• Marcel Beltrán

    Marcel Beltrán is a Cuban filmmaker, a specialist in analog film practices, focused on portraying his country. His fiction short La Nube won best film at Havana FF. La Opción Cero, his documentary feature, premiered at IDFA 2020, was selected in more than 40 international film festivals such as DOCNYC, HotDocs and Locarno. He participated in Rotterdam Lab, Berlinale Talents and Locarno Open Doors. 

    Synopsis

    Cuba. He dreams of a car, she saves a bird, a couple fall apart and the world's smallest frog tries to survive on the edge of one of the world's largest nickel reserves.

    In Moa, a city on east Cuba, life revolves around the nickel mines. Solange, a passionate biologist, returns to her hometown to conduct an environmental impact study. This task connects her to an ancestral landscape and its imminent menace. As Solange distances herself from the male-dominated mining facility, she opens her eyes to ancient mysteries, ghosts, and legends of the Taíno indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Moa. Chino, her partner, a geologist determined to secure a job promotion in the factory, persists with his drilling efforts despite the conflicts it triggers among then. 

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    I grew up in Moa. The town, once a coastal treasure, was transformed under my eyes into a mining epicenter; a change that completely altered our relationship with the landscape. When I returned years later, an unstoppable impulse drove me to capture this complexity. MOA delves into the emotions of Solange, a biologist whose connection to nature is as deep as the roots of the trees she protects, and Chino, a geologist whose fate seems inexorably tied to the mining industry that devours the land. Inspired by my mother's life and the mythical legends of the Tainos, Cuba's first inhabitants, the film goes deep into the eternal confrontation between human greed and nature's resilient resistance.

    En savoir plus

    Paula Gastaud

    Mediocielo Films

    Mediocielo Films is an emerging and sustainable independent production company founded by the Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltrán in partnership with the Brazilian producer/distributor Paula Gastaud, based in both countries, since 2019. Focused on producing high quality arthouse movies with innovative approaches, the company recently released their first production together and Marcel's first feature doc, La Opción Cero, a Cuba/Brasil/Colombia co-production, premiered at IDFA Luminous 2020, and was selected in more than forty film festivals around the world. MOA, their fiction feature in development is Beltrán's second feature. The project was Locarno Open Doors Hub 2022 and Ventana/Sur Proyecta 2023 winner and is supported by the Swiss Fund Visions Sud Est, ArteKino International, Moulin d'Andé and CNC in France, the French Embassy in Cuba and Projeto Paradiso in Brazil.

    Fiction | Mystery Drama | Colour | DCP

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    Mediocielo Films

    Language

    Spanish

    Shooting locations

    Moa and Havana (Cuba)

    Estimated budget

    850 000 €

    Funding in place

    100 000 €

    Research partners

    European and Canadian Co-producers, International Funds, Sales Agents and distribution companies

    Actual status

    Advanced development

    Director

    Marcel Beltrán | marcel@mediocielofilms.com | +55 1 19 43 93 22 19

    Producer

    Paula Gastaud | paula@mediocielofilms.com | +55 1 19 41 18 95 47 | https://www.youtube.com/MediocieloFilms

    Coproducteurs

    JBA Production | Marianne Dumoulin, Jacques Bidou | France
    Maria Farinha Filmes | Luana Lobo, Mariana Oliva | Brazil

  • Gibrey Allen

    Gibrey Allen is a Jamaican-born filmmaker whose films have screened at such festivals as Locarno Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, AFI Silver Theatre, BAM Film Series, New Orleans Film Festival, and Blackstar. Allen participated in Locarno’s Open Doors Projects Hub, 2023 with Raised by Goats where through an award it won a writing consultancy from Initiative Film via OIF.  

    Synopsis

    A multi-generational suspenseful drama set in 1962 Jamaica about a grief-stricken woman, Trudy (23) who finds renewed hope and new love within the mysterious and mystical Blue Mountains.

