Chilean documentary cinema reached a new international milestone at the 41st edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, where Chile also played a leading role as the guest country of honor. This strengthened presence translated into a remarkable participation of films, delegations, and industry activities, consolidating the country’s position at one of Ibero-America’s most important film gatherings.
In this context, Here the Silence Is Heard, directed by Gabriela Pena and Picho García, was awarded the FEISAL Prize for Best Film, one of the distinctions granted by the Federation of Latin American Schools of Image and Sound.
The film—produced by Grieta Cine and co-produced by Cine Matriz, led by Gabriela Sandoval, and Gris Medio, led by Efthymia Zymvragaki—stands out for its sensory approach and its use of sound as a narrative axis. Through an intimate and political exploration, the film creates a space where listening becomes central, inviting viewers to inhabit silences charged with memory and meaning.
The FEISAL Award, which highlights works that expand audiovisual language and engage with new generations, finds in this film a clear example of formal risk and thematic depth.
During the ceremony, Picho García shared words that reflect the heart of the project:
“She [director Gabriela Pena] is the third generation carrying these traumas caused by human rights violations during the Chilean dictatorship. And with great intuition, courage, patience, and love, she chose to take on this story in order to care for her grandparents and allow their memory to find rest. And, as the film suggests, they do so by opening the door to everything that hurts and everything that heals. So I hope that, through this small gesture, we can care with love and show deep respect in preserving our history, which so often remains cyclical.”
But the recognitions for Chile did not stop there. In the festival’s industry section, the documentary project The Boy Girl and the Gothic Orca (El Niño Niña y la Orka Gótika) also had a standout participation in DocuLab 18, where it received two awards that will support its next stages. On one hand, it secured direct selection to #LINK, and on the other, it received the Caffeine Award, which includes online conforming, a delivery package, and LTO with deliverables—key tools for its development and future international circulation.
These achievements not only celebrate the awarded works, but also form part of an especially significant year for Chile in Guadalajara. As the guest country of honor, Chile was able to amplify the visibility of its cinema and projects in development, reaffirming the current moment of Chilean documentary: a cinema committed to sensitivity, memory, and new ways of telling what still resonates.
internacional@chiledoc.cl
@copyright Corporación Chilena del Documental CCDoc
