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CANNES 2020

15 projects selected for the Cannes Cinéfondation Atelier

by 

- Teona Strugar Mitevska, Sofia Exarchou, Hanna Sköld, Marian Crisan, Pavle Vučković, Moin Hussain, Emin Alper, and duo Esther Rots and Dan Geesin are representing Europe

15 projects selected for the Cannes Cinéfondation Atelier

Fifteen feature-film projects (and 16 filmmakers) hailing from 15 countries have been selected for the 16th edition of the Cinéfondation Atelier, which will take place as an integral part of the 73rd Cannes Film Festival (12-23 May), preparations for which are still in full swing, although all eyes are obviously on any new developments in the coronavirus epidemic.

This year, Europe will be very well represented, with eight projects. The most prominent of them is The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
by North Macedonia’s Teona Strugar Mitevska, whose latest opus, God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
, was unveiled in competition at Berlin in 2019 before scooping the European Parliament’s LUX Prize. As a reminder, the three previous films by the director were presented in the Panorama section of the German gathering (I Am From Titov Veles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
in 2007, The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears in 2012 and When the Day Had No Name [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
in 2017), while her feature debut, How I Killed a Saint, was selected at Rotterdam in 2004.

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Also included in the showcase is the project Balkaya by Turkey’s Emin Alper, who has enjoyed a rapid rise to fame over the course of just three features: A Tale of Three Sisters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
interview: Emin Alper
film profile
]
(in competition at Berlin in 2019), Frenzy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
film profile
]
(Special Jury Prize at Venice in 2015) and Beyond the Hill [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
film profile
]
(Special Mention for Best First Feature in the 2012 Berlinale Forum).

Another project on the line-up is Animal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile
]
by Greece’s Sofia Exarchou, who turned a lot of heads with her feature debut, Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile
]
, which was unveiled at Toronto before coming out on top of the New Directors section at the 2016 San Sebastián Film Festival.

Also among the selected projects is Le serviteur by Romania’s Marian Crisan, who won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno with Morgen [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
before going on to make Rocker [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(2013) and Horizon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marian Crisan
film profile
]
(2015).

Swedish helmer Hanna Sköld will also be taking part with her project The Store, which will be her third feature, following Nasty Old People (2009) and Granny’s Dancing on the Table [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(in the New Directors competition at San Sebastián in 2015, after its Toronto premiere).

After having risen to fame with his first feature, Panama [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which got a Special Screening as part of the Cannes Official Selection in 2015, Serbia’s Pavle Vučković will be heading to the Atelier clutching his project Frost, which has already been singled out with a Eurimages Co-production Development Award (read the interview with director about it).

The showcase also features the project A Fucked up Tribute to Motherly Love, which sees Dutch director Esther Rots, who was popular in the Berlinale Forum in 2009 and 2019 with Can Go Through Skin [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
and Retrospekt [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(first unveiled at Toronto the year before), join forces with her fellow countryman Dan Geesin (who composed the score for the helmer’s two features).

Lastly of note is the feature-debut project Sky Peals [+see also:
film review
interview: Moin Hussain
film profile
]
by Brit Moin Hussain (which partook in the Next Step programme of the Cannes Critics’ Week, where his short films Real Gods Require Blood and Naphta were presented in 2017 and 2019, respectively).

The remaining projects selected for the 2020 Atelier are Carnaval by Egypt’s Mohamed Siam, Dayao Swims Against the Flow by China’s Zhang Tao, A Male [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabián Hernández
film profile
]
by Colombia’s Fabian Hernández, Marichjhapi by India’s Bauddhayan Mukherji, Tiger Stripes by Brit of Malaysian heritage Amanda Nell Eu, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking by Filipino helmer Petersen Vargas and The Station by Scottish-Yemeni filmmaker Sara Ishaq.

Established in 2005 with the aim of encouraging creative cinema and fostering the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers by helping them to round off the funding of their films, the Cinéfondation Atelier has already been of benefit to 233 projects, of which 171 have already been completed and released on screens, and 14 are currently in pre-production. It will enable the films and directors selected for 2020 to be present on the Croisette with their producers from 14-21 May and to meet professionals interested in their projects during individual sessions. The Project Book and sign-up sheets will be available at the beginning of April on the Cinéfondation website.

Here is a list of the 15 projects selected:

Cinéfondation

Dayao Swims Against the Flow - Zhang Tao (China)
A Male [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabián Hernández
film profile
]
- Fabian Hernández (Colombia)
Carnaval - Mohamed Siam (Egypt)
Animal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile
]
- Sofia Exarchou (Greece)
Marichjhapi - Bauddhayan Mukherji (India)
The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
- Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia)
Tiger Stripes - Amanda Nell Eu (Malaysia)
A Fucked up Tribute to Motherly Love - Esther Rots et Dan Geesin (Netherlands)
Some Nights I Feel Like Walking - Petersen Vargas (Philippines)
Le serviteur - Marian Crisan (Romania)
Frost - Pavle Vučković (Serbia)
The Store - Hanna Sköld (Sweden)
Balkaya - Emin Alper (Turkey)
Sky Peals [+see also:
film review
interview: Moin Hussain
film profile
]
- Moin Hussain (UK)
The Station - Sara Ishaq (Yemen)

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(Translated from French)

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