    In a rural Jamaica town, Trudy (23), mourns her husband's sudden death. Isolated in her grief, she begins to feel a visceral draw to the Blue Mountains, a place steep in lore. Upon entering the mountain, Trudy meets Ocot, a mysterious goat herder who barely utters a word. As their unspoken attraction deepens, the mysticism surrounding Ocot and the Mountain begins to blur the lines between the spiritual world and reality, revealing the bitter truth of how and why her husband died along with other life-altering secrets.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    Raised by Goats is a compelling film that parallels Jamaica's 1962 independence, where both country and character push towards emancipation. It is a story that invites the mysticism and lore that is so etched in our culture, a story about unchained love, and is dedicated to the fiercely strong women in Jamaica. My mother, who was a child during the fight for independence, greatly informs this film, which irrevocably changed her life and shaped her identity. She outlines her survival struggles, the weighty uncertainty of the time but also the hope for freedom of country and mind. 

    This film adds a unique perspective, highlights Jamaica and the region's innovative approach to filmmaking. It's one of the answers to how we can evolve cinema and transform stories and story structure.

    En savoir plus

    Nadean Rawlins

    RAW Management Ltd.

    In 2015 Nadean Rawlins started RAW Management Ltd., a production company and talent agency. RAW Management works with highly qualified freelancers to provide services across the production spectrum, including casting and filming. In 2020 RAW produced its first short film Traytown that was screened at Diversity in Cannes and won Best Local Film at Jamaica’s GATFFEST Film Festival. The company since has produced three short films with and its current slate includes two feature length films in development and two shorts in pre-production and post-production. Nadean is an alumnus of the IFFR Rotterdam Producer Lab, Creators of Colour and Locarno Open Doors Producers Lab.

    Fiction | Suspense Drama | Colour | Digital 4K

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    RAW Management Ltd.

    Language

    English

    Shooting locations

    Jamaica

    Estimated budget

    650 000 €

    Funding in place

    20 000 €

    Research partners

    International co-producers (France, Germany, UK and other territories), financing and film grants, sales agents, distributors

    Actual status

    Development

    Director

    Gibrey Allen | allengibrey@gmail.com | +1 973-580-9239

    Producer

    Nadean Rawlins | nadean@rawmanagementagency.com | +1 (876) 833-7851

    Videopitch

  • Abdallah AlKhatib

    Abdallah Jamal AlKhatib, a Syrian-Palestinian born in Damascus in 1989, is a film director, writer, and human rights defender. He studied sociology at the University of Damascus and is currently pursuing further education in Germany in the field of social work. Acknowledged for his contributions to human rights, he has received awards such as Peacemaker of the Year from German Greenpeace in 2014 and the Swedish Per Unger Award from the Swedish Foreign Ministry 2016. AlKhatib transitioned into filmmaking with his debut feature film, Little Palestine - diary of a siege.
    His first fictional film was with his short film Sukrania, which won the Audience Award at the Cinemed Festival. He is currently engaged in the production of a feature documentary.

    Synopsis

    Facing deportation after her asylum bid is denied, 25-year-old Sara and fellow women at a refugee residence in Germany unite to overturn their expulsion, striving for a freer future for their families.

    Sara, a Syrian refugee mother, and her autistic son, fleeing the war in Syria, land in a German refugee camp during the COVID-19 crisis. There, she develops deep friendships with other mothers, united in their quest for a better future for their children. As they navigate the asylum process, Sara witnesses her friends being deported, often under tragic circumstances. Devastated by the rejection of her own asylum application, she decides to challenge the system in an act of defiance. Will she succeed?

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    Born and raised in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, my status has sculpted my existence. From my youth in a UN school to my sociology studies, I've deeply explored refugee life. My activism has often made me a target of various groups. Now in Germany, my family is adjusting to camp life. My cinematic journey began with Little Palestine, portraying Yarmouk's siege, followed by my first fictional work, Sokrania 59, a short film about my family's and a Ukrainian family's life in a German refugee home. My upcoming feature, Das Heim, will focus on the stories of refugee women, aiming to share their narratives. To me, cinema is a vehicle for change, highlighting the human experience beyond statistics and political rhetoric.

    En savoir plus

    Salah Issaad

    Issaad Film Productions

    Issaad Film Productions, a cinematic production company based in Algeria, was established in 2019 by the brothers Salah and Taqiyeddine Issaad. The company's foray into the independent film industry was marked by the production of the Algerian film Soula, the first feature film directed by Salah Issaad. Bolstered by the success of this film, the company decided to expand its activities to the Middle East, a move that led to a fruitful partnership with Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib. Through this partnership, several projects have been completed, including short films, with others currently in production or post-production stages.
    Issaad Film Productions adopts a proactive strategy, involving itself from the earliest stages of projects and working closely with directors to fully develop each work. The company promises a notable presence at this edition of the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 with Das Heim, Abdallah Alkhatib's first fictional feature film in development, showcasing its steadfast commitment to the talents it collaborates with.

    Fiction | Drama | Colour | 100 min

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    Issaad Film Productions

    Language

    Arabic, German, English, French, Afghan

    Shooting locations

    Germany

    Estimated budget

    1 200 000 €

    Funding in place

    60 000 €

    Research partners

    Co-production, International Sales Agent, Distributor, International Funds & Financiers

    Actual status

    In development, financing

    Director

    Abdallah AlKhatib | a.alkateeb1@hotmail.com | +49 176 42034411
     

    Producer

    Salah Issaad | issaadfilmproductions@gmail.com | +33 6 03 71 29 76 (numéro français)
     

    Videopitch

  • Yanillys Perez

    Yanillys Pérez, a Dominican director, screenwriter, and producer, gained recognition for her documentary Jeffrey, winning Best Film at TIFF 2016. Her short film Techos Rotos won the Young Jury Award at Locarno 2022. Resistencia earned her the World Cinema Fund Strategy Award at Locarno 2022.

    Synopsis

    Resistencia (12) has to take care of her little sisters while her mother works in a Larimar mine. Spirituality gives them hope amidst the conflict of reversed family roles.

    Resistencia has to look after her two little sisters on her own, while their mother works in a mine far from home to support them. But this life is too much for Resistencia, who is only twelve years old. 

    Defying all odds, she decides to go and find her mother and bring her back to them. Mother and daughter must embrace their roles to progress in life.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    This film delves into the depths of my soul. Growing up surrounded by resilient, independent women, I learned the value of strength and determination as the eldest of three sisters. Assuming a maternal role while our single mother worked tirelessly in a mine shaped my perspective. 

    Resistencia aims to illuminate the reality of families like mine, highlighting the burdens children bear and the strength of single mothers. It explores the reversal of roles between a daughter and mother amidst life's challenges. Set in a larimar mine, the film delves into themes of responsibility and sacrifice, with mystical elements of magical realism offering hope and guiding the characters toward understanding. It celebrates the enduring strength of family bonds in the face of adversity and separation.

    En savoir plus

    Siddhartha Mata

    YPR Films

    YPR Films, established in 2010 in the Dominican Republic by Yanillys Pérez, Thibaud Billiard, and Siddhartha Mata, is an independent film company. Our documentary JEFFREY won the Discovery Filmmaker Award and garnered acclaim at various global festivals.
    Recently, our short film TECHOS ROTOS received the Junior Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival in the Open Doors section. Currently, our focus is on RESISTENCIA, which earned the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategy Award at the Locarno Film Festival Open Doors and the 1st prize at the Malaga co-production fund MAFF 2023.

    Fiction | Drama | Colour | HD

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    YPR Films

    Language

    Spanish

    Shooting locations

    Larimar Mines, Barahona Dominican Republic

    Estimated budget

    1 200 000

    Funding in place

    700 000

    Research partners

    Sales agents, Distributors and Coproducers.

    Actual status

    Advanced development

    Director

    Yanillys Pérez | yprfilms@gmail.com | +1 829 819 9090 | +33 6 29 94 76 89 (numéro français)

    Producer

    Siddharta Mata | info@yprfilms.com | +1 849 318 7808

    Co-producers

    Novoprod Cinema | Raphaëlle Delauche, Nicolas Sanfaute | France

    Videopitch

  • Marija Apcevska

    Marija Apcevska is a director based in North Macedonia. She has made several short films that traveled to festivals worldwide, earning international acclaim. 'Bardo' premiered at Berlinale Generation and 'North Pole' at Cannes' Official Selection, marking the first time a film from North Macedonia competed in the Cannes Film Festival. She is Berlinale Talents and Locarno Filmakers Academy alumna.

    Synopsis

    Haunted by the past and perhaps the spirit of her mother, a woman revisits the landscapes of her homeland, on a quest of redemption.

