Chile looks set for a busy IDFA with the international premiere of Carmen Castillo’s We Are Still Alive(Lo que en nosotros calla) in Signed section, two films in Best of Fests, a further two projects in Forum and a targeted programme of industry events. The Chilean presence in Amsterdam is supported and funded by Chile’s Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.
A co-production between France, Chile and Switzerland, We Are Still Alive (Lo que en nosotros calla) will enjoy its first screening outside its co-producing countries, following screenings at the Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine in France and FIDOCS in Chile.
In the film, Castillo revisits a deeply personal experience: the death of her newborn son during Chile’s dictatorship and the lasting impact of that loss on her life. Through encounters, conversations and a ritual intended to rescue his memory from oblivion, she reflects on motherhood, grief and political commitment half a century later.
The film is produced by Camille Laemlé, Macarena Aguiló, Silvana Bezzola and Pamela Varela, through Les Films d’Ici, El Espino Films, Cinédokké and Tentativa Arts.
THREE FILMS IN BEST OF FESTS
Best of Fests will feature three more films with ties to Chile. Az Zeeb, directed by Rafael Guendelman Halesand produced by Joaquín Echeverría, is a Chile–Qatar co-production from Brisa Films and Al Jazeera that had its world premiere at FIDMarseille in June 2026. Following his grandmother’s death, the director discovers a family Super 8 film that leads him to explore his Jewish and Palestinian roots. Connecting Chile with Israel and Palestine, the documentary traces family histories shaped by displacement, exile and resistance.
The section will also feature the short film For the Opponents (Para los contrincantes), directed by Federico Luis and produced in Chile by Fernando Bascuñán. A co-production between Mexico, Chile, France and the United Kingdom, it had its world premiere in Cannes 2026, where it won the Short Film Palme d’Or. The film follows a boy from Mexico City’s Tepito neighbourhood who dreams of becoming a boxing champion. Its production companies are Planta, Cárcava, Fiasco and Deptford Film.
Rounding out the selection is Everybody to Kenmure Street, directed by Chilean-Scottish filmmaker Felipe Bustos Sierra, who also produced the film alongside Ciara Barry. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance. This UK production recounts how Glasgow residents mobilised to prevent the deportation of two members of their community. The film is included in both Best of Fests and Dead Angle: Common Ground, one of the festival’s thematic programmes.
All four films will have their Dutch premieres at the festival.
LA LINDA AND ARTIFICIAL CLOUD IN IDFA FORUM
Chile’s presence also extends to IDFA Forum, where La Linda, directed by Francina Carbonell and produced by Gema Juárez Allen and María Paz González, is selected for Forum Pitch. The Argentina–Chile co-production, developed by Gema Films and María Una Vez, is currently in production. The story follows Tatuna, an 89-year-old woman living in a mansion in Mendoza, Argentina. When her daughter returns from Chile, an inheritance dispute erupts, as debts, unproductive land and events from the past strain family relationships.
Meanwhile, Artificial Clouds (Nubes artificiales), directed by Josefina Buschmann Mardones and produced by Daniela Camino Valdivia, will participate as a Rough Cut Presentation. The Chile–France–Mexico co-production is currently in post-production and brings together Mimbre Films, Les Films Invisibles and Autonauta Films. Beginning with the disappearance of an artificial intelligence agent, the film charts a journey from the ocean to the Chilean desert, tracing technological infrastructure such as cables and antennas to explore ecological and existential questions.
CHILEAN INDUSTRY EVENTS
Alongside the festival and Forum selections, Chiledoc and Film Commission Chile will organise events aimed at “fostering professional exchange and building connections within the documentary industry,” Chiledoc writes. These include the Producers Breakfast sessions on November 16, 17 and 18, bringing together international producers accredited for the market and Chilean producers to encourage professional exchange and explore co-production opportunities.
On Tuesday, November 17, the two organisations will also host a promotional networking event at Het Documentaire Paviljoen, open to festival-accredited guests and designed to connect international industry professionals with the Chilean delegation.
“For ProChile, supporting the Chilean delegation’s participation in IDFA is essential, as it allows us to remain visible and actively engaged in a festival circuit and market that value the work and content of Chilean creators,” comments Osvaldo Marinao, ProChile’s Trade Commissioner in the Netherlands. “Chiledoc’s presence at IDFA reflects an established public-private effort to promote Chilean documentaries at the world’s most important documentary event. This year will also provide an opportunity to showcase our Film Commission, which also helps strengthen Chile’s audiovisual industry”.
MINISTRY-SUPPORTED CHILEAN DELEGATION
A delegation of producers selected through the International Markets Participation Support Programme of Chile’s Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage (MINCAP) will also attend. Their participation aims to “strengthen ties with the international documentary industry and create opportunities for co-production, financing and distribution,” writes Chiledoc.
The delegation includes Maximiliano Scheleff of Pajareza Films, with Carne de cañón and Cosa juzgada; Carola Fuentes of La Ventana Cine, with Moriré chileno and Folil, un viaje a las raíces; Francisco Hervé of Juntos Films, with Viajero inmóvil and Una señora invisible; Rocío Romero of Mimbre Films, with Llegará el silencio y me habré ido and De agua y muerte; and Vicente Barros of Ursus Films, with Reina madre and De agua y muerte.
Three Chilean productions will also be available at Docs for Sale, the market’s professional viewing platform for distributors, sales agents and festival programmers. These are Pariah (Paria), The Memory That Remains(Hijos, la memoria que queda), and the documentary series Diary of an Infiltrator (Diario de un infiltrado), from Bioesférica Filmes, which will present its first three episodes.
Comments Diego Pino Anguita, Executive Director of the Chilean Documentary Corporation (CCDoc): “The fact that IDFA, one of the world’s most significant documentary film events, is once again recognising and celebrating Chilean filmmaking by including a wide range of films, projects and perspectives from our country in its programme, reaffirms the richness of Chilean documentary cinema. It also demonstrates its ability to connect with international audiences and strengthen its standing within the global film industry, thanks to the continuity of public programmes and support mechanisms that we hope will continue to grow stronger.”
