(Berlin, Germany, July 9, 2014)
This just in from the Press Office:
At the 20th jury session of the World Cinema Fund (WCF), the jury recommended four new film projects for production funding and one work for distribution funding.
Since its establishment in October 2004, the WCF has awarded production and distribution funding to a total of 119 projects chosen from 2,261 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Caucasus. 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.
This past May two WCF-funded films were premiered at the international film festival in Cannes. Argentinian director Lisandro Alonso’s Jauja was shown in the “Un Certain Regard” section and won the FIPRESCI Prize. Diego Lerman’s Refugiado, also from Argentina, screened in the “Directors’ Fortnight” programme.
Latest Funding Recommendations:
The WCF jury made their selection based on 126 submissions from a total of 43 countries. They have awarded funding amounting to 145,000 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 managers Sonja Heinen and Vincenzo Bugno.
Production funding:
Thailand-based director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, “Cemetery of Kings”
Kalo Pothi, director: Min Bahadur Bham (Nepal). Producer: Mila Productions, Nepal. Feature film. Funding: 30,000 euros.
Black Sunshine, director: Akosua Adoma Owusu (Ghana). Producer: Piano, Mexico. Feature film. Funding: 40,000 euros.
“Black Sunshine” is directed by Akosua Adoma Owusu (Ghana)
Monos, director: Alejandro Landes/Alexis Dos Santos (Colombia /Argentina). Producer: No Franja S.A.S., Colombia. Feature film. German partner: Pandora Film. Funding: 40,000 euros.
Distribution funding:
The Amazing Catfish, director: Claudia Sainte-Luce (Mexico). German distributor: arsenal distribution. Release in Germany: July 10, 2014. Funding: 5,000 euros.
In director Claudia Sainte-Luce’s debut feature, “The Amazing Catfish”, the worlds of a rambunctious matriarchy and a withdrawn misfit collide and combine in a moving reflection of living and dying with courage.
The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut.