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BERLINALE 2021 EFM

The 2021 Berlinale Co-Production Market goes online

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- With a selection of 35 projects, including the new efforts by Jan Komasa, Fien Troch, Selma Vilhunen and Syllas Tzoumerkas, the 18th edition of the co-production platform is going digital

The 2021 Berlinale Co-Production Market goes online
Director Jan Komasa, whose project Shine of the Sun has been selected

The 18th edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market has invited along 35 new feature-film projects hailing from 25 countries for its upcoming edition. The teams behind them will thus have a chance to meet industry professionals during more than 1,000 meetings. An integral part of the European Film Market, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will run on the same dates as the EFM, from 1-5 March.

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For the official programme of the market, 19 projects, budgeted at between €750,000 and €4.5 million, have been selected from among the 301 submitted, with most of them being European productions. Two participating projects hail from Germany: Swiss-born Sophia Bösch is presenting her debut feature, Milk Teeth [+see also:
film review
interview: Mona Cathleen Otterbach
interview: Sophia Bösch
film profile
]
, while Berlin-based Greek filmmaker Nancy Biniadaki (The Surface of Things) will be coming along clutching her sophomore project, Maysoon. Two first-time filmmakers are representing France: Nora El Hourch with Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nora El Hourch
film profile
]
(working title: Pussy Project) and Sarah Arnold with Wild Encounters. From neighbouring Belgium, acclaimed writer-director Fien Troch returns with a new project four years after the Venice-awarded Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fien Troch
film profile
]
, and debutant Domien Huyghe is presenting the project Sea Sparkle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Domien & Wendy Huyghe
interview: Thibaud Dooms
film profile
]
.

As for the rest of the selection, Poland’s Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile
]
) is bringing along another new project entitled Shine of the Sun, Finnish filmmaker Selma Vilhunen is presenting her fourth fiction feature, after the Toronto-premiered Stupid Young Heart [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, and Greek writer-director Syllas Tzoumerkas is returning to Berlin after his last feature, The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, premiered there two years ago. Finally, the European projects also include the debut features by Norway’s Thea Hvistendahl and Galician director Álvaro Gago.

In the market’s other sections, Berlinale Directors will host projects by directors who have been present at the festival before and whose new cinematic works are now at the early stages of financing: here we find the latest projects by Swedish filmmaker Måns Månsson, whose The Real Estate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Axel Petersén and Måns Måns…
film profile
]
was in the Berlinale Competition three years ago; Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, who was also on the festival’s jury last year; and Lithuanian filmmaker Alanté Kavaïté (The Summer of Sangaile [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alanté Kavaïté
film profile
]
). Furthermore, the film project Kabul Jan by Shahrbanoo Sadat will first be presented at Rotterdam’s CineMart and will be included as part of the special Rotterdam-Berlinale Express programme.

The selection is rounded off by the ten projects being presented at the Talent Project Market, which is taking place in collaboration with Berlinale Talents, where up-and-coming producers will have a chance to showcase their projects.

Here is the official project selection for the 2021 Berlinale Co-Production Market:

The Business Women’s Club - Anna Muylaert
Producers: Glaz Entretenimento, África Filmes (Brazil)

Four Little Adults [+see also:
film review
interview: Selma Vilhunen
film profile
]
- Selma Vilhunen
Producer: Tuffi Films (Finland)

Handling the Undead - Thea Hvistendahl
Producer: Einar Film (Norway)

Holly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fien Troch
film profile
]
- Fien Troch
Producer: Prime Time (Belgium)

Land of Savages - Fernando Guzzoni
Producer: Fabula (Chile)

Lava - Youjia Qu
Producers: Rediance, Notation Film (China)

Left Over - Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Producers: +90 Film Production, Ustaoğlu Film (Turkey)

Matias - Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon
Producers: Vulcana Cinema, Avante Filmes (Brazil)

Matria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Álvaro Gago
film profile
]
- Álvaro Gago
Producers: Avalon PC, Ringo Media (Spain)

Maysoon - Nancy Biniadaki
Producer: Watchmen Productions (Germany)

Milk Teeth [+see also:
film review
interview: Mona Cathleen Otterbach
interview: Sophia Bösch
film profile
]
- Sophia Bösch
Producer: Weydemann Bros (Germany)

My Soul Startled - Syllas Tzoumerkas
Producer: Homemade Films (Greece)

Puan - María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat
Producers: Pucará Cine, Pasto (Argentina)

Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nora El Hourch
film profile
]
 (working title: Pussy Project) - Nora El Hourch
Producer: Manny Films (France)

Sea Sparkle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Domien & Wendy Huyghe
interview: Thibaud Dooms
film profile
]
- Domien Huyghe
Producer: A Private View (Belgium)

Shine of the Sun - Jan Komasa
Producer: Aurum Film (Poland)

We Are All Strangers - Anthony Chen
Producer: Giraffe Pictures (Singapore)

Who Killed Narciso? - Marcelo Martinessi
Producer: La Babosa Cine (Paraguay)

Wild Encounters - Sarah Arnold
Producer: 5 à 7 Films (France)

Berlinale Directors

England Made Me - Måns Månsson
Producer: Fasad Production (Sweden)

The Oblivion Theory - Annemarie Jacir
Producers: Incognito Films (France), One Two Films (Germany)

Two Peas in a Pod - Elite Zexer
Producer: 2-Team Productions (Israel)

Vic & Doc & Duke Go to the Store - Bruce McDonald
Producers: BrancSeater Productions, Shadow Shows (Canada)

The Woman From the Sunken Island - Alanté Kavaïté
Producer: Les Films d'Antoine (France)

Rotterdam-Berlinale Express

Kabul Jan - Shahrbanoo Sadat
Producers: Adomeit Film (Germany/Denmark), Wolf Pictures (Afghanistan)

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