ECAM Forum, the new go-to international co-production market, has just announced the main program of its second edition, running June 10–13 at Madrid’s historical Matadero venue.
To mark the significance of this fast-expanding industry initiative, spearheaded by the prestigious ECAM film school in Madrid, today’s launch at the Spanish Pavilion in Cannes was attended by ICAA head Ignasi Camós and representatives from the Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council, key partners to the event.
After last year’s stellar kick-off, which served as a launchpad for several works in progress that went on to world premiere at A festivals, such as “Hanami” in Locarno, “Ariel,” “Gods of Stone” in Rotterdam, and “Los Tortuga” in Toronto, the 2025 slate of Films to Come (for projects in development) and Last Push (for films in post-production) looks equally enticing, now with an extra layer of international picks included for the first time.
“We want to promote Spanish cinema internationally and attract international talent to work in Spain. We understand that presenting a selection and making international exciting talents coexist with Spanish promising projects is a better way to promote their films,” said ECAM Forum coordinator Alberto Valverde.
As many as 267 international feature projects were submitted this year, more than double the 2024 tally. To ensure the highest quality, an A-list of international industry professionals curated the projects, which will be pitched to more than 300 professionals.
The Films to Come selection committee consists of producers Zsuzsanna Kiraly (Flaneur Films, Switzerland), Agustina Chiarino (Bocacha, Uruguay), Carla Sospedra (Edna Cinema, Spain) and programmer Lison Hervé (Les Arcs Industry Village).
From 202 submissions, fifteen projects, both national projects seeking international partners and international projects seeking co-production with Spanish co-producers and co-financiers, were selected. Co-production countries include Spain, France, the UK, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Estonia.
Five of the Films to Come selections are automatic entries from this year’s ECAM Incubator program: “The (Big) Rip,” “Face of Grace,” “Bai, Bai,” “The Eels’ Dilemma” and “I Breath Fire.”
In a notable trend, all 15 selected projects, after three rounds of deliberation, are directed by women, a fact highlighted by Valverde.
Projects to watch include “A Decorous Woman” by Natalia Luque, starring Chilean star Catalina Saavedra; “Nacimiento” by Sundance prize winner Francisca Alegría (“The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future”); the hybrid “Hospital of Irremediable Desires” by Iranian-born Maryam Tafakory, whose 2023 short “Mast-del” screened at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight; “Since You’ve Been Gone” by María Herrera (Goya winner for “Arquitectura emocional 1959”); and “Zuria,” the debut feature of esteemed producer Leire Apellaniz (“The Sacred Spirit”), twice picked by Variety among Spanish Producers to Watch.
The Last Push selection committee includes programmers Gaia Furrer (Venice Days), Violeta Bava (New York Film Festival, Venice Film Festival), Pamela Bienzobas (Locarno Film Festival) and writer/philologist Violeta Gil.
The eight final post-production titles from 65 applications span 12 co-production territories, including Spain, Argentina, Peru, France, Germany and Romania.
Standout projects seeking festivals, sales and top-up financing include the five-country co-production “Milk Teeth,” the second feature by Romanian helmer Mihai Mincan (“To the North”); the Colombian documentary “Before the Fire” by Ángel Giovanni Hoyos, pitched earlier at IDFA and CPH:DOX; and debut features from rising talents Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe with “Anekumen” and Claudia Estrada Tarascó with “Wolf Grrrls.”
The best project will receive a €15,000 ($16,700) cash prize from the Comunidad de Madrid.
Discussing trends across ECAM Forum’s two main pitch platforms, Valverde said: “The selection covers a rich variety of narrative and aesthetic approaches, with a presence of comedies, genre and science fiction, documentaries and classic fiction works. The selected projects demonstrate a passion for challenging the boundaries of genres and storytelling, showing a strong commitment to creative risk and authorship. We love to see a lot of first and second films with a super strong vision, backed by producers with some experience, both nationally and internationally. I genuinely think this is a super exciting selection, one to discover new voices.”
In addition to the Films to Come and Last Push projects, a slate of short films, now newly open to international projects from France, Greece, the Czech Republic, Chile and Colombia, will be presented in Madrid, alongside premium series in development.
As previously announced, through a new partnership between ECAM Forum and Conecta Film & Entertainment, a French delegation will attend both Spanish markets.
French auteur filmmaker Bertrand Bonello will deliver this year’s ECAM Forum centerpiece masterclass on June 12, in partnership with Cineteca Madrid and Filmadrid Festival.
Among last year’s 300+ attendees were top sales outfits Goodfellas, MK2, Co-production Office, Film Boutique and programmers from Sundance, Berlinale, Rotterdam, Zurich, Marrakesh and Series Mania.
Watch for further details of the program, including the series in development, closer to the ECAM Forum.
Last Push
“Anekumen” (Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe, Spain)
Produced by Leire Apellaniz and Carmen Lacasa for Señor y Señora (“The Sacred Spirit”).
Next Step Critics’ Week selectee Agirretxe makes her debut with a socially engaged drama centered on factory workers in San Sebastián, 1978, during a strike. “I intend to reflect on the notion of collectivism, emphasizing the political dimension of the personal and the intimate,” said the rising filmmaker, who developed her script at various residencies, including FIDLab and Locarno Residency. Backed by ICAA, the project was pre-sold to RTVE and EITB.
