Festival Latinoamericano De Cortometrajes Lapacho (20)

Início do Festival: 29 Outubro 2026      Fim do Festival: 31 Outubro 2026

Festival Latinoamericano de Cortometrajes LAPACHO — 20th Edition

The LAPACHO Latin American Short Film Festival celebrates its 20th edition in 2026, organized by the Instituto de Cultura del Chaco, in the city of Resistencia, Argentina.

Founded in 2003, Lapacho was created as a space to bring new cinematic perspectives closer to the community and, throughout its history, has become a meeting point for the exhibition and circulation of regional and Latin American audiovisual production. After its last edition in 2023, the Festival returns in 2026 to reconnect filmmakers, students and audiences from the region.

The 20th edition will take place on October 29, 30 and 31, 2026, with the Complejo Cultural Provincial Guido Miranda as its main venue, alongside activities at the Club Social de Resistencia and the Centro Cultural Ercilio Castillo. All Festival activities are free and open to the public.

The Festival will feature three competitive sections: Latin American Competition, Regional Competition and University Competition, aimed at promoting the exhibition and circulation of short films and creating spaces for encounter and exchange between filmmakers, works and audiences.

As part of its training and development program, Lapacho also brings back the “Lapacho LAB” Project Incubator, dedicated to short film projects in development. Three projects will be selected to participate in a professional mentoring process focused on Directing, Production and Screenwriting, including exchange sessions and a final pitching session during the Festival.

Lapacho is a space to discover new voices, share perspectives and strengthen the circulation of Latin American and regional cinema.

October 29–31, 2026 — Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina.

The Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival will grant one (1) award to the winning film in each of its competitive sections, in accordance with the decision of the Jury.

The following awards are established:

Latin American Competition

● Award for Best Short Film in the Latin American Competition.

Regional Competition
● Award for Best Short Film in the Regional Competition.

University Competition
● Award for Best Short Film in the University Competition.

In each competitive section, all selected works will compete together, regardless of their format or audiovisual language.

The winning films in the Regional and University Competitions will receive a cash prize. The corresponding amounts will be determined and announced by the Festival organization in due course.

The winning films in each competition will also receive a statuette from the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival.

The winning films will receive an award certificate and the corresponding official laurels for the recognition obtained.

Selected films may request from the organization a certificate of participation corresponding to the 2026 edition of the Festival.

The Jury may grant special mentions, with no monetary value, when it considers that a film or any of its artistic, expressive, technical, or creative aspects deserves particular recognition. Such mentions will not imply the creation of new award categories.

The awards and recognitions will be recorded in the corresponding official minutes and announced as part of the Festival's official activities.

The method, deadlines, and other conditions for the delivery of cash prizes will be communicated in due course to the individuals responsible for the winning films.

20th LAPACHO LATIN AMERICAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

1. Presentation of the Festival
The Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival is a space for exhibition, gathering, training, and promotion dedicated to Latin American short films, conceived as a tool to strengthen the audiovisual sector and cultural integration in the region.
Organized by the Institute of Culture of the Province of Chaco, the Festival promotes the circulation of audiovisual works, the exchange between filmmakers, students, professionals, and institutions, and public access to productions that reflect the diversity of perspectives, languages, and forms of creation in contemporary Latin American audiovisuals.

Through its competitive sections, special screenings, training activities, and professional networking spaces, the Festival boosts the dissemination of audiovisual productions, favors audience development, and contributes to the growth of the audiovisual ecosystem in the Argentine Northeast, strengthening its bond with the rest of the country and Latin America.

The current edition of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival will take place on October 29, 30, and 31, 2026, in the province of Chaco.

These Rules and Conditions regulate the call, submission, selection, exhibition, and awarding of the works participating in the different competitive sections of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival.

2. Objectives

General Objective
To promote the circulation, exhibition, and recognition of Latin American short films, favoring the gathering between filmmakers, institutions, and audiences, and contributing to the strengthening of the audiovisual ecosystem in the Argentine Northeast and its connection with Latin America.