    Varava, the prodigal daughter, returns home following her mother Vera's apparent suicide, an event she has trouble accepting. Amidst the chaos of property transfers and strained family relationships, peculiar occurrences take place in the house, suggesting a caring spectral presence. Varava delves into the mysteries, confronting unresolved issues from the past and bonding unexpectedly with Lila, the neighbor’s teenage daughter. She rediscovers truths that force her to reevaluate her understanding of her mother and herself, ultimately leading to one last reunion.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    "Spring Cleaning" draws from my personal experiences of loss — my friend's sudden suicide and my grandmother's departure due to Alzheimer's. Like many who have lived through such events, for long I have been revisiting our final moments together, seeking solace or answers. Thus, a haunting story of loss, identity, family dynamics and the search for truth took shape, hopefully without being overly sentimental, as these themes have been central to my previous works as well. Spring Cleaning is mixing lyrical visual approach against the backdrop of socio-economic jam of the Balkans, seen through the eyes of three generations of women, where the lines between reality and the supernatural become blurry.

    En savoir plus

    Robert Naskov

    Kino Oko

    Kino Oko is a production company founded by producer Robert Naskov in 2001 in Skopje, North Macedonia, as an independent company specializing in film and TV production, documentaries, public events, and campaigns. In 2009, the company participated in EuropaCorp's production Human Zoo. Kino Oko’s filmography includes many European co-productions including The Third Half (2012) by Darko Mitrevski (a Macedonian Oscar candidate) and The Liberation of Skopje (2016) by Rade Serbedzija (a Macedonian Oscar candidate). In 2019 the company was part of the European co-production Beyond The Horizon by Delphine Leherecey. Kino Oko’s short film North Pole (2021) by Marija Apcevska was selected in the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Robert Naskov was President of the Macedonian Film Professionals Association. He is an active member of the European Film Academy. Kino Oko is a member of the European Producers Club.

    Fiction | Drama, mystery | Colour | 35 mm/Super 16mm

    First feature film
    Produced by

    Kino Oko

    Language

    Macedonian

    Shooting locations

    North Macedonia

    Estimated budget

    883 000 €

    Funding in place

    400 000 € (45%)

    Research partners

    Sales Agents, Co-producers, International Funds, Financiers

    Actual status

    Advanced development, Financing

    Director

    Marija Apcevska | apcevska_marija@yahoo.com | +389 76 265 290

    Producer

    Robert Naskov | robert@kinooko.com.mk | +389 2 3222 478 | +389 70 255670

    Coproducteurs

    Blue Monday Productions | Nathale Mesuret  | France
    Arsmedia | Boštjan Ikovic | Slovenia
    Servia Film | Miloš Ljubomirović | Serbia
    Analog Vision | Michal Kràčmer | Czech Republic

    Videopitch

  • Hanna Jalali

    Hanna Jalali is an independent filmmaker based in Ukraine and Iran. Graduated from Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. Kyoto Filmmakers Lab 2020 and Berlinale Talents 2021 alumna. Her first short film After (2016) was selected for several festivals such as Trieste FF, Premiers Plans - Angers Festival, Odense IFF, Leeds IFF and Molodist IFF. 

    Synopsis

    A series of murders is attributed to a mythical Leopard figure. A cop and a reporter are trying to solve the case but eventually, a local forest ranger makes a disquieting personal discovery: the Leopard is nearer than he thinks, and always was.

    A series of disappearances of female hikers occurred in the mountains. The police searched for a serial murderer, while locals harbored suspicions towards a mythical Leopard figure. Bahman, a local forest ranger, actively prevented them from hunting the leopards. A decade later, new evidence emerges pointing to Bahman's father, now afflicted with Alzheimer's, who made some remarks to a nurse about the potential burial site of the victims. A journalist theorizes that the father inadvertently revealed crucial information and his article linking him to the case thrusts Bahman’s life into chaos.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    Imagine a remarkable twist of fate: a serial killer, long evading justice, grows old and develops a memory disease. And eventually, inadvertently reveals their true identity, exposing deeds of their past.

    If such a scenario were to unfold in reality, the weight of the repercussions wouldn't fall upon the shoulders of the serial killer himself. Rather, it's his unsuspecting family members who would endure the harshest consequences, especially in close-knit communities. This premise serves as the foundation of our narrative.

    En savoir plus

    Moeinoddin Jalali

    2 People Production

    Moeinoddin Jalali is a producer and Director based in Ukraine and Iran. Kyoto Filmmakers Lab 2021/22 alumnus. Member of the Iranian Society of Cinematographers. Holds an MA with Honours in Cinematography from Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary University. Was engaged as a producer and DP for short films such as After (2016) and Interview (2020). In 2024 he directed his first short film Wind.     
    Founded in 2021. 2 People Production is an independent film production company focused on fiction films. Recent titles include Interview (2020), Freaking Awesome Life (2022) and Wind (2024). Projects currently in development include The Echo of the Leopard (Tanineh Yuz), and There is no Sinless in our House.

