19/12/2023 - Among the 21 projects are the new efforts by Peter Kerekes, Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova, Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman, and Caru Alves de Souza

The 14th edition of the Trieste Film Festival's co-production forum, When East Meets West (WEMW), has unveiled the chosen projects for the event scheduled to take place from 21-24 January 2024.

Twenty-one projects from 18 countries have been picked, comprising nine fiction films, nine feature-length documentary titles and three short animation films. They were selected from a pool of 486 submissions and will be presented, many for their initial unveiling, to over 500 on-site decision makers and industry professionals from around the globe. This edition marks the second iteration of the revised format, focusing on spotlight territories. Since last year, the market has featured a two-year East & West Focus, which this year continues its exploration of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, alongside Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

WEMW will feature a diverse array of emerging and bold first-time directors. Among them is Anna Llargués from Spain, whose short film Crack of Dawn was part of the 76th Cannes Film Festival – La Cinéf Official Selection. Also, Lala Aliyeva from Azerbaijan presented the documentary They Whisper but Sometimes Scream at Visions du Réel in 2020, while Slovenia's Leo Černic showcased the short animated film Pentola at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2022. Alongside these emerging talents, established auteurs like Peter Kerekes (107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile]), Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova (Women Do Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
film profile]), Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman (Californie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey…
film profile]), and Caru Alves de Souza (My Name Is Baghdad) will also be presenting their upcoming projects.

Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW, commented: “This year, we received an exceptional number of submissions, and after a careful and extensive selection process, we are delighted and excited to showcase an impressive variety of talents and stories from various corners of our planet. Furthermore, for the first time, we are introducing short animation projects on the ‘stage’ of WEMW, with the aim of fostering new creative and professional connections within Europe and beyond.”

All participating projects will have the chance to contend for two €5,000 cash prizes: the Film Center Serbia Development Award and the CICLIC WEMW Award (granted by the Centre-Val de Loire region in France). Through a robust and dependable network of partners, the co-production forum will also present a range of other significant awards. These include the EAVE Producers Workshop Scholarship, Marché du Film Producers Network Badges, the DAE Talent Development Prize in collaboration with the EFM, the Pop Up Film Residency Award, the Taskovski #DocsConnect Training Award, and the Laser Film Post Production Award. Furthermore, all directors who identify as female will be eligible for the EWA Network's Award for Equality & Inclusion.

Once more, WEMW will feature various sections specifically dedicated to films in post-production (Last Stop Trieste, This is IT, First Cut+ and First Cut Lab Trieste), in addition to the MIDPOINT Shorts showcase, the third iteration of the EAVE Slate and the introduction of eight new Inspirational Labs. The announcements of the works in progress and selected participants from all other sections will be made in early January. However, starting from late December, a restricted number of industry accreditations will be accessible here.

Here is the full list of WEMW 2024 projects:

The Amateur Photographer's Family Portrait - Nurlan Hasanli (Georgia)
Production company: Radium Films

Animal - Amaia Remírez García, Raúl de la Fuente Calle (Spain/France)
Production companies: Kanaki Films, Bellota Films

The Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole - Tetiana Khodakivska (Ukraine)
Production companies: Pronto Film, in association with Babylon 13 and Moon Man

The Broken R - Ricardo Ruales (Ecuador/Italy)
Production companies: Incubadora, Small Boss

Cosmonauts - Leo Černic (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia – short film)
Production companies: Finta Film, Staragara, Adriatic Animation

⁠The Hand - Alexander David (Portugal)
Production company: Rua Escura Crl

Hystera - Asimina Proedrou (Greece/Germany)
Production companies: Wild At Heart, Fiction Park

Invisible - Jorge Forero (Colombia)
Production company: Marginal Cine

Joy - Agata Wieczrorek (France – short film)
Production company: Futur antérieur production

La Mancha - Lindsey Cordero, Armando Croda (France/Mexico)
Production companies: so-cle, Bengala

Lenin's Pawn - Dragos Turea (Moldova)
Production company: Parmis Film

Let It Roll - Caru Alves de Souza (Brazil)
Production company: Manjericão Filmes

Made in Mud - Anna Llargués (Spain)
Production company: Mayo Films

The Man Who Played the Saxophone - Aram Shahbazyan (Armenia – short film)
Production companies: OnOff Studio LLC, Silhouette Studio LLC

Marathon - Peter Kerekes (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Hungary)
Production companies: Kerekesfilm, Hypermarket Film, Eclipse Film

Rebellion of Memory - Joël Jent (Switzerland/Peru/France)
Production companies: Aaron Film GmbH, Amazona Producciones, Les Films d'Ici

Sonia - Péter Akar, Rita Balogh (Hungary)
Production company: Campfilm Kft

Strange Sea - Lala Aliyeva (Azerbaijan)
Production company: Yaman Film

Turquoise Mountain - Barbora Chalupová (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Production company: Nochi Film, Hitchhiker Cinema

Vittoria - Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman (Italy)
Production companies: Ladoc/Zoe Films, Sacher Film

Womaniser - Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria/UK)
Production companies: Activist38, Dan Films