-
John Trengove
Director
John Trengove is an award-winning director whose work spans theatre, television, documentary, commercials, short film and experimental video. His miniseries Hopeville received the Swiss Rose d’Or and was nominated for an International Emmy. His short film IBhokwe (The Goat) premiered at the Berlinale in 2014 and he is currently focusing on his first feature film The Wound.
SYNOPSIS
” Sexual taboos imposed by traditional culture break down when three people must hide their feelings at any cost. ”Kwanda, an affluent teenager from the city, returns to his father’s rural village to be circumcised in a traditional rite of passage into manhood. His initiation turns deadly when he disturbs a closeted relationship between two rural men. Then, he has to face his own hidden desires.
Urucu Media – Elias Ribeiro
PRODUCER
Urucu Media is an independent production company dedicated to nurturing new voices in South African film. In the three years since its inception, its work has been showcased in Venice, at the Berlinale, in Cannes and at fifty other international film festivals. The company focuses on the emergence of local industries and talents through international co-productions and distribution. It has attracted private equity investment and public funds, and has sold content to top broadcasters.
-
Damien Ounouri
Director
Algerian director Damien Ounouri was born in Clermont-Ferrand in 1982. He studied film theory at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University. He currently lives in Algiers. His graduate film project on Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke, Xiao Jia Going Home (2008), was selected for several international film festivals. His first feature film, Fidaï (2012) screened at the Toronto film festival.
SYNOPSIS
” One woman’s story provides a unique glimpse into the contemporary Algerian family and its contradictions. ”Lamia is a new mother battling to make her voice heard in her conservative family. Faced with her husband’s apathy and the weight of tradition she breaks down, before falling into a severe depression.
Taj Intaj / Djaber Debzi
PRODUCER
Taj Intaj is a film production company based in Algiers. It was founded in 2011 by actress Adila Bendimerad and producer Djaber Debzi. It aims to identify and support talented Algerian directors. Recently, the company was the executive producer for The Days Before by Karim Moussaoui (47 min., 2013), which earned Bendimerad the Best Producer from the Arab World prize at the 2013 Abu Dhabi film festival. The film also won prizes at other international film festivals including Locarno, Namur, Angers and Clermont-Ferrand. The film, which received support from the French cinema agency CNC, was broadcasted on French television.
-
Kamar Ahmad Simon
Director
Architect by day and poet by night, Kamar Ahmad Simon is an award-winning director from the new generation of Bangladeshi filmmakers. His debut feature Are You Listening! opened the 55th Dok-Leipzig festival and won several prizes, including the Grand Prix at the 35th Cinéma du Réel festival and the Golden Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). He received a script development grant from the Gothenburg International Film Festival for the feature film project Silence of the Seashell.
SYNOPSIS
” Two friends set out on a journey, crossing borders and valleys, in search of a river that runs to the sea. ”A journey of a lonely son with his mother’s ash in a land that once belonged to him but not anymore… A journey of two childhood friends separated by border drawn on religion… A journey in search of a river, crossing valleys until it reaches the sea!
Sara Afreen / Beginning
PRODUCER
Beginning is a Bangladesh-based film production studio. It has worked as a local production company for the Japanese broadcasting agency NHK, and has completed commissions for the international development organization BRAC, the UK-based Pathways of Women Empowerment research programme, H&M, and others. Besides Silence of the Seashell, Beginning is now producing Made in Bangladesh, which won the NHK’s Asian Pitch competition, and Day After Tomorrow, an independent documentary.
-
Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra
Directors
Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra both studied cinema at the University of São Paulo. O que se move (The Moving Creatures), Caetano’s first feature film, won prizes at several festivals. Marco’s first feature film, Trabalhar Cansa (Hard Labor), made with Juliana Rojas, competed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2011. They also work as writers and composers.
