Internationally acclaimed Colombian actor, activist and producer Natalia Reyes will serve as President of the Features Jury for the 3rd Alternativa Film Festival. Reyes has built a notable career across film, television and theatre. She also served as the youngest president in the history of the Colombian Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Reyes gained global recognition as the lead in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), produced by James Cameron. She previously starred in Birds of Passage (2018), which opened the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2025, Reyes made her debut as an executive producer while also starring in It Would Be Night in Caracas, presented at the Venice Biennale. In 2026, she returns to the screen with Better Class, directed by Víctor García León.
Alternativa Film Festival 2026: Head of Jury and lineup unveiled
Acclaimed Colombian actor Natalia Reyes (Terminator: Dark Fate) will serve as President of the Features Jury for the third edition of Alternativa Film Festival, which will take place in Medellín, Colombia from 21–30 April.
13 March 2026
13 March 2026
It’s an honour to serve as Features Jury President for the Alternativa Film Festival this year. I’ve long admired the festival’s vital work in amplifying underrepresented voices from across the globe, and the collaboration they foster within the film industry and across cultures. This year’s Feature Competition showcases some of the most exciting new voices from Latin America and Asia, and I’m thrilled to be working with the festival to bring this lineup of stories to a global stage. As an actress and producer, I deeply resonate with Alternativa’s mission, and I feel truly inspired to be part of stories that carry a purpose and contribute to meaningful change.
Natalia Reyes is a trailblazing creative, both within Latin America and on the wider global stage, who embodies the values of the Alternativa through her vital contributions to Colombian cinema. We are delighted to welcome her to lead our Features Jury this year and are thrilled to share the incredible shortlisted films from an exceptionally talented lineup of filmmakers from the Global South. Each of these films are incredibly deserving of a global platform, and we look forward to celebrating their artistic excellence and potential to transform our society.
The 3rd edition of Alternativa Film Festival will present impactful films from Latin America and Asia both in the Official Competition and in the Out of Competition programme, which is introduced for the first time this year. The main festival venues in Medellín will be the Museum of Modern Art of Medellin and Centro Colombo Americano.
The Selection Committee has shortlisted a total of 30 competition films — including 15 features and 15 shorts — with an additional six titles selected for the out-of-competition section. The line-up spans 12 countries from Latin America and 12 from Asia, representing 21 different languages. Feature-length films of all genres have been selected from both regions, while the short film competition is reserved exclusively for Latin American cinema. Discover the program in more detail here.
COMPETITION: FEATURE FILMS
9-MONTH CONTRACT / ცხრათვიანი კონტრაქტი
Ketevan Vashagashvili • Georgia • 2025 • Documentary
BECOMING
Zhannat Alshanova • Kazakhstan, France, Netherlands, Lithuania, Sweden • 2025 • Drama
BELÉN
Dolores Fonzi • Argentina • 2025 • Drama
BRIGITTE, PLANET B / BRIGITTE, PLANETA B
Santiago Posada • Colombia • 2025 • Documentary
CACTUS PEARS / SABAR BONDA
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade • India, United Kingdom, Canada • 2025 • Drama
CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS
Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni • Iran, USA, Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada • 2025 • Documentary
GEMSTONES / PIEDRAS PRECIOSAS
Simón Vélez • Colombia, Portugal • 2026 • Action, Adventure
LOST LAND / HÀRÀ WATAN
Akio Fujimoto • Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany • 2025 • Drama
THE NATURE OF INVISIBLE THINGS / A NATUREZA DAS COISAS INVISÍVEIS
Rafaela Camelo • Brazil, Chile • 2025 • Fiction, Drama
ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS / DÜNÜYÖ
Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva • Kyrgyzstan, USA • 2025 • Drama
QUEER AS PUNK
Yihwen Chen • Malaysia, Indonesia • 2025 • Documentary, Musical
THE RESERVE / LA RESERVA
Pablo Pérez Lombardini • Mexico, Qatar • 2025 • Thriller
RUNA SIMI
Augusto Zegarra • Peru • 2025 • Documentary
A USEFUL GHOST / PEE CHAI DAI KA
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke • Thailand, Singapore, Germany, France • 2025 • Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
Stills from Lost Land, Cutting Through Rocks, A Useful Ghost
COMPETITION: SHORT FILMS
AKABABURU: EXPRESSION OF ASTONISHMENT / AKABABURU: EXPRESIÓN DE ASOMBRO
Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí • Colombia • 2025 • Hybrid
BALLAD OF FISHES AND BIRDS / BALADA DE PECES Y PÁJAROS
Anny Uribe, Juan José Arévalo • Colombia, Spain • 2025 • Animation
BARK / CORTEZA
Simon Acosta • Colombia, UK • 2025 • Documentary
BETWEEN SALT AND SKY / ENTRE LA SAL Y EL CIELO
Felipe Rosa • Chile, Brazil, Bolivia • 2025 • Documentary
BLUE HEART / COEUR BLEU
Samuel Suffren • Haiti, France • 2025 • Fiction
CASA CHICA
Lau Charles • Mexico • 2025 • Fiction
THE FEAR MONSTER / MEDO MONSTRO
Andrew Gledson, Eduardo Padrão • Brazil • 2025 • Animation
GREY / GRIS
Loren Escandón • Colombia, USA • 2025 • Animation
AN ISLAND / UNA ISLA
Ricardo Muñoz Senior • Venezuela, Mexico • 2025 • Fiction
IXQUIC
Elvis Rigoberto Caj Cojoc • Guatemala • 2025 • Fiction
NOT DEAD / MORTO NÃO
Alex Reis • Brazil • 2025 • Fiction
ONCE IN A BODY / UNA VEZ EN UN CUERPO
María Cristina Pérez González • Colombia, USA • 2025 • Animation
PACÍFICO
Daniel Duque • Colombia, France • 2025 • Documentary
PRESENT IN THE BIG EVENTS / PRESENTE EN LOS GRANDES EVENTOS
Pamela Andrea Martinez Barrera • Panama, Venezuela, USA • 2025 • Documentary
SAMBA INFINITO
Leonardo Martinelli • Brazil, France • 2025 • Fiction
Still from Ixquic
Still from Samba Infinito
OUT OF COMPETITION: IMPACT HITS
CADET / KADET
Adilkhan Yerzhanov • Kazakhstan • 2024 • Drama
HOMEBOUND
Neeraj Ghaywan • India • 2025 • Drama
HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES / LAHN MAH (หลานม่า)
Pat Boonnitipat • Thailand • 2024 • Drama
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO / LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO
Diego Céspedes • Chile, France, Germany • 2025 • Drama
A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD / NUJUM AL'AMAL W AL'ALAM
Cyril Aris • Lebanon, United States, United Kingdom, Qatar • 2025 • Comedy, Drama, Romance
TIGER STRIPES
Amanda Nell Eu • Malaysia • 2023 • Horror
