Sanfic and Guadalajara Join Forces to Take Latin America's Queer Incubator Across Borders
A film-festival partnership spanning Chile and Mexico is expanding what was already Latin America's only dedicated LGBTQ+ screenwriting incubator into a two-country mentorship programme.
Sanfic Industria, the industry arm of the Santiago International Film Festival, launched the Queer Incubator in 2025. For its second edition, it has partnered with the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) and Premios Maguey, the festival's LGBTQ+ sidebar — a strand of programming running alongside the main event. The partnership began when FICG director Estrella Araiza extended accreditation and accommodations to selected projects at FICG in April, according to Variety.
Sanfic Industria director Gabriela Sandoval said the collaboration will turn the incubator's second edition into a joint mentorship and support process with in-person activities in both Santiago and Guadalajara. The Queer Incubator will accept six Latin American fiction projects currently in the script development phase, each with a corresponding pitch deck — the visual presentation filmmakers use to sell a project to producers and financiers.
The programme is open to projects and professionals from or based in Latin America. Projects must be led by LGBTQ+ directors and screenwriters, or by professionals whose dissident gender identities and expressions inform their creative work. Mentoring will include both group sessions and one-on-one meetings with international industry professionals.
The incubator runs in two stages. The first takes place in Santiago, Chile, from November 2–6, 2026, as part of Sanfic Industria. The second culminates in an award at FICG and Premios Maguey in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 6–13, 2027. The 41st edition of FICG itself is scheduled for April 17–25, 2026, according to the festival's official website.
Netflix backs the Queer Incubator through its Creative Equity Fund, a fund the streaming platform created to support underrepresented talent in the screen industries, Variety reported in July 2025. Sanfic Industria also welcomed a Locarno Industry Academy for the first time alongside the incubator's launch, bringing the Swiss festival's professional training programme to Santiago.
Sanfic's official site describes the Incubadora Queer Latinoamericana as an inclusive platform for audiovisual projects in the writing stage, guided by LGBTQ+ voices, offering mentorship and advising. The programme sits alongside other Sanfic Industria initiatives including Sanfic Series.
For the six projects selected, the programme offers something concrete: mentorship across two major festival markets, a pitch to industry professionals on two continents, and a shot at an award at Premios Maguey. For Latin American LGBTQ+ filmmakers, it puts a slot on the calendar.
