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Locarno Pro’s work-in-progress section First Look – set to celebrate its 15th edition this year – has unveiled six new titles.
This year’s spotlight falls on Uruguay, and is prepared in partnership with Uruguayan film
institute ACAU.
The selection includes “Maltrato animal” by José Dell’Acqua Postiglione, about a down-on-his-luck veterinarian who suddenly enters a network of illegal breeding operations and pharmaceutical trafficking. In “Our Little Band of Justice,” Guillermo Casanova Arósteguy goes back to the 1980s, when little Lucía’s best friend’s family has to flee under suspicious circumstances, taking her away with them.
Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo direct “Spring Story,” where an accidental encounter ignites a lasting love affair, and Lorenzo Tocco brings “El surubí,” showing an industrial town on the verge of disappearing. That is, until miraculous apparitions turn it into a place to be.
On the documentary front, Maximiliano Martínez directs “The Other Side of the Net” – and finally confronts his own father. It’s not the only family story, though. In “Perkal,” Paola Perkal focuses on her grandmother, an immigrant and war survivor, igniting a dialogue between three generations.
Jurors Ana David (Programme Advisor, Berlinale), Susana Santos Rodrigues (Co-Director, IndieLisboa) and Triin Tramberg (Artistic Director, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival), will award several prizes, including the Bright Side of the Moon Award, the La Mayor Cine Award, the Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award (€45,000 in music supervision services), an advertising space award from Le Film Français (€5,600), and the Jannuzzi Smith Award (international poster design, €10,000).
The winners will be announced during the Locarno Pro Award Ceremony on Sunday, Aug.9.
“This initiative remains a cornerstone of our mission to support the final stages of outstanding films and to help propel the international careers of emerging filmmakers. Our collaboration with ACAU will strengthen the international positioning of Uruguayan production companies,” said Markus Duffner, director of Locarno Pro, earlier this year.
ACAU president Gisella Pevitali added: “Uruguay’s presence in the Locarno Film Festival as the protagonist of First Look 2026 marks a strategic moment for our cinematography this year.”
“It not only recognizes Uruguayan talents but also highlights the continuous evolution of our public policies and the tangible, growing international appreciation for the quality, diversity, and originality of Uruguayan cinematic works.”
Locarno Pro runs Aug. 5-11 during the Locarno Film Festival.
Here’s the full list of projects:
“Maltrato animal”
Dir. José Dell’Acqua Postiglione
Prod. José Dell’Acqua Postiglione and Germán Ormaechea (Animista Cine)
81’, fiction
Bankrupted by the 2002 financial crisis, a Montevideo veterinarian is pushed to the brink of collapse. In order to survive, he enters a clandestine network of illegal breeding operations and pharmaceutical trafficking. In this downward spiral, an unexpected encounter forces him to confront his limits.
“The Other Side of the Net”
Dir. Maximiliano Martínez
Prod. Clara Charlo and Maria Zanocchi (Los Besos Contenidos), co-prod. Shoji Films (Spain)
80’, documentary
After moving from Montevideo to Barcelona, Maximiliano Martínez hears his father say “I love you” for the first time in 30 years. Filming him over time, he uncovers traces of domestic violence and confronts silence, fear, and inherited wounds. Through tennis, father and son search for a new way to connect.
“Our Little Band of Justice”
Dir. Guillermo Casanova Arósteguy
Prod. Natacha López Kneit (Lavorágine Films), co-prod. Lagarto Cine (Argentina)
85’, fiction
Montevideo, 1983. When her best friend’s family suddenly flees under suspicious circumstances, taking her away with them, 10-year-old Lucía gathers her gang to launch a plan inspired by their favorite superheroes. Together, they create clever comic strips that cover the neighborhood walls in hopes of bringing her back and unexpectedly begin transforming the harsh reality surrounding them.
“Perkal”
Dir. Paola Perkal
Prod. Valentina Baracco Peña (Monarca Films), co-prod. Sueño Cine (Uruguay) and Insumisa Films (Spain)
75’, documentary
Perkal is a long-postponed letter to the director’s grandmother, an immigrant and war survivor. Through family archives and the filming of my father, her only son, who became ill when she died, a dialogue emerges between three generations shaped by the weight of family expectations. An intimate story that seeks to resignify inheritance and question what remains after we are gone.
“Spring Story”
Dir. Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo
Prod. Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo (L’Avventura Cine), Germán Ormaechea (Animista Cine)
62’, fiction
In Montevideo’s Botanical Garden, a fleeting encounter ignites a fevered love between Agustín and Bruno. As Bruno departs for Venice, desire persists across oceans, entangling a Spinozist professor and rival passions. Between philosophy and flesh, jealousy and freedom, spring unfolds as a restless search for love, nature, and the fragile ethics of attachment.
“El surubí”
Dir. Lorenzo Tocco
Prod. Pancho Magnou Arnabal and Isabel García (Montelona), co-prod. Kocria (Brazil)
95’, fiction
The Surubí, an industrial town on the verge of disappearing, is transformed overnight into the scene of a series of miraculous apparitions. Locals seize the opportunity to market the town as a destination for mystical tourism. But divine power is a dangerous weapon, especially in a town desperately in need of a savior.
