Ana Elena Tejera’s “Culebra Cut,” Theo Montoya’s “False Positive” and Roxana Straw’s “Houses Are Silent” will be included in the lineup of the upcoming Proyecta co-production platform, which will take place during Ventana Sur 2025 in Buenos Aires in early December.
Now in its eighth edition, Proyecta (a joint project of Ventana Sur, Cannes’ Marché du Film and the San Sebastian Film Festival) will screen 12 new films, all first or second releases, confirming its reputation as one of Latin America’s key gateways to Europe.
One of this year’s highlights, “Culebra Cut,” brings together Panama’s Mestizo, France’s Fulgurance, and Chile’s Capicua Films in one of the strongest international alliances in this selection. The project has just added Arte France Cinema as co-producers, following a path that already included the selection of Torino Feature Lab, Venice Production Bridge and Ibermedia to support.
“False Positive” marks a step up for Theo Montoya, building on the success of his award-winning doc-hybrid “Anhell69.” His company Desvío Visual is leading a four-country co-production with France’s Parcelles Films, Spain’s Amore and the Netherlands’ Baldr. Supported by the Cannes Cinefondation and Rotterdam’s Hubert Valls Foundation, the project arrives in Buenos Aires with festival buzz and strong market momentum.
Invited by Ventana Sur at the Europa-Latin American Co-Production Forum in San Sebastian, “The House is Silent” expands the scope of Bucharest-based Atelier de Film through a Romanian-Bolivian partnership. Gabi Suchiu’s company produced the San Sebastian Golden Shell 2021 winner “Blue Moon” and the Cannes Directors Fortnight selection “When the Night Falls”.
This year’s Ventana Sur, which runs from December 1st to 5th, will see Projecta’s filmmakers grapple with political ghosts, ecological loss, and personal rebirth. Several projects combine hybrid aesthetics such as animation, performance and archival materials with precise storytelling aimed at both festivals and buyers.
Proyecta also offers incentives to increase production and awareness. The invitation to the San Sebastian Film Festival gives the two producers access to accreditation, accommodation and the festival’s industry activities. The Sideral Cinema Award guarantees a pre-purchase of international rights for one project for €10,000 ($11,634), and the Sørfond Pitching Forum Award covers travel and accommodation costs, with one producer attending the 2026 Sørfond Pitching Forum in Norway.
Selection of Proyecta projects for 2025:
“Boa and Bamboo” (Maitán Carballo Alonso, Spain, Switzerland)
Set deep in Brazil’s Maranhão region, the film follows an Awa and Guajá couple who take in an orphaned monkey as a sacred relative as their forest is devoured by industry. Drawing on indigenous cosmologies, it combines animation and oral storytelling to explore resilience in the face of ecological collapse. The project, produced by Basque Country’s Galiza Films (20,000 Species of Bees) in collaboration with Switzerland’s Mediafish, was screened at the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum 2025 in San Sebastian.
boa and bamboo
“Culebra cut” (“Corte Culebra”, Ana Elena Tejera, Panama, France, Chile)
Tejera reimagines Panama’s hidden history through a frenetic adventure in the former U.S. Canal Zone, where the ghosts of displaced people linger in the jungle. Arte France Cinéma is also participating, and the project is also supported by CNC, Ibermedia and the World Cinema Fund. Chile’s Capicua Films joins as a minority partner. Tejera’s camera hovers between the political and the dreamlike. “The film moves through a dark space where potential violence and tenderness rub against each other,” she says.
“False Positive” (“Fsolve Positivo”, Theo Montoya, Colombia, France, Spain, Netherlands)
Following the acclaimed “Anhell69,” Montoya delves into Colombia’s darkest chapter with a poetic reimagining of a “false positive” murder. The film, created by Desvío Visual and Parcelles, Amore, and Baldr, combines memory, mourning, and surrealism. “We don’t want to tell you what we already know. We want the audience to feel something they don’t yet understand,” Montoya says. Supported by the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation Residency Program and the Hubert Valls Foundation.