Specific Objectives

To promote the exhibition and dissemination of Latin American short films, with special attention to regional production, favoring the diversity of perspectives, languages, and audiovisual expressions.

To encourage gathering, exchange, and connection among filmmakers, students, institutions, audiovisual sector professionals, and the general public.

To incentivize the participation and visibility of emerging filmmakers through exhibition spaces that boost new voices and audiovisual proposals.

To contribute to the formation of new audiences through diverse, accessible programming open to the community.

To promote cultural integration and cooperation among institutions, festivals, and organizations linked to audiovisual development in the Argentine Northeast and Latin America.

To favor the continued circulation of participating works, generating new instances of exhibition and audience encounters within the audiovisual and cultural circuit.

3. Call Sections
This call includes the following competitive sections of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival:

Latin American Competition
Intended for Latin American short films that meet the requirements established in these Rules and Conditions.

Regional Competition
Intended for short films produced in Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones, and Entre Ríos.

University Competition
Intended for short films produced within the framework of Argentine university degree programs, which meet the specific requirements established in these Rules and Conditions.

4. Participants
Individuals over eighteen (18) years of age, of nationality or residence in any Latin American country, who are the rights holders or authorized representatives of the submitted audiovisual works may participate in this call, according to the specific conditions of each competitive section.

Works must be submitted by their director, producer, or by a person expressly authorized to represent them before the Festival organization.

In the case of the Regional Competition, works produced in any of the aforementioned provinces may be submitted.

In the case of the University Competition, works produced within the framework of university degree programs linked to the audiovisual or digital media fields, belonging to any Argentine province, may be submitted.

Members of the Festival organization, the Programming and Selection Team, the Jury, or those who maintain a direct employment relationship with the organization during the development of this edition may not participate.

When personal, professional, or academic ties exist between the individuals involved in the selection or awarding processes and those who are part of the submitted works that could compromise the objectivity, impartiality, or transparency of the process, such circumstances must be communicated to the organization, which will evaluate the corresponding measures in each case.

5. Eligible Works
Short films meeting the following conditions may participate in this call:

Have been produced in any Latin American country or be international co-productions with majority Latin American participation.

Correspond to any mode of audiovisual creation, including, among others, fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, and videodance.

Have a minimum duration of three (3) minutes and a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes, including end credits.

Have been completed between January 1, 2024, and August 31, 2026.

Have the authorization of their rights holders to participate in this call and for their exhibition in accordance with the scope established in these Rules and Conditions.

Works that have been previously exhibited, premiered, or awarded at other festivals, showcases, cultural spaces, or broadcasting platforms may be submitted, understanding the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival as a space that promotes the continuous circulation and gathering of audiovisual works within the Latin American cultural sphere.

6. Submission
Submission to this call is free of charge and must be completed exclusively through the official form provided by the organization.

The call will remain open from September 10 to September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (Argentina).

The organization may grant an extension of the submission period when the circumstances of the call require it. If such an extension is granted, the new closing date will be communicated in a timely manner through the Festival's official channels.

Each work must be submitted only once by its director, producer, or authorized representative, who will be responsible for the accuracy of the information provided and for complying with the requirements established in these Rules and Conditions.

The person responsible for the submission declares to have the necessary authorizations to represent the work before the Festival organization.

7. Required Material for Submission
To formalize the submission, the responsible person must complete the official call form and provide the following information and materials:

Title of the work.

Country or countries of production and year of completion.

Duration.

Competitive section being applied to: Latin American Competition, Regional Competition, or University Competition.

Modality or audiovisual language of the work.

Brief synopsis.

Technical and artistic credits.

Name and contact details of the director, producer, or representative responsible for the submission.

Brief biography or filmography of the director.

Image, still, or representative poster of the work, in adequate quality for potential use in Festival promotional materials.

