Anna Marie de la Fuente Chile’s most prominent film event, the Santiago Int’l Film Festival (Sanfic) celebrates its 20th edition with 10 Chilean titles in competition, chosen from a record 40 submissions this year. “We usually receive an annual average of 25 entries of which we select eight to nine titles,” said festival director Carlos Nuñez who co-founded the festival with Gabriela Sandoval who runs the industry section.
He attributes the proliferation of films this year, in part, to the urge of young, upcoming filmmakers to make their mark in the world of cinema. “Most of the directors in our selection are young and only making their first or second films,” Nuñez pointed out, adding that most of the titles are debut features.
This year’s crop has only one female director but many of the producers behind them are predominantly women, he noted. Out of the 10 films, four are marking their world premieres while three are making their Latin American debuts and the other three, their national debuts. “We believe these are the crème de la crème of this year’s output,” said Nuñez.
Many are powered by co-productions, a key lifeline, from countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, the Netherlands and Peru as well as private equity investors and state funding.
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