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INDUSTRY / MARKET France / Germany / Switzerland

Full Circle Lab Upper Rhine reveals its selection

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- The new feature-film development programme has selected six feature-length projects that are closely related to the Upper Rhine area and the neighbouring regions

Full Circle Lab Upper Rhine reveals its selection
The Entertainers by Aline Fischer (© Charlotte Emilie Terrier)

Launched a couple of months ago, Full Circle Lab Upper Rhine (FCL Upper Rhine) is a new one-year programme for feature-film project development, which aims to support six feature films that are closely related to the area of the Upper Rhine (the Grand Est region in France, Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Basel in Switzerland). The programme invited writers, directors and producers who are working on their debut or sophomore features, and who hail from Germany, France or Switzerland, to apply. The initiative is supported by the Baden-Württemberg Land, the Filmakademie of Ludwigsburg in Germany, the Grand Est region, the city of Strasbourg and the Basel Canton.

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Running from the beginning of the year until December, the FCL Upper Rhine comprises two residential workshops, the first taking place in Ludwigsburg in mid-February 2020, which will focus on treatment analysis and the basics of rewriting, and the second unspooling in early July 2020 near Strasbourg, where the script will be analysed. Afterwards, a public presentation will be held at the Forum Alentours – Rheinisches Koproduktionstreffen in Strasbourg along with individualised follow-ups, while one of the projects will have a chance to benefit from a three-week residency at the Pop Up Film Residency. FCL Upper Rhine aims to both enhance script-rewriting tools and offer potential international exposure to the selected projects.

The six selected projects are as follows:

The Champion, written and directed by debutant Victor Dekyvère, and co-written with Rémi Giordano and Eléonore Gurrey, in collaboration with Agnès Feuvre, follows a young female horse-riding champion who is about to qualify for the Jumping World Cup Final. She then meets a young admirer and former horsewoman, whose attention will also awaken her sensuality. Produced by Laurine Pelassy for French outfit Les Films de la Capitaine, the project received development support from the CNC.

The Entertainers, written and directed by Aline Fischer, is her sophomore feature, after Meteor Street [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. It is a love story set in the world of street theatre, where a prankster who performs illusions and tricks with her colleague attracts the attention of a well-known director who is looking for a good story. It is being produced by Mustafa Dok for Germany’s Bredok Film Produktion.

In the Barn, written and directed by debutant Anna Thommen, follows three generations and three members of the same family, all set in the same small Swiss village but in different historical eras. Thommen comes from the same rural area as that depicted in the movie, and picked up awards for her graduation documentary, Unknown Territory [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. In the Barn is being produced by Stefan Eichenberger for Switzerland’s Contrast Film.

Liisa & Olavi, written and directed by debutant Paris-based Finnish helmer Mikael Marignac, portrays Liisa, who lives with her younger brother Olavi, in France. Unable to help him with his struggle with alcohol, Liisa decides to bring her brother back to their small Finnish home town. Staged by acclaimed producer Philippe Avril (Les Films de l'Étranger), the film is a French-Finnish co-production.

Mascha, directed by John Kolya Reichart (Anton’s Fest) and written by Carl Gerber (24 Weeks [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Anne Zohra Berrached
film profile
]
), is a portrait of an energetic 50-year-old woman who has to deal with her bipolar son returning home along with his own son and the challenges she will soon have to face. The film is being produced by Julia Wagner for Berlin-based Heartwake Films, who, along with the director and the writer, graduated from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

Wild Encounters, written and directed by debutant Sarah Arnold and co-written with Olivier Seror, is a detective story set in a forgotten corner of North-Eastern France, where a policeman is assigned to investigate the case of a farmer who is involved in illicit wild-boar trading. Already granted support by the CNC, Ile-de-France and the Grand Est region, the film is being produced by Helen Olive and Martin Bertier for France’s 5A7 Films.

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