Spanish producer Jorge Caballero, of Gusano Films, discusses the role of documentaries in our current society after being selected for the 2021 Emerging Producers.

Emerging Producers: Why do you produce documentaries? Do you understand documentary film as an instrument of social and political change?
Jorge Caballero: Especially because of my interest in the socio-political realities of the different places where we film. From public health in Colombia to civil disobedience in Spain. We believe in a cinema that can contribute socially and that is committed to the realities it shows. The other reason is aesthetic, we are interested in experimenting with forms and formats to understand the possibilities of language.

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How do you deal with the current pandemic situation as a producer? What are your main concerns (or opportunities)?
The same as those of everyone else I guess, combining work life and the family environment would be the most immediate one, but on the general level, the paradigm shift we are experiencing was still predictable; we were already experiencing major changes and the pandemic accelerated them. In the case of independent production, it is very complex to live in this paradox, where it has never been so easy to make films and it has never been so difficult to show them. There is an avalanche of productions, and the most important challenge is to stand out from the millions of other films. Particularly, I think we are now focused on finding other metrics, which do not measure the success of our films only in terms of their success at festivals or in possible international sales, but using other parameters including impact, or incidence in other initiatives or even becoming a point of reference for other productions. 

What do you think is the future of the distribution of documentary films?
Online and on demand.

What projects do you have underway (including in the area of fiction film and other projects)?
We finished these projects during the last few months:

-On the Other Side [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] – 90 min. Dir. Ivan Guarnizo. Colombia/Spain. With the support of IDFA Berta Fund, Tribeca Film Institute grant, FDC Colombia. (In distribution)

-The Stillness Syndrome – 30 min. Dir. Elias León Siminiani. Colombia. With the support of FDC Colombia. (In release. Premiere planned for April)

-Robin Bank – 80 min. Dir. Anna Giralt. Spain/Germany. In co-production with ARTE, TV3, Ibermedia, Bertha Fund, ICEC, Señal Colombia. (In post-production)

-TORO – 70 min. Dir. Elias Adriana Bernal Mor and Ginna Ortega.  Colombia. With the support of FDC Colombia and IDARTES Colombia. (In post-production)

- Artificio - Webseries + Interactive project. Dir. Anna Giralt and Jorge Caballero. With the support of German/Canadian film fund.

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EMERGING PRODUCERS is a leading promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the EMERGING PRODUCERS 2022 edition is 31 March 2021.