01/10/2024 - We take a look at the winning projects of this year's Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, as well as those of the WIP Europa and WIP Latam sections

The 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival has awarded projects hailing from Germany, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Colombia in the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, the WIP Europa and the WIP Latam sections (see the news). After having profiled the European projects that participated in the ever-growing Ikusmira Berriak programme (see the report), here we take a look at the winning projects in the rest of the sections:

Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum

Best Project Award + DALE! (Development Latin America-Europe) Award
The Two Landscapes - Francisco Lezama (Argentina/Brazil)
When her landlord dies, upper-middle-class woman Mercedes, who officiates in the church as Minister of the Holy Communion in a town deep in the mountains of Córdoba, where conversions to evangelism are changing deeply rooted customs and rituals, is forced to stay with the dead man's girlfriend in her home. The arrival of the late man's unrecognised daughter will upset the lives of both women. Francisco Lezama explores the social and religious tensions of a contemporary Argentinian town in his first feature, after winning this year's Berlinale Golden Bear for Best Short Film for An Odd Turn. The film is a co-production between Argentina (Ignacio Ceroi for Pionera Cine) and Brazil (Julia Alves for Quarta Feira). With 34% of the financing in place (including subsidies from the INCAA and the city of Buenos Aires), the project is currently looking for international co-producers and collaborations with international funds, while the team continues to seek out locations and actors.
Read our interview with director Francisco Lezama here.

Artekino International Prize
Mar de Leva - Mariana Saffon Ramírez (Colombia/France)
Elena travels to a remote beach on the Chocó coast to try to sell the family home in order to pay off her ailing father's debts. There, a woman offers to hand over her three-year-old son, so that she can take him away with her and give him a better life. Deeply affected by the proposal, Elena urgently returns to Bogotá, where she has to deal with her father's imminent death and the consequences of the divorce of her lover, who is losing custody of his children because of his affair with her. In the middle of this crisis, Elena must deal with a desire she never thought she had: that of being a mother. The film is the first feature by Mariana Saffon, who won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 2020 Venice Film Festival for Entre tú y Milagros. A co-production between Colombia (Franco Lolli for Evidencia Films) and France (Julie Billy for June Films), the film has 26% of its financing in place (including subsidies from the Baumi Script Development Award and Cinestesia private investment) and is now rounding off its co-production plans, while looking for an agreement with a third co-producer and starting talks with sales agents, distributors, TV channels and platforms.

WIP Europa

WIP Europa Industry Award + WIP Europa Award
Blue Marks (Blaue Flecken) (working title) – Sarah Miro Fischer (Germany)
After going through a breakup, Rose moves in with her older brother Sam in his tiny flat in Berlin. The siblings share a close bond. One day, Rose learns of rape allegations against Sam. At first, she is unable to see her brother as a possible perpetrator. When she finally understands that the accusations are true, she is caught in a conflict of loyalty, torn between her role as a sister and her identity as a woman. In the end, she must find a way to deal with Sam's guilt and its consequences. The first feature by Sarah Miro Fischer is a story about independence, belonging, and the intersection of the political and the personal. Produced by Janna Fodor and Nina Bayer-Seel for the Deutsche Film und Fernsekhkademie and Lukas Koll for Arkanum, the film stars Marie Bloching and is in its post-production phase (see the news). Producer Janna Fodor says, “We know the topic of Blue Marks is a very universal one, but in this case, it’s told from a very unique perspective, that of our main character.”

WIP Latam

WIP Latam Industry Award
A Loose End - Daniel Hendler (Uruguay/Argentina)
Santiago, an Argentinian police constable, crosses the border to Uruguay on the run from the other police officers on his trail. Putting his uniform to good use, he inspects regional food stalls, testing milk products and cold cuts to survive, while trying to go unnoticed among the locals. With neither money nor a place to stay, but with kindness and wit, he starts to carve out a new life for himself, receiving help from the local characters who cross his path, and even meeting the person he believes could be the love of his life. The third directorial project by Uruguayan actor and director Daniel Hendler (winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor for Lost Embrace [+see also:
trailer
film profile], recently seen in 15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) after Norberto apenas tarde and El candidato, is a co-production between Micaela Solé for Cordon Films and Ezequiel Borovinsky for Wanka Cine. Starring Sergio Prina and now in its post-production phase, the film is, according to Hendler, “a portrait of the dissonant and contrasting universes that can appear on either side of the Argentinian-Uruguayan border, amidst these constant changes that cause difficulties which sneak into the film”.

Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam
Cuerpo Celeste – Nayra Ilic (Chile/Italy)
Celeste is only 15 years old when her life changes unexpectedly. Not only is the young girl faced with painful grief, but she also has to cope with a family in crisis. The desert that once embraced her has now become a foreign place. In a world of adults, Celeste works through her changes while the country rocks between the dictatorship and the return to democracy. The second feature by Chilean filmmaker Nayra Ilic (Square Meter) is being produced by Fernando Bascuñán for Chile's Planta, Luigi Chimienti and Alessandro Amato for Italy's Dispàrte, Úrsula Budnik for Chile's Horamágica, and Florencia Rodríguez and Dominga Ortuzar for Chile's Oro Films, and will be sold internationally by Italy’s Intramovies. Starring Helen Mrugalski, Daniela Ramírez and Nicolás Contreras and now in its post-production phase, the film is “a coming-of-age tale that tells the story of a teenager who’s mourning while Chile transitions from dictatorship to democracy, between the Atacama Desert and the sea”, according to the director herself, who adds some autobiographical elements to the story.