The Ventana Sur (ventana-sur.com) film and television market has finalized the lineup for its Animation! sidebar, presenting animated features and series from both established and up-and-coming Latin American talents. This year’s event takes place in Montevideo, Uruguay from December 2-6.
The market established Animation! as an opportunity for producers from Latin America and professionals from other parts of the world to connect. The program presents pitches for projects seeking strategic alliances, networking activities, round tables, workgroups with international specialists and pitching training sessions.
This year’s animation pitching sessions includes feature animation debut projects from Chilean stop-motion animator Hugo Covarrubias, who was nominated at the 2022 Oscars for his short, Beast, and award-winning Argentinian-Spanish director Pablo Agüero (Eva Doesn’t Sleep, Primera Nieves).
Feature Films
Baptism
Dir: Hugo Covarrubias
Prod: Lucas Engel
Comp: Pista B
Chile
After losing a VHS tape of his baptism, Héctor attempts to fill-in the gaps of his childhood memories, which ran parallel to the military dictatorship.
The Factory Beyond the Hill
Dir: Ricardo Kump & Lucas Abrahão
Prod: Lucas Pelegrino
Comp: LPB Content & Noon Films
Brazil & Spain
Based on the short story by J.J. Veiga set in the Brazilian countryside.
Gravityland
Dir: Pablo Agüero
Prod: Maximiliano Monzon, Nicolás Britos & María Sol Cifuentes
Comp: Cosmic Brew Studios & Mil Monos Cine
Argentina & Spain
Investigating Earth’s gravity field, a speleologist disappears — after a gravity shift, her children climb into the planet’s core to find her.
Hua Awakens
Dir: Daniel Chang Acat
Prod: Saul Anampa Mesias
Comp: Bicicleta Casa Audiovisual
Peru
Peruvian-born Chinese teen Cheng struggles with his dual identity. After arguing with his father, he’s transported to an ancient Chinese village where he battles a dark spirit to reconcile his roots.
Penelope’s Unusual Journey
Dir: Luah Garcia & Franco Dadone
Prod: Tiago Grigor
Comp: Cactus Kid Studio y Bullabesa Films
Brazil & Peru
Up against a myriad of challenges, three animals return a young blue whale found in the Amazon to the sea.
TV Series
Dani’s Fiction Rules
Dir: Coty Luzoro
Prod: Kike Ortega
Comp: PATAKA
Chile
Dani, a self-aware fictional character, revels in the freedom to create her own stories on a blank page.
Foldara
Dir: Danna Galeano
Prod: Monique Henry-Hudson
Comp: Dream in Motion
Mexico
Three unlikely heroes venture through treacherous realms to save their fragile origami habitat from forces determined to unravel it.
Knight TV
Dir: Nat Solis
Prod: Nat Solis
Costa Rica
A foolhardy rescue attempt ensues as a squire and headstrong knight deem local witch Amalia is in need of a savior. To their dismay, she’s hired a dragon to keep them from disturbing her peace.
Married with Celu
Dir: Dalmiro Buigues
Prod: Martin Dasnoy & Ignacio Godoy
Comp: Buda.tv
Argentina
A couple becomes a throuple when they bring an AI into their lives that knows them better than they know each other.
Pipa and Snail
Dir: Alex Ribondi & Ricardo Makoto
Prod: Ricardo Hasebe
Comp: Mesinha Amarela
Brazil
Twins Pipa and Snail embark on adventures in a magical forest, where a flying whale marks the passage of time and stars appear as butterflies.
Sacha
Dir: Keila Cepeda Satán
Prod: Keila Cepeda Satán
Comp: Díscolo Studio
Ecuador & Spain
Sacha, a kind of Amazonian sasquatch — half-man, half-beast, half-plant, half-Greta Thunberg — and loyal companion Nuna, a gullible capybara, come up with absurd plans to make the encroaching humans leave their bountiful forest home.
Screen Heads
Dir: Maria Coello
Prod: Fabian Flores
Comp: Rayo Púrpura
Chile
The misadventures of best friend Felipe and Diego teach young viewers the dangers of confusing real life with fiction.
Superchance
Dir: Juan Gallo
Prod: Micaela Tcherkassky & Itati Romero
Comp: Cine HHH & Osa Estudio
Uruguay & Argentina
In a mysterious supermarket which traps shoppers who repress their desires, a band of captives struggle to find means of escape.
Mentoring Program for Female Creators
The Adventures to Terraverde
Dir: Paula Verrua
Prod: Mar Civetta & Paulina Martínez
Comp: Pururú Studio
Argentina
A trio of animals displaced from their natural habitat — Huillín, a kindly river otter; Chipi, a grumpy pudú; and Guazú, a wise aguará guazú — make the long journey to Terraverde, a natural reserve. Along the way, they explore new ecosystems, their flora and fauna.
S’Up, Xmas!
Dir: Camila Padilha
Prod: Diogo Dahl
Comp: Coqueirão Pictures
Brazil
On an island where every day is Carnaval, a mischievous girl rebels against the adults to celebrate a strange party she discovers while rummaging through her deceased mother’s belongings: Christmas!
The Treasures of Marta
Dir: Antonia Venegas González
Prod: Rodrigo Venegas Vargas
Comp: Supahpure Studios
Chile
When three scouts find the journal of their scout heroine, Marta, they embark on a hunt for the treasures she secreted across Chile.
[Sources: Ventana Sur, Variety]
