Jane Ray's investment in 'The Nights' signals international confidence in emerging Argentine talent. Bovino, a Sundance Institute Latin Fellowship recipient, is being positioned as one of Argentina's most exciting new voices, and this private funding validates her vision for a body-positive documentary that transcends borders.
Behind the celebratory announcements lies a crisis. Producer Natalia de la Vega didn't hold back when speaking to Variety: 'The entire audiovisual industry in Argentina and its ecosystem are being dismantled by the current government.' This film exists because it has no choice but to fight for foreign investment or die.
Jane Ray, founder of Cat Flap Media and consultant artistic director of UK funding body The Whickers, has privately funded 'The Nights.' The documentary won the Cannes Docs Award at Chile's Conecta 2025 market and a ticket to Cannes Docs Spotlight. It is now competing for the €15,000 ($17,200) Last Push Award at ECAM Forum in Madrid (June 9-11).
This isn't just another festival acquisition — it's a lifeline being thrown to Argentine cinema while its own government turns away. When Jane Ray says she was 'blown away' by La Pichi's storytelling gifts, she's also recognizing what Argentina's filmmakers can still produce despite being left to rot.
The documentary world is buzzing about "The Nights" ("Las noches"), but dig beneath the surface and you'll find something far juicier than a standard industry feel-good story. Jane Ray — heavyweight UK doc player, founder of Cat Flap Media, and consultant artistic director of The Whickers funding body — has privately funded Argentine filmmaker Ana Bovino's documentary project. On paper, it's a win for Latin American cinema.
In reality? It's a desperate act of survival. Ray told Variety she was literally "blown away" by the rough cut showcased at Chile's Conecta doc market 2025, where the film also snagged the Cannes Docs Award and earned a ticket to Cannes Docs Spotlight.
But what caught her eye wasn't just craft — it was La Pichi, the film's larger-than-life protagonist living on the outskirts of Buenos Aires who turns her life into stories night after night. "Surely there is not a woman in the world...who do not pause at the mirror, suck in their cheeks or their tummy and secretly wish they were more svelte," Ray quipped. She saw international resonance in a film about a 120kg woman reclaiming her voice through storytelling à la Scheherazade — reimagined as a fat Argentine woman using humor, imagination, and irreverence to escape violence.
Here's where the drama kicks in: Bovino found La Pichi back in 2020 during an open casting for what was originally meant to be a filmed theatre play with amateur narrators. "From the very outset, La Pichi blew us away with her gift as a storyteller," Bovino said. The Sundance Institute Latin Fellowship recipient quickly abandoned her stage-to-film concept and made La Pichi the documentary's main character instead.
But getting this film made hasn't been pretty. Natalia de la Vega of Navega Cine — who produces alongside Bovino — pulled zero punches when discussing the Argentine film landscape. "We are extremely proud of this film.
We believe in Argentinian cinema, although it's been very tough financially and emotionally to make it," she told Variety. Then came the real talk: "The entire audiovisual industry in Argentina and its ecosystem are being dismantled by the current government, which is why we need foreign investors to chip in." That's not PR language — that's a producer watching her industry burn while still fighting to get one film across the finish line.
Now "The Nights" is competing for the €15,000 ($17,200) Last Push Award at ECAM Forum's co-production market in Madrid running June 9-11. Ray has come aboard as consultant producer and calls La Pichi "a star; a completely captivating Scheherazade, luring us in across 'A Thousand and One Nights' through her world, the back streets of Buenos Aires." She praised Bovino and de la Vega's "refreshingly receptive" dynamic. But let's be real: this film needed outside help because Argentina's own government abandoned its filmmakers. When foreign money becomes the only option, that's not a success story — it's a cry for help dressed up in festival buzz.
