Cannes Market Dailies

Egyptian pair Team 02 at the startline of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. L-R Omar Samra, Omar Nour.

Photo Credit BEN DUFFY

The Monaco-based International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), fulfils its mandate, and returns for this year’s 71^st Cannes Film Festival (8-19 May) with new as well as returning initiatives.

With its mission to discover, nurture and empower budding filmmakers from emerging economies, IEFTA once again, in partnership with the Marché du Film and its Producers Network and Industry Workshops programs, will bring filmmakers to the South of France for a career-developing trip to Cannes. Focusing on the world’s emerging regions, IEFTA’s Global Film Expression provides opportunity and education to those with little to no access to resources for cinematic expression.

This is the eighth year of IEFTA’s GFE program to be presented in Cannes. With IEFTA sponsorship, Ethiopian filmmakers are making their fourth visit to the Cannes Film Festival following an intensive weekend workshop in Addis Ababa representing several diverse regions of Ethiopia to select this year’s participant. This year’s winner was put forward by the panelists involved in the workshop including Tribeca Film Institute, TorinoFilmLab, Watersprite Film Festival and Les Films de l’Après-Midi.

This is IEFTA’s second year partnering on the “Dhaka To Cannes” program in affiliation with the International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB), founded by Samia Zaman. IEFTA’s partnership with Watersprite: The Cambridge International Student Film Festival, which brings to Cannes the ‘Filmmaker of the Future’ prize winner – an award for filmmakers campaigning for change – is also in its second year. And it is the first year for GFE filmmakers to join us from Egypt and Palestine through our support of the El Gouna Film Festival program focusing on Emerging talent from the Middle East. 

It is also the first year of IEFTA’s new partnership with the Princess Grace Foundation-USA to sponsor one of their Award-winning filmmakers in Cannes.

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Vice Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA says: 

“The Princess Grace Foundation-USA has identified and supported some of the most talented, ground-breaking filmmakers in America.  This year, the Foundation partners with the International Emerging Film Talent Association to afford Princess Grace Award-winning filmmaker, Heidi Saman, the opportunity to participate in Cannes’ Marché du Film Producers Network. Offering Heidi this chance to promote her film,  The Armenian Club, aligns with IEFTA’s mission to advocate for diverse filmmakers from around the world. We look forward to this being the first of many collaborations to come.” 

This year, IEFTA will be sponsoring three filmmakers in the Producers Network. Each year, the Producers Network welcomes more than 500 producers from all around the world for a series of meetings and unique events specifically designed to encourage international co-productions and facilitate networking. For 7 days during the festival, participants will be given opportunities to meet potential partners that will move projects forward: co-producers, sales agents, festivals, film funds….

The three GFE, Producers Network filmmakers are:

Tamara DAWIT – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (GFE).

May ODEH – Palestine (El Gouna Film Festival).

Heidi SAMAN – Philadelphia, USA (Princess Grace Foundation-USA).

IEFTA will be bringing four GFE filmmakers to participate in the Industry Workshops program. The industry Workshops is a series of workshops led by leading industry experts who are invited to come and share advanced knowledge and up-dates on the current trends of film production, financing and distribution. On the final day of the 4 day workshop there is a speed-meeting session with a selection of 35+ co-production markets and festivals.

The filmmakers attending the Industry Workshops are:

Bassam MORTADA – Cairo, Egypt (El Gouna Film Festival).

Kismet EL SAYED – Cairo, Egypt (El Gouna Film Festival).

Sumon DELWAR – Dhaka, Bangladesh (IFIB).

Rezwan SUMIT – Dhaka, Bangladesh (IFIB).

Florian TSCHARF – Germany (Watersprite Film Festival).

IEFTA will also present a documentary work-in-progress. Beyond The Raging Sea follows the harrowing tale of two Egyptian world-class athletes and adventurers, Omar Samra and Omar Nour (affectionately known as O2), as they take on the world’s toughest row, an unsupported, perilous 3,000 nautical mile journey from the Canary Islands to Antigua. The extreme journey is part of an annual ocean-rowing race called the Atlantic Challenge. They didn’t make it.  The screening and a panel will be Saturday, 12 May from 12:00-13:50 in Palais K in the Palais des Festivals

Sponsored by DHL, Team O2 dedicated their row to raising awareness of the global refugee crises. In an ironic twist, Nour and Samra faced the same dangers, terrors and decisions of those they meant to recognize and relieve. In this film, an elite adventure introduces us to extraordinary people in exceptional circumstance, navigating existential threats and grueling ordeals, fighting for survival and what comes after.

IEFTA presents screening of the 3^rd Edition of UNHCR’s Annual Refugee Voices in Film, in collaboration with the Marché du Film and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Refugee Voices in Film - 3rd Edition invites you to witness the diverse use of film in addressing one of the most poignant global humanitarian crises of our time, with a focus on the Rohingya crisis, Yemen & the Horn of Africa, and Syria. Refugee Voices in Film – 3^rd Edition screenings on Friday, 11 May and Sunday, 13 May from 14:00-15:30, in the ‘Doc Corner’ of the Marché du Film in the Riviera. #WithRefugees

IEFTA will host a reception at Plage 45, for all of its 2018 Cannes participants and programs.

The mission of IEFTA, a Monaco-based, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, is to discover and promote emerging cinema talent from around the world, encourage dialogue between filmmakers, promote cultural diversity and international understanding, and engage the art of cinema. Focusing on the world’s developing regions, IEFTA’s Global Film Expression provides opportunity and education to those with little to no access to resources for cinematic expression. This year marks the 12^th anniversary of IEFTA-supported initiatives.

Contact: Gary Springer, gary@springerassociatespr.com, +1.914.659.4802 (international)