    Fiction | Psychological thriller | Colour | Digital

    First feature film
    Produced by

    2 People Production

    Language

    Persian, Gilaki, Mazandarani

    Shooting locations

    Iran

    Estimated budget

    488 000 €

    Funding in place

    71 000 €

    Research partners

    Co-producers, financiers, sales agents, international funds, festivals, distributors, broadcasters

    Actual status

    In development, financing

    Director

    Hanna Jalali | hannajalalimail@gmail.com | +380 6 72 96 23 96

    Producer

    Moeinoddin Jalali | moeinoddinjalali@gmail.com | +98 93 38 65 82 98

    Videopitch

  • Víctor Checa

    Lima. 1986. His personal works as director have been screened in different film festivals and video exhibitions around the world. His first feature film, Tiempos Futuros (2021), premiered at the 25th Tallin Black Nights Film Festival and has run in more than 40 festivals including Locarno, Málaga, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, Neuchatel and won numerous awards.

    Synopsis

    A centuries-old vampire child and two daring sisters face each other in a fight for survival amid the ruins of Peru's future desert.

    Piura Desert, Perú, 2060. Martín (15), heir to a family of landowners, rises from his grave as a vampire, in an unrecognizable world ravaged by sandstorms, scarcity and darkness. Two centuries before, under the influence of a mysterious stranger, he succumbed to bloodlust and died, poisoned after his first bite. He seeks solace in the abandoned family mansion, struggling with his condition until the unexpected visit of bold desert-dwelling sisters María (17) and Flora (14). A meeting that will turn their fates, as they embark on a harrowing journey from which only one can survive.    

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    I seek to challenge the conventions of western and vampire genres by setting these against the backdrop of Peruvian reality and colonial heritage, aiming to find an intimate approach through the coming-of-age encounter between Martin, a pre-teenage vampire from the past, and sisters Maria and Flora, survivors of societal and ecological disaster. Working within a hypothetical future provides me with a framework to explore and convey the essence of the time in which we live, as a spectre reflected back from a time yet to come. I strive to confront questions that have haunted me since childhood: What lays ahead for us if certain behaviours prevail? How do the ghosts of the past manifest themselves and what do they reveal about our present? What is the weight of inheritance? Is there hope?

    En savoir plus

    Jimena Hospina

    Candu Films

    Candu Films is a Peruvian film company founded by producer Jimena Hospina as a platform to produce cinematographic projects focusing mainly on the narrative quality, aesthetics and cultural relevance of their stories, in addition to promoting new voices of Peruvian cinema. Some titles of the company are El silencio del río (Berlinale 2020), Palabras Urgentes (Warsaw International Film Festival 2022), Aya (FICG 2017) among others.

    Fiction | Vampire | Colour | Digital

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    Candu Films

    Language

    Spanish

    Shooting locations

    Perú, México

    Estimated budget

    800 500 €

    Funding in place

    30 000 € 

    Research partners

    Co-Producers, International funds, International Sales Agent, Festivals

    Actual status

    Development

    Director

    Víctor Checa | victormanuel.checa@gmail.com | +52 5 528 027 511

    Producer

    Jimena Hospina | jimena.hospina@gmail.com | +51 946225418

    Coproducers

    Calouma Films | Julia Cherrier | Mexico
    Cima Films | Marion D'Ornano | Mexico
    Black Forest Films | Christoph Hahnheiser, Josune Hahnheiser | Germany

    Videopitch

  • Pathompon 'Mont' Tesprateep

    Pathompon ‘Mont’ Tesprateep is a Thai artist and filmmaker, born in Bangkok and raised in Isan. His experimental short films on a series of hand-processed 16mm and S-8, screenings and exhibitions at various international film festivals, including Locarno, IFFR, BFI London Film Festival. Tremble Like A Flower, feature directorial debut receives Hubert Bals Fund’s Script and Project Development grant.

    Synopsis

    A story of a teenage girl, her unrequited love, and the loss and eventual reinvention of her identity as she moves to an unfamiliar town and finds a new yet bizarre love.

