ACCLAIMED COLOMBIAN ACTOR NATALIA REYES (TERMINATOR: DARK FATE) TO LEAD FESTIVAL’S COMPETITION JURY
UPCOMING EDITION TO SHOWCASE EXCEPTIONAL FILMMAKING FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH
12 March 2026 – The Alternativa Film Festival, founded by international technology company inDrive, has unveiled the shortlisted films and Head of Jury for the festival’s upcoming third edition. Internationally renowned Colombian actor, activist and producer Natalia Reyes will serve as President of the Features Jury for the third edition, which will take place in Medellín, Colombia from 21–30 April 2026 at the Museum of Modern Art of Medellin and Centro Colombo Americano de Medellín.
Dedicated to recognizing impactful cinema from the Global South, this edition includes films from Latin America and Asia, as Alternativa continues to expand its selection to new regions of the Global South each year. The films will be presented both in the Official Competition and in the Out of Competition programme, which is introduced for the first time this year. The 2026 offering will span screenings, discussions and public events showcasing powerful storytelling to broad and diverse audiences. The festival will also host Industry Days, a parallel professional programme connecting filmmakers, producers and social impact leaders from Latin America and the global stage.
Natalia Reyes is an internationally acclaimed Colombian actor, activist and producer who 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 and directed by Tim Miller, and previously starred in Birds of Passage (2018), which opened the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Her international screen credits also include Brakland (2018), Pickpockets (2018), Tomorrow Before After (2023), and Shadow Force (2025). In 2025, Reyes made her debut as an executive producer while also starring in It Would Be Night In Caracas, which was presented at the Venice Biennale. In 2026, she returns to the screen with Better Class, directed by Víctor García León and starring alongside Juan Diego Botto, which is set to premiere at the Málaga Film Festival. She heads up a jury of five members who will judge submissions for the Features competition, with a separate jury of three members for the Shorts competition.
All shortlisted titles will be presented to the public at the Alternativa Film Festival, with guests able to attend free screenings and participate in discussions about the nominated films and the social topics they address. The festival culminates with the Awards Ceremony, which recognise films with artistic excellence that also address important social and cultural topics, and which have an ambition to positively affect the lives of people and local communities. For the 2026 edition, there will be an expanded prize fund of 120,000 USD (an increase of 20,000 USD from the previous edition) and a new award category for a feature film from the Latin American region, bringing the total number of awards to seven.
For 2026, the Selection Committee – a group of outstanding curators, programmers, and impact experts from Latin America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and beyond – reviewed a record 1,831 submissions for the awards, including 677 feature-length films and 1,154 short films, with 1,095 titles deemed eligible. The Committee have shortlisted a total of 30 competition films, including 15 feature-length films and 15 shorts, with an additional six selected for the out of competition line-up. This line-up spans across 12 Latin American countries, 12 Asian countries, and across 21 different languages. Feature-length films of all genres have been selected from Latin America and Asia, while the short film categories are reserved exclusively for Latin America.
Running in tandem with the festival, the Industry Days strand will provide a space for dialogue and collaboration between filmmakers, producers, and impact organisations from the region through a series of panels, workshops and networking sessions. The programme aims to empower filmmakers by promoting the belief that cinema can be a powerful tool for societal change. Those interested in participating can contact info@alternativa.film.
Liza Surganova, Head of Alternativa, said: “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.”
Natalia Reyes added: “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.”
