In addition to the potent, previously announced presence in different sections of the Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market (EFM), the audiovisual market of the German event where Chile will star in the fourth edition of Country in Focus, the event will also include the participation of ten Chilean film and TV producers as part of its Producers Hub program, which will take place within the context of the EFM.
Designated as a sales and distribution platform that seeks to facilitate key negotiations for each of its participants, Producers Hub will provide visibility for the work of ten professionals selected following an open call for participants carried out by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, and which will allow the national industry’s work to be strengthened. The participants are Valentina Roblero of Ocio Films, Yeniffer Fasciani of Niebla Producciones, Cynthia García of Cyan Prods, María José Díaz of Dos Be Producciones, Sergio Gándara of Parox, Macarena López of Manufactura de Películas, Francisco Hervé of Juntos Films, Carlos Núñez of Storyboard Media, Alejandro Ugarte of Infractor Films, and Rocío Jadue of Fabula. All of them will compose a mosaic of diversity, talent, and creativity, boasting different focuses and styles; and will be present in an exclusive encounter alongside a select group of international professionals.
In addition, another five national producers will form part of the Visitor’s Program, a space within the Co-Production Market that provides advisory workshops for producers who are beginning the internationalization of their projects; Patricio Ochoa of Goodgate Chile, Karla Falcón of La Merced Producciones, Fernanda Mancilla of Mimbre Producciones, Paulina Passi of Yareta, and Rodrigo Díaz of Brisa will share their most recent projects and ideas.
With the eyes of the international industry on Chile, three recent films by three big national directors will be exhibited at the German market to possible buyers, distributors, agents, and other key professionals: The Mole Agent by documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi — produced by Micromundo — which began its international route with a successful premiere and highly positive critical reviews at the Sundance Film Festival; My Friend Alexis, directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras and produced by Fabula, which already premiered nationally and filled the theaters with children and adults; and the most recent release by José Luis Torres Leiva, Death Will Come and Shall Have Your Eyes, a Globo Rojo Films production that was highly applauded following its premiere at San Sebastián Film Festival and that has since continued its international trajectory.
CHILEAN CO-PRODUCTION AT THE BERLINALE
Amid the most recent news has been the selection of the film Between Dog and Wolf (“Entre perro y lobo”), a documentary about the life of three former Cuban combatants who fought in the Angolan Civil War and who are training today to combat a new enemy. The Spanish, Cuban, Colombian, and Chilean co-production will be part of the Forum section, with five open screenings.
Directed by Irene Gutiérrez, Between Dog and Wolf has Amalric de Pontcharra as associate producer, who worked on the film after securing financing thanks to the CORFO Development program. Amalric de Pontcharra has resided in Chile since 2006, acting as an associate producer for the documentaries El diario de Agustín (2008), El otro día (2012), and This is the Way I Like It II (2016), all documentaries directed by Chilean filmmaker Ignacio Agüero.
It is worth noting that Chilean participation in the Berlinale’s European Film Market, which takes place from February 20th to March 1st, is being supported by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, ProChile, and subsidiary brands CinemaChile and Chiledoc, along with CORFO and the Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Dirac) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This great milestone for Chilean audiovisual production has also counted on the collaboration of the Ministry of Finance, SERNATUR, Fundación Imagen de Chile, and the National Television Council (CNTV).
