The International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) In Collaboration With The Marché Du Film-Festival De Cannes Announces A 10,000€ Prize For Documentary Works-In-Progress At The Marché’s Doc Corner

&

Reprises Their Acclaimed Global Film Expression Initiative, Hosting Filmmakers from Emerging Economies (Including Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Bhutan, Georgia and Lebanon) At The 72^nd Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film, Where they Will Learn the Business, Participate in Workshops, Develop their Careers and Build their Networks.  

The Monaco-based International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) returns to this year’s 72nd Cannes Film Festival (14-27 May) with a sensational new collaboration with the Marché du Film-Festival de Cannes. An award of 10,000€, sponsored by IEFTA, will be given to one of the 24 docs-in-progress from 6 countries participating in the Marché’s ‘Docs-in-Progress Showcases at the Doc Corner’ program. The Award provides invaluable recognition and concrete support to filmmakers eager to finish their films. The contributing countries are Argentina, Canada, Chile, Norway, Palestine and South Africa. The Doc Corner thanks its programming partners INCAA & FIDBA, Telefilm Canada, Chiledoc, Norwegian Film Institute, Palestine Film Institute & the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (NFVF). IEFTA will be represented on the 3-person jury, with Board Member Lacey Tu set to present the award during the Doc Lovers Mixer closing the annual Doc Day, on Tuesday 21st May from 6 to 8 pm at the Plage des Palmes. Schedule can be found at https://www.marchedufilm.com/en/doc-corner/home @mdf_cannes  #DocCorner

And, for the 9^th year of its Global Film Expression initiative, whose mission is to discover, nurture and empower budding filmmakers from emerging economies. IEFTA, in partnership with the Marché du Film and its Industry Workshops program, selects and sponsors seven international filmmakers for a career-changing trip to Cannes.

With IEFTA support, Ethiopian filmmakers are making their fifth visit to the Cannes Film Festival following an intensive weekend conference in Addis Ababa where candidates from the many regions of Ethiopia vied to represent their nation and its cinematic capacity.  

This is IEFTA’s third year working with the International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB) to produce the “Dhaka To Cannes” program.  Closer to home, IEFTA looks to its partnership with Watersprite: The Cambridge International Student Film Festival, to provide yet another ‘Filmmaker of the Future,’ the invitation going to the winner of the Watersprite Impact Award, earned this year by an Israeli student filmmaker.  In 2019, GFE also includes filmmakers from Bhutan, Sudan and Lebanon for the first time.

In addition to their attendance at the Festival (screenings, panels, parties, press) GFE filmmakers participate in the Industry Workshops program. The Industry Workshops are taught by leading industry figures who share professional expertise and specialist knowledge of the state of film production, financing and distribution. On the final day of the 4-day series, a speed-meeting session is held with a select audience of 35+ co-production markets and festivals.

From Ethiopia to Bangladesh to Mongolia, IEFTA invests in storytellers hitherto excluded from the global film and television markets.  Today, these emergent filmmakers are creating work that won’t be marginalized, localized or patronized.  Internationally, there is a keen appetite for stories untold, voices unheard and visions as yet unseen.  IEFTA is both the incubator of such cinematic expression in developing lands and a conduit to the global industry that clamors for it.

Because of its track record at Cannes, IEFTA now collaborates with other A-List Festivals including El Gouna, Rotterdam, and Berlin where, IEFTA recently hosted Africa Hub events, entered into a co-operation agreement with the Georgian Film Cluster and organized the panel, Spotlight: Ethiopia’s Emerging Film Industry, presented to a rapt audience of industry and development professionals

IEFTA Refugee Voices In Film program, an annual undertaking with the Marché du Film and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), will not screen this May, but returns to the Marché in 2020. Refugee Voices in Film showcases the diverse and compelling uses of film to represent and address this global humanitarian crisis.

IEFTA is a Monaco based non-governmental organization founded with the purpose of discovering and developing film talent from emerging regions, globally. We connect film makers to established industry professionals, engage cultural diversity and foster relationships that are; mentoring, inspiring and educational. IEFTA supports local, sustainable infrastructures, respect and protection of human rights, international labour law and environmental impact.

This year marks the 13^th anniversary of IEFTA-supported initiatives.