Desire, Domestic Violence: 2026 Locarno Pro’s First Look Uruguay Films

Six film titles from Uruguay are set to take the spotlight in Locarno, Switzerland this August.

First Look, the works-in-progress initiative of the Locarno Film Festival‘s Locarno Pro industry program, will showcase them at its 15th edition this year, held during the 79th edition of the fest, which runs Aug. 5–15.

First Look, a post-production platform for international arthouse projects, is presenting the projects in partnership with ACAU – Agencia del Cine y el Audiovisual del Uruguay. 

An international jury, comprised of Ana David (program advisor, Berlinale), Susana Santos Rodrigues (co-director, IndieLisboa) and Triin Tramberg (artistic director, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival), will award several prizes, with the winners to be unveiled during the Locarno Pro Award Ceremony on Aug. 9. 
This year’s Locarno Pro, held with the support of the Federal Office of Culture/Media Desk Suisse runs Aug. 5-11. 

Here is a closer look at this year’s selection.

Maltrato animal
Director: José Dell’Acqua Postiglione, producers: José Dell’Acqua Postiglione and Germán Ormaechea (Animista Cine)
81’, fiction 
Synopsis: 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
Director: Maximiliano Martínez, producers: Clara Charlo and Maria Zanocchi (Los Besos Contenidos), co-producer Shoji Films (Spain)
80’, documentary 
Synopsis: 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
Diector: Guillermo Casanova Arósteguy, producer: Natacha López Kneit (Lavorágine Films), co-producer Lagarto Cine (Argentina)
85’, fiction 
Synopsis: 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
Director: Paola Perkal, producer: Valentina Baracco Peña (Monarca Films), co-producers Sueño Cine (Uruguay) and Insumisa Films (Spain)
75’, documentary 
Synopsis: Perkal is a long-postponed letter to my 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
Directors: Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo, producers: Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo (L’Avventura Cine), Germán Ormaechea (Animista Cine)
62’, fiction 
Synopsis: 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. 

The Surubí
Director: Lorenzo Tocco, producers: Pancho Magnou Arnabal and Isabel García (Montelona), co-producer Kocria (Brazil)
95’, fiction 
Synopsis: 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.