Chile’s 22nd Santiago Film Festival (Sanfic) features nine pics in its Chile Film Competition this year vying for cash prizes in the best film, director and actor categories. Among them, four are debut features, including “Erratics” by Thomas Woodroffe, which competed at the San Sebastian Festival’s New Directors sidebar. The lineup also features ‘Monguen,’ the swan song of docu filmmaker Antonio Caro, who died unexpectedly a few weeks ago.
There are works that cross between fiction and documentary, new voices alongside filmmakers with established careers, and a strong presence of perspectives emerging outside traditional centers of production,” he pointed out. The catalog was unveiled at the San Sebastián Festival where eight Chilean titles screened across seven sections. However, the industry is bracing for some belt tightening – and will most likely resort to even more co-productions starting next year – given the upcoming cuts announced by the administration of new President Jose Antonio Kast, who took office in March.
Cuts to the Ministry of Culture and various competitive funds for the Arts are forthcoming although the ministry downplayed the cutback, stressing that it would be an overall decrease of 9% next year. However, the Audiovisual Investment Support Fund drops from approximately $586,000 (540 million pesos) in 2026 to $208,000 (192 million pesos) in 2027—a 64% reduction. Speaking to Variety when the news first broke, Alejandra Garcia of Ronda Cine, producer of “The Meltdown,” Chile’s Oscars submission, said: “The recent budget cuts to culture in Chile are deeply frustrating.
It’s difficult to understand why a country’s support for culture is still seen as an expense to be reduced, rather than an investment that should be strengthened.” The other nine sections of the festival will be announced on Oct. 20. Sanfic runs Nov. 2 – 6 in Santiago de Chile. Produced by Felipe Azúa and Iván Eibuszyc, the Chilean-Argentine Sanfic world premiere was developed through Santiago Lab, BrLab and Guadalajara’s Co-production Meeting, with support from CORFO, Ibermedia and Buenos Aires’ Mecenazgo program.
The experience transforms his life as he confronts his wife’s terminal illness. World premiering at Sanfic, it was produced by Manuel González Llanos and Daniel Rebolledo. The Chilean production received support from the Audiovisual Development Fund in 2024 and participated in Industria FIC Viña’s 2024 business meetings.
She meets María, whose view of the military legacy contrasts with her grandmother’s. Produced by Sofía Paloma Gómez, José Luis Sepúlveda and Carolina Adriazola, the film premiered at Punto de Vista, winning the Grand Prize for Best Film and Youth Jury Award for Best Film. It marks its Latin American premiere.
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