Trailer or teaser of the work, if available.

Viewing link of the complete work, with Spanish subtitles when its original language is different, unless the characteristics of the work make subtitling unnecessary, and with its corresponding password when required.

Information regarding the original language of the work.

Declaration of possessing the necessary rights and authorizations for the submission and exhibition of the work under the terms established in these Rules and Conditions.

In the case of works submitted to the University Competition, the institution and university degree program within which the work was produced must also be stated. A regular student certificate or supporting documentation will not be required at the time of submission; however, the organization may request clarifications or complementary information when necessary to verify a work's admissibility.

Material for Selected Works
Works that are selected must provide, within the timeframe established by the organization, the necessary materials for their exhibition, programming, and promotion:

Screening file in MP4 H.264 format, with a minimum resolution of 1920 × 1080 and stereo sound, although higher resolution files are accepted.

High-quality poster, stills, or other promotional images.

Final synopsis and technical credits.

Promotional material, such as a teaser or trailer, if available.

Subtitle files and other accessibility materials, when applicable or available.

Any other file strictly necessary for the correct exhibition and communication of the work that is requested in a timely manner by the organization.

The organization will provide the selected works with the official laurels corresponding to their participation in the 2026 edition of the Festival.

The organization will communicate in due time the delivery methods, deadlines, and other technical specifications corresponding to the selected works.

Failure to deliver the essential materials for the correct exhibition of the work within the established deadlines may result in its exclusion from the programming, following prior notification to the responsible person.

8. Admissibility of Works
Once the submission period has ended, the organization will review the received applications to verify compliance with the requirements established in these Rules and Conditions.

This stage will be exclusively formal and will not imply an artistic, technical, or curatorial evaluation of the submitted works.

Works will be considered admissible if they:

Meet the eligibility conditions corresponding to the section in which they were submitted.

Were submitted within the established deadlines.

Contain the information and materials required for submission.

Provide an accessible viewing link in conditions that allow for the proper evaluation of the work.

Comply with the applicable language and subtitling requirements.

When errors, omissions, or technical issues are detected that can be corrected without modifying the substantial conditions of the application, the organization may request their correction within a timeframe established for this purpose.

If this timeframe expires without the requested corrections being made, or when the failure to comply affects essential eligibility conditions that cannot be corrected, the work will be declared inadmissible.

Providing false or inaccurate information regarding the authorship, ownership, or availability of the necessary rights to the work may result in its inadmissibility or exclusion from the call, depending on when such a circumstance is detected.

Works declared admissible will proceed to the curating and selection stage.

The admissibility of a work does not guarantee its selection to be part of the Festival's programming.

9. Curation and Selection
Admissible works will be evaluated by the Programming and Selection Team appointed by the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival organization.

The selection will be curatorial in nature and aimed at building a diverse program representative of contemporary Latin American audiovisual production, in line with the objectives and cultural identity of the Festival.

To build the competitive sections, the following criteria, among others, will be considered:

Artistic, expressive, and technical quality of the work.

Originality and solidity of the audiovisual proposal.

Diversity of perspectives, languages, themes, and forms of production.

Diversity of identities, contexts, and territories represented in the programming.

The work's contribution to the overall programming and its dialogue with the other selected productions.

The work's potential to generate gathering, reflection, and exchange with the Festival audiences.

Selection will not be based exclusively on an individual assessment of the works, but also on the comprehensive construction of each competitive section and the general programming objectives of the Festival.

The number of selected works will depend on the characteristics of the applications received, curatorial criteria, and the programming and exhibition possibilities of each edition.

The decisions of the Programming and Selection Team will be final and unappealable.

10. Selection Results
The results of the curation and selection process will be communicated through the official channels of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival, according to the schedule of the current edition.

The individuals responsible for the selected works will be notified via the contact details provided in the submission form and must confirm their participation within the timeframe and by the means established by the organization.

