Goodbye Julia von / by Mohamed Kordofani © Pierre de Villiers / Rushlake Media GmbH

At the 40th jury session of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF), the juries made ten funding recommendations for projects from Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Lesotho, Nepal and Sudan. The current funding pot of eight production and two distribution grants amounts to a total of 260,000 euros.

“At a time when the complexity of the world is often suppressed, the WCF jury meetings provide a space for reflection where we can engage with the worlds around us in all their marvellous and intricate diversity. All of this is made possible by the countless projects of the highest quality that we receive. We have selected eight projects with great artistic potential that fascinate and move us. Many come from the African continent, many introduce us to unique characters who are able to withstand their often tragic fate. We are looking forward to the special films that will emerge from them,” says Vincenzo Bugno, head of WCF.

The Funding Recommendations of the 40th Jury Session

The WCF jury made its selection from 195 submitted projects from a total of 55 countries. The funding recommendations encompass funding in the amount of 260,000 euros.

The members of the jury are the documentary film producer and creative advisor Marta Andreu (Spain), the director, screenwriter and producer Ayşe Polat (Germany), film scholar and curator Viola Shafik (Germany / Egypt) and Vincenzo Bugno (Italy / Germany), the head of the WCF. 

Production Funding 

WCF

I’m Coming for You, director: Cyrielle Raingou (Cameroon). Production: JCMR Production (Cameroon), Liza Ndakopumba; Seera Films (Germany), Kesmat Elsayed. Feature film.

Funding: €40,000

Red Mist Descending, director: Rakhsan Banietemad (Iran). Production: Mind Doc Film Production (Iran), Mina Keshavarz; Weydemann Bros. (Germany), Jonas Weydemann. Feature film.

Funding: €40,000

La libertad doble, director: Lisandro Alonso (Argentina). Production: 4L (Argentina), Lisandro Alonso; The Match Factory (Germany), Viola Fügen. Feature film.

Funding: €30,000

Aisha Can’t Fly Anymore, director: Morad Mostafa (Egypt). Production: Bonanza Films (Egypt), Sawsan Yusuf. Feature film.

Funding: €25,000

The director participated in Berlinale Talents in 2024.

A Margem do Rio, director: Matheus Farias & Enock Carvalho (Brazil). Production: Gatopardo Filmes (Brazil), Enock Carvalho. Feature film.

Funding: €30,000

The director Matheus Farias participated in Berlinale Talents in 2024.

You Don’t Die Two Times, director: Ager Oueslati (Algeria). Production: Taswir Edition Production (Algeria), Raouf Oueslati. Documentary form.

Funding: €25,000

WCF Europe

Ancestral Visions of the Future, director: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho). Production: Mokoro Street Media (Lesotho), Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese; Agat Films (France), Marie Balducchi; Seera Films (Germany), Laura Kloeckner. Documentary form.

Funding: €30,000

The director participated in Berlinale Talents in 2012.

The Sky is Mine, director: Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal). Production: Aadifilms (Nepal), Deepak Rauniyar; Tannhauser Gate (Norway), Alan R. Miligan. Feature film.

Funding: €25,000

The project was presented at the Talent Project Market in 2020.

Distribution Funding for Cinema Release in Germany

Goodbye Julia, director: Mohamed Kordofani (Sudan). Distribution: Rushlake Media. Feature film.

German cinema release: August 15, 2024

Funding: €7,000

Critical Zone, director: Ali Ahmadzadeh (Iran). Distribution: W-film Distribution. Feature film.

German cinema release: November 7, 2024

Funding: €8,000

Since 2004, the Berlinale World Cinema Fund has been successfully supporting film production in regions characterised by an insufficient film infrastructure by virtue of its increasingly differentiated funding programme (WCF, WCF Europe, WCF Africa) and advocating cultural diversity in German cinemas. The cooperation between production companies from the production regions or countries and German / European production companies is supported as well: General information on the WCF funding.