Bolivia's Film Community Launches Virtual Lab Week and Expands Book Fair Program

From August 4 to 7, Bolivia Lab hosted a virtual week that gathered filmmakers and audiovisual professionals from across Ibero‑America. The program offered masterclasses, panels and a dedicated Laboratory and Clinic for the analysis of 20 developing film projects, providing mentorship on scriptwriting, documentary cinema, market access, post‑production and distribution. Participants and mentors came from Bolivia, Argentina, the United States, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, Canada and a fellowship cohort that included representatives of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Honduras, Uruguay and Panama. At the inauguration, Viviana Saavedra emphasized the Lab’s goal of turning projects into finished movies.

In parallel, the Cinemateca Boliviana marked its 50th anniversary during the Feria del Libro (FIL‑2026). The event featured an extensive program with international guests such as Juan Martín Cuevas of Ecuador, historian Isáac León Frías of Peru, Marcelo Morales of Chile and Mexican novelist‑screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who presented his latest novel via Zoom. Highlights included the first‑time publication of Luis Espinal’s three‑volume cinema collection and the release of Juan Gumucio’s "La Historia del Cine Boliviano".