If a selected work withdraws from participating, fails to confirm its participation within the established timeframe, or does not provide the necessary materials for proper exhibition, the organization may remove it from the programming and incorporate, when possible, another work from the same competitive section previously evaluated by the Programming and Selection Team.

11. Exhibition of Selected Works
Selected works will be part of the official programming of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival and will be exhibited on the dates, times, venues, and screenings determined by the organization according to the general programming of each edition.

The participation of a selected work implies free and non-exclusive authorization for its exhibition within the framework of the Festival and its associated modalities, programs, and institutional activities, according to the scope established in the "Intellectual property, authorizations, and dissemination" section of these Rules and Conditions.

The organization will determine the number of screenings and the layout of the programming blocks based on curatorial, technical, and organizational criteria.

Screening copies must meet the technical specifications established by the Festival. When the submitted file presents issues that prevent or hinder its correct playback, the organization may request its replacement or adjustment.

Works whose original language is not Spanish must have Spanish subtitles, unless their specific characteristics make subtitling unnecessary. The corresponding specifications will be communicated by the organization along with the technical exhibition requirements.

In line with the Festival's accessibility policies, the organization may request or coordinate with the individuals responsible for the selected works the availability or creation of accessibility resources, such as descriptive subtitling, audio description, or other resources that favor access to audiovisual content.

The organization may make strictly necessary technical adjustments to guarantee the correct playback and exhibition of the works, without altering their content, duration, or artistic integrity.

12. Jury
The Jury for the competitive sections will be composed of recognized professionals linked to the audiovisual, cinematographic, artistic, cultural, or academic fields, appointed by the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival organization.

The composition of the Jury will be communicated in due time through the Festival's official channels.

The Jury will be in charge of evaluating the works comprising the competitive sections and determining one (1) winning work in each competition, according to what is established in these Rules and Conditions.

In its evaluation, the Jury may consider, among others, the following aspects:

Artistic, expressive, and technical quality of the work.

Solidity and coherence of the audiovisual proposal.

Originality in the aesthetic, expressive, or formal approach.

Articulation between visual, sound, and other elements that make up the proposal.

The work's ability to build its own meaningful perspective within the contemporary audiovisual landscape.

Jury members must act with independence, objectivity, impartiality, and confidentiality throughout the evaluation process.

If any of its members consider that there is a circumstance that could affect their objectivity or impartiality regarding any of the competing works, they must communicate this to the organization, which will evaluate the corresponding measures to guarantee the transparency of the process.

The Jury's decisions will be final and unappealable and will be recorded in the corresponding minutes.

13. Awards and Recognitions
The Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival will grant one (1) award to the winning work of each of its competitive sections, according to the Jury's decision.

The following awards are established:

Latin American Competition

Award for Best Short Film of the Latin American Competition.

Regional Competition

Award for Best Short Film of the Regional Competition.

University Competition

Award for Best Short Film of the University Competition.

In each competitive section, the selected works will compete together, regardless of their modality or audiovisual language.

The winning works of the Regional and University Competitions will receive a monetary award. The corresponding amounts will be established and communicated in due time by the organization.

The winning works of each competition will also receive a statuette from the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival.

Winning works will receive an award certificate and the official laurels corresponding to the recognition obtained.

Selected works may request a participation certificate corresponding to the 2026 edition of the Festival from the organization.

The Jury may grant special mentions, without monetary value, when it considers that a work or some artistic, expressive, technical, or creative aspect is deserving of particular recognition. These mentions will not imply the creation of new award categories.

Awards and recognitions will be recorded in the corresponding minutes and announced within the framework of the Festival's official activities.

The form, deadlines, and other conditions for the delivery of monetary awards will be communicated in a timely manner to the individuals responsible for the winning works.

14. Intellectual Property, Authorizations, and Dissemination
Submission and participation in this call do not imply, under any circumstances, the assignment or transfer of intellectual property rights over the submitted works. The ownership of copyright and other rights linked to each work will remain with their respective holders.