    Late Cold War period, mid 1980s. In a rural northern Isan town, KAEW, a rebellious sixteen-year-old girl, feels estranged from her family and school life but not from her lover, DANG, a high-school dropout and drug dealer. While they plot their escape to start a new life together, Kaew’s life falls into a downward spiral of violence, distrust, and fear. Her mind transforms in ways she could never have imagined.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    I make films to understand and heal from an unresolved past. Growing up in the aftermath of a violent chapter in Thai history, I have always felt at odds with the environment of feigned normality designed by the ruling class. Yet, this ambiguous space where personal memories and public histories meet is where I can imagine characters that exist in a parallel plane, telling a History of The Defeated. 

    Tremble Like A Flower examines historical open wounds: they are carried across time, but, to our knowledge, all that remains is the memory of forgetting. It explores the human survival instinct to adapt and live with wounds that run deep beyond our consciousness. Just as ‘Kaew’ has a neurological condition that triggers a mechanism that erases certain memories while forming new ones in their place, renewing her identity in the process.

     

    En savoir plus

    Cattleya 'Beae' Paosrijaroen

    185 Films Co.,Ltd

    185 Films is an independent film production company based in Bangkok, founded by Cattleya Paosrijaroen and Soros Sukhum. We believe in collectively supporting independent voices through diverse storytelling in cinema. Collaborating with emerging filmmakers and artists, our produced projects include The Edge of Daybreak, FIPRESCI Award at IFFR 2021, A Useful Ghost in post-production, and Morte Cucina in production for our 2024 slate. We expand through co-produced with international partnerships, such as Diamond Island (2016) and Memoria, the Grand Prix winner at Cannes 2021.

    Fiction | Psychological Drama | Colour | Super 16mm to DCP

    First feature film
    Produced by

    185 Films Co.,Ltd, Soros Sukhum (Thailand)  

    Language

    Laos, Thai with English subtitle

    Shooting locations

    Isan region, the region in Eastern Economic Coridoor (EEC)-Chonburi/Thailand

    Estimated budget

    705 979 €

    Funding in place

    34 167 €

    Research partners

    International Fund, Co Production, International Sale Agent

    Actual status

    In development, Financing

    Director

    Pathompon Tesprateep | ptesprateep@gmail.com | +66 80 4919669

    Producer

    Cattleya Paosrijaroen | cattleya.project185@gmail.com | +66 23747932

    Co-producers

    185 Films Co.,Ltd | Soros Sukhum | Thailand

    Videopitch

  • Martika Ramirez Escobar

    Martika Ramirez Escobar (b. 1992, Philippines) is known for her bizarre short films and her first feature, Leonor Will Never Die, which won awards at Sundance, TIFF, and Sitges, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards. She has participated in Berlinale Talents, the Asian Film Academy, and Talents Tokyo, and has received support from the Hubert Bals Fund and the Next Masters support program. Her second feature film, Daughters of the Sea, is currently in development.

    Synopsis

    Three lives intertwine like kindred beings from the same soil. Lucia, a curious tour guide who unknowingly meets her father for the first time, lives vicariously through two people - a pet shop owner who tries to keep a dying mermaid alive and a fish vendor whose long missing husband reappears from nowhere.

    Lucia, a curious museum tour guide, lives through two people to find comfort in her own. First is Raquel, a fish vendor who lost her husband to the sea. Five years later, after a sighting of him in their village, she decides to look for him. The other is Delia, a pet shop owner who stumbles upon a dying mermaid at the market. She takes it home to keep it alive, and slowly we realize that they are of the same kind.

    For work, Lucia travels to Spain to pick up colonial maps, and it is there where she meets Danilo, a cartographer assigned to assist her. The mysteries of life coincide once again when it turns out he is the father she has never met.

    En savoir plus

    Director's note

    The word “unknown” is written in the space for my father's name on my birth certificate. At 31, I choose to live not knowing who he is, but a part of me constantly imagines the missing pieces. 

    The colonized Filipinos have many daughters with missing fathers to this day. Regardless of where we come from, we all become reflections of our past as seen in our names and faces.

    Daughters of the Sea is a diary of thoughts about the complexities of living with the unknown aspects of our lives, finding comfort in the uncertainties of existing. A curious tour guide Lucia from Manila lives through two people that are in other islands and time periods yet converse with each other across seas. It’s a film that shows how we’re all islands on a map, finding connections to each other.

