Los Inexpertos received the Best Project Award at the 15th Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, while Las ilusiones received the DALE! Award. Both projects are part of international co-productions.
The San Sebastián Film Festival has announced the awards for its main industry programs, with two Argentine projects among the recipients. Los Inexpertos (The Amateurs), the potential debut feature by Argentine filmmaker Felipe Solari Yrigoyen, received the Best Project Award at the 15th Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, while Las ilusiones, written and directed by Ingrid Pokropek, received the DALE! Award (Latin America-Europe Development). The awards recognize projects at different stages of development and production and reinforce Argentina’s presence in an edition of the industry program marked by co-productions between Latin America and Europe.
Los Inexpertos (The Amateurs) is a co-production between Chile, Argentina and Mexico, produced by Quijote Films, Gentil Cine and Panorama Global. The Argentine company Gentil Cine is participating alongside Chilean company Quijote Films, associated with titles such as The Settlers, by Felipe Gálvez, and The Wind Blows the Fire, by Paula Hernández, and Mexican company Panorama Global. Solari Yrigoyen’s project received the main award of the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, worth €30,000.
The film is set in a small town in Patagonia during a huge international convention of film collectors. The disappearance of a Russian collector, along with the alleged original Maltese Falcon from The Maltese Falcon, triggers an investigation involving an underprepared Buenos Aires translator. The story is structured in eight chapters and unfolds through different points of view, as its characters’ mistakes drive a plot that combines black comedy, crime and a strong connection to cinephile culture. Los Inexpertos was also selected as a winner of the INCAA 2025 First Feature Competition, produced by Gentil Cine, and has previously participated in other international development and industry programs.
The second Argentine project recognized in San Sebastián was Las ilusiones, by Ingrid Pokropek, which received the DALE! Award, dedicated to the development of co-production projects between Latin America and Europe. The film is a co-production between Argentina and Spain, with 36 Caballos as the Argentine production company and Jaibo Films as its Spanish co-producer. Pokropek serves as director and screenwriter, while the project was developed by 36 Caballos, an Argentine company associated with the filmmaker and producers Juan Segundo Álamo and Iván Moscovich. The award includes €10,000 for the majority production company.
Las ilusiones is a fantasy story set in Buenos Aires and built around a premise: three people make wishes upon a shooting star, but a mistake causes each wish to be granted to someone else. A sculptor seeking recognition, a musician hoping to recover a lost love, and a teenage girl wishing for her father to come back to life become connected through a series of crossed wishes. The project has previously participated in the Berlinale Talents Project Market and the ECAM Forum, and its recognition in San Sebastián adds another milestone to its international development.
The industry awards were completed by the prizes presented by WIP Latam, WIP Europa, Ikusmira Berriak and Lau Haizetara. At WIP Latam, Lovers Go Home!, by Juan Sebastián Mesa, received the Industry Award, while Galerna, by Tatiana Huezo, received the EGEDA Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam. At WIP Europa, Me Fjalë Tjera / In a Manner of Speaking, by Val Jashari, received both the Industry Award and the WIP Europa Award. The ARTEKINO International Prize went to El último sonidero, by Mexican filmmaker Selma Cervantes.
At Ikusmira Berriak, The Spirit Healer Is Away for the Weekend, by Inês Nunes, received the Casa Wabi-Escine Award, while Akira, by Ekain Albite, received the Tanta and Sideral Awards. Meanwhile, the 22nd Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum awarded Hamaka, by Alfonso García, with the EPE-IBAIA-ELKARGI Award; Pajarracos, by Zaira Zanguitu, with the Music Library & SFX Award; and Different Colors of Sabir, by Safaa Khatib, with the Dogwoof Award.