Industry Days April 28–30
Industry Days is a professional program of the Alternativa Film Festival that takes place in parallel with the festival screenings and precedes the Awards Ceremony. The program brings together filmmakers, producers, impact organizations, and social change leaders, serving as a meeting point for industry professionals across the globe. Industry Days provides a space for dialogue, inspiring conversations, and new collaborations between film professionals and impact field builders. Like the festival itself, each edition of Industry Days focuses on a new region. In 2026, the focus region is Latin America.
In Medellín, the three-day program will include panel discussions organized jointly with LatAm partners — Proimágenes Colombia, Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM), Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (FICG), DocsMX, Nodo Sur, and Cine Qua Non Lab — as well as a networking session and one-to-one meetings for filmmakers whose films have been selected for the Competition program of the Alternativa Film Festival 2026.
All Industry Days events are free — sign up here to be notified when registration opens.
Key themes
- Impact lies at the heart of Alternativa’s work — from the films we support to our training programs, distribution initiatives, community work, and partnerships. Alternativa focuses on stories that have the power to create change, influence society, and challenge conventional ways of understanding injustice. We believe in cinema as a subtle yet unstoppable force — one that fosters empathy, broadens perspectives, and inspires people to become part of positive change.
- Distribution is one of Alternativa’s key strategic priorities today. Through its programs and partnerships, Alternativa explores diverse ways of expanding audiences for impactful films, highlighting both traditional and innovative distribution models. We aim to spotlight successful case studies of films addressing urgent global issues and support a new generation of distributors and changemakers working through cinema.
- Connecting filmmakers and industry professionals across the Global South is a core part of Alternativa’s mission. Through Industry Days, we bring together voices from Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Central Asia — regions that may seem distant but share deep common ground in their histories, values, and future challenges. We encourage collaboration across these territories and create space for meaningful exchange and long-term partnerships.
The Industry Days 2026 program is centered around three main topics that are currently among the most urgent and challenging in the world of cinema: distribution, coproduction, and impact. We plan to explore visionary and forward-looking practices in these areas, connecting films, filmmakers, and their rapidly evolving audiences in our ever-changing world. That is why I am confident that participation in our Industry Days will be valuable for professionals at all stages of their careers — from experienced filmmakers to those just beginning their journey.
But perhaps the most important aspect of Alternativa is the community we strive to build in every region we work. Human relationships are essential both to impact and to the film industry as a whole. Latin America is a continent where the depth of human connection, warmth, and strong personal ties are deeply rooted and profoundly inspiring. I am confident that our program will spark new partnerships and projects, and help create a unique toolkit — a shared body of knowledge that participants can apply in practice.
