JIIFF LAB is a space created to provide counsel and networking opportunities to feature-length fiction projects in development stage from all over Latin America and Italy. It’s especially aimed at emerging directors and producers seeking to consolidate their projects for an effective international co-production policy. It is an in-person laboratory that will take place between 18th and 21st January, 2024
JIIFF LAB is designed as a laboratory with classes by experts and professionals from the international industry, and also opens the opportunity for participants to access meetings and networking opportunities within the framework of JIIFF.
For the first time, this third edition of JIIFF LAB will receive the support of IBERMEDIA, which provides grants for participants. Thanks to this alliance we were able to extend our call outside of Latin America by inviting fiction producers and directors from Spain, Italy and Portugal.
The JIIFF LAB organization selected seven projects from Latin America and Italy represented by a total of fourteen participants (seven director-producer pairs). Of these selected projects, three are Uruguayan.
The fourteen participants will be able to develop their projects working with four professional tutors from the international industry based on three main lines of work: script and production design, financing and co-production policies, project design. Their work will come to a closure with a Pitching session in front of colleagues and members of the industry.
JIIFF LAB 2024 is made possible thanks to the support of the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU) and the Ibermedia Program.
In 2011 Laurie joined Bigscope Films as Head of Development and Producer to develop and produce high concept, high genre films with international appeal. His latest films include Lord of misrule and Consecreation. In 2024, he will produce The Ascent and The fall line. He is developing projects with partners such as Vertigo Films, Working Title and XYZ.
Born in Buenos Aires, he moved to France in 1973. He has worked as a screenwriter on over 40 feature films. He has also written 13 novels that have been translated into over 20 languages. His first film as a director, A Few Days in September was screened in the Official Selection of the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, and was distributed worldwide. His second film, Another Silence, was also selected at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 (Venice days). His third film, Les Enfants Rouges, was screened in Rio and Beirut.
He started out as a sports photographer but later turned to the world of cinema. His first feature film Tornando a Casa (2001) won the Critics' Week in Venice and best film at Bafici, in addition to multiple international awards. Vento di Terra (2004) won the award for best new film at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Film at the Gijón Film Festival. Having directed over 16 films and with an outstanding career, in 2023 he directed the television series Sei Donne - il mistero di Leila, produced by IbC movie and Rai Fiction.
She worked at BAFICI for 20 years, as a programmer and Co-Director of BAL. She has been a film consultant and production tutor for various funds, organizations and festivals in different parts of the world, and played a key role in the development of initiatives to support filmmakers and producers in Latam. She was a professor of Aesthetics and Ethics of Cinema. She founded Ruda Cine. She is a Programming Consultant at the Venice International Film Festival and its Market. Study Director of FeatureLab at the TorinoFilmLab and programming advisor at the NYFF. She works for Visions du Réel in industry and programming.
Renowned film and television producer based in Los Angeles. He produced films that have competed for the Oscars in two instances: “No” (for Chile in 2012) and the winner of five Oscars “All Quiet on the Western Front” (for Germany in 2022). He collaborated with Netflix, and is finishing a limited series for Showtime/Paramount. He began his career at the MPAA working nationally and internationally, and continued working at Paramount. He earned his MFA in Film Production from the American Film Institute. He has also been a jury member at several film festivals.
Karina Flomenbaum is a screenwriter, director, editor, and producer. She directed and wrote several short films, including Baklava (official competition at the Int MDQ Festival 2013 / Asterisco competition 2013) and Muñeca (BAFICI 2016). She worked as an editor on projects such as Entrenamiento Elemental Para Actores (2008) by Martín Rejtman and Federico Leon, and Todo se Transforma, a documentary series for Canal Encuentro (2013). She is currently producing her first fiction feature film, Besos Brujos, in collaboration with Nevada Films.
Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo is known for producing acclaimed film and television with an eye for compelling stories. From Ngozi Onwurah’s Shoot The Messenger starring David Oyelowo and Daniel Kaluuya; to Top Boy, the Netflix series with Drake as Executive Producer. Through Turnover Films Yvonne is developing a variety of projects including a feature film set in Burkina Faso with DNA/Film4/MGM and a TV series with Argo/BBC set in Nigeria. Completed projects include Two Single Beds, a short written and starring Daniel Kaluuya for Film 4; A Story of Bones, best documentary nominee at Tribeca; and Rye Lane, critically acclaimed feature which premiered at Sundance.
Vera and her grandmother Tere spend the last days of summer together. But these vacations are different. Tere insists on betting at the casino and drinking glasses of whiskey. While water is running scarce and tourists leave the city, that which is not said begins to have the same effect as the heat: it suffocates and prevents them from falling asleep.
Eugenia Olascuaga Fierro - Productora
She was a part of Open Doors Locarno Festival 2023, Sundance Producers Labs and Summit 2021, and Talents Buenos Aires 2018. She founded Monarca Films with Valentina Barraco. She co-produced the documentary “Para no olvidar”, a Swiss-Uruguayan-French co-production (premiere Visions du Réel). She has produced the documentaries “Delia” (Silver Biznaga award in Malaga); “Ocho cuentos sobre mi hipoacusia” (Vancouver IFF premiere), and “Ese soplo” (Ficmonterrey premiere). She develops several projects with an auteur perspective, personal projects, dealing with gender and LGBT+ issues.
