Our 2025 in a Nutshell

2025 was a year of building, learning, and expanding. We entered new regions, launched new projects, met inspiring people across very different time zones, and kept doing what matters most to us: helping powerful stories create impact beyond the screen. Let’s break it down.

Our Festival: Arriving in LatAm, Record-Breaking Open Call, and the Road to Medellín
2025 marked a major step into our new focus region — Latin America. Excitement grew as we announced that the 3rd Alternativa Film Festival will take place in Medellín, Colombia, from April 21–30, 2026. And then came the results of open call — our largest in Alternativa’s history: 1,831 submissions from 55 countries, including 22 from Latin America. 

Right now, our brilliant Selection Committee of film curators, programmers, and impact experts from Latin America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and beyond is hard at work shaping the program — and we can’t wait to share the results. So, see you in Medellín?

Our Labs: Two Regions, Many Voices, and Alternativa’s First Open Course
In 2025, Alternativa Film Labs unfolded across two regions. In Bali, the Just Futures Impact Story Lab, co-organized with In-Docs, Doc Society, and !mpact, supported Southeast Asian storytellers developing bold, impact-driven narratives. Later in the year, we launched the Impact Distribution Lab in Central Asia, bringing together not only filmmakers but also changemakers working across media, culture, and civil society.

And one big outcome still ahead: the Impact Distribution Lab resulted in our first publicly accessible online course — launching in February 2026!

On the Road: Events, Encounters, and Partnerships
The Alternativa team spent 2025 on the move, joining conversations and building connections at festivals and events including Berlinale, Cannes, Movies That Matter, Guadalajara, Miradas, Bogota Audiovisual Market, San Sebastián, and Marrakech International Film Festival. Along the way, we formed 55+ new partnerships, opening doors to future collaborations, co-created projects, and wider audiences for impactful films. 

We were also proud to welcome two new members to our Advisory Board: Marcela Lizcano (Colombia), an impact strategist and founder of Viceversa Cine and Nodo Sur, and Dennis Ruh (Germany), a festival expert and former European Film Market Director.

On the Spot: Community and Shared Experience
This year was especially active in Central Asia. The second edition of Alternativa Film Days returned to Almaty, Kazakhstan, welcoming 1,500+ attendees to free screenings of powerful films and impact-driven discussions during an unforgettable week in August.

We also launched Film Talks, an educational initiative, bringing film-based lessons to schools in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The goal: to reach at least 1,000 teenagers across both countries during the pilot phase.

On the Screen: Bringing Powerful Stories Online
We took an exciting step into a new focus area: distribution. Freedom Media, a Kazakhstan-based streaming platform, became the first to host the Alternativa Film Collection, bringing bold stories from Central Asia and beyond to new audiences. And this is only the beginning — another streaming partnership, reaching more countries, will be announced very soon.

Media Presence: Growing Reach and Some Well-Deserved Buzz
In 2025, Alternativa appeared in 520 media mentions across regions, reflecting growing interest in impact-driven cinema. Our social media reach exceeded 3.5 million, and our community grew from 19.1K to 28.6K followers — a 50% increase in one year. We launched a new Instagram account for Latin America, opening up new conversations and connecting with even more people in the region. ¡Gracias por seguirnos — nos alegra mucho tenerlos aquí!

Our Alumni: Success Stories that Makes Us Proud
We Live Here, by Alternativa Pitching Training 2023 participant Zhanana Kurmasheva, had an outstanding year. The film was selected for CPH:DOX and Hot Docs, received a nomination for Best Documentary at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, won a Special Jury Prize at the Blue Planet Future Festival (South Korea), and received the Best Documentary Award at CineFest Miskolc (Hungary). It was also submitted for the Peabody Awards with the support of the Kazakh Center of Network Information.
Nazgul Dolotkeldieva, alumna of Alternativa Development Lab 2024, presented her producer’s project 18 zhash at the Cannes Film Festival pitching platform, while Aizhan Kasymbek, also a Development Lab 2024 alumna, took part in the PopUpResidency in Bratislava. And these are only a few highlights — many more stories are still unfolding. 

Thank you to our partners, mentors, speakers, participants, supporters, and our global community. You are what makes Alternativa curious, collaborative, and deeply human. 

As 2025 comes to a close, we wish you a joyful holiday season, time to rest and reconnect, and a bright start to the year ahead!