23-01-2025

'TALES OF FRUITS AND MONSTERS' AND 'KLÁRA IS HERE' ARE THE WINNERS OF THE 2025 EDITION OF WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

    'TALES OF FRUITS AND MONSTERS' AND 'KLÁRA IS HERE' ARE THE WINNERS OF THE 2025 EDITION OF WHEN EAST MEETS WEST credit: WEMW

    The 15th edition of When East Meets West came to an end after four intense full days of pitching sessions, works in progress, inspirational labs, talks, meetings and hugs. During the closing award ceremony, the WEMW Co-Production Forum Jury consisting of Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maitre (Alpha Violet), Svetlana Cherrier (Ciclic Center-Val de Loire) and Edvinas Puksta (Black Nights Film Festival) announced the two top winners of this year.

    Tales of Fruits and Monsters, second feature by Gregor Božič, received the Film Center Serbia Award (a € 5.000 prize). The film is produced by Nosorogi (Slovenia) and Bocalupo Films (France) and tells the story of Sergej, who sets on a journey to find a rare pear from his mother’s childhood. From the abandoned Mediterranean orchards to the haunted forests in Japan, the quest eventually brings him to the labyrinths of his own imagination.
    Debut feature Klára is Here by Dávid Csicskár received the € 5.000 cash prize Ciclic WEMW Award (granted by the French Centre-Val de Loire Region). The film is produced by Filmfabriq (Hungary) and follows the story of Péter, an elderly man who has been caring for his wife, Klára, who suffers from dementia: when he falls in love with Klára’s vibrant old friend, he is torn between his duty and the promise of a new life.

    The jury has also delivered the brand-new GoGo2025 Residency Award to the Estonian-Latvian-Ukrainian Under the Yellow Sky by Maryna Nazarenko, produced by Undi Tead.

    Thanks to the partnership with a large network of international training programmes and markets, several other major awards were announced: Lithuanian director Aistė Žegulytė, selected at WEMW with her project Biodestructors (produced by Studio Uljana Kim, To Be Continued, Studio Locomotive), was awarded the EWA Network’s Award for Equality & Inclusion of the value of € 500; whilst Serbian producer Jelena Radenkovic (Big Time Production), selected at WEMW with the project Big Women, was awarded a scholarship to attend the EAVE Producers Workshop; the Belgian director Leen Michiels received the DAE Talent Development prize; Natalia Pavlove, producer of the Czech-Lebanese feature Running with Beasts, and Alice Drago producer of Salvatierra, will receive free badges for the Cannes Marché du Film Producers’ Network

    The Pop Up Film Residency Award was given to Gregor Božič, director of Tales of Fruits and Monsters (Nosorogi, Slovenia and Bocalupo Films, France); the Taskovski #DocsConnect Award was assigned to the documentary Berliner directed by Anna Khazaradze and produced by Nino Chichua and Anna Khazaradze (1991 Productions, Georgia) and Heino Deckert (Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion, Germany); while the CEE Animation Award went to Twisted directed by Martina Sarritzu and Giorgia Malatrasi, and produced by Silva Fedrigo (Rodaggio, Italy) and Chiara Toffolo (Tesla, Italy). 

    On to the three WEMW works in progress sections targeting films at the post-production stage. The 2025 international jury of Last Stop Trieste, composed of Sarah Dawson (IDFA), Maria Bonsanti and Carmen Vicencio (American Documentary), assigned the HBO Europe Award (a € 1.000 cash prize) to My Dad’s Lessons, the Croatian project by director Dalija Dozet and producers Dana Budisavljević (Hulahop), and the Film Center Montenegro Award (€ 2.000 cash prize) to Electing Ms Santa, the Moldova/Romania project directed by Raisa Razmerita and produced by Ion Gnatiuc (HaiDOC Productions, Republic of Moldova) and Anamaria Antoci and Anda Ionescu (Tangaj Production , Romania). The Artevideo Award went to Dmytro Hreshko’s Divia, produced by Gogol Film (Poland), UP UA STUDIO (Ukraine) and Valk Productions (Netherlands). 

    This year the international jury of This is IT, the work in progress section dedicated to films co-produced with Italy or produced by the WEMW spotlight territories, was headed by Caterina Mazzucato (Bio to B – Biografilm), Gaia Furrer (Giornate degli Autori) and Pascale Ramonda (Ramonda Ink). The jury assigned the Laser Film Award to the Italy and Romania co-production On Their Own by Tudor Jurgiu. The prize consists of 4 days of colour grading services and 1 DCP for a total value of 10.000€. 

    Regarding First Cut+, the works in progress targeting feature films that previously took part in a First Cut Lab workshop, the international jury consisting of An Feyfer (Flanders Audiovisual Fund), Ilse Ronteltap (Netherlands Film Fund) and Gabor Greiner (Film Boutique), assigned the TRT Prize, worth € 5.000, to Amores by Grace Passô (Brazil).