The person responsible for the submission declares under oath to possess the ownership, rights, licenses, and authorizations necessary for the submission, exhibition, and dissemination of the work under the terms established in these Rules and Conditions. This declaration includes, among others, rights corresponding to images, music, performances, texts, archives, records, and any other protected material incorporated into the work.

Likewise, the responsible person declares that there are no legal, contractual, or any other type of restrictions that prevent or limit the exhibitions and other uses expressly authorized through these Rules and Conditions.

The responsible person will assume exclusive liability for any judicial or extrajudicial claim by third parties related to the authorship, ownership, or use of materials incorporated into the work, and will hold harmless the Institute of Culture of the Province of Chaco and the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival organization against such claims.

The admission, selection, awarding, or exhibition of a work will not imply recognition, verification, or certification by the organization regarding the ownership or availability of the rights declared by the responsible person.

If a conflict regarding such rights is subsequently detected, the organization may suspend or remove the work from the exhibition and circulation instances set forth in these Rules and Conditions.

The selection of a work implies free, non-exclusive authorization without time limits for its non-commercial exhibition within the framework of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival and its associated modalities, programs, and institutional activities, including Mobile Cinema (Cine Móvil), Accessible Lapacho (Lapacho Accesible), Lapachito, and other exhibition, training, circulation, and audiovisual promotion initiatives developed by the organization.

In all exhibitions carried out by virtue of this authorization, the work will be identified as a participating "official selection of the 20th Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival".

The individuals responsible for the selected works also authorize the organization to use, for purposes of dissemination, institutional communication, and Festival promotion, the title of the work, synopsis, poster, stills, photographs, trailer or teaser, technical and artistic credits, names, and professional information provided for such purposes, and other promotional materials provided by those responsible.

The organization may use brief excerpts of the selected works for the production of promotional, institutional, or informational pieces linked to the Festival and its activities, without altering the meaning or integrity of the works.

The authorizations set forth in this section will be free and non-exclusive, will not imply the transfer of intellectual property rights or commercial exploitation rights over the works, and will be limited to the institutional, cultural, educational, training, promotional, and exhibition uses foreseen in these Rules and Conditions.

15. Personal Data Protection
The personal data provided by the participants will be used exclusively for the management, administration, and development of this call and the activities linked to the current edition of the Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival.

The organization will adopt reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the information provided and will not disclose personal data to third parties, except when necessary for the development of the activities outlined in these Rules and Conditions, when there is express authorization from the participants, or when mediated by legal obligation.

Submission to this call implies consent for the processing of personal data exclusively in accordance with the purposes established in this section.

16. Powers of the Organization
The Lapacho Latin American Short Film Festival organization will be the authority for applying and interpreting these Rules and Conditions and is empowered to resolve any situation not foreseen in them, seeking to safeguard the principles of transparency, equal opportunities, and the Festival's objectives.

The organization may, for duly justified reasons, extend the deadlines of the call, modify the schedule, reschedule screenings or activities, modify venues and times, adapt the exhibition modalities within the scope authorized by these Rules and Conditions, replace members of the Programming and Selection Team or the Jury, and make any organizational or technical adjustments necessary for the proper development of the Festival, without altering the general principles established in these Rules and Conditions.

Likewise, it may suspend, reschedule, or cancel total or partially the planned activities when there are causes of force majeure, acts of God, or circumstances beyond its control that prevent their normal development.

Any modification affecting the conditions of the call or the participation of the selected works will be communicated in due time through the declared contact methods and/or the official channels of the Festival, as appropriate.

17. Acceptance of the Rules and Conditions
Submission to this call implies full knowledge and acceptance of these Rules and Conditions by the person responsible for the submission.

Participants commit to respecting the provisions that regulate the call and the decisions adopted by the organization, the Programming and Selection Team, and the Jury, within the framework of their respective competencies.