Latin America Goes to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

The 59th Czech International Film Festival helped build bridges between Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean with 5 EU-LAC films screened, a Dominican project at the Midpoint Queer Lab, and a policy dialogue bringing together professionals from both regions.

Diana Lodderhose, Nicolas Celis, and Alessandro Rossi during a conference

During various exchanges held in Cannes, Berlin, Cartagena de Indias, and other festivals linked to the EULAC Cinema initiative, professionals and institutional representatives from Latin America consistently highlighted the underrepresentation of Latin American cinema at European festivals—especially when compared to the significant presence of some EU countries at Latin American events. To help address this imbalance, the European External Action Service (EEAS) partnered with the leading international film festival in Central and Eastern Europe to boost Latin American visibility at the 2025 edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF).

Five EULAC co-productions featured in KVIFF’s 2025 official selection: The Anatomy of the Horses by Daniel Vidal Toche, Kill the Jockey by Luis Ortega, Kontinental ’25 by Radu Jude, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo by Diego Céspedes, and The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro. These titles reflect the creative and thematic diversity that EULAC collaborations can generate.

Thanks to the support of the EULAC Cinema initiative, Dominican producer Yatnna Montilla and director Jeure Tavare took part in the Midpoint Intensive Queer lab with their feature project The House of the Mother. There, they received tailored mentorship on scriptwriting, production strategies, pitching, and distribution.

As part of the festival’s Industry Days, the roundtable “Unexpected Allies: Audiovisual Cooperation Between the EU and Latin America for Diversity in Cinema” brought together producers Radu Stancu (Romania), Nicolás Celis (Mexico), Yatnna Montilla (Dominican Republic), and Emilija Sluškonytė (Latvia), with Alessandro Rossi representing the EEAS. Moderated by Yago Mateo of the Cannes Marché du Film, the conversation underlined how shared challenges and values make cooperation between Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe both natural and urgent.

All speakers emphasized that co-productions are not just about funding—they are about expanding horizons, reaching new audiences, and fostering open-mindedness among creators. Radu Stancu pointed out that EULAC co-productions often target older audiences, and called for greater engagement with younger viewers.

Participating in Midpoint was instrumental to both our training and the development of our feature. This intensive workshop gave us tools for writing, pitching, and distribution. With tailored feedback, we connected with key people to continue the project beyond the lab. At Karlovy Vary, it was exactly what we needed to find European partners. These opportunities would have been difficult, or even impossible, for us to access otherwise. There should be more of them! So many stories are waiting to be told.”

Background

The Latin American presence in the Karloff Vary International Film Festival is linked to the values and objectives of the initiative (#EULAC #Cinema).

EULAC Cinema is one of the bi-regional initiatives of the EU-CELAC Roadmap 2023-2025, presented at the 2023 Summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Brussels and preparing the forthcoming EU-CELAC 2025 Summit in Colombia.