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Colombia at Biarritz

Pantalla Colombia No.: 142
august 22 - september 30 / 2025

At the 34th Biarritz Latin America Festival, the Colombian lineup included the feature films Un poeta (A Poet), Hijo de tigre y mula (Son of Tiger and Mule), Culebra negra (Black Snake), and Horizonte (Horizon), along with the short films Lanawaru and Un día de mayo (A Day in May). Ubeimar Ríos, lead actor in Un poeta, received an award for his performance.

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The Biarritz Amérique Latine Festival has become an essential meeting point for cinema in this French city. Each year it presents competitions for feature films, short films, and documentaries, while also opening a window to Latin America’s cultural diversity through photography exhibitions, film screenings, literary dialogues, and academic activities.

This year’s competitions included Un poeta (A Poet, Colombia, Germany, and Sweden),  directed by Simón Mesa Soto, and produced by Ocúltimo & Medio de Contención Producciones (Colombia) in association with Majade Fiction (Germany), Momento Film (Sweden), ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel with ARTE (Germany), and Film i Väst (Sweden).

The tragicomedy received the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and has earned recognition at other major events, including the 29th Lima Film Festival (Peru), the 74th Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia), the 21st Santiago International Film Festival – SANFIC (Chile), and the Make & Mark Horizontes Latinos Award at the 73rd San Sebastián Film Festival, the top honor in that section. At Biarritz, it also won the Best Actor Award for Ubeimar Ríos in the Fiction Feature Competition.

In the Documentary Competition was Hijo de tigre y mula (Panama, Colombia), directed by Annie Canavaggio and produced by Milagros Producciones and Marina Productions. The film had its international premiere in the Memories section of the 32nd Sheffield DocFest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival.
Representing Colombia in this year's Short Film Competition was Un día de mayo (One Day in May), directed by Camilo Escobar Henao and produced by Jaime Guerrero Naudin, Susana Solarte, Camilo Escobar Henao, and Laura Gutiérrez Ardila. The short was part of Talent Connection in 2024 after winning the BFM – Bogoshorts Film Market Incubator, screened at the 47th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and joined the Bogoshorts World Tour – Latin American Talents program, which took it to the 78th Cannes Film Festival (2025) as part of the SFC | Rendez-vous Industry at the Marché du Film.

Also showcased was Lanawaru (Colombia, United States, Mexico), directed by Angello Faccini, produced by Constanza Pérez Carrillo (Violeta Films) and John Martin (Conservation International). This short film festival circuit has included the 37th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where it had its world premiere in November 2024, as well as the 47th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and the 42nd Busan International Short Film Festival (South Korea), among others.

Colombian cinematographer Angello Faccini also participated as director of photography for La misteriosa mirada del flamenco (The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) (Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium), which was included in Biarritz's out-of-competition sections.

In the Out of Competition sections, Colombian cinema was also highlighted in the Premieres category with Culebra negra (Black Snake) (France, Colombia, Brazil), directed by French filmmaker Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux. Produced by Dublin Films in co-production with Burning and Vulcana Cinema, the film closed the 24th French Film Festival in Colombia and had its world premiere at ACID Cannes, a parallel section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Finally, Special Screenings included Horizonte (Horizon) (Colombia, France, Luxembourg, Chile, Germany), the second feature by César Augusto Acevedo. Produced by Liz Nieto (Colombia), Inercia Películas (Colombia), and Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), in co-production with Tarantula (Luxembourg), Quijote Films (Chile), In Vivo Films (France), and Unafilm (Germany), the film will open commercially in Colombia on October 23 with distribution by DOC:CO. It premiered in the Discovery section of the 49th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, 2024), and has since screened at festivals in Hong Kong, Chicago, among others. It was also the opening film of the 12th International Human Rights Film Festival – FICDEH.

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Colombian presence at San Sebastián

The 73rd edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival took place from September 19 to 27, marking a historic milestone for Colombia. Un poeta (A Poet) , directed by Simón Mesa Soto, won the Horizontes Make & Mark Award, the first time a Colombian film has received this honor. Meanwhile, in the WIP Latam section, the project A la hora de poner la mesa ya no éramos cinco (We Were No Longer Five) won the Egeda Platino Industry Award in its category. Colombian participation also included La lucha (Dance of the Living) in the New Directors section, and Llueve sobre babel (Rains Over Babel) , which competed for the Sebastiane Latino Award. Cinematographer Angello Faccini took part in Horizontes Latinos with La misteriosa mirada del flamenco (The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) . In addition, two projects - Elogio del crimen (Praise for Crime) and Hijas del agua (Daughters of the Water) — were presented in the Europe–Latin America Co-Production Forum. The Colombian delegation included five talents and representatives from 19 companies, including production houses and film festivals. Proimágenes Colombia was represented by its director, Claudia Triana, and deputy director of Promotion, Katalina Tobón.
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Presence in Sitges Industry

In the industry section of the 58th Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Colombia is represented with two projects: one in Sitges FanPitch and another in Sitges Coming Soon. Both projects received support and guidance from the International Promotion office of Proimágenes Colombia to reach this event.