The winners of the 14th edition of the Italian co-production forum When East Meets West (WEMW, 21-24 January) have been revealed during the awards ceremony at the Savoia Excelsior Palace in Trieste. The event was hosted by Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW, and Alessandra Pastore, market manager.

The WEMW Co-Production Forum jury, comprising Hervé Aubron (Directors’ Fortnight), Pierre Dallois (Ciclic Centre-Val de Loire), film director Una Gunjak and Angeliki Vergou (AGORA – Thessaloniki IFF & Thessaloniki IDF), revealed the two main winners for this year. The Film Center Serbia Development Award, valued at €5,000, was presented to the documentary project Lenin’s Pawn, directed by Moldovan filmmaker Dragoș Turea (The Soviet Garden [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]). The project is a co-production involving Turea's company, Parmis Film, and Nicoleta Cocota for Romania’s Project UM. The film narrates the journey of a Moldovan actor determined to address the ambivalence of the nation, caught between its historical past and its European aspirations. The actor undertakes a bold mission to dismantle monuments dedicated to Lenin.

The Azeri documentary Strange Sea, directed by first-time filmmaker Lala Aliyeva and produced by Aysel Akhundova of Yaman Film, received the Ciclic WEMW Award – a €5,000 cash prize provided by the French Centre-Val de Loire region. The film delves into the lives of individuals residing along the Caspian Sea shoreline, navigating the precarious balance between fear and hope, and dreams and the absence of them. Simultaneously, the director confronts her own apprehensions regarding the sea. The jury also acknowledged the Georgian-Azerbaijani documentary project The Amateur Photographer’s Family Portrait by Nurlan Hasanli, produced by Irina Gelshvili (Radium Films) and Emil Najafov (Ultra Production), with a Special Mention. Gelshvili and Hasanli also received the DAE Talent Development Prize, in cooperation with the EFM.

As for the partner awards, Ukrainian director Tetiana Khodakivska, chosen at WEMW with her sophomore documentary project, The Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole, produced by Elena Saulich (Pronto Film) in association with Moon Man and Babylon’13, received the EWA Network Award for Equality & Inclusion, valued at €500. Additionally, Saulich was granted a complimentary badge for the Cannes Marché du Film Producers Network. Greek producer Maria Kontogianni (Wild at Heart), selected at WEMW with the project Hystera by Asimina Proedrou, earned a scholarship to attend the EAVE Producers Workshop. Brazilian producer Rafaella Costa (Manjericão Filmes), working on Let It Roll by Caru Alves de Souza, was presented with another free badge for the Cannes Marché du Film Producers Network.

The Pop Up Film Residency Award was bestowed upon Agata Wieczorek, director of Joy (Futur Antérieur Production, France). The #DocsConnect Taskovski Training Award was given to the documentary The Broken R by Ricardo Ruales and produced by Soledad Santelices (Incubadora, Ecuador) and Matteo Pecorara (Small Boss, Italy). The Laser Film Post-production Award was presented to Turquoise Mountain by Barbora Chalupova, produced by Julie Marková Žáčková (Nochi Film, Czech Republic).

Moving on to the three WEMW work-in-progress sections that focus on films at the post-production stage, in Last Stop Trieste, the HBO Europe Award, a €1,000 cash prize, went to Dad’s Lullaby, directed by Lesia Diak, and produced by Diak, Monica Lazurean Gorgan and Elena Martin (DramaFree, Filmways and Petnaesta umjetnost). Additionally, the newly established Film Center Montenegro Award, a €2,000 cash prize, was presented to Blueberry Dreams by Elene Mikaberidze and producer Elene Margvelashvili (Parachute Films). In This is IT, the jury awarded the Arte Video Award, a cash prize of €5,000, to the Italian-Sri Lankan-French co-production Still Here by Suranga D Katugampala. As for First Cut+, the jury handed the TRT Prize, valued at €5,000, to March to May by Martin Pavol Repka from the Czech Republic.

In a notable first, the Shorts Showcase presented an award to one of the projects in development. The jury bestowed the HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award – €3,000 in cash – to the Ukrainian-French project Unavailable by Kyrylo Zemlyanyi and producers Inna Lastochkina (Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema) and Nicolaï Iarochenko (Les Steppes).

