The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) welcomed Spanish filmmaker Juana Robles last month as the current resident in the ninth edition of the BAICC Residencias Artísticas Internacionales de Creacion Cinematográfica, a collaboration between the (S8) Mostra Internacional de Cinema Periférico, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and LIFT. The residency supports the making of a new analogue film-based work by creators born or living in Spain. The work made in the residency will premiere at the next iteration of the (S8), held in June 2026 in A Coruña, Spain.
Robles is in Toronto this October to work on her project, “Béal”. Currently in development, “Béal” explores the layered histories and interconnections between Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood and the Regent Park redevelopment—areas shaped by immigration, impoverishment, criminality, working-class resilience, and cycles of displacement and renewal. Once home to industrial labourers and immigrant families, Cabbagetown has undergone waves of gentrification, while Regent Park, Canada’s first large-scale social housing project, has been undergoing major redevelopment since the early 2000s. Through intimate encounters with residents and local organizations from both communities, Juana gathers sound recordings of personal histories that reveal how these places have shaped individual and collective lives, while engaging with topics of mental health, addiction, housing crises, marginalization, gentrification, and resilience. Visually, the work combines 16mm film recordings—long, static shots—with 35mm still photographs that capture the atmosphere of these contrasting and changing neighbourhoods. At the centre of the project is human interaction: spending time listening, witnessing, and creating space for voices that are often overlooked. As an outsider, the artist-filmmaker observes and records a snapshot of the present moment, engaging in a process-driven journey where one encounter leads naturally to another, tracing the subtle connections that define community, place, and change (artist description).”
Robles will present a screening next week on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7:00pm in the LIFT Main Classroom, 1137 Dupont Street, Toronto. The screening will feature earlier films in her oeuvre which exemplify her sense of portraiture and place.
Juana Robles (b. 1983, Tortosa, Spain) is a Kilkenny-based artist-filmmaker. Her work, often created with analog techniques like 16mm and Super 8mm, explores the body, identity, memory, and resilience through immersive, tactile cinema. Drawing from performance and ritual, she blurs personal and collective histories. Juana has studied at the Lucerne School of Art and Design and Zurich University of the Arts. Her films have been shown at festivals worldwide, including Perth International Film Festival, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinema, Videoex Experimental Film & Video Festival Zurich, and exhibited in art contexts like CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow and Askeaton Contemporary Arts. Single works by Juana Robles are distributed by Light Cone (Paris) and Collectif Jeune Cinéma (Paris). She is also a co-founder of Out of Focus, an initiative in Kilkenny dedicated to avant-garde cinema, and has contributed to the experimental film community through her roles at festivals like Videoex and the Lausanne Underground Film Festival (LUFF).
Juana Robles’ residency is made possible in part through support from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the LIFT-Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto. For the premiere of the resulting work at the (S8) in A Coruña, it receives funding from Agadic (Axencia Galega das Industrias Culturais).
Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) is a state agency for the promotion of culture. It fosters the Spanish creative and cultural sectors through a broad program of activities, fostering the internationalisation of creative professionals, with initiatives such as artist residencies. Projects supported by AC/E underline the diverse Spanish contribution to the global culture, as well as recent contributions of Spanish talent in the main creative fields.
The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is Canada’s foremost artist-run production and education organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the moving image. LIFT exists to provide support and encouragement for independent filmmakers and artists through affordable access to production, post-production and exhibition equipment; professional and creative development; workshops and courses; commissioning and exhibitions; artist-residencies; and a variety of other services. LIFT is supported by its membership, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, the Government of Ontario and the Toronto Arts Council.