“Balearic” (Ion de Sosa, Spain, France)
Produced by Umbracle Cine, Apellaniz y de Sosa, Jaibo Films, La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma
Following the genre-bending “Mamántola” (San Sebastián Zabaltegi 2023), de Sosa turns to survival drama with “Balearic,” in which three ferocious dogs trap a group of young people in a pool at a luxury house they’ve sneaked into, while neighbors gather nearby to celebrate the start of summer. “It’s a fable-like film in two parts that loosely explores what happens to us as we grow older,” de Sosa said. The film stars Christina Rosenvinge, Luka Péros and Maria Llopis.
“Before the Fire” (“Antes del fuego”, Ángel Giovanni Hoyos, Colombia, Germany)
Produced by Séptima Films and Parabellum Films.
Pitched at IDFA’s Producers Connection and CPH:DOX Forum, Hoyos’ second documentary tackles colonialism and identity through the story of a Mapuche community in southern Argentina fighting to reclaim their ancestral land.
‘Before the Fire’
Séptima Films
“Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes” (“Anoche conquisté Tebas”, Gabriel Azorín, Spain, Portugal)
Produced by Spain’s DVEIN Films, Filmika Galaika, and Portugal’s Bando à Parte, with financing from ICAA, AGADIC, ICA, RTVE, TVG, RTP and Ibermedia.
Named by Variety as one of 10 Spanish directors to watch in 2022, Azorín delivers a dual-timeline narrative set in Roman baths, where a 21st-century boy shares a hot bath with a 1st-century Roman soldier, both reflecting on their own frailty. The project participated in Rotterdam Darkroom, Venice Gap Financing Market, Ikusmira Berriak, ECAM Incubadora and Las Residencias de la Academia de Cine.
“Milk Teeth” (“Dinti de lapte”, Mihai Mincan, Romania, France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria)
Produced by deFilm, in co-production with Strom Pictures, Studio Bauhaus and Screening Emotions.
Following the multi-award-winning “To the North” (Venice Orizzonti 2022), Mincan’s second feature is set during the final days of Ceaușescu’s regime in Romania. A ten-year-old girl becomes the last witness to her sister’s mysterious disappearance and must find the courage to grow up in a collapsing world. The project won the Torino Film Lab 2023 Production Award.
“The Art of War” (“El arte de la guerra”, Grecia Barbieri, Gonzalo Benavente Secco, Peru)
Produced by Autocinema, in association with Animalita and Micula Studio.
This documentary follows a newly discovered archive linked to an ’80s fanzine titled The Art of War, guiding viewers through a polyphonic portrait where reality and artistic representations of Peru in the ’80s and ’90s blur. “It’s a sensory journey through multiple representations of violence,” said Barbieri.
“Wolf Grrrls” (“Salen las lobas”, Claudia Estrada Tarascó, Spain, Belgium)
Produced by Alba Sotorra, Novak Prod and Vampire Films.
Tarascó’s feature debut highlights the resilience of young women in juvenile detention centers. It follows a misunderstood teenager planning to escape with new friends to perform in a trap music contest. The project won the Filmin Prize at the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Lab.
‘Wolf Grrrls’
Credit: Alba Sotorra
“Don’t Tidy or Clean My Room I Like It As It Is” (“No arreglen ni limpien mi habitación”, Ignacio Ceroi, Argentina, France)
Produced by Un Puma, Pionera Cine and La Casa de al Lado.
In 2019, Ceroi buys a used handycam from France and discovers the previous owner never erased his videos, though attempts to contact him fail. Years later, after making a movie from the material, Ceroi uncovers a clue to the man’s whereabouts.
Films to Come
“Extrañas criaturas” (“Hybrids”) by Ainhoa Bolaños, produced by Charli Bujosa Cortés, Mansalva Films (Spain)
“La linda” by Francina Carbonell, produced by María Paz González and Gema Juárez Allen for María una Vez (Chile) with Gema Films (Argentina)
“Nacimiento” (“Nativity”) by Francisca Alegría, produced by Giancarlo Nasi, Quijote Films (Chile)
“Desde que tú te has ido” (“Since You’ve Been Gone”) by María Herrera, produced by Emi Fort, Avalon (Spain)
“Sukhte-del” (“Hospital of Irremediable Desires”) by Maryam Tafakory, produced by Daniella Shreir (UK, France)
“Las ilusiones” (“The Illusions”) by Ingrid Pokropek, produced by Juan Segundo Álamos, 36 Caballos (Argentina)
“Zuria” by Leire Apellaniz, produced by Nahikari Ipiña, Señor y Señora, Sayaka Producciones (Spain)
“Señorita de buena presencia” (“A Decorous Woman”) by Natalia Luque, produced by Rodrigo Díaz, Tomsa Films, Madre Content (Chile, France)
“Canción Animal” (“Animal Song”) by Nerea Castro, produced by Katixa De Silva, CSC Films (Spain)
“La pintura” (“The Painting”) by Paula Moreno Vergara, Esteban Hoyos García, produced by Esteban Hoyos García, Marianne Ostrat, Selva Producciones, Alexandra Film (Colombia, Estonia)
“El (gran) desgarro” (“The (Big) Rip”) by Rai María, produced by Cristina Hergueta, Garde (Spain)
“Cara de santa” (“Face of Grace”) by Anna Martí Domingo and Laura Santos Martí, produced by Mayca Sanz, Laura Rubirola, Allegra Films, Nocturna Pictures (Spain)
“Bai, Bai” by Alba Esquinas, produced by Alejandro González Clemente, Mubox Studio, Solita Films (Spain)
“El dilema de las anguilas” (“The Eels’ Dilemma”) by Elena Molina, produced by Montse Pujol Solà, Guspira Films (Spain)
“Respirando fuego” (“I Breathe Fire”) by Carmen Jiménez, produced by David González Marcelo, Tatiana Villacob, La Filmahora (Spain)
