10/25/2021

Films with great topics and culturally rich: Get to know the selected productions for the first edition of DOCS IN PROGRESS FIDOCS + CONECTA

• Eight feature-length documentary projects were selected to participate in the first edition of DOCS IN PROGRESS FIDOCS + CONECTA, a collaboration between the Conecta WIP and the FIDOCS Latin American First Cut Competition, event to be carried out by the end of this year.

• Family and personal life story, new gender perspectives, search for indigenous roots and social inequality are some of the topics addressed by the selected projects. Among them is also Jorge, a documentary about the life of the lead Singer of the Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros, Jorge González, after the cardiovascular accident he suffered in 2015.

The International Documentary Industry Meeting event Conecta, the largest in Chile, and the Santiago International Documentary Festival FIDOCS, have selected the projects that will participate in the first DOCS IN PROGRESS FIDOCS + CONECTA edition. This instance is and wants to be a support for developing projects throughout Latin America. The activity will be carried out virtually between November 29 and December 7, 2021.

Among the projects are productions from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Chile, all works ending their editing stage. » From FIDOCS and Conecta we share our content with the results of the open call this year, as many projects from all over Latin America were submitted, so the region is well represented» says Marcela Santibáñez, Director of the Industry Department of FIDOCS.

Meanwhile, Flor Rubina, executive director of the Chilean Documentary Corporation CCDoc, an organization in charge of Conecta, adds that «we are very satisfied with the large number of projects received considering how difficult it has been to produce during the pandemic. This year we have tremendously interesting and relevant productions both for their topics and for their audiovisual commitment; projects that account for the creative diversity and richness that exists in Latin American filmmakers».

The selected projects are stories that manage to give an account of cross-cutting issues to the whole region: a group of fishermen working in the high seas; the story of a family abuse and mistreatment contained in newspapers and cassette tapes, the past of a guerrilla soldier told within a fantasy; the search and reunion with indigenous roots; the life of a musician after suffering a stroke in a live concert; the story of a circus fighter who dies leaving her past shrouded in mystery; a group of young women who look at the world from a different gender perspective; and the deaths of children from poor neighborhoods killed by the police.

«Among all the selected productions there is a great mix and wide variety of topics. Projects with archival material, observation, styles and subjects that speak of the diversity of points of view that exists in the region, so we think the final selection is a good representation of the whole range of creative possibilities that are happening today in Latin America» says Santibáñez.

The projects, which are still in editing stage, will receive, during the period of the activity, comments and suggestions from national and international guests, so as of this moment the FIDOCS and Conecta teams are both in the process of seeking specific advisories and industry connections. «Our goal is to give them concrete support that allows them to finish their films in the best way possible and that they can find alliances and support that will give them the chance to have a good distribution and international promotion» adds Flor Rubina from CCDoc.

DOCS IN PROGRESS FIDOCS + CONECTA is a proposal based on the collaborative work between both initiatives, looking to create a single space capable of gathering professionals from different sectors of the industry, such as producers, filmmakers, editors, sales agents and festival programmers. «We really want it to be of help and support for the projects, allowing them to reach the next level of their productions or to finish them. We want to go hand in hand with them to really make a contribution «concludes Santibáñez.

Find here the list of the selected projects:

Altamar
Director: Ernesto Jara Vargas
Producer: Giulia Clerici
Costa Rica, Colombia

Amando a Martha
Director: Daniela López Osorio
Producer: Sara Nanclares Sánchez
Colombia, Argentina

Cuentos para no dormir
Director: Lila Penagos
Producer: Tomás Astudillo
Ecuador

Disco de piedra
Director: Geraldine Ovando
Producer: Harold Céspedes
Bolivia

Jorge
Director: Nicolás Pavie
Producers: Nicolás Pavie, Jorge Catoni
Chile

Mujer Gorila
Director: Fernanda Roth Faya
Producer: Michael Wahrmann
Brasil

Pibas superpoderosas
Director: Leonora Kievsky
Producer: Leonora Kievsky
Argentina

Todo documento de civilización
Director: Tatiana Mazú González
Producer: Nacho Losada
Argentina