FESTIVAL - 2026 Edition
Micro-shorts x Can Can Club - Jury
Meet the Jury
Juan Manuel Costa
El Birque
Juan Manuel Costa was born in the city of Salta, Argentina. He is the director and producer of El Birque Animaciones (www.elbirque.com), a studio specializing in independent animation production. His notable work—which includes titles such as *Doña Ubenza*, *Caníbal*, and *Óperas para Soñar*—has won awards at numerous international festivals. A founding member of “APA! Animadores en movimiento” and CASCHI (Comunidad de la animación de Sierras Chicas), Juan Manuel combines his creative career with active participation in the regional film community.
Leonor Garcia Vercillo
Estudio Lxs Chinxs
Leonor García Vercillo is an Argentine art director and artist specializing in the creation of handcrafted models, miniatures, and set designs for film, advertising, and audiovisual projects. As the founder and creative director of Estudio Los Chinos, she develops physical worlds built specifically for the camera, combining traditional techniques, design, and cinematic storytelling.
Her work is distinguished by both her artistic sensibility and her strong leadership and production capabilities; she orchestrates teams, disciplines, and complex processes while remaining attentive to the human and artisanal elements of every project. Throughout her career, she has contributed to numerous national and international productions.
Santiago Fuentes
Winner of 2025 Micro-Short Film Competition
Santiago Fuentes is an Argentine animator and filmmaker specializing in stop-motion, originally from the province of Río Negro. He trained in the Experimental Animation (AvEx) program at IDAC in Avellaneda, where he developed a practice rooted in handcrafted animation, experimentation, and the construction of frame-by-frame imagery.
In 2025, he won the Micro-Short Film Competition—an accolade recognizing a burgeoning career that blends narrative sensitivity, visual exploration, and a keen interest in the expressive potential of stop-motion. His work is defined by an inquisitive, experimental perspective, with a particular focus on craftsmanship and the manual processes of animation.