The 15th edition of Ventana Sur, the biggest audiovisual market in Latin America, is showcasing some of the best completed films, projects and works in progress (WiP) from across the continent from November 27-December 1.
Genre, animation and WiPs form the main axis of the five-day event in Buenos Aires, which is a collaboration between Argentinian film agency INCAA and Cannes’ Marché du Film. Further sections include Maquinitas, which is dedicated to video games, and Remakes, which reimagines older projects with a contemporary sensibility.
The Blood Window genre section incorporates market screenings of five genre features in post-production; Blood Window Lab, a co-production forum of projects in development; Fant.Latina, a showcase of five titles directed by women; and script contest Dark Ink.
Films to look out for in Screenings include Paraguayan director Hugo Cardozo’s Do Not Enter, produced by Argentina’s FilmDarks, the horror production arm of Guido Rud’s sales agency Filmsharks. Cardozo’s previous film Morgue did well throughout Latin America and sold to WellGo USA and WarnerMedia’s HBO Latin America. Angeles Hernandez’s debut Restless Waters, Shivering Lights, meanwhile, is produced by Spain’s Mr Miyagi, which has credits including Netflix’s The Platform.
Blood Window Lab includes buzzy horror projects such as Nicolas Botana and Marco Bentancor’s The River In My Veins, produced by Lucia Gaviglio and Virginia Hinz at Uruguay’s U Films, and Facundo Escudero Salinas’s Into The Spiral, produced by Argentina’s Pensilvania Films, the company run by director Nicolas Munzel Camaño with Daniel Rodriguez.
“Genre films and animation are both getting stronger in the international market,” said Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of Marché du Film, and for the first time, co‑director of Ventana Sur alongside executive co-director Bernardo Bergeret.
The Animation! strand is organised alongside Annecy’s Mifa market. The WiPs include Roc Espinet’s Girl And Wolf, a Spain-Mexico co-production being sold by Latido Films, based on the director’s graphic novel.
The animation pitching sessions includes Bernardita Ojeda’s Lucila, which is being produced by Chile’s Maria Elena Wood, whose credits include News Of A Kidnapping. Lucila presents a ghost girl in search of her identity, embarking on a mysterious journey.
Primer Corte and Copia Final, dedicated to films in post-production, offer a diverse palette of upcoming films from the region, seeking sales agents, distributors, financial partners and festivals spots. All titles in the two sections are in the running for post-production prizes.
Highlights include Mexican director Rigoberto Perezcano’s drama Lovers Fare Goodbye, Dominican director Nelson Carlo De los Santos Arias’s Pepe, and Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’s Memories Of A Burning Body, which explores the sex life of three women.
Co-production market
Ventana Sur’s co-production platform Proyecta is an initiative between the Marché du Film, Ventana Sur and San Sebastian Film Festival, and aims to boost collaboration between Latin America and Europe. Fifteen titles have been selected from more than 200 submissions. They include Theo Court’s Three Black Nights, Sophia Mocorrea’s Marriage By Abduction and Martina Matzkin’s Ideally.
“Bonds have strengthened within the region and more productions now involve three or more Latin American countries, creating an appealing prospect for potential European co-producers,” Bergeret says.
Esmiol adds: “European players have realised the benefits of joining LatAm productions from their early stages. The presence of LatAm movies in the main sections of renowned film festivals co-produced with Europe is a sign of this interest.”
He points to the fact Spain recently signed an international agreement with Chile for co-production, while Italy has joined the Ibermedia programme.
Ventana Sur is expected to be bigger than ever this year, with registered attendees 30% above mid-November in 2022. Last year more than 3,000 attendees were registered at Ventana Sur, including 400 from Europe and 100 from North America.
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