Catalina Torres Puentes - Directora
She graduated from the Andy Goldstein School of Creative Photography in Buenos Aires in 2019. She then completed a Bachelor's Degree in Documentary Film from the San Martín National University. She is currently studying for a master's degree in Photography and Society at the Royal College of Art in The Hague, Netherlands. She seeks to explore the relationship between people and territory, with an emphasis on the LGBT community. In 2020, she wrote and directed the short film “Yo no elegí París”, selected by several international festivals.
Carlos lives in Morteros, a small town in Córdoba province, Argentina. He is a bocce player who had his moment of glory and has left it far behind. He was a provincial and national champion and represented his country in a World Cup. But he has hit a bad run: he’s been separated for a couple of years, he lives in the club's pension, his relationship with his teenage son is increasingly distant and he hasn’t been playing for a while due to a shoulder injury. However, there will be a tournament held in his honor soon. This will push him to try to make everything fall into place again.
Leandro Custo - Productor
He is a producer and screenwriter. Some of his projects have been selected by: Ibermedia Development; Ibero-American Cinematographic Project Development Course; Europe Creative Media; Piemonte Film TV Development fund; INCAA Script Development; Ventana Sur Final Copy; among others.
Santiago Dulce - Director
He is a director and screenwriter. Some of his projects have been selected by: Ventana Sur, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, CineQuaNon, among others. In 2022 he debuted in fiction as a screenwriter and co-director in Ringo: Gloria y Muerte (Disney+). He is currently working on a series co-created together with Leandro Custo for Gaumont Int. “Bochador” is his first feature film.
Inés is tired of fighting against cancer. She wants to die on her own terms, and she has a plan. Estela, her sister, doesn’t suspect any of this when they travel together to the family country house to rest for a few days. But one night, unexpected visitors arrive that will put them in the middle of a supernatural confrontation. Facing this, Inés chooses to fight.
Pedro Laferranderie - Productor
Montevideo, 1967. Long-time producer in the Latin American advertising industry with his production companies Arbol (Mx) and Murdoc (Uy). Starting in 2019, he also develops and produces fictions and documentaries with Murdoc. He was the Producer in the short film La Peste (2017, Guillermo Carbonell), as well as the TV series Alí Sócrates (2023). He is currently developing the feature films El destello, Caza y pesca (which will shoot in 2024) and Inxiliado, as well as the series La peste, Follow Me Please and the documentary feature film Los que cantan en el coro.
Guillermo Carbonell - Director
Director with 20 years of experience in the Latin American advertising industry. His short film La peste (2017) was selected and won awards at important fantasy film festivals around the world (Fantasia, Mórbido, Toronto After Dark, Fantaspoa). He has also directed television (Adicciones, Alí Sócrates) and served as 2nd Unit Director at El Presidente: Corruption game. He is currently developing El destello (winner of 2 awards in Blood Window and selected by Sitges Fanpitch), among other projects.
El prócer is a fantasy Uchrony about Simón, a Latin American liberator, who shipwrecks in the Caribbean.
Eva Padró - Productora
She was born on 1/25/78 in Barcelona, Spain. In 2000, she received a degree in Communication Sciences from the Blanquerna University, Ramón Llull. That same year, her interest in cinema took her to New York, United States, where for a year she expanded her studies at New York University. In 2002 she enrolled in the School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba where she attended scriptwriting and film production workshops until March 2002.
Agustín Carbonere - Director
He is from Buenos Aires Argentina. He studied Image and Sound Design at the University of Buenos Aires. He is a director, musician and actor. Since 2000 he has been dedicated to filmmaking, directing mini-series, commercials and video clips for the international production company Landia.
Linita, a clumsy Dominican writer from a well-off family who lives in London, is nicknamed Mansa, “Docile”. On the one hand she is quiet, naive, she settles for the crumbs of affection she receives in her daily life, and on the other she is an ironic, daring woman, tired of playing out the same role all her life. One day she explodes, which brings great consequences and she has to answer for her actions. This pushes her to take the reins of her own destiny through discipline by becoming obsessed with participating in a clandestine mixed martial arts competition. Through this she will learn to accept and love herself just as she is.
Valerie Rosario - Productora
A graduate in Audiovisual Communication in Universidad Iberoamericana. She was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and has always been involved in the arts since she was a child. She is an audiovisual producer, director, and also a singer-songwriter. She has worked on various national and international productions, including The Voice Dominicana and Amazon Prime’s Road House. She participated in the I Residencia de Cine de Extremadura with the film project La Mansa.