For the sixth time running, the Italy-Baltic Development Awards for Co-production were given out. They comprise three cash prizes, totalling €40,000, provided by the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), the Estonian Film Institute, the Lithuanian Film Centre and the National Film Centre of Latvia. The Italian majority project The Waterline, directed by Aurora Mischi and Massimo Mucchiut, and co-developed by Italian company Staragara and Latvian company VFS Films, secured a €20,000 award. Additionally, two Baltic majority co-productions were singled out: the project Beatrice, directed by Vallo Tooml and produced by Estonian company Stellar Film in collaboration with Italy’s Kino Produzioni, earned itself a €13,000 award; meanwhile, Hermann’s Hope, directed by Sarunas Mikulskis, and co-developed by Lithuanian company Ringaile Lescinskiene - MB Nuline kopija and Italian firm 010 Films, was granted a €7,000 prize.

As for the CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator awards, Romanian producer Anda Ionescu clinched the Cineuropa Marketing Award for her project The Goldstein, directed by David Schwartz and Andra Tarara. Additionally, Ionescu was honoured with the DAE Award. Meanwhile, Serbian director Maša Nešković was granted the TIDF AGORA - Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Invitation and the Equity and Inclusion Award provided by the European Film Market - Equity Inclusion programme. Lisa Smith's Dragon’s Orchard snagged the European Women's Audiovisual Network (EWA) Award.

Here is the full list of winners at the 14th WEMW:

WEMW Co-production Forum awards

Film Center Serbia Development Award
Lenin's Pawn – Dragoș Turea (Moldova/Romania)
Production companies: Parmis Film, Project UM

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

Special Mention
The Amateur Photographer's Family Portrait - Nurlan Hasanli (Georgia/Azerbaijan)
Production companies: Radium Films, Ultra Production

EWA Network’s I Have a Dream Award for Equality & Inclusion
Tetiana Khodakivska (Pronto Film, Ukraine) - The Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole

EAVE Producers Workshop Scholarship
Maria Kontogianni (Wild at Heart, Greece) - Hystera

#DocsConnect Taskovski Training Award
Ricardo Ruales (Incubadora, Ecuador), Matteo Pecorara (Small Boss, Italy) - The Broken R

DAE Talent Development Prize, in cooperation with the EFM
Nurlan Hasanli, Irina Gelshvili (Radium Films, Georgia) - The Amateur Photographer’s Family Portrait

Laser Film Post-production Award
Turquoise Mountain - Barbora Chalupová (Czech Republic)
Production company: Nochi Film

Marché du Film Producers Network Award
Elena Saulich (Pronto Film, Ukraine) - Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole
Rafaella Costa (Manjericão Filmes, Brazil) - Let It Roll

Pop Up Film Residency Award
Agata Wieczorek (Futur Antérieur Production, France) - Joy

Last Stop Trieste

HBO Europe Award
Dad’s Lullaby - Lesia Diak (Ukraine/Romania/Croatia)
Producers: DramaFree, Filmways, Petnaesta Umjetnost

Film Center Montenegro Award
Blueberry Dreams - Elene Mikaberidze (Georgia/France/Belgium)
Producers: Parachute Films, Wide Studios, Iota Production

This is IT ArteVideo Award
Still Here - Suranga D Katugampala (Italy/Sri Lanka/France)
Producers: 5e6, Rai Cinema, Okta Film, Kaiya Collective, Suboscura Films

First Cut+ - TRT Prize
March to May - Martin Repka (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Producer: Tomáš Pertold (Breathless Films)
Co-producer: 0000 films

MIDPOINT Shorts - HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award
Unavailable - Kyrylo Zemlyanyi (Ukraine/France)
Production companies: Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema, Les Steppes

Italy-Baltic Co-development Awards

Beatrice - Vallo Toomla (Estonia/Italy)
Production companies: Stellar Film, Kino produzioni

Hermann’s Hope - Sarunas Mikulskis (Lithuania/Italy)
Production companies: MB Nuline kopija, 010 Films

The Waterline - Aurora Mischi (Italy/Latvia)
Production companies: Staragara, VFS Films

CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator awards

European Women's Audiovisual Network (EWA) Award
Dragon’s Orchard - Lisa Smith (UK)
Producer: Lisa Smith

TIDF AGORA - Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Invitation
Kafka In Belgrade - Maša Nešković (Serbia)
Producers: Maja Medić, Ena Bajraktarević, Maša Nešković

Cineuropa Marketing Award
Anda Ionescu (producer) - The Goldstein (Romania)
Directors: David Schwartz, Andra Tarara

Equity and Inclusion Award
Maša Nešković - Kafka In Belgrade

DAE Award
Anda Ionescu - The Goldstein