News 3rd Alternativa Film Festival: Industry Days announced

Industry Days 2026 Announced

The professional program of the Alternativa Film Festival will take place in Medellín from April 28 to 30, bringing together voices from across Latin America and Asia to foster innovative practices, collaboration and long-term partnerships.

19 March 2026

#AFF 2026#LatAm

19 March 2026

#AFF 2026#LatAm

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. MAMM will serve as the main venue for the program on April 28–29, with the final day events taking place at Bodega Comfama.

All Industry Days events are free — sign up here to be notified when registration opens.


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.

Anna Gudkova
Head of Industry & Labs at Alternativa

Industry Days 2026 is centered around three key themes that reflect Alternativa’s mission and the challenges of the Global South film industry.

1. Impact
Creating and shaping stories that have the power to drive social change, influence audiences, and challenge dominant narratives around injustice.

2. Distribution
Expanding audiences for impactful films through both traditional and innovative distribution models, with a focus on successful case studies.

3. Connecting the Global South
Bringing together voices from Latin America and Asia to foster collaboration, exchange, and long-term partnerships.

Moderators and speakers of Industry Days 2026

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026 PANELS

Alternativa x BAM/Proimagenes. Non-conventional coproduction: what is coming next. South–South partnerships beyond the rhetoric

Moderator: Alejandra Marano (Argentina), SANFIC Industria mentor, Ventana Sur Series coordinator

Speakers:
Katalina Tobón (Colombia), Head of Content at BAM
Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala (Philippines), documentary filmmaker, journalist, impact producer
Rajan Kathet (Nepal), director, programmer, AFF 2026 Selection Committee member
Jerónimo Atehortúa Arteaga (Colombia), director, producer, co-founder of Invasión Cine
Sonia Barrera (Colombia), producer, co-producer of Milisuthando

Training with impact: How can education change the burning world

Moderator: Inti Cordera (Mexico), documentary director, Executive Director of DocsMX

Speakers:
Graciela Guerrero-Reyes (Mexico), Program Director at Cine Qua Non Lab
Marcela Lizcano (Colombia), producer, impact strategist, founder of Nodo Sur
Ximena Urrutia (Mexico), Director of Industry and Market at FICG
Anna Gudkova, Head of Labs & Industry at Alternativa

Alternativa x SANFIC Industria. You are the industry: 15 years of SANFIC. How an impactful institution can make a difference

Moderator: Dennis Ruh (Germany), former Director of the European Film Market (Berlinale), industry advisor

Speakers:
Sebastián Avilés (Chile), Head Coordinator of SANFIC Industria
Alejandra Marano (Argentina), SANFIC Industria mentor, Ventana Sur Series coordinator

Alternativa x BAM/Proimagenes. Distribution across Global Majority: breakthrough to the future. New markets, new tools, new vision

Moderator: Carlos A. Gutiérrez (USA), Co-Founding Executive Director of Cinema Tropical

Speakers:
Katalina Tobón (Colombia), Head of Content at BAM
Jessica Kiang (Germany), film critic, programmer, Berlinale Selection Committee member, AFF 2026 Shorts Jury member
Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu (Indonesia), film critic, curator

Alternativa x FICG. The path of an impactful film – from the lab through the festival premiere to global success

Moderator: Gita Saedi Kiely (USA), documentary producer, former Director of FilmAid

Speakers:
Alfonso Miller (Mexico), industry representative at FICG
Ximena Urrutia (Mexico), Director of Industry and Market at FICG
Gisela Delgadillo (Mexico), filmmaker, director of Kenia

The full schedule of Industry Days 2026, featuring more panels and further details, will be announced at the end of March.