she stands out in the audiovisual field. She began her career as a producer in the Casting Department of Cimarrón Cine, where she quickly moved on to lead major national and international projects. Later, she joined the Coordination and Production Team of Original Content, actively participating in the evaluation, development, production, dissemination, and distribution of multiple projects.
Valentina Lambach Montuori (Uruguay)
She completed a Master's in Film Direction at the Escola de Cinema de Barcelona. She is the screenwriter and director of the short fiction film Extraña (2016). She is also the producer and co-director of the short fiction film Novia ke te veamos (2024), selected for the market at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival 2025. She was selected for the development program Acció Viver by Dones Visuals (2022). She participated in the Ibero-American Audiovisual Project Development Course (CDPAI).
HISTORIA DE MÉXICO
(MEXICO)
Gustavo Matheu Paredes and
Aldo Álvarez Tostado Martínez
Mexico City, 1994. Trinidad, a teenager who has just arrived in the city, gets a temporary job at a fast-food restaurant. As the country undergoes a frantic transition to a neoliberal model, Trinidad begins to question every preconception about his identity, body, and future.
Gustavo Matheu Paredes (Guatemala)
Guatemalan producer and editor. His work has been recognized at prestigious ceremonies such as the Golden Globes, Critic's Awards, Goya Awards, Ariel Awards, and has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards for La Llorona (2019). His films have toured important film festivals like Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, Tokyo, and more. His career stands out for his dedication to human rights, supporting projects that create a positive impact on global storytelling.
Aldo Álvarez Tostado Martínez (Mexico)
Mexican interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores the idea of “fiction-country.” Selected for the VI Ghetto Biennale in Haiti, winner 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 in Melbourne, MUAC, Denver Art Museum, and the Émile Hermès collection. A member of ICS Film, he has attended filmmaking workshops at ESCINE and Invasión Cine, and has created audiovisual commissions for UN LIVE – Museum for the United Nations.
LA CARNE DÓCIL
(SPAIN)
Diego Saniz and Pedro Gusmão
Roberto, an ambitious Brazilian cook, starts working at Saturnia, the most luxurious and exclusive restaurant in northern Spain. While understanding his place in the European tourism industry's production pyramid, he becomes involved in a plot of labor exploitation and cannibalism, realizing that every restaurant is built on immigrant blood.
Diego Saniz (Spain)
Graduated from the ECAM in Madrid, he has produced more than 15 short films that have been selected at over 300 festivals and won more than 50 awards. His films have been featured at prestigious festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, InterFilm, Bogoshorts, Moscow, GoShort, Seminci, Alcine, and the Málaga Film Festival, among others. In 2024, he will release the feature film El Aspirante 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 labs like Cannes, Locarno, Rotterdam, and Port Post Docs.
Pedro Gusmão (Brazil)
He holds a degree in Journalism from PUCRS (Porto Alegre) and in Film Directing and Screenwriting from the Bande à Part Film School (Barcelona). He has directed projects such as the short film Tauromaquia, the series Rutas cerveceras, and the making-of 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 labs such as Blood Window, FRAPA, Cinequanon, MAFIZ, and Bolivia Lab, in addition to receiving support from the Ibermedia fund for co-development.
La Justicia
(Uruguay)
Juan José López and Matías Ganz
La Justicia, a legal melodrama, is an anti-police story. An absurdly naturalistic comedy about the private lives of prosecutors in northern Uruguay, near the border with Brazil. Crime scenes, interrogations, and trials are merely the settings in which these bureaucrats deal with unrequited loves, resentments, extraterrestrial epiphanies, and religious convictions.
Juan José López (Uruguay)
He studied economics at the University of the Republic. He has worked as an executive producer and field producer in the audiovisual industry since 2004. In 2016, he co-founded Nadador Cine with Pedro Barcia. Since its inception, the production company has continuously developed and produced projects, becoming one of the most active in the local cinema scene.
