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“Quinografía,” a portrait of the famously timid Mafalda cartoonist Quino, and “Habana Libre,” a take on rebellious youth in Cuba, look like potential standouts at Ventana Docs, a selection of 12 doc features from across Latin America and Spain.

A notable number have been developed at prestigious labs, whether Sundance Festival programs or Spain’s Pompeu Fabra University. Two tell trans stories and with it, chart resistance and intolerance, main banes of other Ventana Sur titles.

Many are intimate stories, of the director’s battle with HIV (“How to Live With…”), or reconnection with his father (“Capitan”), or battle to accept his father’s suicide (“The Curve”). Some mix the personal and a larger political canvas, as in “Violent-House-Fiction” and “Family Politics” where the director reconnects with his family as his father battles for office representing ex-dictator Alberto Fujimori’s far right-wing Cambio 90 party.

At least a third of the doc features are co-produced with Spain,...

Sanfic Industria, the industry section of the Santiago International Film Festival running over August 18-25, is showcasing a slew of promising new fiction and non-fiction projects at its Santiago Labs. “We were overwhelmed by the number of entries this year, a 55% uptick from 2023,” said Sanfic Industria director Gabriela Sandoval, a co-founder of the festival.

Out of the 28 selected Santiago Lab projects, 12 are directed by women. “Among our many objectives, we have always aimed to expand opportunities for women filmmakers by equipping them with the essential tools and creating pathways for their success,” said Sandoval, a producer herself at Storyboard Media alongside festival co-founder Carlos Nuñez. She added that nearly 50% of the Santiago Lab projects are produced by women.

Some projects are presented by established producers like Chile’s Lucas Engel, who backed such notable dramas as “Tengo Miedo Torero” and “Los Huesos.” Lauded filmmaker Nicolás Videla, who identifies himself as binary,...

The 48th edition of the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival will honor Spanish actress Nathalie Poza with a City of Huelva Award, an acknowledgment whose previous recipients included filmmaker Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”) and actors Dario Grandinetti, Eduard Fernández and Edward James Olmos.

Running Nov. 11-18, Huelva 2022 will also homage young thesp Greta Fernández, a best actress winner at San Sebastian for Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” and Andalusian writer-director Juan Miguel del Castillo (“Food and Shelter”) with two Light Awards.

Meanwhile, Seville-born director Santi Amodeo will receive a Rtva Award for best Andalusian filmmaker.

Launched 48 years ago, Huelva represents Europe’s oldest confab dedicated exclusively to movies from Ibero-America: Spain, Latin America and Portugal, and a traditional launchpad for Latino filmmakers in Spain and Europe.

Over the years other festivals have been adding parallel sections of Latin American cinema, a symptom of its growing international relevance.

“Our...

Swedish director Katarina Launing’s ‘You Can Dance’ named the winner of Screen International ’s best pitch award.

The 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has named the winners of its Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event awards.

The industry showcase took place as a hybrid of in-person and virtual events, with the winners announced today (November 26) following a week of presentations and networking with around 700 delegates.

Swedish director Katarina Launing’s feature project You Can Dance was named the winner of Screen International’s best pitch award at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, which guarantees coverage on Screen throughout the project’s lifecycle.