SYNOPSIS
« The white and formerly wealthy women of the Soares family are unable to face life without slaves, as the world around them keeps changing. »All the Dead Ones tells the story of the decline of the Soares family in São Paulo at the end of the 19th century. Isabel, the dying mother, lives with her daughters Maria, a nun, and Ana, a silent and unstable young woman. As their father is away, they try to forget about their past as owners of a coffee farm surrounded by black slaves, while coming to terms with Brazil’s rapid industrialization.
Sara Silveira / Dezenove Som e Imagens
PRODUCER
Dezenove Som e Imagens was founded by filmmaker Carlos Reichenbach and producer Sara Silveira in 1991, in partnership with Maria Ionescu. It produces independent short and feature-length films for the national and international markets. Since then, the company has produced some of the most memorable Brazilian films. As a producer or co-producer, with Brazilian or foreign partners, Dezenove has presented its films around the world for over two decades.
-
Armando Capó
Director
Armando Capó belongs to the new generation of Cuban filmmakers. In 2013, two retrospectives of his films took place, the first at MOMA and the second at the International Shortfilm Festival Winterthur.His documentaries have been selected for several festivals, earning several awards including best director and best documentary.SYNOPSIS
« It is the summer of 1994 and Cuba is going under. »It is August 1994 in Cuba. Carlos is 13 and his world is collapsing. His town is in turmoil, his friends are leaving, his grandmother has died and he is exploring his own sexuality. He thought summer would be normal, but his emotions are running riot. When government policies change, thousands of Cubans throw themselves into the sea hoping to escape. Carlos must face an uncertain future.
La Feria Producciones / Marcela Esquivel Jimenez
PRODUCER
La Feria Producciones aims to transform ideas into major international co-productions. This independent film and television production company, founded in 2011, works in the fields of cultural management and commercial production. It produced Red Princesses, directed by Laura Astorga, which premiered at the Berlinale film festival and won several awards including the Audience Award in Costa Rica. It also produced Let Me Tell You the Story, directed by Milagro Farfán, which won Best Documentary at the Costa Rica film festival and screened at Documenta Madrid. The company is now developing feature films and documentaries.
-
Mariam Khatchvani
Director
Born in 1986, Mariam Khatchvani is a graduate of the Georgian State University of Theatre and Film. Her first short film, Dinola (2013), was selected to compete at the 35th Cinemed festival, the 36th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2014.
SYNOPSIS
« The strict honour code of this mountainous region in Georgia makes happiness elusive, preventing a mother from being with her child. »Against the backdrop of the harsh mountainous countryside of Svaneti (Georgia), a woman falls in love with a man. Defying the wishes of her family and its honour code, she marries him. But happiness is brief and the love of her life dies. Tradition says she must marry the first man to offer her his hand…
Vladimer Katcharava / 20 Steps Production
PRODUCER
20 Steps Productions is an independent production company founded in 2010 in Tbilisi. The company aims to help development of the Georgian film industry. It focuses on developing and co-producing independent feature films, documentaries and animated films that appeal to both local and international audiences. Current projects include the feature film President by renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
-
Mattie Do
Director
Mattie Do, who originally trained as a makeup artist, worked on film productions in Europe and America. Upon returning to Laos, she became a consultant for the country’s oldest film company, Lao Art Media. She directed Chanthaly, the first feature film in Laos to be filmed by a woman, in 2013.
SYNOPSIS
” A poor village girl tries to escape poverty by using the dependency of her wealthy, blind cousin for financial gain. ”A poor village girl from southern Laos travels to Vientiane to care for a rich cousin who has mysteriously lost her sight, and yet somehow gained the ability to communicate with the dead. When the girl realizes that her cousin is receiving messages from the spirits that allow her to win the lottery, she must choose between nursing her cousin back to health or keeping her new source of income.
Lao Art Media Co., Ltd. / Douangmany Soliphanh et Sleepy Whippet Films /Mattie Do
PRODUCER
The oldest film production company in Laos, Lao Art Media Co., Ltd., was founded in 2000 by producers Anousone Sirisackda and Douangmany Soliphanh. After producing a handful of small films for various organizations working in Laos – including UNICEF and the UNDP – Lao Art Media partnered with the Thai production company Sparta Films to produce Laos’ first commercial feature film Sabaidee Luang Prabang in 2007. In 2009, Anousone Sirisackda directed the feature film Only Love. In 2011, Lao Art Media joined with Mattie Do for Chanthaly, Laos’ first horror film.
