CinemaChile Reports 20.5% Growth of Film Sector Over Past Season

CinemaChile unveils its 2026-2027 catalog at the San Sebastián Festival on Sept. 21 where it has much to celebrate, with eight titles screening across seven sections, led by Pablo Larrain’s “My Sad Dead,” a 4-part Netflix series that has been combined to make a roughly three-hour feature that competes for the Golden Shell.

Unsurprisingly, the catalog proves that this tiny county of some 20 million inhabitants continues to punch above its weight, with the catalog reporting a 20.5% growth in Chile’s film industry compared with the 2025-2026 period.

Said Gabriela Sandoval, a CinemaChile board member: “We have gone from 156 to 188 titles, which is clearly great news and demonstrates the strength of Chilean cinema, which has continued to grow over the past five years.” In 2021, Chile reported 139 titles.

Sandoval notes that the latest figures bring further positive developments: Of the 188 films, 66 are directed or co-directed by women, while 100 are productions or co-productions featuring leading industry professionals.

“The work of female directors and producers is not only growing, but their films are also shining around the world,” she said, pointing to the Chilean filmmakers and producers attending this year’s San Sebastián Festival.

Also notable is that more than 80% of the titles are international co-productions, linking Chile with 23 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the U.K., the U.S., South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Qatar.

Given the country’s size, this is to be expected. As Pablo Larrain’s producing partner and brother Juan de Dios Larraín pointed out at a talk held at the Guadalajara Film Festival in April, it was precisely the size of Chile’s market that has forced them and their peers to look outward in order to make their films.

“Co-production isn’t just helpful—it’s essential to Chilean cinema. There’s really no other way to do it. You can’t finance a film purely through the Chilean market; the numbers just don’t add up. So, from early on, going out and seeking funding became a fundamental part of the process – it’s built into the system,” he said.

“In a way, that limitation forces growth. It pushes you to adapt, collaborate and think beyond your own borders from the very beginning,” he added.

Noted Sandoval: “The catalogue is a snapshot of an increasingly diverse, internationalized and connected sector, where new voices coexist with established filmmakers.”

“Beyond the growing number of titles, the 188 films offer a clear picture of the Chilean audiovisual sector today: active, diverse and deeply connected to the world.”

She added: “San Sebastián is especially significant for presenting the catalogue because that same picture is reflected in the Festival’s programming. Chilean cinema appears across sections, formats and generations, from Official Selection to New Directors, Horizontes Latinos, Perlak, Zabaltegi, Made in Spain and Zinemira. This breadth reflects what CinemaChile wants to show: there is no single way to define Chilean cinema today.”

Aside from Larrain’s film in main competition, New Directors features Thomas Woodroffe’s debut “Erratics” (“Bloques erráticos”) vies for the main prize in the festival’s New Directors compeition and Horizontes Latinos includes two films by established female directors, Manuela Martelli’s “The Meltdown” (El deshielo”) and Dominga Sotomayor’s “The Dog” (“La perra”).

Zabaltegi features Felipe Luis’ Cannes-winning short “For the Opponents” (“Para los contrincantes”) while Perlak presents John Malkovich-led “Wild Horse Nine,” shot on Easter Island and starring Chilean actresses Mariana di Girolamo and Paola Giannini.

Made in Spain screens “This Body of Mine” (Este cuerpo mío”) by Chilean-born director Afioco Gnecco, partly shot in Chile. Zinemira features the animated feature “Winnipeg, the Seed of Hope” (“Winnipeg, el barco de la esperanza”).