2004 2018 WORLD CINEMA FUND SUPPORTED FILMS - Berlinale
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Amidst the world in tough times
Dealing with fiction, documentary and
everything in between
More than money, talking about cinema,
working together, making things happen
WORLD
CINEMA
FUND
SUPPORTED
FILMS
2004 – 2018CONTENTS
Welcome 8–10 Íse Yarar Birsey Something Useful 36 El custodio The Minder 61 El otro The Other 77
Las herederas The Heiresses 37 Ðap Cánh Giua Không Trung Pandoranin Kutusu Pandora’s Box 77
WCF Kinshasa Makambo On the Other Side of Freedom 38 Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere 61 Paradise Now 78
Production Support Körfez The Gulf 39 Death for Sale 62 La pasión de Michelangelo The Passion
Lissa Ammetsajjel Still Recording 40 Dioses Gods 62 of Michelangelo 78
PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION Madmen’s Fort Le fort des fous 41 Ee’adat Khalk Recycle 63 Pelo Malo Bad Hair 79
Al Nahr The River 12 Mai Mee Samui Samrab Ter Samui Song 42 Ejercicios de memoria Memory Exercices 63 Pesni juzhnykh morej Song from the Southern Seas 79
Blanco en blanco White on White 13 Monos 43 Faro − La reine des eaux Faro − Goddess El premio The Prize 80
El cambista The Money Changer 14 O Processo The Trial 44 of the Waters 64 Polvo 80
Clara Sola 15 Querência 45 Filmefobia Filmphobia 64 Post Mortem 81
A Febre The Fever 16 Rojo 46 Genenet Al Asmak Aquarium 65 Rak ti Khon Kaen Cemetery of Splendour 81
Karanlik Gece Black Night 17 Talking about trees Le banc d’attente 47 Girimunho Swirl 65 Refugiado 82
Matar a un muerto Killing the Dead 18 Teatro de guerra Theatre of War 48 Hamaca Paraguaya 66 Remote Control 82
La memoria del monte The Memory of the Forest 19 Temporada de caza Hunting Season 49 Hanotenet The Slut 66 Roma wa la n’touma Rome Rather Than You 83
Nhà Cây The Tree House 20 Historia del miedo History of Fear 67 Round Trip 83
Noche de fuego 21 Finished Films 2004–2016 Los hongos 67 Saratan 84
The Orphanage 22 3/Tres 3/Three 52 Huacho 68 Sentados frente al fuego By the Fire 84
Shikolbaha Iron Stream 23 Abaabi ba Boda Boda The Boda Boda Thieves 52 Independencia 68 Shekarchi The Hunter 85
Vendrá la muerte y tendrá tus ojos Agua y sal Water and Salt 53 Jauja 69 Shilton Ha – Chok The Law in these Parts 85
Death will Come and Shall Have Your Eyes 24 Ajami 53 Jean Gentil 69 Shirley Adams 86
Vi Taste 25 Akher Ayam El Medina In the Last Days of the City 54 Jermal 70 Siembra 86
La vaca que cantó una canción de futuro Alaverdi I’m Going to Change My Name 54 Kalo Pothi The Black Hen 70 La sociedad del semáforo The Stoplight Society 87
The Cow that Sang a Song About the Future 26 Al-Wadi The Valley 55 La Khaneye Zire Âb The House Under the Water 71 Stellet Licht Silent Light 87
Antes o tempo não acabava Time was Endless 55 Kuzu The Lamb 71 Sur la Planche On the Edge 88
Finished Films 2017–2019 Araf Somewhere in between 56 Lelaki harapan dunia Men Who Saved the World 72 Süt Milk 88
Al-Taqareer Hawl Sarah Wa Saleem Atos dos homens Acts of Men 56 Liverpool 72 Svet-Ake The Light Thief 89
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem 28 El Bella Vista 57 Loong Boonmee raleuk chat Uncle Boonmee Te prometo anarquía I Promise you Anarchy 89
Breve historia del planeta verde Bi, dung so! Bi, don’t be afraid! 57 Who Can Recall His Past Lives 73 La tercera orilla The Third Side of the River 90
Brief Story from the Green Planet 29 Carne de perro Dog Flesh 58 Las malas intenciones The Bad Intentions 73 La teta asustada The Milk of Sorrow 90
La cama The Bed 30 Chaque jour est une fête Every Day is a Holiday 58 Medianeras 74 Uroki Garmonii Harmony Lessons 91
Cocote 31 Cha và con và Big Father, Small Father Mohammad sauvé des eaux Mohammad Saved Los viajes del viento The Wind Journeys 91
En attendant les hirondelles and Other Stories 59 from the Waters 74 Las vidas posibles Possible Lives 92
Until the Birds Return 32 Chilla 59 Naoussé A Perfect Day 75 Workers 92
Etz Te’ena Fig Tree 33 El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia The Sky, the Earth NN 75 Zai Jian Wa Cheng The Road to Mandalay 93
Félicité Felicity 34 and the Rain 60 La obra del siglo The Project of the Century 76 Zion Ve’ Achiv Zion and his Brother 93
Flatland 35 Ciudadela Citadel 60 O céu de Suely Suely in the Sky 76
2 3CONTENTS
wcf europe wcf AFRIcA Dol 129 WCF Europe
Production Support Production Support Ee’adat Khalk Recycle 129 distribution support
Félicité Felicity 130
Projects in production WCF Projects in production Fidaï 130 Las herederas The Heiresses 148
Europe Bufis 112 Gigante 131 Inhebbek Hedi Hedi 148
Ceniza negra 96 The Grave Digger 113 Las herederas The Heiresses 131 Rak ti Khon Kaen Cemetery of Splendour 149
Feathers of a Father 97 The Night Outside 114 Huacho 132 Los Perros 149
Indivision Joint Possession 98 Pas d’or pour Kalsaka No Gold for Kalsaka 115 Los insólitos peces gato The Amazing Catfish 132 Oscuro animal 150
Kapag Wala nang mga Alon When the Satmout fel Eshrean You Will Die at Twenty 116 Inxeba The Wound 133 Zama 150
Waves are Gone 99 Jodaeiye Nader az Simi Nader and Simin –
El retorno del Señor Roque Thielen a la Isla Finished Films 2016–2018 A Separation 133 WCF Info 152–153
Akare-Meru The Return of Mister Roque Thielen 28’s The Number 118 Kebun Binatang Postcards from the Zoo 134
to the Island of Akare-Meru 100 A Kasha 118 Kick Off Kirkuk 134 table 154–155
Tlamess 101 I am not a Witch 119 La León 135
White Building 102 Rafiki Jambula Tree 119 Leonera Lion’s Den 135
Sew the Winter to my Skin 120 Loong Boonmee raleuk Chat
Finished Films 2016–2018 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives 136
Aala Kaf Ifrit Beauty and the Dogs 104 WCF Madeinusa 136
Amal 104 distribution support Moolaadé 137
Candelaria 105 Norté, Hangganan Icasaysayan Norte, The end
