Berlin

At the 27th jury session of the World Cinema Fund (WCF), the juries recommended contributing to the funding of 10 film projects.

Six films from Chile, Argentina, Vietnam, Brazil and Paraguay have been nominated for production funding. In the additional WCF Europe funding programme, the jury has recommended funding the production of a project from Morocco. In the special programme WCF Africa, they have recommended funding a Sudanese project.

Two films have received recommendations for distribution funding: WCF Europe distribution funding for the Chilean film Los Perros by Marcela Said for its release to cinemas in France, Chile and Argentina; as well as WCF distribution funding for the theatrical release of the film The Woman Who Left by Lav Diaz (Philippines) in Germany. 

The latest funding recommendations again include projects by Berlinale Talents alumni, as well as projects that were once in search of co-producers and so participated in the “Talent Project Market”. 

Since its establishment in October 2004, the WCF has awarded production and distribution funding to a total of 183 projects chosen from 3,241 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, as well as from the countries Mongolia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. All WCF-funded films produced to date have screened in cinemas and/or the programmes of renowned international film festivals, and are evidence of the initiative’s worldwide success.

Production and Distribution Funding

The WCF jury made their selection based on 171 submissions from a total of 49 countries. Their funding recommendations amount to 317,000 euros.

The jury members are film scholar and curator Viola Shafik (Germany / Egypt), documentary producer Marta Andreu (Spain), distributor and producer Jan De Clercq (Belgium), and WCF project manager Vincenzo Bugno. For WCF Africa, they are joined by the additional jurors Jahman Oladejo Anikulapo (Nigeria), a journalist, film critic, author and actor; and Dorothee Wenner (Germany), the Berlinale delegate to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Production Funding WCF

Blanco en blanco (White on White), director: Theo Court (Chile). Production: Don Quijote Films (Chile) and Kundschafter Filmproduktion (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 45,000 €

Matar a un muerto (Killing the Dead), director: Hugo Giménez (Paraguay). Production: Sabaté Films (Paraguay). Feature film. Funding: 40,000 €

Nhà Cây (The Tree House), director: Truong Minh Quý (Vietnam). Production: JK Film (Vietnam). Documentary. Funding: 25,000 €

Director Truong Minh Quý is Berlinale Talents alumnus.

O Processo (The Process), director: Maria Augusta Ramos (Brazil). Production: Nofoco Filmes (Brazil). Documentary. Funding: 25,000 €

Vendrá la muerte y tendrá tus ojos (Death will Come and Shall Have Your Eyes), director: José Luís Torres Leiva (Chile). Production: Globo Rojo Producciones (Chile). Feature film. Funding: 40,000 €

Veteranos, director: Lola Arias (Argentina). Production: Gema Films (Argentina) and Sutor Kolonko (Germany). Documentary. Funding: 25,000 €

WCF Europe

WCF Europe has been made possible with the support of the European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA Programme.

Production funding has been recommended for:

Joint Possession, director: Leila Kilani (Morocco). Production: Socco Chico Films (Morocco) and DKB Productions (France). Feature film. Funding: 35,000 €

WCF Africa

WCF Africa, which grants funding for projects from Sub-Saharan Africa, was launched in 2016 thanks to additional funding from the German Federal Foreign Office. Recommendations for production funding:

You Will Die at Twenty, director: Amjad Abu Alala (Sudan). Production: Transit Films (Egypt) and Die Gesellschafft DGS (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 49,000 €

This project was chosen for the “Talent Project Market” 2017.

Distribution Funding WCF

Ang Babaeng Humayo (The Woman Who Left), director: Lav Diaz (Philippines). Distribution: Grandfilm (Germany), Feature film. Funding: 6,000 €

German release: February 4, 2018

Distribution Funding WCF Europe

Los Perros, director: Marcela Said (Chile). Distribution: Nour Films (France), Jirafa (Chile) and Compañía de Cine (Argentina). Feature film. Funding: 27,000 €

The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival, in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office, with further support by the Goethe-Institut.

The special WCF Europe programme was created with the support of the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union

Thanks to additional funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the special programme WCF Africa was started in 2016.