    En savoir plus

    Monster Jimenez

    This Side Up / Arkeofilms

    Based in Manila, This Side Up with Arkeofilms is pursuing co-productions for its movies and shows. The Sundance-winning Leonor Will Never Die is the most recent production directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar. 
    Other notable titles include the politically charged hiphop film Respeto (2017), and critics’ favorite Apocalypse Child (2015). TSU also produced Viu’s first Filipino original series, Still (2021).

    Fiction | Coming-of-age fantasy drama | Colour | Digital 4K

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    This Side Up / Arkeofilms (Philippines)

    Language

    Filipino, Spanish, Portuguese

    Shooting locations

    Philippines, Spain, Brazil

    Estimated budget

    998 936 €

    Funding in place

    159 860 € (16%)

    Research partners

    Co-productions particularly in Spain, Brazil, Singapore, Norway, Taiwan and France, international funding and film grants, sales agents and distributors

    Actual status

    In development, script available

    Director

    Martika Ramirez Escobar | martikaramirezescobar@gmail.com | |+63 918 957 7246

    Producer

    Monster Jimenez | monster@thissideupmanila.com | +63 2 7750 9059

    Coproducers

    This Side Up | Rajiv Idnani | Philippines

    Videopitch

  • Joël Akafou

    Joel Akafou is an Ivorian filmmaker who makes films to heal the inner wounds caused by events both in his own world and in the world at large. Joel Akafou holds a master's degree in Dramatic Art and a professional master's degree in film directing, and has chosen the African oral tradition he acquired as a child as the basis for his cinematographic creation.

    Synopsis

    Bourgeois, who was an online scammer in Ivory Coast, arrived illegally in Europe after a life-risking journey ten years ago. He got married and received his papers, but now, in his own country and in France, he has become a foreigner.

    Bourgeois, who was an online scammer in Ivory Coast and dreamed of getting rich, arrived illegally in Europe after a life-risking journey ten years ago. He lives in France undocumented. He is nearly thirty. Like his friend Kader, who lives in Italy, he dreams of returning to his homeland. Bourgeois gets married and receives his papers. He will now have the choice between two countries and two identities, but will realise that his life is now in France. In Ivory Coast, he will be an "immigrant". In his own country, just like in France, he has become a foreigner, a "Lonan Tché", as they say in Bambara.

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    Director's note

    Lonan Tché tells the story of Bourgeois' integration into French society, the land he has migrated to, and concludes with how he comes to understand that he has emigrated and that his destiny no longer necessarily lies in Ivory Coast. It is a dual process admirably described (in relation to Kabyle immigration to France) by the sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad in his book La double absence. Through the lives of Bourgeois and his companions, I want to tell the story of young Ivorians in the midst of an identity crisis: young people who can't find their place in their own country and turn to the mirage of the European dream.

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    Laurent Bitty

    Les Films du Continent

    Founded in 2017, the company has already produced several short films and is currently developing film projects for cinema and television. 
    Les Films du Continent is also a co-production partner on a number of foreign films and is an executive producer for films, series and corporate videos. 
    Refusing to be pigeonholed by others, in judgments often stigmatised by a stereotyped and simplistic representation; learning to look at the significant and the insignificant, to link one to the other, to put them into perspective, to be able to tell stories differently and make the facts resonate differently. This is the goal that Les Films du Continent has set itself. Because every community, every human group, every individual must be able to participate in building its own image and producing its own story and memory. 

    Documentary | Colour | HD

    Second feature film
    Produced by

    Les Films du Continent

    Language

    French, Bambara, Nouchi

    Shooting locations

    Ivory Coast, France

    Estimated budget

    334 280 €

    Funding in place

    140 000 €

    Research partners

    Funds, broadcaster, international sales agent, distributor, festivals

    Actual status

    In production

    Director

    Joël Akafou | joelrichmondakafou@gmail.com | +225 07 79 27 87 07 | +33 7 52 71 46 27 (French number) 

    Producer

    Laurent Bitty | laurentbitty@lesfilmsducontinent.com | +225 07 09 59 43 46 | +33 7 80 72 04 91 (French number)

    Co-producers

    Vraivraifilms | Florent Coulon | France
    Tekla | Gianluca De Angelis | Italy
    Sunny Films | Souleymane Kebe | Senegal

    With the support Canal+ University

    Videopitch

Official partners

Sponsor

And contribution of