A cidade onde envelheço Where I Grow Old 105 Abluka Frenzy 122 of history 137
Cuadros en la Oscuridad Paintings in the Dark 106 El abrazo partido Lost Embrace 122 Nuestro tiempo Our Time 138
Divino amor 106 El abrazo de la serpiente O homem que copiava The Man Who Copied 138
Inxeba The Wound 107 The Embrace of the Serpent 123 Octubre 139
Jesús 107 Ang Babaeng Humayo The Woman Who Left 123 Pandoranin Kutusu Pandora’s Box 139
Muere, Monstruo, Muere! Die, Monster, Die! 108 Ajami 124 Pelo Malo Bad Hair 140
Oscuro animal 108 Al-khoroug lel-nahar Coming Forth by Day 124 Rafiki Jambula Tree 140
Pendular 109 Al-Taqareer Hawl Sarah Wa Saleem The Reports on Semaan Bil Day’ia The One Man Village 141
Los perros 109 Sarah and Saleem 125 Shekarchi The Hunter 141
Rabih Tramontane 110 Bamako 125 Sonbahar Autumm 142
Weldi 110 Bombón – El perro Bombón The Dog 126 Svet-Ake The Light Thief 142
Candelaria 126 La teta asustada The Milk of Sorrow 143
Caramel 127 Un homme qui crie A Screaming Man 143
Carne de perro Dog Flesh 127 El viento The Wind 144
Daratt 128 Workers 144
Días de Santiago 128 WWW What a Wonderful World 145
4 5Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Director, UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
and CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR, Thailand
“Even though my films have been shown at various places, finding funds remains
a challenge. Perhaps because the only way I know to make films is to do something
Marcelo Martinessi deeply personal. I imagine scenarios when I’d have no resources to carry on –
Director, LAS HEREDERAS, Paraguay one of them is to grow vegetables. Which is not bad. Healthy, and romantic. But
“The cinematography of my country – Paraguay – is taking its first steps I hope that, it won’t happen in the next few years. So I’m very grateful for the
on the international scene, with a lot of enthusiasm. But locally we support from the WCF. It allows me to be able to continue exploring the lights, not
haven’t yet managed to forge public policies that facilitate the realisa- yet the soil.”
tion of the films we want to make. In this regard, the World Cinema
Fund support has been crucial for LAS HEREDERAS and for other Torsten Frehse
Paraguayan projects, which from that push have found new alliances Distributor, Neue Visionen, Germany
and ways to reach the big screen.” “The WCF’s value as an organisation just can’t
be underestimated, both financially and in terms
of the support it provides; particularly when
it comes to us independent distributors. Along
with us distributors, the funding provided Michael Weber
Alain Gomis by the WCF paves the only way to a respectable Sales Agent, The Match Factory, Germany
Director, FÉLICITÉ, Senegal theatrical release in Germany for many non- “Many projects are made possible in the first place
“When the idea of a film is born, I quickly tell myself: ‘it is unfundable!’ European arthouse films.” because the filmmakers are allowed to spend
We actually spend a lot of time trying to explain films, long before the money ‘at home’ – without having to set up
we start making them (which is impossible). Then, in order to a disproportionate and costly co-production
avoid completely draining ourselves, we look for good listeners. which incurs increased post-production costs in
The World Cinema Fund is one of these good listeners, with a watch- yet other countries.”
ful eye. For us they are partners that are vital to the – increasingly
precarious – existence of independent cinema. So, thank you.” Helvécio Marins,
Director, QUERÊNCIA and GIRIMUNHO; Brazil
“I have made just two feature films and both of them have had support from
Gema Juárez Allen the World Cinema Fund. It seems too good to be true – but here is a German
Producer, Gema Films, Argentina fund that supports projects from around the world!
“My mission as a producer is to help bring new films into the spotlight: to build More than that, the WCF are sensitive and attentive to universal human stories –
a funding architecture, to create conditions for directors to develop and execute their support has allowed us to show the world a snapshot of my Brazilian
their ideas and to find spaces of dialogue with the audience. Since the funding hinterlands that not even Brazilian people know. They also provide a viewpoint
and distribution models for cinema are undergoing rapid, WCF has become of contemporary cinema and help us with the balance between being creative
a powerful beacon of consistent and lasting support, making it possible for an and opening doors to markets and sales.
enormous selection of personal, bold and radical films to exist.” Vielen Dank WCF!”WELCOME
WORLD CINEMA FUND of all due to their artistic and cultural quality, but funding opportunities. Besides the traditional WCF Making things happen / Berlinale WCF Days
also thanks to the support of initiatives like the funding programme – which since 2004 has rep- We perceive the WCF as an institution that helps to
AMIDST THE WORLD WCF fund. LAS HEREDERAS was awarded with two resented the WCF’s core – in 2015 we started WCF put things in motion. And we understand the WCF
IN TOUGH TIMES Silver Bears at last year’s Berlinale and afterwards Europe, supported by Creative Europe’s Media DAY during the festival as a collective brainstorming
embarked on a unique further festival career. This programme, which partners directors and produc- event. As well as an artistic, cultural, even political,
Interpreting the complexity of the world, supporting the film was definitely not an exception: the Argentin- ers from funding regions with European producers. analysis of the state of things in WCF regions and
pluralism of international film cultures ian ROJO, for example, was triple awarded in San One year later we launched WCF Africa, thanks to countries.
