Chile features particularly prominently at Cannes Docs and Marché du Film in2025 with a showcase of four Chilean docs-in-progress to be showcased May 19. The producers outline below the qualities of each project to Business Doc Europe.
Meanwhile, a dozen Chilean documentaries will be presented by the country’s non-fiction community in attendance in Cannes, and producer María José Díaz has been selected to participate in the Curators Network program at the Cannes Immersive Market, which focuses on virtual reality projects.
CANNES DOCS-IN-PROGRESS CHILE SHOWCASE MAY 19
LANDLESS CHILDREN (100 mins/52 mins) is directed by René Ballesteros and produced by Nicole Bonilla of La Madre. In the film, whose TV version has just pre-sold to France 3, two Chileans adopted in Europe embark on a journey. Daniel was declared dead at birth; Juan dreams of a wounded woman. Both seek to understand their origins, find a mother, and reconstruct their stories.
“Landless Children is a deeply emotional and politically resonant documentary exploring the consequences of international adoption in Chile between the 1960s and 1990s — what many call the ‘golden age of international adoption,’ when children from poor countries were sent to wealthy ones,” producer Bonilla tells Business Doc Europe.
“Grounded in Chilean history but resonating globally, the film speaks to themes of origin, belonging, and identity. In the research process, we’ve met adoptees from Korea, Sri Lanka, and across Latin America with similar stories. Landless Children invites reflection on justice, memory, and colonial legacies, while offering strong international potential across festivals and platforms.”
“René Ballesteros is a filmmaker with the ability to intertwine personal stories with broader historical and political contexts. His strength lies in his sensitivity as a storyteller — in the way he listens, observes, and constructs meaning through silence and atmosphere,” Bonilla says of her director.
Nicole Costa’s NO MONEY, NO HONEY tells of Máxima, an Argentine sex worker who, while revisiting old VHS tapes, longs for the wild, glamorous days of cashing big in Miami, while confronting the ghosts of a childhood scarred by neglect and abuse. As she reconciles with her past, she finds strength in the urgent needs of her trans-Latinx community, fuelling her drive to move forward.
“In a time when trans lives are under attack globally, this project stands as a powerful act of resistance,” says producer Daniela Camino Valdivia of Mimbre Films. “It humanizes and celebrates trans experience, challenging dominant narratives with tenderness, nuance, and unapologetic truth. Following the international success of our previous documentary film The Journey of Monalisa, this new film continues our commitment to emotionally charged, politically relevant storytelling with global impact.”
“Nicole is a courageous, versatile, and sensitive director who builds deep connections with her characters and fosters strong bonds with her crew. She approaches her work with passion, dedication, and a persuasive vision that inspires those around her,” Camino Valdivia underlines of the directorial talent behind the film.
The synopsis of Sebastián Pereira’s THE GRAND ILLUSION is intriguing. Roberto, a young Cuban actor, wanders the streets of Havana hallucinating about being part of the cast of a Netflix series. His uncle, who is the ‘best bookseller in the world’, advises him through the heroes of the homeland. The murder of the producer, a counter-revolutionary proposal and conversations where Chile’s arteries are glimpsed, could be the grand illusion for all the characters.
“Sebastián has a very clear artistic vision, with a style that crosses realism and aesthetics that generate tone, atmosphere, apparently contradictory issues but very relevant to the type of filmmaking he likes to do,” enthuses producer Gonzalo Rodríguez Varas (GatoPerro Films), of director Pereira, citing qualities such as hisuse of visual metaphors, his technical mastery and execution of cinematic language, and his leadership/collaboration skills.
Varas further underlines the appeal of the project to potential investors. “There is a special history, with a link that became especially visible during the Social Outburst in Chile in 2019, when from certain sectors the influence of subversive ideas was attributed to Cuba. From this narrative framework we believe that the film has an original concept, determined by its fusion of hybrid format between documentary and fiction.”
“It is a proposal that defies expectations, with a degree of cultural authenticity, rooted in a national identity, underrepresented characters, such as young Cubans, non-traditional protagonists, with narrative voices and fresh, logical, funny acting presence, and in the midst of existential problems…We believe that there is creative risk and authorial passion [from] a team of Chilean filmmakers exploring a Latin American reality.”
THE TIGER OF THE EAST by Jorge Acevedo Carrasco follows a young Chilean cowboy (Custodio) who composes rancheras and Mexican corridos, and who dreams of reaching Mexico with his music. Custodio must overcome each of the difficulties that stand in his way to achieve his ultimate goal, which is to be able to play with Los Tigres del Norte.
“Through an observational and narrative style, The Tiger of the East uses ranchera music as a distinctive element throughout the film, to follow the journey of a humble Chilean musician in his longing for glory in Mexico,” comments producer Mixie Araya of Yareta Films. “The film invites viewers to believe in dreams, and inspires them to continue believing that life can still be worth living, despite the turmoil in the world today.”
“{Director] Jorge’s specialty in direct sound and sound postproduction has led him to have a very special look from the auditory and also from the musical [perspectives]. His sensitivity in the field of sound has led him to feel a genuine admiration for the compositions of Andrés, the main character of this story,” Araya says of director Carrasco.
“Jorge also lived the culture and customs of the Chilean countryside from a very young age, two factors that made him connect with the main character of The Tiger of the East. Both characteristics make Jorge a director very sensitive in recording the life of this humble Chilean musician, demonstrating it in the compositions of each shot, the capture of the key moments of the film and the mixture with ranchera music, making the documentary an honest and sensitive account of the simplicity of life and the realization of dreams.”
Of the Chilean presence at Cannes, Raúl Vilches, Head of the Creative Economy Department at ProChile, says: “The Marché du Film is one of the most important markets on our annual agenda, where strong public-private coordination helps ensure better performance by Chilean production companies in networking and promotional activities through the two sector brands, Chiledoc and CinemaChile. Today, with two Academy Awards and several nominations at top-tier international festivals, the Chilean audiovisual industry is gaining significant recognition in major markets—and we believe this year’s Marché du Film will be no exception.”
Director of Chiledoc Paula Ossandón adds: “Once again, Chile arrives at the Marché du Film with a broad portfolio of projects and documentary films, with powerful narratives that stand out for their diversity of languages and themes…Chilean documentaries have managed to position themselves globally for their artistic quality, for raising universal issues with creative points of view and for their capacity for exploration that manages to awaken astonishment.”