Karlina Veras - Directora
She is a Dominican writer and filmmaker living in London. Her work focuses on female empowerment and the underlays on everyday life and takes inspiration of her memories, her homeland, her childhood. With her film project in development La Mansa, she was selected in the XI Film Lab of the Dominican Film Commission DGCINE, the I Film Residency of Extremadura and in the Coproduction Market of the Iberoamerican Festival of Huelva 2023.
Gustavo is 65 years old, and his last mission upon retiring is to accompany the Biking Race of Uruguay, along with his wife Mabel (60) and his granddaughter Sofía (6). He must look after Marcos (25), the company’s manager’s son. He can win the race if he can sustain a healthy lifestyle during that week. But winning the cycling tour is not that easy. Neither is telling the truth.
Federico Moreira - Productor
DHe is the director of the prestigious Uruguayan audio production company La Mayor. He leads LaMayorCine, the first Dolby 5.1 certified film sound post-production studio in Uruguay. The production company provides comprehensive sound post-production service with the highest quality standards. In addition, the company ventured into the production of its own content, rigorously selected and managing to place the films in the festivals with the highest level of world cinema, for example, Utama Winner at Sundance 2022.
Javier Palleiro - Director
Born in Uruguay in 1976, Javier Palleiro embarked on his directing career in 2007. He co-wrote and co-directed Buen Viaje, a short film in the Official Competition at Cannes 2008, also honored at Zinebi, Bilbao. Serving as an associate producer, he contributed to the success of Las flores de mi familia, awarded at Fidocs. Additionally, he co-wrote and produced Solo, recognized as Best Opera Prima at the Miami International Film Festival 2013. Palleiro co-produced Argentine films including La Luz Incidente, Invisible and El Pampero. His latest work, Respirar, received support from the Berlinale Talent Campus, JIIFF, INCAA, and FIC.
Tefa tries to earn some money by doing a conjugal visit in a prison, so he can fulfill his dream of visiting alongside his best friend the famous amusement park built on the ruins of drug trafficking.
Sebastián Martínez - Productor
Producer for the short film Corteza, The Wolfgang Längsfeld FilmSchoolFest Prize in Münich, selected for Ficci and Pöff Shorts 2017. Head of Production in Modelo Estéreo, special mention from the jury at the Biarritz Amérique Latine Festival 2018. Producer for the fiction miniseries El corazón de la mujer y otros desventuras, an adaptation of the work by the same name written by Soledad Acosta de Samper. He is currently producing Meteorito, Sebastián Múnera’s second film, who also directed La torre.
Sebastián Múnera - Director
His passion for cinema began at nights in a film club that he ran in a small cultural house. His fascination with images led him to study visual arts, but he always remained close to cinematographic thinking. Múnera creates works in the form of video installations and/or films. In 2018, his feature film “La torre” premiered at the IFFR - International Film Festival of Rotterdam in the Bright Future section, and at the FICCI - International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias.
Premio Tres Esquimales.
Bochador (Argentina) produced by Leandro Custo and directed by Santiago Dulce won the Tres Esquimales Award, which consists of US$4000 for the development of the project.
The production company Tres Esquimales grants the chosen project in development, selected by the jury, the sum of USD 4000 for project development.
The production company Tres Esquimales, which develops its own projects and those of other filmmakers, was founded in 2014 and is led by Karina and Sandra Flomenbaum.
Premio Cinéma en Développement - Cinélatino.
Cinelatino, with the support of the regional French audiovisual cooperation, awards an invitation to one of the selected projects to participate in the 36th Rencontres de Toulouse. This invitation includes travel, participation in the event, and accommodation for the project's producer.
Cinéma en Développement is a space designed as a connection point between professionals from Latin America and Europe. This space facilitates meetings, exchanges, and connections among filmmakers, producers, and professionals from both regions. The main goal of the platform is to foster contact between professionals interested in discovering new talents and projects and filmmakers and/or producers currently working on a project.
Among the directors who have participated in previous editions of Cinéma en Développement, we find names such as Celina Murga with "Una semana solos", Pablo Agüero with "Eva No duerme," Niles Atallah with "Rey", Alejandro Fernández Almendras with "Matar a un Hombre", Oscar Ruiz Navia with "Los Hongos", Juliana Rojas with "As Boas Maneras", Marcelo Lordello with "Paterno", Marcelo Martinessi with "Las herederas", Pablo Zimbron with "Las Tinieblas", Laura Mora with "Los reyes del Mundo", Lillah Halla with "Levante", Theo Montoya with "Anhell69", Andrés Ramírez Pulido with "La Jauría", etc.
JIIFF LAB is designed as a space to create Encounters. Those attending the laboratory have the opportunity to develop their feature film projects and engage in dialogues with peers from the international industry, officials focused on co-production policies, and production professionals who contribute to their training to create potential alliances.
JIIFF LAB focuses on the development of feature film projects. It is a laboratory organized for each director-producer duo to work on the script, project design, potential allies, and then strengthen their project for completing financing and production.
The 2023 edition featured projects from 5 countries: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic
All participants were part of a laboratory that allowed them to grow their projects and attend special classes with producers and key figures in international film production.