It’s nighttime in the Brazilian countryside of Minais Sebastián, and the Syrian STILL RECORDING also the support of the German Federal Foreign Of- This year we are going to focus an important part of
Gerais and an important rodeo is starting – a quiet, received three awards in Venice. Last but not least, fice, with the goal to optimise film production and the WCF DAY on Brazil and the Brazilian film indus-
happy, passionate atmosphere pervades this place. A films like RAFIKI and A KASHA confirmed the creativ- promote and disseminate film culture in the Sub- try. First of all, there are two domestically supported
cowboy-rapper, the protagonist, sings “White, Black, ity of talented new voices on the African continent. Saharan region. Brazilian films in the Berlinale programme. But talk-
Indians…we are all Brazilians” (QUERENCIA, Helvé- ing about the alarming Brazilian situation these days
cio Marins Jr., Brazil). Evening, somehow in South A tailor-made funding programme More than money. Talking about cinema and the confirms how cultural and production conditions in
Africa, a parking lot for truckers. While other drivers For more than 14 years, the WCF has helped give challenge of the reel. Enjoying synergies. the WCF regions can change fast and radically: only
watch, a man threatens a young pregnant girl with a shape and visibility to largely unseen cinema – by Submitting a project to the WCF means getting in five years ago financing a film project with local
weapon, tells her to take her clothes off. (FLATLAND, supporting film production in countries that lack a touch with a team passionately interested in not funding sources wasn’t such a big deal in Brazil. We
Jenna Bass, South Africa) We are between the ruins constructive film industry and by giving talented only talking with producers but also directors, writ- are not referring to mainstream cinema, but instead
of a huge open air cinema in Sudan: three extremely filmmakers the opportunity to gain or improve ers, directors of photography, and editors. Submit- films with a strong artistic and cultural profile.
agile old guys are passionately talking about cinema their international awareness and reach a global ting a project to the WCF also means writing and During the last months the situation has changed
and cinemas in their country; they are an important audience. More than 209 successful projects and talking about cinema. About camera work, light- dramatically, on a financial and political level. We are
part of the Sudanese film history, they will re-open films have been supported by the WCF. In 2004 ing, editing, music or the absence of music. About seriously worried about the present and future of
this place, recreating the feeling of sharing a film ex- we started the WCF as an initiative of the Berlinale the narrative structure of the future film. Brazilian cinema.
perience (TALKING ABOUT TREES, Suhaib Gasmelbari, together with the German Federal Cultural Founda- The WCF is open to submissions from both feature- Another important part of the WCF DAY will focus
Sudan). tion, with the goal of creating an artistically unique length fiction and documentary film projects. And on audience building and audience design. We are
Scenes from three of the six WCF supported films funding structure based on an efficient production everything in between. We are open to bold pro- convinced that starting from the very beginning of
invited by the Berlinale 2019. All extremely different and cooperation model. Although German or Euro- posals that call into question the interpretation a film project, producers, directors and potential
films, exemplifying the cultural und stylistic variety pean producers are always the administrative recip- and reinterpretation of reality. Cinema has many world sales companies should be actively thinking
of successful WCF-supported projects. ients of our support, they are required to spend the faces. about its future audience – the impact of a possible
Last year was also particularly successful for the money in the projects’ regions of origin, a very ef- Last but not least, getting in touch with the WCF theatrical release, with the distribution of the future
WCF-supported films. Firstly: Marcelo Martinessi’s fective way to support production in places where means getting in touch with the Berlinale. That film through other technical support, providing in
LAS HEREDERAS confirms that even films produced the money is most needed. said, a key point of our funding strategy is that advance different theatrical and virtual spaces for
by so-called “small players” of the film industry, such The WCF is increasingly able to satisfy different WCF-funded films are totally free: a world premiere distribution. It makes even more sense for films
as Paraguay, can achieve remarkable success – first project structures and needs, offering tailor-made during the Berlinale isn’t a WCF funding condition. coming from WCF regions.
8 9WCF
PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Projects in production
Re-thinking cinema / Being aware of the local cultural / religious fundamentalism. Funding bold and ground-
historical context breaking projects produced by local companies, sup-
With its targeted support, the WCF has for years ported by passionate international co-producers and
been playing a significant role in establishing a new linked to regional narratives which develop intense
geography of cinema that we can describe as “on and critical content, social-political global issues and
the move”. Illuminating an existing reality: in the WCF an innovative cinematic language assumes an even
regions we have the opportunity to reach and sup- more crucial meaning nowadays.
port a large number of filmmakers with enormous
creative energy. What about the future? Working for an even more effec-
As a European funding institution focussed on re- tive and sustainable WCF
gions mostly dealing with the complexity of a coloni- First of all it’s about the present: sincere thanks to Di-
al and post-colonial heritage, we are clearly aware of eter Kosslick who made the WCF possible. Due to his
their local cultural/historical context, always working experience as head of important funding institutions
on further optimising and updating our knowledge. Dieter advocated the creation of a different initiative,
And we don’t forget the film history of these regions far away from an Eurocentric point of view and with
and countries. a distinct cultural-political and artistic identity. But
We understand innovation as one of the key ele- what lies ahead for the Berlinale initiative, the World
ments of our profile, We are also aware that the glob- Cinema Fund? In keeping with our funding identity,
al audio-visual production universe is continually we will try our best in order to take care of the dif-
changing: for us, it means dealing with radical struc- ferent needs of a challenging segment of the global
tural and technical development that might one day film industry, whilst also reflecting on the future role
completely change the universe of so-called cinema. of the WCF in the framework of the German and Eu-
We still strongly believe in cinema also as agorà, in ropean film funding landscape, and thinking about
the classical cinema theatre as a place to share com- how to further optimise and share the WCF experi-
mon cultural and emotional experiences. We are, ence and knowledge in this particular field.
however, keen on experimenting with new narrative However, only a sustainable institution with sustaina-
forms and histories, and new ways of watching films. ble backup can achieve sustainable results. While we
very much appreciate the support of the institutions
Our world is a rough place that make the existence of the WCF possible, we will
What about our initiative these days – does it still continue to work hard at consolidating the WCF and
make sense? No doubt about it, yes. Probably even making its activity even more effective.
more so than in the past, considering the cultural-
political situation around the world that increasingly
tends towards ignorance, political primitivism and Vincenzo Bugno, Project Manager WCF
10Blanco en blanco
White on White
by Theo Court
Al Nahr
The river
by Ghassan Salhab
Synopsis A young woman and a man meet for lunch Synopsis An aura of the fin de siècle arrives at the latifundistas saw these lands as a perfect place
in a restaurant located in the midst of a mountainous last corner of the earth: Tierra del Fuego. La Isla to graze their sheep, and as a place where they
landscape in Lebanon. Suddenly, a war seems to Grande, was the last stop for adventurers, rugged in- could generate great fortunes. From the moment
explode in the distance, fighter planes crisscross the dividualists and mercenaries from all over the world. of their arrival the colonizers clashed with the Ona,
sky. They both leave the place and venture deeper Pedro, a 50-year-old photographer, has come here to who didn’t have a concept of private property and
into a nature that is more and more spectral, like the document the wedding of Mr. Porter, the omnipotent crossed over fences to hunt the latifundista’s sheep.
couple they form today. latifundista. Alongside him, in the boat he arrives in It took merely 15 years for men, women and children
is Sara, the girl destined to become Mr. Porter’s wife. to be exterminated.
