Supporting Creation: An Overview of International Residencies and Labs

Maialen Franco Dávila holds a degree in Humanities and Communication from the University of Deusto (Donostia-San Sebastián). She continued her studies at the Università degli Studi di Firenze (Florence, Italy), at the Faculty of Political Science.

She is currently responsible for the training programmes at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, which focus on discovering new talent, supporting project development, and mentoring emerging filmmakers through initiatives such as Nest, the festival’s international meeting for film students; and Ikusmira Berriak, a project development and residency programme run in collaboration with Tabakalera and EQZE.

Born close to Milan, Italy. Graduated in Foreign Languages for Communication and Information at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan; in 2008 she obtains a Master in Cinema Communication and Promotion. In 2008 she works for EAVE in Milan and starts working for Film Commission Torino Piemonte, as International Events and Projects Coordinator. From 2011 she works as Office Manager for Filming Europe-EUFCN, the Association of the European Film Commissions, one of the most important realities involved in the promotion of European Cinema. She joined TorinoFilmLab in 2016 as Project Manager, and now she is Programmes Coordinator.

Vanja Kaludjercic has been Festival Director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) since 2020, following more than two decades working across international film festivals, production, distribution and acquisitions. At IFFR, she leads the festival's artistic direction and programme, alongside its international activities supporting filmmakers and projects through the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart.
Before joining IFFR, she was Director of Acquisitions at the global streaming platform MUBI and held positions at Coproduction Office, Les Arcs European Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival and the Netherlands Film Festival. Across these roles, her work has combined film curation with a sustained engagement in the development, financing and international circulation of independent cinema.
She regularly serves on international festival juries, including at Cannes, Berlinale, IDFA, Annecy, Busan and BFI London Film Festival. In 2026, she was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

Born in Spain and based in Paris, she has been part of 4A4 Productions since 2015, where she has co-produced, among others, Oliver Laxe’s SIRĀT (Cannes 2025 Jury Prize), Nelson Carlo de los Santos’ PEPE (2024 Berlinale Silver Bear), Víctor Iriarte’s A NOITE DO MUNDO (Venice 2023), and Oliver Laxe’s FIRE WILL COME (O QUE ARDE) (2019 Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize). Since 2025, she has been the coordinator of FIDLab in Marseille. She has also led workshops at Harvard, CalArts, the UPF Master’s in Documentary Film, and Tabakalera.

Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe is a filmmaker. Her recent work focuses on the labour movement and community experiences that emerged in the Basque Country in the context of the social struggles of the 1970s. Her first feature film, Aro berria, premiered in the New Directors section of the San Sebastian Festival, where it received a Special Mention from the Jury, and was released commercially in December 2025. In September of the same year, she also opened Arcoiris 82, her first solo exhibition, at Tabakalera Centre for Contemporary Culture.

Diego Céspedes (Santiago de Chile, 1995) is a director and screenwriter, and one of the emerging voices in contemporary Latin American cinema. His short film "El verano del león eléctrico" won First Prize in the Cinéfondation section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, and "Las criaturas que se derriten bajo el sol" premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2022. His first feature film, "La misteriosa mirada del flamenco", won the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025, was nominated for the Goya Awards and selected to represent Chile at the Oscars. In 2026, he returned to Cannes as a member of the Official Competition jury. His films have been screened at festivals such as Sundance, Toronto and San Sebastián. He is currently developing his second feature film, "The Case of a Boy Who Lost His Heart".