Chiledoc, the body responsible for the global promotion of Chilean documentary talent, films and series, arrives in Amsterdam with two projects in Forum, the world-prem of Ancestral Secret VR in DocLab, a world and European premiere in Short Film Comp and The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine Best of Fests.
The Forum Pitch project Burning Daddy is directed by Tana Gilbert and produced by Paola Castillo. The work follows Camila and her family as they reconstruct the image of her father through old photographs and legal records, navigating memories of his turbulent past marked by both violence and love.
Also participating in Forum is an as-yet untitled co-production between Chile, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Chilean production company behind the project is La Ventana Cine, led by director Carola Fuentes. An international team of journalists investigates the environmental costs left by multinational corporations in Latin America. The international producers are Ina Fichman from Canada, Mandy Chang from the UK, and Simon Kilmurry from the United States.
“This year, the Chilean projects presented at the Forum (both directed by female filmmakers) invite us to see the world from different perspectives, allowing us to approach memory and society from various places,” says Head of Chiledoc Diego Pino Anguita. “On the one hand, they present a fragile, personal, familiar reality based on the archive as a narrative element. On the other hand, the journalistic investigation guides an unprecedented story. This year’s projects are windows to the world, with the same level of impact and interest but coming from different starting points and intentions. Professionals and audiences will be surprised and immersed in stories that will surely stir them.”
“Tana Gilbert is one of Chile’s most prominent emerging filmmakers in recent years, working through the construction of archives, languages, and different materials to build stories of great impact but coming from particular realities,” Anguita continues of the Forum filmmakers. “Carola Fuentes is one of Chile’s most outstanding and relevant journalists, with a long career in serious documentary research, which aims to generate a real impact on society. The participation of these filmmakers, who perfectly blend experience with new storytelling methods, proves Chile’s diversity, professionalism, and talent.”
“Europe is a significant territory for Chilean films because it has the most prominent partners for the kind of films we make and because European audiences are very committed to our stories,” he adds.
In Best of Fests is The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine, directed by Alfredo Pourailly de la Plaza and produced by Francisco Hervé, Alfredo Pourailly, and Annemiek Van Der Hell. The film takes us to Tierra del Fuego, Chile, where Toto has been searching for gold for 40 years. His body is severely damaged by the demands of his work, and his doctor warns him that continuing in the mine will cost him his life. Yet he cannot stop, as he lacks social security benefits. His son, a cowboy named Jorge, designs a machine that promises them a better future.
In the Short Documentary Film Competition Archipelago of Earthen Bones – To Bunya, will have its European Premiere at IDFA. Directed and produced by Chilean filmmaker Malena Szlam, this short film is a journey into the luminous flora, volcanic landscapes, and sweeping horizons of the Gondwana rainforest in the eastern ranges of Australia, transforming into an imaginary landscape. Edited on a 16mm camera, the overlays suggest a lithic time scale, deconstructing and reshaping desert, mountain, and sky in a dazzling palette of orange, black, and viridescence. The film’s environmental evocations are deepened with field recordings and atmospheric soundscapes by artist Lawrence English.
The short film The Daughter of Both Women will have its world premiere in the same competition. This work is a collaborative creation by students of the Master’s program in Creative Documentary at the UAB, with Chilean filmmaker Alejandra López Puebla participating as co-director. The film tells the story of Iona, a girl raised by two friends who are her mothers. Through her diaries, she narrates her adolescence, marked by her father’s abandonment, her confusion about the world, and her desires. These diaries serve as a bridge to uncover answers that have always been within her.
In the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction is the virtual reality work Ancestral Secret VR, directed by Francisca Silva and María José Díaz and produced by María José Silva, Gayatri Parameswaran, and Feliz Gaedtke. This Chile-Germany co-production is based on an ancient prophecy that says harmony will return in the planet’s difficult times when the condor and the eagle fly together again. The condor represents Indigenous peoples, while the eagle symbolizes the globalized world. This is more than just a visit to the cosmovision of Peru’s Q’ero community; it is a pioneering venture—a first-of-its-kind co-creation VR project. Ancestral Secret VR redefines the relationship between humanity and Mother Earth, offering an immersive experience that transcends the physical boundaries of reality.
Additionally, a series of projects will be represented during IDFA’s market networking activities. These are the documentary projects: Thirst directed by Vicente Barros and produced by Rocío Romero; Artificial Clouds directed by Josefina Buschmann and produced by Daniela Camino; Not All Girls directed by Carolina Astudillo and produced by Macarena Aguiló; Garden City directed by Javier Zoro and produced by Macarena Aguiló; The Letelier File directed by Rafa Valdeavellano and Nicolás Acuña and produced by Carola Fuentes; Unwelcomed and Nipon Takes directed by Amilcar Infante and produced by Sebastián González; A Troop of Bears directed by Christian Martínez, Paola Castillo and Pachi Bustos, produced by Paola Castillo and Alejandra Díaz; and Relentless Memory, directed by Paula Rodríguez Sickert and produced by Paola Castillo and Gema Juárez Allen.