Director’s note THE RIVER is the final part of a Her magnetic beauty becomes Pedro’s obsession. Pe-
triptych that began with THE MOUNTAIN and THE dro begins to integrate into this strange land, where
VALLEY. Three deliberately geographic titles, three armed men live alongside groups of native people
territories. What binds them is essentially organic, an huddled together and the disturbing presence of a
invariable threat that affects the whole, reaching the house inhabited by the power that controls it all. He Chile
slightest corner, the slightest of us; a threat present LEBANON betrays power for his passion: to photograph the girl.
Director: Theo Court
in Lebanon for so long that it has imperceptibly mu- To capture with a photograph the moment in which
Director: Ghassan Salhab Producers: El Viaje Films (Spain), Don Quijote Films
tated into a territory itself. With a scarcity of words, Producers: Khamsin Films (Lebanon), The Postoffice her childish innocence… (Chile), Kundschafter Filmproduktion (Germany),
THE RIVER retraces an afternoon as it shifts into night, (Lebanon), Survivance (France), Unafilm (Germany) Pomme Hurlante Films (France)
in the company of a young woman and a much old- German WCF partner: unafilm Director’s note In 1900, Chile and Argentina do- German WCF partner: Kundschafter Filmproduktion
World sales: Les Films du Losange (France) World sales: tbc
er man, less a couple than two persons caught in nated a parcel of what at that point had been un-
an intermediate state between the continued exis- Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2018 exploited land to a group of Europeans known as Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2017
tence of their relationship and survival itself. Funding amount: 30.000 € the Tierra del Fuego Exploitation Society. Powerful Funding amount: 45.000 €
12 13Clara Sola
by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
EL CAMBISTA
THE MONEY CHANGER
by Federico “Cote” Veiroj
Synopsis Umberto Brause managed to become Synopsis In a remote village in Costa Rica, 32-year- CLARA SOLA is an ultimatum about a woman’s jour-
renowned in the Uruguayan financial market; if he old Clara embarks on a journey to break free from ney to take control of her body, her sexuality and
wants to stay alive in the struggle for making money, social and religious conventions and gain control of her powers.
he will have to put at risk his marriage, the emerging her sexuality and newfound powers.
subvention of the 70s and his ancient code of ethics.
Director’s note Growing up Catholic, I was made
Director’s note The Money Changer means a to believe early on in life that women who mas-
huge challenge to me as a director, being my first turbated ended up in hell, and that the balance
screenplay based on a previously existing text. The between being a virgin and a whore was extremely
conception of this film was influenced by Scorsese’s delicate. With this screenplay, I want to explore
films Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street, films whose where our heroine, Clara, would land on this judg-
characters are entirely products of their time and ment scale – being a young woman with limited
environment. Reason for which, they lead two-faced social skills.
lives. URUGUAY Costa rica
The film takes place in a social and religious setting
Director: Federico “Cote” Veiroj Director: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
The counterpoint to this visual frenzy is a con dential Producers: Oriental Features (Uruguay), Rizoma where traditions hold back individual development. Producers: Hobab (Sweden), Pacífica Grey (Costa Rica),
toned first-person narrative voice, indifferent to any (Argentina), Pandora Film Produktion (Germany) Clara has been stuck in a patriarchal context in Laïdak Films (Germany), Need Productions (Belgium)
redemption for the character. On the contrary, aware German WCF partner: Pandora Film Produktion which women are oppressed not only by men, but WCF German partner: Laïdak Films
World sales: tbc World sales: tbc
of his cynicism and perhaps seizing his chance on also by other women.
screen, Brause strips down, eager to share his experi- Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2017 Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2018
ence as yet another narcissistic key to his persona. Funding amount: 40.000 € Funding amount: 50.000 €
14 15A Febre
The Fever
by Maya Da-Rin
KARANLIK GECE
Black Night
by Özcan Alper
Synopsis In Manaus, an industrial city surrounded able to establish with these families, were determin- Synopsis Ishak (35) is a wandering musician from a what motivated me and pushed me to make this film.
by the Amazon rain forest. Justino, a 45 year-old Am- ing experiences for me. The stories they told me small mountain town. A lynching he was a part of With this story, I tried to understand in particular
erindian, works as a security guard at a cargo port about their experiences revealed the complex and seven years earlier comes back to haunt him as he how desires suppressed by society, sexual experi-
and lives in a small house on the outskirts of town. tense relationship between indigenous cultures returns to his hometown to farewell his dying moth- ences and obstacles in the way of the formation of
Since the death of his wife, his only company has and Western civilization, which has marked Brazil- er. Facing the other five perpetrators – his childhood individual identity can create a climate of extreme
been his youngest daughter Vanessa, but she will ian history since colonial times. Urged on by these friends – as well as the community and government violence.
be leaving soon to study medicine in Brasília. encounters, I began to jot down my first notes for a officials supporting them, Ishak struggles with the
movie to be set in Manaus. guilt weighing upon him. However, the bigger the
Stuck between the city and his village, which he left crime, the stronger the silence – since everyone has
over 20 years ago, Justino finds himself condemned blood on their hands.
to an existence without place. During the day he
strives to stay focused at work. As time goes by, he Director’s note In this story, I wanted to follow
is gripped by a high fever, whose cause the doctors Brazil the quest for truth and justice in Ishak’s world. In
are not able to identify. Vanessa finds herself torn his story, which is about common people in a TURKEY
Director: Maya Da-Rin
between the desire to become a doctor and the small mountain village, I was inspired by photo-
Producers: Tamanduá Vermelho (Brazil) Director: Özcan Alper
decision to leave her father, sick, in Manaus. Enquadramento Produções (Brazil), Still Moving graphs similar to those taken under authoritarian Producers: Nar Film (Turkey), Unafilm (Germany),
(France), Komplizen Film (Germany) regimes in many parts of the world. La Fabrica Nocturna (France)
Director’s note I was shooting two documentaries German WCF partner: Komplizen Film German WCF partner: unafilm
World sales: tbc World Sales: tbc
in the Amazon region in 2006, when I met several The relationships background characters have with
indigenous families who had left their traditional Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2017 nature, each other and their sexuality, and how they Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2018
territories to live in the city. The relationship I was Funding amount: 48.000 € connect to the political process and situation are Funding amount: 30.000 €
16 17Matar a un muerto
Killing the Dead
by Hugo Giménez
La Memoria del Monte
THE MEMORY OF THE FOREST
by Paz Encina
Synopsis Paraguay 1978, during the dictatorship system designed for oppression – allows me a closer Synopsis MEMORY FROM THE FOREST is the story of the first
Pastor (50) and Dionisio (25) bury dead bodies il- look of the human condition. Memory from the world ones, the eternal ones and the ones of today. It is the
licitly in the woods in a systematic and clandestine The exile and the song of remembrance story of exile, the story of our ancestors who had to
manner. At the same time, in Argentina, the World The chant of what endures leave their lands and of those who have to do the
Cup is taking place. One morning among the bod- Those who dwelled in the land before us same today. It is the story of the future of the peoples,
ies, the diggers, find a man, Mario (45) who is still Dreams, cinema, 3D which could be different. It is the place where evil
breathing. Both men know they must kill him but A format that allows us to inhabit the eternal cannot exist. MEMORY FROM THE FOREST aims to pre-
they have never done anything like that before. A Preserve the forest and the spiritual world of the forest serve a space of memory and wants, and, even if it is in
storm is coming, announcing the winter season, Remember and dwell on it, at all times and forever image form, to preserve a physical and also a spiritual
while the destiny of the three men is determined That is the memory from the forest. place – one that cannot be overthrown nor abolished.