-
Angèle Diabang
Director
Angèle Diabang has studied at Senegal’s MédiaCentre, FEMIS, Germany’s Filmakademie and Eurodoc. Initially a film editor, she began directing in 2005. She has now directed four documentaries and produced a dozen films with her Senegalese production company Karoninka, set up in 2006, and the French production company Les Films du Paquebot, which she co-founded in 2013.
SYNOPSIS
“ In Rama’s quest for freedom that leads to rebellion, she must find a balance between the Western ways she values and the traditions she respects. ”Ramatoulaye is the mother of seven children and the headmistress of a primary school in Dakar. She has been married to Modou for 30 years and is shocked when he decides to take a second wife – 20-year-old Binetou. A merciless battle between tradition and modernity ensues, opposing very different views of women’s roles in contemporary African society. -
Gustavo Rondón Córdova
Director
Gustavo Rondón Córdova holds a film directing degree from the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague, Czech Republic. He has written, directed and edited six short films that have been both screened and awarded around the world. His most recent short film, Nostalgia, was selected for Berlinale Shorts 2012. The Family will be his feature debut.
SYNOPSIS
« In the suburbs of Caracas, a father tries to protect his son who has accidentally committed murder. »In a Caracas slum, 12-year-old Pedro accidentally injures a young thief while defending himself. His father Andres, fearing revenge, must leave his three dead-end jobs in order to escape with Pedro and find a safer place. However, before leaving, he receives a phone call informing him that the wounded boy has died. His son is now a murderer. He decides to hide the truth from Pedro and face the consequences.
Marianella Illas / La Pandilla Producionnes
PRODUCER
Marianella Illas / La Pandilla Producciones
La Pandilla Producciones is a Venezuelan film and television production company that was established in 2004. It has produced all of Gustavo Rondón Córdova’s short films, which have been selected for festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Toulouse, Tribeca, Havana and Cartagena, among many others. His latest short film, Nostalgia, was selected for the 2012 Berlinale Shorts competition and will be broadcast by the television channel Arte in Germany and France. In 2013, the company began working with the established producer Marianela Illas to develop The Family.
-
Gayaneh Jiji
Director
Gaya Jiji is a Syrian filmmaker living in France. She graduated from Paris 8 University and has directed three short films. Her most recent short film screened at several festivals worldwide. She is currently developing her first feature film, My Favourite Fabric, which has been selected for the Meditalent workshop. It has also received a grant from the Festival d’Amiens Fonds d’aide au développement du scenario (screenplay development fund) in 2013.
SYNOPSIS
“ Nahla’s beauty does not respect today’s norms: she is like the Venus of Willendorf, concealing her fears and desires. ”Nahla, a single young woman, lives with her mother and sisters in Damascus. Samir, a Syrian man living in the US who is looking for a wife, pays them a visit. For Nahla, this means change is on the horizon. However, captivated by her sister Myriam’s beauty, Samir decides to marry Myriam instead of Nahla. Nahla is devastated and takes refuge in Mrs Jiji’s mysterious house, where even the strangest fantasies become reality.
La Prod / Lamia Chraibi (Maroc) / Iliade & Films / Tatiana Bouchain
PRODUCER
La Prod, a production company set up in 2007, develops fiction in the broadest sense of the word by combining imagination and attention to detail. La Prod initiates major projects with young directors. It has produced various projects: feature films (The End by Hicham Lasri, The Rif Lover by Narjiss Nejjar, A Film by Mohamed Achaour and Terminus des Anges by Narjiss Nejjar, Hicham Lasri and Mohamed Mouftakir), documentaries (All I Wanna Do by Michelle Medina) and television programmes including series, television films and video-clips.
