● Aliyá, Yeridá, directed by Rafael Guendelman and produced by Joaquín Echeverría (Brisa Films), won the Al Jazeera Documentary Award, which consists of co-producing the project with a minimum contribution of USD 15,000. Adel Ksiksi, director of programming for Al Jazeera Documentary, at the presentation of the award, stated that «A deeply personal quest at the core of this project, it addresses a journey story that led a family to abandon everything they knew for good. Later, pulled out or back (puede ser también bugged) by the disappointments and their strong connections with their homeland.»
● The Stationary Traveller, directed by Fernando Lavanderos and Sebastián Pereira and produced by Francisco Hervé (Juntos Films), received the Rise and Shine Award, which rewards projects with high international potential and grants three thousand euros for the production of the documentary. «This award goes to a very unique project that stands out for its multilayered meta-narrative and sophisticated humor. Under the pretext of paying tribute to the legacy of an iconic filmmaker.» expressed Ana Alice de Morais, Artistic Co-Director, RIDM.
For the fourth year in a row, the Chilean documentary has been highly recognized at Cannes Docs, the documentary industry section of the Marché du Film at Cannes. This year, the films Aliyá, Yeridá, and The Stationary Traveller, both in the final editing stage, won awards, granting Chilean works two out of the seven prizes distributed among 32 projects from all over the world.
In response to this recognition, Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc, says: «We are grateful to Cannes Docs for the opportunity to showcase our talents and their work in the international industry. Chilean documentaries have an increasingly consolidated prestige, and therefore, great expectations were generated around the Chilean Showcase, which was held to a full house, with even some professionals being left outside. A reflection of these high expectations was the winning of two awards for projects of a very diverse nature. This diversity is also a characteristic of our documentary production, which can go beyond and present daring and cinematographically exciting proposals«.
The event in which these documentaries participated is called the Docs-in-Progress Showcase, an annual event organized by Cannes Docs in collaboration with various countries and invited organizations. Chile has been invited to have its own Showcase four times through Chiledoc, an organization dedicated to promoting the internationalization of the Chilean documentary sector.
In this year’s edition, four documentaries in the final stages of editing or work in progress were selected to participate in the Docs-in-Progress Chile Showcase and to present a brief preview of their film to television channels, festivals, sales agents, distributors, streaming platforms, among other industry professionals from around the world. The documentaries selected this year were:
Aliyá, Yeridá (Al Jazeera Documentary Award). Directed by Rafael Guendelman and produced by Joaquín Echeverría.
«We’re building bridges between Latin America and the Middle East, something we saw as difficult before Cannes and which we believe is very important to promote. We are in talks to make a co-production with a Tunisian producer. Winning this award at Cannes Docs, Co-production with Al Jazeera, will allow us to finish the documentary in a better way and expand the territories for its subsequent distribution. We aim to finish the film by the end of the year and premiere it during the first half of 2025,» said Rafael Guendelman, the film’s director.
The Stationary Traveller (Rise and Shine Award). Co-directed by Fernando Lavanderos and Sebastián Pereira and produced by Francisco Hervé.
«We are very happy with the award received; Cannes Docs is a spectacular opportunity, and with the project’s positive reception, many possibilities opened up for the film. The award is beneficial for us and shows an interest in what we are doing with Sebastián Pereira and Juntos Films. We thank Chiledoc for impeccable management that allows this participation and recognition,» stated Fernando Lavanderos, co-director of the film.
Unwelcomed. Co-directed by Amilcar Infante and Sebastián González, and co-produced by Sebastián González and Esteban Sandoval, Production company house @amilcar_films and @pejeperrofilms.
Returning Where I Have Never Been. Co-directed by Constanza Vásquez and Andrés Morales and co-produced by Alejandra Rosas and Magdalena Ponce. Production company house @tonina_sur and Quetro Producciones.
Previous awards
In previous editions of this industry event, renowned documentary filmmakers such as Ignacio Agüero with Notes for a Film and Maite Alberdi with The Mole Agent have participated.
The list of films that have been awarded is also prolific. In 2023, Life won the Think-Film Award, which included a workshop and communications consultancy on impact campaigns.
In 2022, Malqueridas won the Alpha Panda Award for digital marketing consultancy, and in 2021, Meeting Point received the VOSTAO Award for subtitling its film once it was completed.
Chiledoc Press
Natalia Raipan | periodista@ccdoc.cl
internacional@chiledoc.cl
@copyright Corporación Chilena del Documental CCDoc
