With Mexico’s “On the Road” (“En el camino”) by David Pablos snagging both the Venice Film Festival’s Queer Lion and Horizons awards last year, Latin American queer cinema has never shown more promise. The Berlinale’s Teddy Award has also gone to Latino LGBTQ+ films in the past, the most notable being “Retablo” from Peru and “The Heiresses” from Paraguay.
In recognition of their robust potential and need for more support, Sanfic Industria, the industry section of the Santiago Film Festival (Sanfic), launched the Queer Incubator in 2025.
That year, Sanfic Industria forged a bond with the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) and its Premios Maguey LGBTQ+ sidebar during its awards ceremony when Guadalajara festival director Estrella Araiza extended accreditation and accommodations to selected projects at FICG in April.
According to Sanfic Industria director Gabriela Sandoval, this was the first gesture of collaboration, paving the way to deepen the partnership and transform the upcoming second edition into a joint mentorship and support process, with in-person activities taking place in both Santiago and Guadalajara.
After this year’s FICG and Premios Maguey had concluded, they began discussing how to create a lab between both organizations, with two stages: the first at Sanfic Industria this November and the second culminating in an award at FICG and Premios Maguey in 2027, she told Variety.