during the World Cup final match. Why not believe?
Director’s note My goal is to explore the military Paraguay paraguay
regime from its outskirts, draw a line between that
Director: Hugo Giménez Director: Paz Encina
space and time that is unknown to me because I
Producers: Sabaté Films (Paraguay), Zona Audiovisual Producers: Silencio Cine (Paraguay),
didn’t experience it closely; I’ve only known its ech- (Argentina), Altamar Films (France), Pandora Film Gaman Cine (Argentina), Fortuna Films (Netherlands),
oes. I am interested in small stories in the context of Produktion (Germany) Black Forest Films (Germany)
big historic events where the banality of evil is man- German WCF partner: Pandora Film Produktion German WCF partner: Black Forest Films
World sales: tbc World Sales: tbc
ifested clearly. Also where fear of the unknown and
the paradox of the impossibility of killing – within a Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2017 Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2018
Funding amount: 40.000 € Funding amount: 40.000 €
18 19Nhà Cây
The Tree House
by Truong Minh Quý
Noche de fuego
by Tatiana Huezo
Synopsis Years ago, the filmmaker glimpsed a lone writes truthfully what happens in front of his eyes Synopsis In a solitary mountain town, where corn
house in the mountains. Inexplicably, the image of and also reveals the hidden connections between and poppies grow, the girls have boyish haircuts
that house has been lurking inside his mind since things. This film is a visual attempt to document a and each has an underground hiding place, like a
then and became the impetus for making The Tree very small part of the immense universe of our mem- tomb. Their mothers train them to flee death, to
House. This film is a journey to visualize the image ory. By entering the realm of memory, I would like to escape those who turn them into slaves or ghosts.
of the lone house in the memory and while doing invite all of us to imagine much more. To understand Eight-year-old Ana grows up with her best friends,
so, the present reality unfolds the stories of the the reality, maybe what we really need is an innocent Paula and María. They kill snakes, take over houses
people who live in these godforsaken places in the imagination like the one of those children who we of those who have fled and dress up as women.
mountains of Vietnam. In the mountains, there are used to be long time ago. They create their own impenetrable world amidst
many concealed stories such as the indigenous Ruc growing violence, yet there comes a day when one
people’s nostalgia for their primitive life in the caves, of them doesn’t make it to her hiding place in time.
which used to be their only home. Another story is
the encounter of a man with the new world who Vietnam Director’s note NOCHE DE FUEGO explores what
had been living in the deep jungle for 40 years since it means to grow up as a girl in the midst of war in Mexico
Director: Truong Minh Quý
he was born. The house in the memory (or, the lost Mexico. It’s a story that invokes the magic and resist-
Producers: Lantern Production (China), Levo Films Pte. Director: Tatiana Huezo
home) becomes a light in the dark night that con- Ltd. (Singapore), JK Film (Vietnam), Truong Minh Quý ance of children and their honest gaze in the face Producers: Pimienta Films (Mexico),
nects every human being’s story. (Vietnam), inselfilm produktion (Germany) of a violent reality. The film speaks of the time we The Match Factory (Germany)
German WCF partner: inselfilm produktion live in and how it resonates in our innermost being, German WCF partner: The Match Factory
World sales: tbc World sales: The Match Factory
Director’s note I envisage that the process of mak- through the point of view of three girls on the path
ing The Tree House would be like the ethnography Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2017 to adolescence. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2018
work of an anthropologist, who at the same time Funding amount: 25.000 € Funding amount: 30.000 €
20 21THE ORPHANAGE
by Shahrbanoo Sadat
SHIKOLBAHA
IRON STREAM
by Kamar Ahmad Simon
Synopsis THE ORPHANAGE is about an orphanage, Mujahedeen are a big part of the current Afghan Synopsis On the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima, back. His last words echoed in my ears for years until
its pupils and their everyday life. It is set in Kabul, government. What I want to achieve with THE OR- Bijoy (31) gives a tantalizing “Sarod” performance I wrote the first draft in 2011. In the years that fol-
Afghanistan, in the late 80s. PHANAGE is to break this taboo and talk about that in a trendy Kolkata Café. After the sudden death of lowed I wrote different versions of the script, still I
time without judging. I want to connect with all the his mother, he finds himself locked in the realm of could feel that there was something missing, some-
Qodrat (14) illegally sells cinema tickets for Bollywood ethnicities and make a real conversation about that her memories. His younger brother, the only bread- thing that was holding back the whole narrative. In
movies on the black market, when the police catch time and about the ethnic civil war. winner in the family, takes away the small jewelry my previous drafts unconsciously I had been very
him and bring him to the orphanage. Qodrat dreams box she left behind. In his solitary confinement in conscious of hiding myself in it. But the more I ex-
himself away to situations right out of an Indian their Kolkata suburban house, Bijoy finds the other plored, the better I realized that this story without
Bollywood movie until he becomes part of a group box full of her old letters and photo. For the first “me”, the storyteller, in it would be incomplete.
