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TRIESTE 2021 WEMW

First Cut+ announces the participants in its winter 2021 session

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- Eight films, which have previously been part of First Cut Lab, are participating in the first session of the hybrid programme set to run during Trieste’s When East Meets West

First Cut+ announces the participants in its winter 2021 session
One of the eight selected projects, Looking for Venera by Norika Sefa

For the second consecutive year, First Cut+ is aiming to boost the competitiveness and marketability of feature films that have previously been hosted at First Cut Lab. The first session will run from 22-26 January in a hybrid format during the upcoming When East Meets West in Trieste.

As in the year before, the complete portfolio of First Cut+ consists of 16 feature-length fiction films which are currently in post-production and most of them hail from countries with a low production capacity, with a special focus on Central and Eastern European projects. Half of the titles are featured in the Trieste workshop, while the rest will be included in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival session during the upcoming Eastern Promises Industry Days.

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The majority of the projects participating in Trieste WEMW First Cut+ 2021 are from debutant filmmakers. They include Romanian director Octav Chelaru’s drama, Balaur (see the news); Slovakian documentarian and producer Peter Kerekes’ (Batastories [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) fiction Censor (see the news); Croatian actress and filmmaker Nina Violić‘s drama Kick and Scream [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
; Greek writer-director Araceli Lemos’ supernatural story Holy Emy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Araceli Lemos
film profile
]
; and Kosovar writer-director Norika Sefa with her drama Looking for Venera [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Norika Sefa
film profile
]
. The selection is completed by three established helmers, Czech filmmaker Petr Václav‘s (We Are Never Alone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Vaclav
film profile
]
), historical drama and biopic Il Boemo (see the news); Slovenian director Matevž Luzar‘s (Good To Go [+see also:
trailer
interview: Matevž Luzar (Good To Go)
film profile
]
) sophomore feature Orchestra [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
; and Isa Qosja (Three Windows and a Hanging [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arben Zharku
interview: Isa Qosja
film profile
]
) returns to his birthplace in Montenegro with The Stork (see the news).

The participants will have four days of consultations with established professionals on promotion, marketing, press, trailer making, festival launch, and sales strategy. The advisors for this session will be: marketing specialist Boris Pugnet (of Tiramisù); digital marketing specialist Alexis Hamaide (of L'avventura Studio); international publicists and PR specialists for WOLF Laurin Dietrich and Michael Arnon; senior executive at Heretic Outreach Ioanna Stais; and head of First Cut+ and former Pyramide International festival manager Ilaria Gomarasca, who will handle international sales and festival strategies. Furthermore, editor Benjamin Mirguet will be the advisor on video editing.

The projects will also be screened in an online Work in Progress session on Tuesday 26 January as part of When East Meets West activities that will be open to a selected group of decision makers, including festival programmers, international sales agents and buyers, among others.

Finally, today a webinar on online distribution organised in collaboration with WEMW will tackle the topic on the role of online platforms for films from Central and Eastern Europe. The panellists are: Tudor Giurgiu, president of the Transilvania International Film Festival, Michał Myśliński, distributor for Poland’s Aurora Films, Anne-Sophie Lehec, commercial director at Cinemarket, and Ioanna Stais, head of international sales at Heretic Outreach. The discussion will be moderated by Martin Blaney (Screen International).

Here is the complete list of the projects selected at First Cut+ Winter 2021 session:

Balaur - Octav Chelaru (Romania/Germany/Serbia)
Producer: Radu Stancu (deFilm Production)
Co-production companies: 42film, eed Productions

Censor (working title) - Peter Kerekes (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Ukraine)
Producer: Ivan Ostrochovský (Punkchart films)
Co-production companies: endorfilm, Arthouse Traffic, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, E-S Production, Peter Kerekes

Kick and Scream [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Nina Violić (Croatia)
Producers: Vanja Sremac, Zdenka Gold (Spiritus Movens Production)
Co-production companies: MP Film Production, Zagreb Film, Propeler Film

Holy Emy - Araceli Lemos (Greece/France/USA)
Producer: Konstantinos Vassilaros (StudioBauhaus)
Co-production companies: Utopie Films, Nonetheless

Il Boemo - Petr Václav (Czech Republic/Italy/Slovakia)
Producer: Jan Macola (Mimesis Film)
Co-production companies: Dugong, sentimentalfilm

Looking For Venera [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Norika Sefa
film profile
]
- Norika Sefa (Kosovo/North Macedonia)
Producer: Besnik Krapi (Circle Production)
Co-production companies: Audiohaus, In My Country Postproductions House

Orchestra - Matevž Luzar (Slovenia/Croatia)
Producer: Petra Vidmar (Gustav Film)
Co-production company: Napravi Film

The Stork - Isa Qosja (Montenegro/Kosovo/North Macedonia/Albania)
Producer: Ivan Durovic (Artikulacija Film)
Co-production companies: One Draft LLC, Tunnel Film

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