    The jury composed of Marie Lamboeuf (Salaud Morisette), Karim Aitouna (Haut Les Mains productions/Waq Waq Studio) and Andrea Magnani (Pilgrim) assigned the HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award, a cash prize of € 3.000, to the Indian project Kurkuma by Drishya Gautham and producer Mathivanan Rajendran (Stray Factory).


    Last but not least, the Italy-Baltic Development Awards for Co-Production, delivered three cash prizes for a total award of € 40.000 granted by the Ministero della Cultura (MiC), Estonian Film Institute, Lithuanian Film Centre and National Film Centre of Latvia. The Italian majority project Tre madri (Three Mothers), directed by Enrico Lando and co-developed by Italian company Jolefilm and Latvian company Air Productions, was awarded with € 20.000.


    Two Baltic majority co-productions received an award: the project Dolce Far Niente directed by Elena Kairyté and co-developed by Lithuanian company Baltic Production and Italian company Kiné Società cooperative was awarded with € 13.000; while the The Art of Biting Your Tongue, directed by Ieva Norvele and produced by the Latvian company Tasse Film and the Italian Corego, received an award of € 7.000.


    This year WEMW also presented for the first time the Inspirational Lab Special Gifts programme. The International Screen Institute Special Gift, consisting of one spot on their Market Ready Course, was awarded to Time Huszar; while the TorinoFilmLab Special Gift, consisting of one spot on one of their TFL Next Workshop, went to Samaya Hillenbrand. The programme included also a set of private counseling sessions on green production, held by Trentino Film Commission - Green Film.


    The 2025 edition of WEMW drew to a close with a slate of impressive numbers: more than 650 registered participants from over 50 countries, nearly 600 scheduled individual meetings, over 15 different activities running simultaneously over a 4-day programme shaped together with almost 100 international partners and supporters, and thousands & thousands of memorable and inspiring moments amongst all attendees. 

    WEMW CO-PRODUCTION FORUM AWARDS

    Film Center Serbia Development Award

    Tales of Fruits and Monsters 

    by Gregor Božič  (Slovenia)

    Nosorogi (Slovenia)


    Ciclic WEMW Award

    Klára Is Here

    by Dávid Csicskár 

    Filmfabriq (Hungary)


    GoGo2025 Residency Award

    Under the Yellow Sky
    by Maryna Nazarenko

    Undi Tead 


    EWA Network’s Award for Equality & Inclusion

    Aistė Žegulytė (Studio Uljana Kim, Lithuania) 

    Biodestructors


    EAVE Producers Workshop Award

    Jelena Radenkovic (Big Time Production, Serbia)

    Big Women


    Taskovski #DocsConnect Award 

    Anna Khazaradze (1991 Productions, Georgia)

    Berliner


    DAE Talent Development Award

    Leen Michiels (Krater Films, Belgium)

    Better Than Gold


    CEE Animation Award

    Twisted 

    by Martina Sarritzu, Giorgia Malatrasi

    Rodaggio (Italy)

    Marché du Film Producers Network

    Natalia Pavlove, Other Stories (Czech Republic)

    Running with Beasts
    Alice Drago, Epica Film (Italy)

    Salvatierra


    Pop Up Film Residency Award

    Gregor Božič (Nosorogi, Slovenia)

    Tales of Fruits and Monsters

    LAST STOP TRIESTE


    HBO Europe Award

    My Dad’s Lessons

    by Dalija Dozet 

    Hulahop (Croatia)


    Film Center Montenegro Award

    Electing Ms Santa

    by Raisa Razmerita 

    HaiDOC Productions (Republic of Moldova), Tangaj Production (Romania)


    Arte Video Award

    Divia

    by Dmytro Hreshko 

    Gogol Film (Poland), Up Ua Studio (Ukraine), Valk Productions (Netherlands)

    THIS IS IT


    Laser Film Post Production Award

    On Their Own 

    by Tudor Jurgiu 

    Indyca (Italy), Libra Films (Romania)

    FIRST CUT+


    TRT Prize

    Amores

    by Grace Passô 

    Entre Films, Desvia, Globo Films  (Brazil)

    MIDPOINT SHORTS


    HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award

    Kurkuma

    by Drishya Gautham 

    Stray Factory (India) 

    ITALY-BALTIC CO-DEVELOPMENT AWARDS


    The Art of Biting Your Tongue

    by Ieva Norvele

    Tasse Film (Latvia), Corego (Italy)

    Dolce Far Niente

    by Elena Kairyté

    Baltic production (Lithuania), Kiné Società cooperative (Italy)  

    Tre madri (Three Mothers)

    by Enrico Lando

    Jolefilm (Italy), Air Productions (Latvia)

    INSPIRATIONAL LAB SPECIAL GIFTS


    The International Screen Institute Special Gift

    Time Huszar


    TorinoFilmLab Special Gift

    Samaya Hillenbrand