Announcing the winner, The Whickers 2025 Chile Conecta Bursary Winner

In the fourth year of our wonderful collaboration with Chile Conecta, The Whickers has announced Endless Movie 1995 (Pelicula fin sin 1995) as the winner of the £3,000 Whicker Conecta Development Award 2025.

The decision followed an exceptionally competitive pitching round. All eight shortlisted projects were praised by the judges for their originality, ambition and quality, having been selected from the strongest pool of applications since the award began.

The judging panel noted that selecting a single winner was no easy task, with every project demonstrating outstanding creative and editorial merit.

Ultimately, the judges reached a unanimous decision, awarding the prize to Pelicula fin sin 1995. The project was praised as a compelling and intimate love story between a young woman and her formidable grandmother, told with integrity and intelligence, while simultaneously unfolding as a far-reaching political thriller with urgent international relevance.

The award was presented to Elisa Leiva Anderson, director and producer of the film, whose pitch impressed the panel with its emotional depth, narrative ambition and contemporary political significance.

Congratulations to Elisa Leiva Anderson and to all eight shortlisted filmmakers, whose projects already stand as winners for their exceptional quality and vision.

Conecta was established by the Chilean Corporation of Documentary (CCDoc). It is an international industry meeting that brings together Latin American producers with distributors, exhibitors, sales agents, programmers, channel representatives, festivals, markets and funds, domestic and foreign. Conecta looks to strengthen ties between the documentary communities in Latin America and promote Chile as a window of opportunity for audio-visual production in the continent.

‘The Whickers/Conecta Emerging Director’s Bursary’ is available to emerging LatAm filmmakers taking part in Conecta’s annual industry meeting in Santiago. A special pitch for first time Directors to meet with Industry decision makers will be convened for the market for the first time. The Whickers is also committed to supporting talented directors with compelling stories that resonate globally, recognizing that even the smallest amount of seed funding at the right time and place can make a significant difference to a project.

Find out more about the bursary scheme HERE.