Chile’s Banner Year: 45 International Awards and Counting

variety.com:

Anna Marie de la Fuente It’s been a banner year for Chile’s audiovisual industry. According to statistics compiled by promotional org CinemaChile, the country’s cinema amassed 45 international awards during the first half of 2022.

Since then, more prizes have been rolling in. Among the latest is actress-director Manuela Martelli’s feature debut “1976” which won best debut film at the Jerusalem Film Festival aside from scooping three main plaudits at the 26th Lima Festival, including Best Film.One question is how did Chilean cinema reach this point.

One answer is a new generation of women cineastes and platform backing, both driving the next stage of growth in Chilean cinema and its creative confidence and sense of artistic urgency.

The country produces an average of 30 films a year, of which at least five receive international acclaim any given year. “Being a small market of merely 19 million inhabitants obliges us to go beyond our borders to seek funding and international partners in order to develop and produce content,” says producer Maria Elena Wood. “We also have the capacity to generate local stories with universal appeal, capable of captivating and engaging global audiences,” she adds.For Gabriela Sándoval, president of APCT (Association of Film and Television Producers Guild) and head of Chilean industry forum Sanfic Industria, Chile has not only marked the “first half of the year with recognitions in quantitative terms, but also in quality where both film and TV productions have scaled new heights,” she says.