Santiago's Film Festival Opens Its Industry Week With Debut Films, Queer Talent and a Trip to Berlin

Sanfic Industria, the industry section of the Santiago International Film Festival, runs from November 2 to 6, 2026, alongside the festival, which closes on November 8. The industry section is where filmmakers, producers and funders meet to find money and partners for projects that are not finished yet.

Gabriela Sandoval, a co-founder of Sanfic who heads Sanfic Industria, said the lineup has a strong selection of debut films, with experienced producers behind them. This is the section's 15th year.

Santiago Lab, the section's development programme, picked 16 fiction and 17 documentary projects from more than 300 applications. Each project gets a chance to pitch to potential partners and backers.

The biggest single opportunity for Chilean producers is a call for literary adaptations. Sanfic Industria is inviting producers with adaptation projects in advanced development to apply for Books at Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival's programme for book-to-screen projects. Two winners will be picked from eight projects and will represent Chile at Books at Berlinale 2027. Accreditation, travel and accommodation are covered, according to Variety.

Several other strands are running this week. The expanded Santiago-Guadalajara Queer Incubator, backed by Netflix, holds its first in-person stage in Santiago from November 2 to 6. Sanfic Industria also includes Woman In Fan Lab, an initiative from Spain's Sitges festival. A new online Fantastic Work in Progress has been launched for genre films still in post-production, which is the stage when a film is edited, scored and finished. The Chile Industry Academy, a training programme, takes place from November 2 to 5 as part of the section.

Some of the projects have already drawn attention beyond the festival. Earlier Variety reporting said Chilean actors Alfredo Castro, Paulina García and Benjamín Vicuña are set to top-bill "The Unwelcome," a horror series that was featured at Sanfic Series. Top-billed means the three would be the leading names on the show's cast list.

For the people behind these projects, the week is about the next step. A development grant or a pitch meeting can decide whether a script gets a budget, a crew and a shoot date. Most projects in rooms like these never reach a screen. The ones that do usually spend years between a first meeting and a finished film.