of friends. When the civil war starts, Qodrat escapes time Bijoy learns about his grandfather, the village
to Pakistan. where he was born and of “Shikolbaha”, the river of
her childhood she yearned to return to! It’s been
Director’s note The film happens in a time when long since father and son had stopped talking, the BANGLADESH
Afghanistan was not an Islamic country. No one has Afghanistan brother brands him as “spoilt” and suggests selling
made a fiction film about that time until now. I think the house. Yet against their will, Bijoy takes her ash- Director: Kamar Ahmad Simon
Director: Shahrbanoo Sadat Producers: Beginning Production (Bangladesh),
one of the challenges for me; will be to portrait Producers: Adomeit Berlin (Germany), La Fabrica es and boards a train for the border, for a land they Weydemann Bros (Germany), Good Fortune
women and their costumes. The women in the film Nocturna (France), Adomeit Film (Denmark) left 17 years ago! Films (France)
are wearing miniskirts and are not using scarf. My German WCF partner: Adomeit Berlin German WCF partner: Weydemann Bros
World sales: tbc World sales: tbc
biggest challenge is the last part of the film, when Director’s note It was in 2005 and it all started with
war starts and Mujahedeen take over the orphan- Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2017 a friend calling me from a foreign land. His mother Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2017
age. Talking about civil war is taboo in Afghanistan. Funding amount: 60.000 € had just passed away; he wished to bring her ashes Funding amount: 40.000 €
22 23Vendrá la muerte y tendrá tus ojos
Death will come and shall have your eyes
by José Luis Torres Leiva
VI
Taste
by Lê Bảo
Synopsis Ana is in her 50’s and is the head nurse reflection exercises about work, love and death Synopsis Bassley, a Nigerian illegal, plays in the Viet- I want to approach TASTE in a more contemplative
of the city’s hospital. María is 42 years old and a there has been in the history of literature. namese football league to support his son back way. To respect the spaces as living entities that
mathematics teacher in a small school. They live in home. When he breaks his leg, his contract is ter- breathe, to observe the characters inhabiting that
a small town in the south of Chile. They have been Within the project lays a desire to speak about minated. With nowhere to go, Bassley finds work as space in an unobstructed way.
a couple for 20 years, but had never lived together death and to totally move away from its clichés a masseur at a salon. Seeking additional income, he
until the day Maria was diagnosed with terminal and stereotypes. To speak not about the end of a also works as a prostitute. Over the course of three
cancer. This illness will mark a sign in their lives. life but rather of the beginning and the possibility days, he and four women clean together, cook to-
Maria decides against any kind of treatment and of something new, of a hope of those who stay, a gether, eat together, sleep together, and have sex.
they sell all their belongings and move to a small self-discovery that is necessary to grow as a person. Afterwards, Bassley wires the money he has earned
cottage in the middle of a forest where they live to Nigeria. He tries to enter the lives of the women
until the day Maria dies. This is how they fall in love in more ordinary ways. They have moved on, but
again, living together for the first time, facing the something in him has changed.
unbeatable death and determined to strengthen Vietnam
their relationship. Chile Director’s note The idea for TASTE came to me
Director: Lê B ảo
when I was in high school. I observed tired young
Director: José Luis Torres Leiva Producers: Le Bien Pictures (Vietnam),
Director’s note DEATH WILL COME AND SHALL Producers: Globo Rojo Films (Chile), Constanza Sanz African men sitting at the back of the bus at the end E&W Films (Singapore), Deuxième Ligne Films (France),
HAVE YOUR EYES is the name of a famous poem Films (Argentina), Autentika Films (Germany) of the day. This image stayed with me. Petit Film (France), Wild Bunch Germany (Germany)
by Italian writer Cesare Pavese, whom I discovered German WCF partner: Autentika Films German WCF partner: Wild Bunch Germany
World sales: tbc World sales: Wild Bunch (France)
around 10 years ago and who totally captivated In Saigon, there are many Africans and they are often
me with his book “The Business of Living”, per- Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2017 preyed upon. I do not want to make a film that ex- Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2018
haps one of the clearest and most awesome self- Funding amount: 40.000 € ploits the plight of an African man living in Vietnam. Funding amount: 30.000 €
24 25WCF
PRODUCTION SUPPORT
finished films 2017–2019
La Vaca que Cantó Una
Canción Sobre el Futuro
THE COW THAT SANG A SONG ABOUT THE FUTURE
by Francisca Alegría
Synopsis The death of hundreds of cows brings attention. It is as if we need nature to literally
Cecilia (45) and her children to her father’s dairy speak…or sing to us.
farm in the south of Chile. There she encounters her
mother Magdalena (33), whose suicide has marked
the family. While agonising animals sing about the
future of the human race, Cecilia embarks on the
path of understanding her mother and listening to
nature’s voice.
Director’s note In 2017, there was a mass death
of fish in a river in Valdivia. Three years earlier, thou-
sands of black-necked swans died in the same river,
a few months after the installation of a paper mill.
These two cases are but a tiny example of the cur- Chile
rent state of the world, where the destruction of en-
Director: Francisca Alegría
tire ecosystems has become normalized. It would Producers: Jirafa (Chile), Cinema Defacto (France),
be easy to blame the big companies that make Snowglobe (Denmark), Bananeira Filmes (Brazil)
billions at the expense of our natural resources, German WCF partner: tbc
World sales: tbc
but that would be ignoring our responsibility as a
society and denying our free will as human beings. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2018
The signs are loud and clear, but we are not paying Funding amount: 40.000 €
26Al-Taqareer Hawl
Sarah Wa Saleem
THE REPORTS ON
SARAH AND SALEEM
by Muayad Alayan
Breve historia
del planeta verde
Brief Story from
the Green Planet
by Santiago Loza
See also Distribution Support
Synopsis The affair between a married Palestin- World premiere Rotterdam International Film Synopsis Tania is a trans girl who performs her had dealt with certain experiences. The movie is
ian man and a married Israeli woman in Jerusalem Festival 2018, Hivos Tiger Competition shows at night clubs in Buenos Aires. Pedro is a about the power of the weak. The hidden strength
takes a dangerous political dimension when they creature of the night, a regular dancer, a young gay of outcasts. It is a tribute to all the losers. And an
are spotted in the wrong place at the wrong time Key festivals and awards Rotterdam Interna- man. Daniela works as a waitress in a bar. She is act of poetic justice.
leaving them and their partners to deal with more tional Film Festival 2018, Hubert Bals Fund Audience dealing with a break-up, and is deeply melancholic.
than their broken marriages. Award and Tiger Award, Special Mention, Rotterdam The three are friends and went to school together World premiere Berlin International Film Festival
International Film Festival 2018; Best Actress and in their hometown. Tania receives the news that 2019, Panorama
Director’s note By following the story of two cou- Best Film, Durban International Film Festival 2018; her grandmother has died. They find an alien body
ples in Jerusalem, the film depicts life in the holy city Grand Jury Prize, Seattle International Film Festival in her grandmother’s house, alongside a letter in Key festival and awards Berlin International Film
and how it reacts to a social drama that can happen 2018 which she asks Tania to please take the creature to Festival 2019
anywhere in the world, but with the crushing social the place where it first appeared. Pedro, Daniela
and political pressures of the setting, the characters and Tania start a long and mysterious journey.