Matías Ganz (Uruguay)
A Chilean director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2019, she premiered her first feature film Lina de Lima at the Toronto International Film Festival, which also participated in festivals such as Mar del Plata, Palm Springs, Miami, Fribourg, FicValdivia (winning Best National Feature), Biarritz, among others. She is currently developing her second feature film Morir de Pie. Matías Ganz was born in Montevideo in 1987 and graduated from the Film School of Uruguay. She writes, directs, and edits her own projects, which include short films, music videos, and fictional series, as well as her first feature film. Together with composer Sofia Scheps, she has created several audiovisual pieces related to contemporary music. She teaches screenwriting and filmmaking at various public and private institutions.
MORIR DE PIE
(CHILE)
Giancarlo Nasi and
María Paz González
Cruz (38) works as a simulated patient for students at a private university, a rare and precarious job that is being replaced by artificial intelligence. Amid a career crisis, reality strikes when her neighbor jumps off the balcony in front of her eyes. Without reacting, feeling that simulations have invaded her life, Cruz embarks on a search for something real, justice, and perhaps even a little revenge.
Giancarlo Nasi (Chile)
A graduate of ECAM in Madrid, Giancarlo Nasi has produced over 15 short films that have been selected at more than 300 festivals and won over 50 awards. Festivals such as Clermont Ferrand, InterFilm, Bogoshorts, Moscow, GoShort, Seminci, Alcine, and the Málaga Film Festival, among others, have showcased his work. In 2024, his 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 development labs and festivals like Cannes, Locarno, Rotterdam, and Port Post Docs. He is a film producer, founder and former president of the Chilean Academy of Cinematographic Arts, and an advisor/panelist at some of the most prominent festivals worldwide. Specializing in international co-productions, he has produced over 16 films with his company Quijote Films in Chile, with notable titles such as La Tierra y la Sombra, Blanco en Blanco, Lina de Lima, and Los Colonos.
María Paz González (Chile)
Chilean director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2019, she premiered her first feature film Lina de Lima at the Toronto International Film Festival, which also participated in festivals like Mar del Plata, Palm Springs, Miami, Fribourg, FicValdivia (winning Best National Feature), Biarritz, and more. She is currently developing her second feature film Morir de Pie.
SAL SI PUEDES
(ARGENTINA)
Fernando Díaz and
Jeferson Cardoza Herrera
A blood trafficking network for vampires is forced to move its operation center to a flower shop in a popular market square in Bogotá. While the business blends well into the everyday hustle and bustle of the place, the blood addiction of a new vampire will trigger a crisis that exposes the underground network. This forces the local community to band together to face the vampires and protect their home.
Fernando Díaz (Argentine)
An Argentine producer, director, and screenwriter with over 50 national and international awards. He is the founder of MACHACO FILMS, a production company specializing in horror films. He has 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 Argentine horror film.
Jeferson Cardoza Herrera (Colombia)
Founder of the film production company La Banda del Sur Films, with which he has created short films such as Veintiocho de mayo, Malicia Indígena, and Paloquemao, el mercado de los vampiros. The latter has won several awards, including the Macondo Award for Best National Short Film from the Colombian Film Academy and Best International Short Film at Macabro. It has been selected at festivals such as Fantasporto and Regard, among others.
AWARDS
AWARD PFEFFER DEL SUR
Thanks to the Pfeffer Family, a US$50,000 prize was awarded to Morir de Pie (Chile) by María Paz González and Giancarlo Nasi.
AWARD COLOUR JIIFF LAB
COLOUR proudly supports a project participating in JIIFF LAB with the comprehensive image finalization of the feature film (up to 90 minutes), including confirmed color grading and final delivery. The prize was awarded to Adentro del ruido (Argentina) by Martina and Julieta Juncadella.
AWARD UNIÓN AL DESARROLLO
Union values the opportunity to accompany projects in all stages. This year, they awarded a special prize consisting of the creation of a teaser that will help creators showcase the essence of their project clearly and professionally, highlighting its potential to capture the attention of producers, distributors, or possible allies. The prize was awarded to Chovoré (Bolivia) by Santiago and Alejandro Loayza Grisi
AWARD MOSTRA DE SÃO PAULO
This award includes the participation of two projects in the “Encontro de Ideias Audiovisuais” of the 49th edition of the Mostra de São Paulo. This industry program will continue strengthening the projects and establishing new production alliances. The prize 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.
