17-12-2021

22 new untold stories will be revealed at the upcoming hybrid edition of the Trieste Co-Production Forum

    Trieste – December 17, 2021 – 22 film projects from 18 countries will be presented at the 12th edition of When East Meets West, the Italian Co-Production Forum taking place in a special hybrid format from January 24-28, 2022 in the frame of the Trieste Film Festival. The 22 projects in development - 10 feature documentaries and 12 fiction features - were selected out of a record number of 435 submissions from 56 different countries and will be presented, most of them for the very first time, to more than 600 decision makers and professionals from all over the world, in particular from the East & West 2022 spotlight countries: Russia & UK, Ireland, Canada, USA.

    The final selection will include several debut features by promising talents such as FANTASY by Katarina Resek Kukla, A SONG THAT SLAYS by Mo Scarpelli, SHORT SUMMER by Nastia Korkia, but also upcoming films by Chloé Robichaud, Miroslav Terzić and Iryna Tsilyk.

    The next edition of WEMW will represent a turning point in the life of the co-production market, with a completely redesigned set-up and a revamped concept that will mark the beginning of a new era. But at the heart of the event there will still be, like in previous years, a fine blend of daring first time directors and an incredible mix of talented female filmmakers.

    We are extremely happy to provide 22 voices with a stage where they can reveal 22 untold stories. In such difficult times, we are very honoured to be able to share with the rest of the world the questions, fears, concerns, hopes and dreams of these 22 wonderful filmmakers from different corners of our planet.” remarks Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW.

    This year all 22 projects will also compete for the Film Center Serbia Development Award, the EAVE Producers Workshop scholarship, the Marché du Film Producers Network Prize, DAE Accelerator Award and the Flow Postproduction Award. Moreover, all selected fiction projects will compete for the Pop Up Film Residency Award, whereas all female directors will be eligible for the EWA Network Best Woman Director Award.

    After the last very special ‘out of the box’ edition, the new generation of WEMW will mix the warm, professional and playful atmospheres of the previous on-site and online editions. All participants will therefore have direct access to an outstanding selection of projects & works-in progress, and to a rich range of events, including a series of new inspirational labs and sessions, as well as, for the first time, a hybrid match-making service. 

    We just closed the call for all our well-established programmes and brand-new initiatives - remarks Gropplero - and we are very thrilled to announce that for the first edition of the Slate Market and the WEMW Inspirational Labs we received in total more than 150 applications: this clearly shows a deep need for European film professionals to diversify their strategy and formats, and it confirms that WEMW could play a decisive role for their future.”   

    Together with the Co-Production Forum, the Slate Market and the Inspirational Labs, the programme of WEMW 2022 will be as rich as ever and will include several work in progress sections - Last Stop Trieste, This is IT, First Cut+, First Cut Lab Trieste – webinars and case studies.  Moreover, following the success of the last edition, WEMW 2022 will include a series of joyful activities and will feature live music, quiz shows, informal gatherings and the unmissable WEMW lottery. For a few days the new WEMW digital universe will create a unique experience to offer all attendees different ways to work, network, connect to each other and have fun. Starting from early January it will be possible to request an online industry accreditation at www.wemw.it so you can join the full programme of this special edition of WEMW and network with all the international decision makers and professionals attending the event.

    The 22 projects selected for WEMW 2022 are:

    A DAY, 365 HOURS by Eylem Kaftan, zk films (Turkey)
    A SIEGE by István Kovács, Good Kids Kft. (Hungary)
    A SONG THAT SLAYS by Mo Scarpelli, dispàrte (Italy)     
    DEVOLUTION by Nicolas Boucart, Tarantula (Belgium)
    ELLA'S RIOT by Anne Marte Blindheim, Einar Film Drama (Norway)
    EUROPHORIA by Bjarke Underbjerg, Snowglobe (Denmark)
    FANTASY by Katarina Resek Kukla, December (Slovenia)
    LESBIAN LINES by Cara Holmes, Blinder Films (Ireland)
    MAN OF MARBLE by Szymon Kuriata, Film Kraków (Poland)
    MY 9-TH LIFE by Iryna Tsilyk, ForeFilms (Ukraine)
    NIGHT & DAY by Tina Gharavi, Asterisk Films and Piccadilly Pictures (United Kingdom)
    PETTY THIEVES by Mate Ugrin, Fünferfilm UG (Germany) / In The Cut (France) / Kadromat (Croatia)
    SAVING A LANGUAGE by Francesca Pirani, Nefertiti Film (Italy)
    SHORT SUMMER by Nastia Korkia, Forest Film (Russia)
    SO FAR FROM MIKULOV by Marie Dvořáková, Evolution Films (Czech Republic)  
    STILL NIA by Paula Onet, microFILM (Romania), Seppia (France)
    THE EXCURSION by Miroslav Terzic, This and That Productions (Serbia)
    THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED by Joanna Arnow, Nice Dissolve and Ravenser Odd (United States)
    TWO GOLDEN WOMEN by Chloé Robichaud, Amérique film (Canada)  
    UNCONVENTIONAL GARDENERS by Alessandro Bernard, Zenit Arti Audiovisive (Italy)  
    UNTIL THE DAY ENDS by Jelena Maksimovic, Taurunum Film (Serbia)      
    WHO I AM NOT by Tunde Skovran, Double 4 Studios (United States) / Bulldog Agenda (Germany)