Colombia’s Simón Mesa continues to collect more post-Cannes laurels, winning best feature at the 21st Santiago Int’l Film Festival (Sanfic) in Chile, which held its closing ceremony on Aug. 23.
Mesa also snagged the best director award ex aequo with Carlos Marqués-Marcet, helmer of “They Will Be Dust.”
Sanfic’s international competition jury, made up of helmer Mariana Rondón, Ventana Sur and Blood Window founder Bernardo Bergeret and Chilean actress Mariana Di Girolamo, hailed the wry drama for its “ability and courage to transform a harsh, intangible social and human reality into a poetic, satirical, reflective and noble expression.”
Since taking home the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in May, “A Poet” also made a sweep at Peru’s film festival earlier this August where it nabbed four awards, including one for its non-pro lead Ubeimar Ríos.
Chile’s Alfredo Castro and Spain’s Angela Molina won ex aequo for their stirring performances in “They Will Be Dust,” already a Toronto Platform laureate, where they play a long-married couple reckoning with the assisted suicide plans of the wife.
Among the Chilean films in competition, Patagonia-set “South of Winter, Lies the Snow,” the feature debut of Sebastián Vidal Campos, scooped best picture. The jury, comprising Chilean producer and academic Paulina Obando, the European Film Market’s Jana Wolff and Spanish director-editor Carlos Marques-Marcet, praised it for its “ability to harness the cinematic language and create a unique atmosphere through which it reflects on the relationship between life and death.”
South of Winter, Lies the Snow, Courtesy of Sanfic
Rondon’s “Zafari” snagged two awards, a special mention and a performance prize for its lead Daniela Ramirez.
Silvina Schnicer nabbed director plaudits for her work on “La Quinta,” for her “masterful command of all aspects of film direction: staging, camerawork and actor direction, with an approach that takes formal risks without sacrificing even the slightest degree of emotional expression,” said the jury.
“This year’s selection comes from a careful and thoughtful curatorial process, aiming to highlight the diversity, bold storytelling and creative style of today’s cinema. We’re proud to have presented films that not only explore important social and cultural issues, but also push the limits of film as an art form,” festival director Carlos Nuñez told Variety. “Each chosen film offers a unique voice, a fresh point of view, and an artistic proposal that adds to the conversation and enhances the audience’s experience,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chile’s Samantha Copano and Florencia Peña’s “Futura Licenciada” beat multiple entries to win best short with their mini-drama about a university undergrad who sees a driver’s license as her ticket to full independence.
Sanfic Industria Winners
Among the numerous in-kind awards at the festival’s industry space, Sanfic Industria, Brazil’s “The Monster (or) How to Cut the Heart,” (“O Mostro”) by Helena Guerra, took home three prizes, the most in the Ibero-American WIP section.
Given its exceptionally low budget and the fact that it did not tap any public or private funding for its post-production makes it even more gratifying, said Guerra, who said that all their post backing has been coming from Latin American WIP programs and the Sanfic awards brings the film closer to completion. Among its prizes is the coveted Yagán Films award which pledges post-production sound work valued at some $10,000+.
“This edition has truly surpassed the previous one and is a great lead-up to our next edition, which will mark our 15th anniversary,” said Sanfic Industria head Gabriela Sandoval, adding: “We plan to continue to strengthen the Ibero-American and Chilean audiovisual sector and build connections with international platforms.”
She also highlighted its new space, the Queer Incubator, which she pronounced was “a great success… we’ll continue to add international partnerships to further promote the diversity of this content.”
Fran Beethoven’s “The Bustamante,” won the biggest prize in the Queer Incubator section, the first monetary award given at Sanfic Industria, thanks to its new collaboration with Netflix and its Creative Equity Fund.
Sanfic Industria ran concurrently with the festival over Aug.17 – 22 while the festival wrapped on Sunday Aug. 24 with more screenings across various cinemas.
Sanfic is presented by the Fundación CorpArtes, produced by Storyboard Media, run by co-founders Nuñez and Sandoval, and co-financed by Chile’s Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
Sanfic Festival Winners
SANFIC 2025 WINNERS
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Best Film
“A Poet,” (Simon Mesa, Colombia)
Special Mention
“Runa Simi,” (Augusto Zegarra, Peru)
Best Director, ex aequo
Simon Mesa, “A Poet”
Carlos Marqués-Marcet,“They Will Be Dust.”