are pushed to act selfishly and hurtfully towards one Palestine, 2018 Argentina, 2019
another in order to survive. How much pressure can Director’s note I want to make a movie about
Director: Muayad Alayan Director: Santiago Loza
one endure in order to do the right thing and avoid beloved and hurt people, who are dragged to live
Producers: Palcine productions (Palestine), Producers: Constanza Sanz Palacios
acting against one’s moral instinct? Are humans Manderley Films (Germany), Key Films (Netherlands), through an extraordinary situation, forced to expe- Films Srl (Argentina), Autentika Films (Germany),
able to risk the privileges they have to do the right Monofilms (Mexico) rience a huge and strange adventure. An existen- Anavilhana Filmes (Brazil)
thing towards others? The film presents the story German WCF partner: Manderley Films tial journey between the banal and the profound, German WCF partner: Autentika Films
World sales: The Heretic Outreach (Greece) World sales: tbc
from the perspective of all characters involved and the daily and the sublime. I know the three actors.
the various choices they make. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2017 For this film, I was inspired by some elements of Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2016
Funding amount: 50.000 € their personal lives, the courage with which they Funding amount: 30.000 €
28 29LA CAMA
THE BED
by Mónica Lairana
COCOTE
by Nelson Carlos De Los Santos
Synopsis It’s a hot summer in Buenos Aires. World premiere Berlin International Film Festival Synopsis Alberto, a gardener working in the city, World premiere Locarno International Film Festival
George (58) and Mabel (56) spend their last 24 hours 2018, Forum travels to his hometown to attend a funeral for his 2017, Signs of Life
together as a couple, locked in their family home. father, who was killed by a policeman. Upon arrival,
The house has been sold, and now they have to dis- Key festivals and awards Berlin International Film he finds that there is no burial, rather a three-day Key festivals and awards Signs of Life Best Film
mantle it and to divide up all their material belong- Festival 2018, New Horizons Film Festival 2018, Best ritual to mourn and celebrate his death. Having Award, Locarno International Film Festival 2017; To-
ings before the moving van arrives. That morning, director and best actress awards Mar del Plata Inter- changed his beliefs to become a Protestant, how- ronto International Film Festival 2017; San Sebastian
Jorge and Mabel try to fuck in several positions, but national Film Festival 2018; Kerala International Film ever, Alberto sees this ritual, with its Catholic and International Film Festival 2017; Rotterdam Interna-
it’s all in vain. They both end up crying. The rest of Festival 2018 African roots, as something satanic and immoral. tional Film Festival 2018, Best Latin American Film,
the day, locked in their home, they move furniture, Overwhelmed, Alberto is lost in the small town life, Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2017; New
eat, have a shower, laugh, pack things, cry, laugh his thoughts confront different gods, and the idea of Horizons International Film Festival 2018,
again, find their dead cat, bury their cat, play with murder presents itself as the only solution to restore
their dog, throw away stuff. And in the middle of some kind of order.
these emotional ups and downs, they say goodbye Argentina, 2018 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 2017
to each other. Director’s note I have always been interested in
Director: Mónica Lairana Director: Nelson Carlos De Los Santos
the origins of the violence in my country. A strange
Producers: Gema Films (Argentina), Sutor Producers: Guasabara Cine (Dominican Republic),
Director’s note THE BED, my first feature-length Kolonko (Germany), Topkapi Films (Netherlands), violence, silent, always lurking. To talk about vio- Nabis Filmgroup (Argentina), Pandora Film
film, revolves mostly around the bodies of an old 3 Moinhos (Brazil) lence, I ask from what point do we constitute mo- Produktion (Germany)
man and a woman, who, after 30 years of marriage, German WCF partner: Sutor Kolonko rality? COCOTE becomes a platform where these German WCF partner: Pandora Film Produktion
World sales: Gema Films (Argentina) World sales: Luxbox (France)
are forced to spend their last 24 hours together be- religions, these institutions that produce values,
fore finally separating. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2016 confront and try to defend themselves. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2014
Funding amount: 30.000 € Funding amount: 30.000 €
30 31Etz Te’ena
Fig Tree
by Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian
En Attendant les Hirondelles
UNTIL THE BIRDS RETURN
by Karim Moussaoui
Synopsis Six main characters are revealed through World premiere Cannes International Film Festival Synopsis Fourteen-year-old Mina lives in civil with friends and the next witnessing them being
three different narratives. Mourad (65) is focussed 2017, Un Certain Regard war-torn Ethiopia. One day, her Jewish family is pre- kidnapped.
on his life: his work, his wife, his son. He will do sented with the opportunity to escape the war by
anything to avoid trouble, even at the risk of mak- Key festivals and awards Cannes International fleeing to Israel. But Mina won’t leave her boyfriend, World premiere Toronto International Film Festi-
ing immoral choices. Aicha (25) is trying to forget Film Festival 2017; Sarajevo Film Festival 2017; Eli, behind. Confronting the war head on, she makes val 2018, Discovery section
her past by marrying a decent man, hoping to start Vienna International Film Festival 2017; Warsaw Film desperate plans to save the love of her life before
a new life with him. On the way to her new home, Festival 2017, Gil Parrondo and Special Jury Award, their childhood ends. Key festivals and awards Eurimages Audentia
she starts having second thoughts. Dahman (45) is a Gijón International Film Festival 2017, Jerusalem In- Award, Toronto International Film Festival 2018; Best
doctor, also hoping to start a new life. He is waiting ternational Film Festival 2018, Best First Film, Lumiere Director’s note I spent the first years of my life in Cinematography Award of the Award of the Israeli
patiently for a promotion that will improve his social Awards 2018 Ethiopia, sheltered under my grandmother’s loving Film Academy 2018
standing, which in turn might open up the possibil- wings. Through the gaps in her feathers I viewed a
ity of marriage. All of them are forced to deal with magical world, occasionally interrupted by horror. I
the consequences of the choices they have made. was 10 years old when I left Ethiopia and despite the ISRAEL, ETHIOPIA, 2018
ALGERIA, 2017 war, my incognisant last days in Ethiopia passed by
Director: Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian
Director’s note The stories in my film are about quite normally.
