• Landless Children; No Money No Honey; The Grand Illusion; and The Tiger of the East are the Chilean documentaries, in final editing stage, that will participate in the Chilean Showcase of Cannes Docs, at Marché du Film.
• Producer María José Díaz was selected in the Cannes Immersive Market‘s Curators Network program for virtual reality projects.
• In addition, more than 10 documentaries that address diverse themes and formats make up the rich catalog of the Chilean non-fiction delegation at the most important market in the world.
Chilean Documentary Catalog at Marché du Film 2025
For the fifth time, Chile will be one of the countries participating in Cannes Docs, the documentary section of the Marché du Film, presenting a selection of four films in the Work in Progress stage, offering an overview of Chilean production to festivals, distributors, sales agents and other international industry representatives. This competitive space, where documentaries receive a great boost for the simple fact of participating, is called Docs-in-Progress Chile Showcase.
For Raúl Vilches, Head of the Creative Economy Department at ProChile, “Marché du Film is one of the most important markets in our annual agenda, where there is great public-private coordination to achieve a better performance of Chilean production companies in connection and promotion activities, through the two sectoral brands such as Chiledoc and CinemaChile. Currently, with two Oscar Awards and several nominations in world-class competitions, the Chilean audiovisual industry is being strongly recognized in major markets and we believe that this year’s Marché du Film will be no exception.
The Marché du Film will take place from May 13 to 21, 2025. The presentation of the Chilean documentaries is scheduled for Monday, May 19, from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. in Lérins 4 at the Palais des Festivals. In addition, Chiledoc will hold a networking activity in conjunction with German Films & German Documentaries, to connect the Chilean and German documentary communities with international stakeholders.
According to Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc, “once again, Chile arrives at the Marché du Film with a broad portfolio of projects and documentary films, with powerful narratives that stand out for their diversity of languages and themes”. In this sense, Ossandón emphasizes that “Chilean documentaries have managed to position themselves globally for their artistic quality, for raising universal issues with creative points of view and for their capacity for exploration that manages to awaken astonishment.”
The Chilean documentary delegation at this important event is composed of René Ballesteros, Nicole Bonilla, Mixie Araya, Diego Pino, Paola Castillo, Daniela Camino, Carola Fuentes, María José Díaz, Juan Ignacio Sabatini, Nicole Costa, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Sebastián Pereira, Jorge Acevedo, Valentina Roblero, Felipe Bustos Sierra, Nicolás Videla, plus the director of Chiledoc, Paula Ossandón.
This year, producer María José Díaz (Galgo Storytelling), will take the new languages of Chilean documentaries to the Marché du Film, through her participation in the Curators Network section of the Cannes Immersive Market, for virtual reality projects. This is a program for creators and curators of museums and cultural spaces, with the aim of promoting New Media projects in Location Based Entertainment (LBE).
The following is a complete overview of Chilean documentary projects and films that will be at the Marché du Film.
Docs-in-Progress Chile Showcase
The Tiger of the East
Directed by Jorge Acevedo Carrasco
Produced by Mixie Araya Soler
Custodio, a young Chilean cowboy and self-taught musician, decides to leave his hometown to pursue the dream of a lifetime: becoming a real musician and performing in Mexico. His desire to give a song he wrote to Los Tigres del Norte becomes the driving force that finally pushes him to embark on this important journey.
No Money No Honey
Directed by Nicole Costa
Produced by Daniela Camino
While watching old VHS tapes, Máxima, an Argentinian sex worker, longs for the wild and glamorous days when she made big money in Miami, as she confronts the ghosts of a childhood marked by abandonment and abuse. As she comes to terms with her past, she finds strength in the urgent needs of her trans and Latinx community, which gives her the drive to keep going.
The Grand Illusion
Directed by Sebastián Pereira
Produced by Gonzalo Rodríguez Varas
Roberto (26), a young Cuban actor, wanders the streets of Havana fantasizing about joining the cast of a Netflix series. The murder of a producer, a counterrevolutionary proposal, and conversations where traces of Chile begin to emerge might all be part of the grand illusion shared by the characters involved.
Landless Children
Directed by René Ballesteros
Produced by Camille Laemlé, Nicole Bonilla, and Johanne Schatz
Two Chilean adoptees embark on separate journeys to their homeland: one to Mapuche territory in search of the truth behind his adoption, and the other in pursuit of identity in a land that feels both lost and forgotten.
Other titles to be added to the Chilean documentary portfolio
The large delegation of directors and producers arriving at the Marché du Film will bring projects at different stages of development and finished films, in search of partners and buyers.
