The second edition of this Ecuadorian festival took place from November 8 to 12, featuring a significant Colombian delegation.
GuayaFest, an initiative of the Fundación Arte y Cultura del Ecuador (FACEC), began in 2022 as a film showcase. In 2023, the festival expanded its mission to showcase Ecuador as a key hub for dialogue and engagement within the global film and audiovisual industry. Since its inception, led by journalist and film critic Daniela Creamer, the event has become one of Ecuador's most prominent film gatherings. For its second edition, the festival put Colombian cinema at the forefront.
The program showcased Colombian feature films with notable achievements: La Estrategia del Caracol (The Snail's Strategy, 1993) by Sergio Cabrera, which won awards at the Berlin and Biarritz festivals and participated in over thirty other international competitions; Los Colores de la Montaña (The Colors of the Mountain, 2010) directed by Carlos César Arbeláez, winner of the Best New Director Award at the 58th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival and supported by the Film Development Fund - FDC in Feature Film Production; Virus Tropical (Tropical Virus, 2018), directed by Santiago Caicedo, a recipient of FDC support in Feature Film Development (2012) and Animated Feature Film Production (2016), screened at festival such as the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American Animation, and the Berlin International Film Festival; and El olvido que seremos (Forgotten We'll Be, 2020) directed by Fernando Trueba, honored with the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film, five Platino Awards, and three Macondo Awards from the Colombian Film Academy.
The selection also included Al son que me toquen bailo (The Dancefloor of Your Life, 2019), directed by Juan Carlos Mazo and written and produced by Dago García; Encanto (2021), a U.S. film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, inspired by Colombia and featuring the voices of María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, among others; the series Noticia de un secuestro (News of a Kidnapping, 2022) by Andrés Wood, starring Colombians Juan Pablo Raba, Cristina Umaña, Julieth Restrepo, Constanza Duque, Majida Issa, Carmenza Gómez, and Jairo Camargo; ¿Qué corre por tus venas? (What Runs Through Your Veins, 2023) by Felipe Vallejo; and Sumergible(Submersible, 2023) by Ecuadorian Alfredo León León, a minority co-production between Ecuador and Colombia, beneficiary of the FDC, starring Natalia Reyes.
This year's guests included Colombians María Cecilia Botero (Encanto), Cristina Umaña (Noticia de un secuestro), Carolina Sabino (Encanto), Verónica Muñoz (visual artist), Juan Carlos Arciniegas (presenter and journalist), Carlos Torres (actor), Mabel Moreno, Lucho Velasco and Pipe Vallejo.
Claudia Triana, director of Proimágenes Colombia, participated in the forum "A Model to Follow in the Digital and Audiovisual Transformation Law." She joined Arturo Yépez, CEO of 2belatam, alongside Robert Aguirre and Pipe Vallejo, who contributed to drafting the new Digital and Audiovisual Transition Law. This law, unanimously approved by the Ecuadorian Assembly, was clearly inspired by the incentives outlined in the Colombian Film Law. The Festival specifically invited the director of Proimágenes Colombia to showcase the progress and results of its audiovisual policy. Triana shed light on various aspects, particularly highlighting the impact of CINA certificates, the successful attraction of foreign productions to Colombia, the remarkable growth in production, achievements in forums such as markets and festivals, and the notable increase in employment in the sector.