Best Performance, ex aequo
Ángela Molina, “They Will Be Dust”
Alfredo Castro, “They Will Be Dust”
CHILEAN FILM COMPETITION
Best Film
“South of Winter, Lies the Snow” (“Al Sur del invierno está la nieve,” Sebastián Vidal Campos)
Special Mention
“Zafari,” (Mariana Rondón)
Best Director
“La Quinta,” (Silvina Schnicer)
Best Performance
Daniela Ramírez, “Zafari”
Special Mention
Patricia Cuyul, “Lo que no se dijo”
SANFIC INDUSTRIA
IBERO-AMERICAN WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP)
Malaga Work In Progress Award
“Bagman” (“Valijero,” Esteban Trivisonno, Argentina)
Yagán Films
“The Monster (or) How to Cut the Heart,” (“O Mostro,” Helena Guerra, Brazil)
Chemistry Award
“Africa Express,” (Emilio Guerrero Alexander, Mexico)
Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana Award
“The Night is a Farce,” (“A noite é uma farsa dirigida,” Lucas Weglinski)
LatAm Cinema Award
“Blood Red Nails,” (“Uñas rojas de sangre,” Roberto Doveris, Chile)
Mantícora Award
“Machitos,” (Jesus Rodriguez, Mexico)
Grupo Atómica
“Black Cocaine,” (“Cocaína Negra,” Cristóbal Valenzuela, Chile, Uruguay)
LINK
“Black Cocaine,” (“Cocaína Negra,” Cristóbal Valenzuela, Chile, Uruguay)
Buenas Pelis
“Africa Express,” (Emilio Guerrero Alexander, Mexico)
Script Sounding
“The Monster (or) How to Cut the Heart,” (“O Mostro,” Helena Guerra, Brazil)
SAPCINE
“The Monster (or) How to Cut the Heart,” (“O Mostro,” Helena Guerra, Brazil)
QUEER INCUBATOR
Netflix Creative Equity Fund Award
“The Bustamante,” (“Los Bustamante,” Fran Beethoven)
Maguey Award, Guadalajara Film Festival
“Shedding Skin,” (“En piel de reptile,” Noa Leporati)
“The House of the Mother,” (“La casa de mamá,” Jeure Tavare)
“The Bustamante,” (“Los Bustamante,” Fran Beethoven)
“Numb” (“Punto Muerto,” Lorenzo Dieguez)
“Red Against Blue,” (“Rojo contra azul,” Fiora Salas-Román)
“Anonymous Romances,” (“Romances anónimos,” Andrea Tudela)
SANTIAGO LAB FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY
Marketing Movie Runner
“The Lost Children,” (“Los niños perdidos,” Enrique Medrano)
ScriptSOUNDING
“Realism After the Revolution” (“El realismo después de la revolución,” Sebastián Pereira Covarrubias)
“Bad light,” (Paula Martel)
LH COACH
“The Art of Wasting Time,” (“El arte de perder el tiempo,” Camila Toro Cortez)
DOCS MX
“Sons of the Shire,” (“Los hijos de la Comarca,” Juan Manuel Bugarín)
Malaga Festival Industry Zone (MAFIZ) Award
“Latitudes,” (Pablo Malek)
Guadalajara Film Festival Co-Production Meeting Industry Award
“That I Die Because I Do Not Die,” (“Que muero porque no muero,” Felipe Carmona)
Nuevas Miradas – EICTV Award
“Witches of the Island,” (“Brujas de la Isla,” Crisfel Jiménez Contreras)
Nuevas Miradas, EICTV
“Witches of the Island,” (“Brujas de la Isla,” Crisfel Jiménez Contreras)
SANFIC MORBIDO LAB
Fantastic Pavilion Award
“Sunward Hell,” (“Ruta al sol,” Jorge Leyva, Mexico)
“Los Eastman,” Mauricio Leiva Cock, Colombia, Mexico)
“Cloudspotting,” (“Envíame tormentas,” Julio Hernandez Cordon, Mexico, Colombia, Spain)
El Salón de Productores y Proyectos Cinematográficos – SAPCINE
“Sunward Hell,” (“Ruta al sol,” Jorge Leyva, Mexico)
SERIES
CONECTA FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT
“The Craft of Thieves, (“El Internacional,” Hernán Caffiero, Chile)
SERIES MANIA
“Amen, Barbara,” (“El Evangelio según Bárbara,” Luciana Porchietto, Argentina)
variety.com
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