Artifacts of War
Directed by Jorge Caballero
Produced by Anna Giralt and Diego Pino Anguita
Set at an arms fair, Artifacts of War interweaves reality and fiction to explore the complex world of non-lethal weapons and their impact on society, politics, and human rights.
Black Cocaine
Directed by Cristóbal Valenzuela
Produced by: Flor Rubina, Emiliano Mazza de Luca, and Adriana González
1995. On a deserted beach in Uruguay, a skeleton with two bullets in its skull is found. It is the remains of Chilean biochemist Eugenio Berríos. This discovery marks the starting point of a dark biographical portrait—a thin black line that runs through recent history, between dictatorships, lethal poisons, and hills of cocaine. A political life so violent that it ultimately led to his own self-destruction.
The Last Witness
Directed by Francesc Relea
Produced by Juan Pablo Sallato, Juan Ignacio Sabatini, and Ismael Larraín
1995. On a deserted beach in Uruguay, a skeleton with two bullets in its skull is found. It is the remains of Chilean biochemist Eugenio Berríos. This discovery marks the starting point of a dark biographical portrait—a thin black line that runs through recent history, between dictatorships, lethal poisons, and hills of cocaine. A political life so violent that it ultimately led to his own self-destruction.
The Letelier File
Directed by Rafael Valdeavellano and Nicolás Acuña
Produced by Mitzy Saldivia
The Letelier File unveils the hidden web of spies, secret agents, and covert operations behind the explosive 1976 car-bomb assassination of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C.’s Embassy Row, exposing an international diplomatic scandal whose full story emerges today as the 50th anniversary approaches.
The Capture
Directed by Rafael Valdeavellano
Produced by Rafael Valdeavellano and Carola Fuentes
In 2005, after decades of impunity, Paul Schäfer, leader of Colonia Dignidad, was captured. Narrated by Rafael Valdeavellano, the film recounts the relentless pursuit of three key figures behind his arrest, revealing trauma, resilience, and the lasting cost of truth.
Knowing Your Nature
Directed by Francisca Silva
Produced by María José Díaz
This mixed-reality experience is inspired by the native forests of southern Chile. Through ten interactive trails, users explore landscapes such as rivers, mountains, and temperate rainforests while training their minds with mindfulness practices. The environment subtly responds to the visitor’s internal states, inviting them to discover the connections between the outer forest and the inner landscape of the mind. Each location holds a revelation and an invitation to keep exploring nature, both the forest and the mind, in a journey toward well-being sustained by mindful awareness.
A Troop of Bears
Directed by Christian Martínez, Pachi Bustos, and Paola Castillo
Produced by Christian Martínez, Pachi Bustos, Paola Castillo, and Daniela Mujica
A Troop of Bears tells the story of the encounter between Chris and Manuel, the son of a forcibly disappeared man, and the person who handed him over during Chile’s civil-military dictatorship. The documentary explores the lingering traces of forced disappearance, betrayal, silence, and guilt, while offering new images to dream of what could have been.
Burning Daddy
Directed by Tana Gilbert
Produced by Paola Castillo, Dirk Manthey, and Carolina Astudillo
Camila and her family piece together the image of her father, a con man. An imaginary journey through family photographs, decades of court records, and memories fractured by his violence.
The Conference
Directed by Rodrigo Marín
Produced by Valentina Roblero Arellano
1975. Four young members of the revolutionary leftist movement are forced to surrender in front of the TV cameras of Pinochet’s dictatorship. They are hunted by the military police and sentenced to death by their own movement. After total defeat, the two survivors try to go on living.
Dysphoria Football Club
Directed by Inti Lorca
Produced by Nicolás Videla
Cris, the leader of the first trans and non-binary soccer team in Chile, leads their team on the road to a championship in São Paulo, Brazil. Amid financial challenges and the social fight for visibility, the team’s unity is put to the test. After the tournament, returning to Chile brings an inevitable transformation: Cris steps down from their role, marking the beginning of a new chapter for Dysphoria Fútbol Club. This leadership transition signals the end of a legacy that reshapes the history of the sport.
Madame Wittmann’s Criminal Record
Directed by Nicolás Videla and Anastasia Benavente
Produced by Kevin Magne, Nicolás Videla, and Evelyn Wittmann
The transsexual vedette Evelyn Wittmann (74), who escaped the dictatorship and settled in France, returns to Chile in search of a lost documentary from 1969, in which she claims to have appeared as a result of a police raid on the mythical boîte »La casa de la tía Carlina» (Aunt Carlina’s house).
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