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Promising films feature on the professional Cinélatino platform’s winners list
- Donkey Princess by Chilean directors Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León stands especially tall among the winners of the Work-in-Progress line-up
From Pablo Larraín’s Tony Manero to Sebastián Lelio’s Gloria, by way of Amat Escalante’s Blood, Ciro Guerra’s Wandering Shadows, Marcela Said’s Los Perros, Jayro Bustamante’s Ixcanul, and, more recently, Manuela Martelli’s Chili 1976 (screened in the 2022 Directors’ Fortnight), Lila Halla’s Power Alley (Critics’ Week 2023), and Ana Cristina Barragán’s The Ivy (Venice’s 2025 Orizzonti line-up), the films selected in the Films in Progress line-up showcased within the Cinélatino – Toulouse Film Meetings are always watched very closely by selectors associated with major international festivals.
As of last year, Cinélatino is no longer awarding a Grand Prize. Instead, each of its partner juries will choose their favourite title from among the selected projects, with no hierarchy of value attached to the various trophies.
One work nonetheless steals focus among the victors, having bagged itself multiple awards: Donkey Princess, which is the 3rd feature film by Chilean directors Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León after the highly acclaimed movies The Hyperboreans (screened in the 2024 Directors’ Fortnight) and The Wolf House (triumphant in the 2016 Berlinale Forum). Their latest opus revolves around a princess called Diana who lives in a fairytale kingdom where her father forbids love. When she falls in love with Lalo, he is banished, but a magic bracelet gifted to her by her beloved allows her to travel through space and time. Diana sets out on a journey between worlds to track down Lalo and take control of her destiny. Donkey Princess is produced by Chilean firms León & Cociña Films and Globo Rojo Films, in co-production with Metonymie (France), Viking Films (the Netherlands), Montelona (Uruguay) and Autentika Films (Germany).
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - a first fiction feature film by Mexico’s Bruno Santamaría Razo (known for his documentaries Margarita and Things We Dare Not Do) - also walked away with numerous prizes. The film takes us to Mexico in 1996, on Bruno’s 11th birthday, when he gets a crush on his best friend, Vladimir. That same night, Bruno’s father is diagnosed with HIV. After the news, the family dynamics start changing in unexpected, heartwarming and liberating ways… The movie is produced by Mexican outfit Ojo de Vaca Productora in co-production with Desvia Films (Brazil) and Snowglobe (Denmark).
Project in development La escuela de canto by Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke (who competed in Berlin in 2008 and 2026 with Lake Tahoe and Moscas, and was crowned Best Director in San Sebastián 2013 thanks to Club Sándwich) likewise stole focus. Eimbcke’s upcoming movie will be set a very, very long time ago in a corner of the USA and will follow an 11-year-old peasant girl wrestling with poverty. One day, she comes across the melodious voices of a children’s choir and decides to pass herself off as a boy in order to gain entry to the School of Song…
The full list of winners is as follows:
Films in Progress 45
CCAS Prize
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico/Brazil/Denmark)
A Fabrica Studio Film Prize
Donkey Princess - Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León (Chile/France)
Cercle Rouge Productions Prize
Nayra - Patrick L Cordova (Bolivia/USA)
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - Bruno Santamaría Razo
Eaux Vives Productions Prize
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - Bruno Santamaría Razo
Donkey Princess - Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León
Nayra - Patrick L Cordova
Phare Postproduction Prize
Donkey Princess - Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León
TitraFilm Film Prize
Donkey Princess - Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León
El Hub MX + OA Sonido | Guadalajara Construye Prize
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - Bruno Santamaría Razo
Ciné+ OCS Special Prize
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building - Bruno Santamaría Razo
European Distributors and Cinemas Prize (Europe Distribution and CICAE)
Bate e Volta - Juliana Antunes and Camila Matos (Brazil)
Le Film Français Prize
Mejor mañana hablamos de hoy - Sebastián Grisales Jaramillo (Mexico)
Films in Progress 21 Prize
Apifa Inspiration Prize
Mám - Lucía Lalor (Argentina)
BrLab Prize
Cuchita - Mayra Hermosillo (Mexico)
Producers Network Prize (Marché du Film – Cannes Film Festival)
La escuela de canto - Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
(Translated from French)
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