Mexican production company Madrefoca Cine has come on board the film “Isabel Hernández,” the first feature from Italian director Giorgio Giampà. The project is now an Italy-Mexico co-production, joining Zoe Films, LaDoc, and Fiasco in bringing the story to the screen. The film has been selected for the 2026 Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum at the San Sebastián Film Festival, one of only 15 projects chosen for this year’s event.
The move comes at a busy time for Zoe Films. The Italian company already has Ali Asgari’s “A Bit of Light” in competition at the Venice Film Festival and Shawn Garry’s “After Elena,” featuring Alfredo Castro, heading to Toronto’s Centrepiece section.
What ‘Isabel Hernández’ Is About
The film follows a young agronomist living in the Guatemalan jungle. She recognizes her father—who left her when she was a child—in a documentary about Latin American migrants in the United States. This sends her on a search for answers.
Her journey brings her to two men who were recently deported by ICE and knew her father. One is a young man her father raised like a son. The other is a former soldier who claims to know the secret behind her father’s disappearance. Their stories do not match, forcing Isabel to face a past shaped by Guatemala’s civil war and her own broken memories of the man she barely knew.
“Isabel tries to piece together the past, claim a future of her own, find her own peace,” Giampà said.
Seven Years of Research in Guatemala
Giampà spent seven years researching the film in Guatemala. He lived with forest communities and spent time with Mayan survivors of the genocidal massacres of the 1980s. He also met with former guerrillas and people deported from the United States by ICE.
The director plans to work largely with non-professional actors “whose own lives resonate with the story.” This approach extends the film’s research-driven method into its casting choices.
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Production Team and Festival Presence
The production team now includes producer Alejandro Saevich from Madrefoca, alongside Zoe Films’ Lorenzo Cioffi, Giampà himself, and Elena Fortes from Fiasco.
Madrefoca, co-founded in 2023 by Saevich, is also behind Nathalia Acevedo’s “Salón de Belleza,” which was selected for competition at Venice Days this year.
Zoe Films, founded in 2023, has previous productions including Asgari’s “Divine Comedy,” selected for Venice Horizons in 2025, and Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman’s “Vittoria,” which played Venice Horizons Extra in 2024.
The company’s short-film work includes Giampà’s “Astronauta,” selected for Clermont-Ferrand’s 2026 International Competition, and Mel Nocetti’s “I Used to Call That Man Home,” which played at Rotterdam earlier this year.
San Sebastián Selection and Development Support
The 2026 Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum will run from September 21 to 23 as part of the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival, which takes place September 18 to 26.
“Isabel Hernández” is also part of TorinoFilmLab FeatureLab 2026 and previously participated in the EAVE Producers Workshop 2025. The project has received development support from Film Commission Regione Campania.
The film is scheduled to begin shooting in autumn 2027.
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