The Official Competition and Out of Competition programmes for 2026 include:
FEATURE FILMS
9-MONTH CONTRACT / ცხრათვიანი კონტრაქტი
Director: Ketevan Vashagashvili
Georgia, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Georgian
BECOMING
Director: Zhannat Alshanova
France; Kazakhstan; Netherlands; Lithuania; Sweden, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Russian, Kazakh
BELÉN
Director: Dolores Fonzi
Argentina, 2025
Genre: Fiction / Drama
Languages: Spanish
BRIGITTE, PLANET B / BRIGITTE, PLANETA B
Director: Santiago Posada
Colombia, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish
CACTUS PEARS / SABAR BONDA
Director: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade
India; United Kingdom; Canada, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Marathi
THE CONDOR DAUGHTER / LA HIJA CÓNDOR
Director: Álvaro Olmos Torrico
Bolivia; Peru; Uruguay, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Quechua, Spanish
CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS
Director: Sara Khaki; Mohammadreza Eyni
Iran; USA; Netherlands; Qatar; Chile; Canada, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Farsi, Azeri Turkish
GEMSTONES / PIEDRAS PRECIOSAS
Director: Simón Vélez
Colombia; Portugal, 2026
Genre: Action, Adventure
Languages: Spanish, French
LOST LAND / HÀRÀ WATAN
Director: Akio Fujimoto
Japan; France; Malaysia; Germany, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Rohingya
THE NATURE OF INVISIBLE THINGS / A NATUREZA DAS COISAS INVISÍVEIS
Director: Rafaela Camelo
Brazil; Chile, 2025
Genre: Fiction, Drama
Languages: Portuguese
ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS / DÜNÜYÖ
Director: Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva
Kyrgyzstan; USA, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Kyrgyz, Russian, English
QUEER AS PUNK
Director: Yihwen Chen
Malaysia; Indonesia, 2025
Genre: Documentary, Musical
Languages: English, Malay
THE RESERVE / LA RESERVA
Director: Pablo Pérez Lombardini
Mexico; Qatar, 2025
Genre: Thriller
Languages: Spanish
RUNA SIMI
Director: Augusto Zegarra
Peru, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish, Quechua, English
A USEFUL GHOST / PEE CHAI DAI KA
Director: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
Thailand; Singapore; Germany; France, 2025
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
Languages: Thai
SHORTS
AKABABURU: EXPRESSION OF ASTONISHMENT / AKABABURU: EXPRESIÓN DE ASOMBRO
Director: Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí
Colombia, 2025
Genre: Animation
Languages: Embera Chamí
BALLAD OF FISHES AND BIRDS / BALADA DE PECES Y PÁJAROS
Director: Anny Uribe Zambrano; Juan José Arévalo Reyes
Spain; Colombia, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Spanish
BARK / CORTEZA
Director: Simon Acosta
Colombia; UK, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish
BETWEEN SALT AND SKY / ENTRE LA SAL Y EL CIELO
Director: Felipe Rosa
Chile; Brazil; Bolivia, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish
BLUE HEART / COEUR BLEU
Director: Samuel Suffren
Haiti; France, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Haitian Creole
CASA CHICA
Director: Lau Charles
Mexico, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Spanish
THE FEAR MONSTER / MEDO MONSTRO
Director: Andrew Gledson; Eduardo Padrão
Brazil, 2025
Genre: Animation
Languages: Portuguese
GREY / GRIS
Director: Loren Escandón
Colombia; USA, 2025
Genre: Animation
Languages: Spanish
AN ISLAND / UNA ISLA
Director: Ricardo Muñoz Senior
Venezuela; Mexico, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Spanish
IXQUIC
Director: Elvis Rigoberto Caj Cojoc
Guatemala, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Poqomchi', K'ekchi', Spanish
NOT DEAD / MORTO NÃO
Director: Alex Reis
Brazil, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Portuguese
ONCE IN A BODY / UNA VEZ EN UN CUERPO
Director: María Cristina Pérez González
Colombia; USA, 2025
Genre: Animation
Languages: Spanish
PACÍFICO
Director: Daniel Duque
Colombia; France, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish
PRESENT IN THE BIG EVENTS / PRESENTE EN LOS GRANDES EVENTOS
Director: Pamela Andrea Martinez Barrera
Panama; Venezuela; USA, 2025
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Spanish, English
SAMBA INFINITO
Director: Leonardo Martinelli
Brazil; France, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Languages: Portuguese
OUT OF COMPETITION
A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD/ NUJUM AL'AMAL W AL'ALAM
Director: Cyril Aris
Lebanon; United States; United Kingdom; Qatar, 2025
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Languages: Arabic
CADET / KADET
Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Kazakhstan, 2024
Genre: Drama
Languages: Kazakh
HOMEBOUND
Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
India, 2025
Drama
Languages: Hindi
HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES / LAHN MAH (หลานม่า)
Director: Pat Boonnitipat
Thailand, 2024
Genre: Drama
Languages: Thai
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO / LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO
Director: Diego Céspedes
Chile; France; Germany, 2025
Genre: Drama
Languages: Spanish
TIGER STRIPES
Director: Amanda Nell Eu
Malaysia, 2023
Genre: Horror
Languages: Malay
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About Alternativa
Alternativa is an international non-profit project launched by the global technology company inDrive in 2023. The project is designed to support and promote filmmakers from the Global South whose work has the potential to bring positive change to the world. Its mission is to amplify the international visibility of impact-driven talents and help their films reach broad and diverse audiences. By championing stories that make a difference, Alternativa bridges regional divides, empowers local communities, and contributes to meaningful social transformation.