Director: Karim Moussaoui Producers: Black Sheep Film Productions Ltd (Israel),
ordinary people living ordinary lives. It brings to Producers: Prolégomènes (Algeria), Les Films Pelléas, av medien penrose GmbH (Germany), En Companie
the screen people’s aspirations for a better life, set (France), NiKo Film (Germany) I would like to create a world similar to the one that des Lamas (France)
against the actual accomplishment of such aspira- German WCF partner: NiKo Film has accompanied me since childhood. Yet the heart German WCF partner: AV medien penrose GmbH
World sales: MK2 (France) World sales: Films Boutique (Germany)
tions in building modern Algerian society and work- of the film will be Mina’s daily life. Through Mina, I’ll
ing towards changing it for the future. Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2016 describe the surreal situation of building a normal Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2016
Funding amount: 40.000 € life during wartime; one moment playing peacefully Funding amount: 40.000 €
32 33Flatland
by Jenna Bass
FÉlicitÉ
Felicity
by Alain Gomis
See also WCF Distribution Support
Synopsis Felicity is a singer in Kinshasa, Demo- World Premiere Berlin International Film Festival Synopsis FLATLAND is a contemporary, all-female unique portrait of femininity against a harsh frontier-
cratic Republic of Congo. She sings in an nganda 2017, Competition western-adventure that tells the story of a lonely po- land, and questions what it means to be a woman
(bar) resident band and raises her 16-year-old son, licewoman longing to reunite with her fugitive boy- in contemporary South Africa and the world at large.
Samo, alone. One morning, however, she receives Key festivals and awards Berlin International Film friend; while simultaneously leading a murder investi-
a call from the hospital saying that Samo has just Festival 2017, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Berlin, Inter- gation wherein a newly-married former housekeeper World premiere Berlin International Film festival
been admitted after an accident. He risks losing national Film festival 2017; Golden Stallion Award, FES- and a heavily-pregnant teen are the prime suspects. 2019, Panorama
his leg if Felicity doesn’t find the money for an op- PACO 2017; Special Jury Prize, Chicago International Helped and hindered along the way by an ensemble
eration. Felicity embarks on a desperate quest that Film Festival 2017; Human Rights in Cinema Competi- of wayward denizens, the unlikely trio soon become Key festivals and awards Berlin International Film
takes her across the city, into her past, her dreams… tion, Istanbul International Film Festival 2017; Toronto embroiled in a cross-country chase as they navigate Festival 2019
But just as she is about to reach her goal, her son’s International Film Festival 2017 FIPRESCI Prize, Palm the Karoo semi-desert in freezing winter, at times on
leg is amputated. Springs International Film Festival 2018 horseback, all the while in search of a new life and a
fresh start.
Director’s note I imagine this film as a song, a hyp- SENEGAL, 2017 SOUTH AFRICA, 2019
notic and sensual blues song. I imagine it as a dan- Director’s note Femininity, today more than ever,
Director: Alain Gomis Director: Jenna Bass
gerous crossing, through rapids and clouds, on the has become embattled and undefinable. And then,
Producers: Andolfi (France), Granit Films (France), Producers: Proper Film (South Africa),
borders between the night and our interior forests, Cinékap (Senegal), Need productions (Belgium), there’s “What is South Africa?” a country named Deal productions (Luxembourg),
before we reach and breathe the cool air of a new Abbout Productions (Lebanon) purely after its place on the map, with 11 official IGC Films, unafilm (Germany), unafilm (Germany)
day. German WCF partner: Katuh Studio languages and countless more peoples and cultures German WCF partner: IGC Films
World sales: Jour2Fête (France) World sales: The Match Factory (Germany)
without their own names. For these three differ-
I want to make a film as one sings with a woman, to Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2015 ent but equally desperate women, the journey of Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2014
descend into the abyss with her. Funding amount: 40.000 € self-discovery within FLATLAND paints a vivid and Funding amount: 45.000 €
34 35LAS HEREDERAS
THE HEIRESSES
by Marcelo Martinessi
Í e Yarar Bir ey
Something useful
by Pelin Esmer
See also WCF Distribution Support WCF
See also Distribution Support WCF Europe
Synopsis Leyla (42), a lawyer and a poet, takes World premiere Istanbul International Film Festival Synopsis Chela and Chiquita, both descended This film comes out of my desire to heal.
the long-distance train to attend her high school 2017 from wealthy families in Asunción, Paraguay, have
reunion dinner. On the train, she meets Canan (21), been together for over 30 years. But recently their World premiere Berlin International Film Festival
a young nursing student in distress. As the conversa- Key festivals and awards FIPRESCI Award, Istanbul financial situation has worsened. When their debts 2018, Competition
tion develops, Leyla learns that Canan is travelling to International Film Festival 2017; Golden Boll, Adana lead to Chiquita being imprisoned on fraud charges,
assist with the suicide of a paralysed man, Yavuz (45), Film Festival 2017; Seattle International Film festival Chela is forced to face a new reality. Driving for the Key festivals and awards Alfred Bauer Prize, Silver
who wants to die. At the end of the long overnight 2018 first time in years, she begins to provide a local taxi Bear for Best Actress (Ana Brun) and FIPRESCI Award,
trip, surrounded by the stories of people both on service to a group of elderly wealthy ladies. As Chela Berlin International Film Festival 2018; Best Director,
and off the train, Leyla decides to accompany Canan settles into her new life, she encounters the much FIPRESCI Award, Cartagena IFF 2018; Golden Athena,
on her difficult visit. younger Angy, forging a fresh and invigorating new Athens IFF Paraguay’s Submission for the 91st Acad-
connection. Chela finally begins to break out of her emy Awards 2018…
Director’s note Why does Leyla decide to accom- shell and engage with the world, embarking on her
pany a man who wants to die, and a young woman Turkey, 2017 own personal, intimate revolution. Paraguay, 2018
who has taken on the difficult task of killing him?
Director: Pelin Esmer Director: Marcelo Martinessi
To help them? Because she is fascinated by them?
Producers: Sinefilm (Turkey), Mars Production (Turkey),
Director’s note I “inherited” the diaries of a woman Producers: La Babosa Cine (Paraguay), Pandora Film-
Because she is fascinated by death? In order to have Mîtosfilm (Germany), Les Films de l’Après-Midi (France), who spent most of her life in the confinement of her produktion (Germany), Esquina Filmes (Brazil), Mutante
done something useful? When art exists as a powerful Topkapi Films (The Netherlands) own home. Transforming her experiences into a nar- Cine (Uruguay), Norks Filmprodukjson (Norway)
and magical tool for understanding life, why does the German WCF partner: Mîtosfilm rative feature film made me think about Paraguay, my German WCF partner: Pandora Filmproduktion
World sales: Sinefilm (Turkey) World sales: Luxbox (France)
artist continually seek to do something meaningful? prison-country, and our system of “values” passed
Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in November 2015 from one generation to the next, like a hereditary Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in July 2016
Funding amount: 40.000 € disease. A system that doesn’t allow us to change. Funding amount: 40.000 €
36 37You can also read
