Santiago’s Sanfic-Morbido Lab is expanding its reach across the region with a new initiative aimed at boosting female genre filmmakers, teaming up with Spain’s Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival and the Fantastic WIP showcase. The program, dubbed WomanInFan Southern Cone Alliance, is designed to foster collaboration and visibility for women working in horror, fantasy, and other genre spaces across Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.
The alliance will serve as a bridge between the lab’s existing support structure and the wider international genre circuit, giving selected projects a clearer path to major festivals and industry events. By linking Sanfic-Morbido’s development workshops with Sitges’ prestigious platform and Fantastic WIP’s work-in-progress screenings, the initiative hopes to create a more seamless journey from early script to finished film for emerging female voices in the Southern Cone.
Sanfic-Morbido Lab has long been a key player in nurturing Latin American genre cinema, operating as part of the larger Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic). The lab’s focus on horror and fantasy has helped position Chile as a growing hub for bold, unconventional storytelling, and this new alliance doubles down on that mission with a specific emphasis on gender equity. Organizers see the partnership as a natural extension of their work, offering not just mentoring and feedback but also tangible opportunities for projects to reach buyers, distributors, and festival programmers.
The collaboration with Sitges is particularly significant given the Spanish festival’s standing as one of the world’s most important genre showcases. For Southern Cone filmmakers, access to that stage can be transformative, providing exposure to a curated international audience and industry insiders who are actively looking for fresh, distinctive voices. Fantastic WIP, meanwhile, operates as a focused event where filmmakers can present unfinished projects to a room of potential financiers and collaborators, making it a practical next step for works that have already gone through development.
WomanInFan’s approach will involve selecting a small cohort of projects led by women directors or producers from the three participating countries. Those selected will receive tailored mentoring, pitch training, and feedback from a roster of international experts brought in through the alliance’s networks. Beyond the developmental components, the program will also facilitate direct connections with the Sitges community, including meetings with sales agents, festival curators, and genre-savvy producers who understand the specific challenges and rewards of this kind of filmmaking.
The launch of the alliance comes at a time when genre cinema from Latin America is gaining increased international traction, with films from the region regularly appearing at major festivals and finding audiences through streaming platforms. The Southern Cone, in particular, has produced a string of notable horror and fantasy titles in recent years, blending local folklore and sociopolitical commentary with universal genre tropes. However, women remain underrepresented in these spaces, both in front of and behind the camera, a gap that WomanInFan aims to address head-on.
Sanfic-Morbido’s existing track record makes it a credible steward for this kind of initiative. The lab has already supported a number of projects that have gone on to festival acclaim, and its integration within the larger Sanfic structure provides resources and visibility that standalone workshops often lack. By formalizing a regional alliance, the organizers hope to avoid the fragmented, one-off nature of many development opportunities, instead building a sustained ecosystem where filmmakers can return for multiple stages of their careers.
For Sitges, the partnership offers a chance to deepen its ties with Latin American genre cinema, strengthening a pipeline that has already brought the festival some of its most talked-about discoveries. The Spanish event has historically been welcoming to unconventional work, and its programming often reflects a global perspective that extends well beyond European borders. The alliance gives Sitges a more direct role in shaping projects from the Southern Cone, rather than simply premiering them after they’re completed.
Fantastic WIP, which already operates with a cross-border mindset, fits naturally into this configuration. Its focus on works in progress means it can act as a validation point for projects that have moved past the development phase, offering practical feedback on editing, sound design, and market positioning. For filmmakers in the WomanInFan cohort, that means a clear roadmap: start at Sanfic-Morbido, refine through mentorship, and eventually present a near-finished film to a room of decision-makers at Fantastic WIP.
The announcement marks an early concrete step for the alliance, with organizers indicating that details on application windows, selection criteria, and specific programming will be shared in the coming months. The initiative is expected to open its first call for projects before the end of the year, with the initial cohort likely to be announced in early 2027. That timeline would allow selected filmmakers to participate in the next editions of both Sitges and Fantastic WIP, aligning the program’s milestones with the festivals’ annual rhythms.
As the genre landscape continues to evolve, initiatives like WomanInFan are becoming increasingly important in ensuring that the stories being told are as diverse as the audiences watching them. By connecting a local lab with international platforms, the alliance offers a practical model for how regional support structures can scale their impact without losing their focus on specific, underserved voices.
Source: Variety