Chile Chosen as 2025 Focus Country for Venice Production Bridge (EXCLUSIVE)

Making good on a recent slew of awards at Venice for Chilean films, Chile will be the Venice Production Bridge’s Focus Country in 2025.

The announcement was made Thursday at the Venice Film Festival by Carolina Arredondo, Chile’s Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage. This coincided with the world premiere of Chilean director Pablo Larraín’s “María,” starring Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, on Venice’s Lido.

“This is a significant achievement for our creators, who have found in Venice a crucial platform to internationalize their projects,” Arredondo underscored. “Being the Focus Country will allow us to strengthen Chile’s audiovisual industry and attract new opportunities for co-production and global promotion.”

The honor comes after a decade or more of Chile punching above its weight as an international film force, dating back broadly to Larraín’s 2012 “NO,” starring Gael García Bernal. Since 2012, Chilean films have accumulated two Academy Award wins and seven nominations, the best tally of any country in South America.

Although Larraín’s “El Conde” won best screenplay at Venice last year, the Festival prize count since 2021 also highlights the depth of talent in Chilean cinema beyond well-known figures like Pablo Larraín, Sebastián Lelio, and Maite Alberdi. Emerging talents have also begun to make their mark.

Tana Gilbert’s “Malqueridas” took three awards in Venice Critics’ Week last year, while Fernando Guzzoni’s “Blanquita” nabbed the screenplay award in Venice Horizons. León & Cociña’s “Los Huesos” was awarded best short film in 2021, and Theo Court’s “White on White” won best director at Venice Horizons in 2019.

Despite its relatively small domestic market, with a $127.3 million box office gross in 2023, Chile has habitually looked to international co-production as a model, even before it became widely adopted.

Produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli, and Jonas Dornbach for Italy’s The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, along with Larraín’s Fabula, Germany’s Komplizen, and Fremantle as part of a Fremantle-Fabula first-look deal, “María” exemplifies cinematic cooperation. Arredondo emphasized that it “clearly contributes to the global projection of Chilean cinema.”

Chile’s presence at the Venice Festival and Production Bridge also includes Argentinian Luis Ortega’s “Kill the Jockey,” starring Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Úrsula Corberó, and co-starring Chile’s Mariana di Girolamo.

Persistent international co-production ensures a significant presence at the Production Bridge. This year, for example, Court will present the allegorical murder mystery “Three Dark Nights,” starring Alfredo Castro, from Chile’s Quijote Films. Additionally, Quijote Films will feature “To Die on Your Feet” by María Paz González.

Seasoned Chilean production company 17 Films will attend with “Ugly Man,” directed by Italian Cosimo Gómez. Chilean filmmaker Stjepan Ostoic will unveil the Chilean desert-set “Dysphoria,” and Clara Films Chile’s Shawn Garry will present “Now They’re Coming For Us,” set in a gated community.

Chile’s recognition as the Focus Country at the Venice Production Bridge 2025 not only increases the visibility of national cinema but also boosts the local economy. This encourages investment and cultural tourism, a key objective of President Gabriel Boric’s government.