“God’s Favorite Girl” (Diego Ulloa Alvear, Spain, Ecuador)
A 16-year-old girl invents the Ghost of Marian to cope with her parents’ divorce, which sparks a nationwide religious frenzy. The dark comedy is another international step for Spain’s Funicular Films, the label behind the acclaimed series This Is Not Sweden. It was co-produced with Ecuador’s Abaca Films and won top honors at the ESCAC Opera Prima Lab and the BDC Awards in Guadalajara. “It’s a satire about faith, fame and the absurdities of modern faith,” says producer Marta Baldo.
“Goodbye, Boys” (“Adeus, Meninos”, Sacha Amaral, Brazil, Portugal)
Amaral’s debut novel is described as a lyrical journey through a traumatized childhood, following two brothers navigating an unstable family following the death of their mother. Developed at the Sam Spiegel Film Lab in Venice, the project marries social realism, visual poetry and emotional precision, its creators say. “I’m drawn to exploring childhood justice, how children perceive cruelty and love,” says Amaral. Co-produced by Brazil’s Quadrophenia Films and Portugal’s Crim.
“Hermosa no es como antes” (Kattia G. Zúñiga, Costa Rica, Chile)
In his second project in Costa Rica, Paz simultaneously feels tropical heat, menopause, and suppressed anger. That inner fire drives her to dance, scream, and set boundaries on her life and the privileged beach community she lives in, a beautiful place stifled by tourism. The project was shown in Toulouse Cinelatino and Tres Puertos Panama under the title “Laviosa” and is supported by the Cultural Funds of Costa Rica and Chile.
“Houses Are Silent” (Roxana Strau, Romania, Bolivia)
In a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia, a 16-year-old girl becomes pregnant after being assaulted in a way she barely remembers. The project, developed by Atelier de Film, won an invitation from Ventana Sur at the European-Latin American Coproduction Forum in San Sebastian. “Silence not only protects tradition, but also hides pain,” Stroh says.
“Love & Rebellion” (Sarah Miro Fischer, Germany, Colombia)
In Colombia, an 18-year-old girl visits her estranged mother, a former guerrilla-turned-bride, in hopes of finding a revolutionary heroine, but instead encounters silence, regret, and unspoken love. Produced by Germany’s Unafilm, the film explores the space between memory and myth, fear and responsibility, and what it means to grow up in the shadow of unfinished ideals, backers say.
“Lovers Who Know Too Much” (“Los amantes que no sabían demasiado”, Baltasar Albrecht, Gaston del Porto, Argentina)
During a trip to the Paraná River, a body falls on the couple’s boat and they are drawn into a deadly spiral of guilt and obsession. The project, produced by Mucha Siesta and El Cielo Cine and supported by Argentina INCAA’s 2024 Feature Film Award, is “a love letter to 70s genre cinema, an auteur thriller built on curiosity, chance and danger,” says producer Arturo Castro Godoy.
Lovers I never knew
“Michael M” (Laura Bierbrauer, Germany, Argentina)
Two souls separated by time, a 1930s exiled writer and a contemporary artist, meet through a timeless book that weaves together memory and imagination, reflecting on exile, creativity, and longing. The film expands on Navis Film Berlin’s transcontinental mission, joining producers Iris Janssen, Lukas Valenta Riner and Yael Svoboda. Supported by the German BKM Foundation.
“The Other Voice” (“La otra voz”, Agustina Pérez Real, Argentina, Spain, France)
The film draws from unreleased personal archives to create an intimate portrait of legendary Latin American protest singer Mercedes Sosa. Letters and photos from her time in exile reveal a woman caught between fame and exile. Co-produced by Gaman Cine, Fiørd Studio and Lorolo and supported by IDFA Bertha Fund.
“The spell to bring the witch back to life” (“Hechizos para revivir una bruja”, Natalia Solorzano Vázquez, Costa Rica)
The casting of a 1960s fortune teller turned into a ritual of mourning in Solzano’s debut film. The film explores how women reclaim erased history through reenactment and imagination. It is supported by the Costa Rican Film Fund, Arche de Crisbois, and Rueda Residency, and reflects Sputnik Films’ focus on hybrid, auteur-driven films. Producer Mariana Murillo calls the film “a film about memory as performance, where remembering itself becomes a political act.”
Spell to revive a witch
