Women in Fan LatAm, a new initiative dedicated to championing women in the great film world across Latin America, will officially launch at the Costa Rica Media Market (CRMM) on July 14-15.
This new program comes after the partners behind the first edition of Fantastic Lab Central America and the Caribbean, Fantastic Pavilion at Marché du Film, CRMM and Groupe Morbido, noted how women-led projects are consistently rising to the top. Throughout the selection process, many of the strongest submissions were powered by women, and two of the final selected projects were directed and produced by women, revealing a creative momentum that the industry can no longer afford to ignore.
“Latin American women filmmakers bring a perspective that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world: our cosmology, our mythology, our creatures, our Virgin, our local curanderas, partelas and brujas, our mix of indigenous culture and Catholicism, our colonial past, our developing world present. Our region, our stories are told by living women,” said Pablo Guisa Kestinger, Executive Director of Fantastic Pavilion and CEO of Morbido Group.
Women in Fan Latam will be the Latin American extension of WomenInFan, the pioneering strategic program created by the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival.
“WomanInFan was born in Sitges with the belief that fantastic cinema is stronger through equality and diverse voices. Over the years, its efforts have expanded from the cultivation of talent and the annual presentation of Latin American women-led projects in Cannes through Fantastic 7, to the publication of Horror Girls Latin America, which restores the region’s female pioneers,” said Monica García Massague, Sitges Film Festival Executive Director.
“The Women of Juan Latam is the next natural step: building a permanent bridge between Latin American creators and the international genre industry. Together with our partners, we want to not only discover these voices, but support them, connect them, and empower them to shape the future of great cinema.”
While Fantastic Lab focuses on Central America and the Caribbean, Women in Fan Latam expands its reach to include female creators from Hispanic communities across Latin America and the Americas.
Maricela Zamora, Costa Rica Film Commissioner and Costa Rica Media Market Director, added, “The future of genre cinema depends on discovering voices that have historically been underheard.” Bringing this initiative to Costa Rica is a great opportunity for creators to It reflects our commitment to building a regional industry that provides opportunities, meaningful connections, and international recognition without leaving Latin America. By championing women storytellers, we are contributing to a richer and more original global film environment.”
Maricela Zamora, Costa Rican Film Commissioner and Costa Rican Media Market Director
