Vanguardia: Film Project Incubator – Ícaro Industria 2026 is an international film development program based in Guatemala, focused on strengthening early-stage audiovisual projects through training, mentorship, and tools for financing and co-production opportunities. The call is open to Spanish-speaking directors, screenwriters, and producers from around the world with feature film projects in fiction, documentary, or animation.
The application period will be open from April 19 to May 19, 2026. Selected projects will participate in an online training program from June 6 to July 5, 2026, including sessions on project development, production structures, budgeting, financing, project presentation materials, pitching, artificial intelligence tools, and immersive storytelling. The program will conclude with a pitch presentation on July 5, 2026, where one project will be selected to participate in the International Co-production Meeting as part of Ícaro Industria 2026, taking place in November in Guatemala City.
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CUTTING-EDGE INCUBATOR
JIIFF Lab 2027, organized as part of the José Ignacio International Film Festival in Uruguay, is a development lab for fiction feature film projects from Ibero-American countries. The call is open to national and international applicants and provides a space for project development, pitching, co-production, and professional networking.
The call has an initial application deadline of October 30, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., and a final deadline of November 27, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The opening date is not specified.
The in-person stage of the lab will take place from January 27 to 31, 2027, preceded by two online sessions during January 2027, whose exact dates are not specified.
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JIIFF LAB
PITCH LAB – DOC.LAB Coimbra 2026 is a development and pitching lab for feature-length documentaries, taking place in Coimbra, Portugal, from March 16 to 20, 2026. It targets projects in the development stage that already have a teaser, offering filmmakers the opportunity to present their ideas to industry professionals and receive specialized feedback.
The call is open to international submissions, allowing filmmakers from any country to participate. Projects must be documentaries, with the main focus on pitching, while participants also work on structuring and strengthening their projects during the lab.
The application deadline is January 23, 2026. Interested applicants are required to submit their project dossier and teaser according to the program’s specifications. This lab provides an ideal platform for filmmakers seeking support, visibility, and professional connections for their feature-length documentary projects in development.
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PITCH LAB – DOC.LAB Coimbra
The 4th Ópera Prima LAB Films & Series is part of the 66th edition of the Cartagena International Film Festival (FICCI), which will take place from April 6 to 11, 2027, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
This international call is aimed at feature film and series projects in fiction, documentary, animation, and hybrid genres, at early stages of development. It is open to participants from Ibero-American, South American, and Caribbean countries, including territories with languages other than Spanish and Portuguese.
The laboratory aims to strengthen the creative and professional development of selected projects by providing a space for training, guidance, and connections with the audiovisual industry.
Applications will be open from November 17, 2026, to January 10, 2027, closing at 11:59 p.m., Colombia time. Participation is free, and the festival covers accommodation for selected participants, while travel expenses to Cartagena are the responsibility of each participant.
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Ópera Prima LAB Films & Series - FICCI
The BAM Projects – Documentary Films 2026 call is aimed at feature-length creative documentaries in development, with a minimum duration of 70 minutes. It is organized by the Bogotá Audiovisual Market and is open exclusively to Colombian projects, where both the legal entity and the director must be Colombian nationals.
Applications are open from November 13, 2025, and close on January 8, 2026, at 3:59 p.m. Colombia time. Selected projects will be announced on March 27, 2026. Afterwards, teams will participate in business and creative development activities from April 20 to June 5, 2026, culminating in their participation in the Bogotá Audiovisual Market from July 6 to 10, 2026.
This call seeks to support advanced documentary projects with partial funding secured, offering spaces for assessment, mentorship, and visibility in the national and international audiovisual industry. Short films, series, and educational, corporate, or institutional documentaries are not accepted.
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Documentary Films - BAM
