Jury
2025 EDITION
International Short Film Competition
Juan Manuel Domínguez
Juan Manuel Domínguez (1981, Argentina) is a journalist, editor, cultural manager, and programmer at various festivals (film and comics). He studied journalism at the University of Buenos Aires and film criticism at the school of the magazine El Amante Cine. At BAFICI, the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival, he has worked as a programmer for over 10 years (previously he had other jobs at the festival), in charge—along with a team—of general content and is the sole person in charge of the Baficito section, which focuses on children and young audiences. He is the director of Bafici Animado, a small animation festival under the Bafici brand that takes place in July in Buenos Aires. He collaborates with ABC Bafici, a Bafici mentoring program for industry members.
He has also been a programmer at Cine Cosmos, open-air screenings for the Buenos Aires City Government, the Seattle International Film Festival, and a collaborator at SXSW and South by Southwest (as a screener). He has written for El Amante, Cinequanon, Inrockuptibles, Diario Perfil, La Nación, Clarín, The Comics Journal, Rolling Stone, Radar, Tiempo Argentino, Bacanal, Zona de Obras, and others. He is an external editor for Planeta publishing house, contributing to the comics edition. He has collaborated on the book 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die, and is the author of the book and cultural essay 𝘚ú𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥: 𝘓𝘰𝘴 𝘩é𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘤ó𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦. As a curator and programmer, he has been co-director for over 10 years of Viñetas Sueltas and Comicópolis, the comics event with the most visitors in the history of Argentina.
Michael Frei
Michael Frei is a Swiss animation director and video game designer. His projects 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘨 & 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺 (2015), 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴 (2019) and 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 (2025) have been recognized both as film festivals and as online games. Exhibitions, awards, lectures and jury participation at events such as the Berlinale, Ars Electronica, GLAS and the Independent Games Festival have taken Michael from Japan to the United States and all over Europe.
Simón Wilches Castro
Simón Wilches is a Colombian director and animator, winner of multiple international awards. He lives in Los Angeles, where he works as creative director of special projects at Titmouse. He directed animation for Marvel’s 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 and 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳, the viral hit 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘍𝘪 for Nissan, the animated video Dua Lipa’s 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 and Charlie Kaufman’s 𝘐’𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 film. He directed the musical 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 for HBO, several pieces for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the infamous smutfiction animation featuring two members of One Direction for the series 𝘌𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢.
His personal short films have screened at major festivals around the world and have earned him numerous accolades: two Adobe Design Achievement Awards, two Webby and Clio Awards, two ProMax Awards, as well as two Annie Award nominations and two as a regional finalist for the Student Academy Award. He has seven official selections at Annecy, three pre-selections at the ADC Awards, and the award for Best Music Video at the Chitose Festival in Japan, among many others.
In 2020, he founded Amaltea INC., dedicated to independent animation projects. He holds an MFA from the John C. Hench Animation Division at USC and is a Fulbright scholar.
Latin American Short Film Competition
Silvia Prietov
Silvia Prietov. Director and founder of Lucy Animation Studio. Winner of Pitch MIFA/Annecy 2021 with 𝘑𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯, Chilemonos 2021 with 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, and Cartoon Network “Pitch Me the Future” 2020 with 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴. She has also been recognized by the FDC Colombia (2021 and 2025) and nominated for the 2024 Annecy Festival with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵. Master in Visual Arts, with studies at Vancouver Film School (full scholarship) and more than 12 years of experience in 2D animation.
Florencia Gasparini Rey
Florencia Gasparini Rey is an international sales and distribution consultant with over 15 years of experience promoting film and animation globally. She has worked with companies such as CMG, Filmsharks, and Reel Suspects on titles such as 𝘈𝘪𝘯𝘣𝘰, 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵, and 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘕𝘰é. She currently coordinates the Animation! section of Ventana Sur, one of the leading spaces for animation in Latin America. She has participated in over 45 festivals and markets, from Cannes to Berlinale, from BAFICI to Film Bazaar. As a mentor and speaker, she shares tools for bringing animated projects to the world. Her passion: connecting creativity, strategy, and new voices.
Soledad Yañez
Soledad Yañez. With a degree in TV Production and Directing, Soledad has over 20 years of experience in media. She is currently Senior Manager of Original Production for Kids & Animation at Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America, where she leads the development and supervision of content for Discovery Kids, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and Adult Swim. He is in charge of projects such as 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘊𝘶𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯, and 𝘓𝘢 𝘏𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘖𝘳𝘰.
In addition to supporting productions at different stages, he evaluates new publishing proposals, focusing on the potential of each IP for the four animation brands.
He has served on the jury for BAM, PRODU Awards, and Pixelatl.
In her previous career, she was executive producer of 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘻 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦 and 𝘏𝘪-5 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢, and worked on multiple formats for channels such as Telefe, América TV, Gourmet.com and TV Pública.
Latin American Graduation Short Film Competition
Vrea
Vrea is an animator from Buenos Aires. She studied animation at Image Campus and is also constantly self-taught. Her short film “Madre del Vinagre,” currently being shown at festivals, was selected at Annecy 2025, Anima Latina 2024, and BitBang 2024, among others. She also designs clothing, creates giant sculptures of her characters, plays with sound, and produces events. She makes a living as a cashier in a café while working on new independent animation projects.
Maca Mercado
An animator and art director, Maca Mercado focuses her work on animation and video game production. She is the founder of Club a 12 fps, a community where artists come together to create, showcase, and experiment with animated and interactive projects. Her style focuses on expressive characters, bold colors, and a playful approach that connects with humor and urban culture. Among her latest projects are the video games 𝘋𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘨: 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 and 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳, which are still in the production stage, where she is producer and art director.
Jupe
Juan Pedro Ramos (Jupe) is a self-taught animator and animation director born in Buenos Aires. Since 2019, he has been part of the Rudo Co studio, where he has worked on numerous projects as an animator and animation director. He was the animation director of 𝘔𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘺, an animated music video directed by Jess Bianchi, and is the co-creator—along with Ailín Bustamante and Dante Fisi—of the short film in development 𝘙𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘕𝘶𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘴, recognized with a special mention in the Pixelatl 2022 Shortway program.
He currently continues to work on music videos, short films, and experimental projects, while maintaining the same logic that has accompanied him since he was a child: learning by playing, doing, testing, and discovering along the way.