World Cinema Fund News

The WCF jury made their selection from 113 submissions from a total of 38 countries and awarded production funds totalling 210,000 €. Jury members are film scholar and curator Viola Shafik (Germany/Egypt), documentary producer Marta Andreu (Spain), distributor and producer Jan De Clercq (Belgium) and WCF project managers Sonja Heinen and Vincenzo Bugno.

Production funding:

• Workers, director: José Luís Valle (Mexico), producer: Zensky Cine, Mexico. Feature film.
  Funding: 40,000 €
• Third Bank of the River, director: Celina Murga (Argentina), producer: Tresmilmundos Cine, Argentina. German Partner: Rommel Film e.K. Feature film. Funding: 40,000 €
• Carne de Perro, director: Fernando Guzzoni (Chile), producer: Hanfgarn & Ufer Filmproduktion, Germany. Feature film. Funding: 40,000 €
• El Bella Vista, director: Alicia Cano (Uruguay), producer: Filmproduktion Thomas Mauch, Germany. Documentary film. Funding: 30,000 €
• The Boda Boda Thieves, director: Donald Mugisha (Uganda), producer: Switch Films, South Africa. Feature film. Funding: 60,000 €

Since its establishment in October 2004, the WCF has awarded production and distribution funding to a total of 93 projects chosen from 1,651 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia, and the Caucasus. All of the WCF films completed so far have screened in cinemas and/or in the programmes of renowned international film festivals and are proof of the international success of the initiative.

Find more information on these and other WCF-supported film projects under Funded Projects Production respectively Funded Projects Distribution.

Thanks to the support of new cooperation partners - the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Deutsche Welle/DW AKADEMIE - the WCF launched a new programme in a number of African countries this August: WCF-Factories, aimed at promoting the creative and structural autonomy of African cinema.

In August, the first WCF-Factory was held in Burundi. Together with its local partner CoProDac, the WCF had selected the feature film Amaguru n’Amaboko (Feet and Hands) by Rolland Rugero. During its shoot, training was provided for sound techniques. In October, the second WCF-Factory was held in Burkina Faso: In cooperation with the local partner Imagine Film Institute in Ouagadougou, an editing workshop was organised during the shoot of Appoline Traoré’s Moi, Zaphira.

Once again this year two films supported by the World Cinema Fund will run in the Cannes festival. The films are the debut features of two talented young female directors:

• Sur la Planche, Leila Kilani, Morocco (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)
• The Slut, Hagar Ben Asher, Israel (Semaine de la Critique)

The WCF Jury recommended funding these two films in July 2009 and 2010.

On February 16, 2011, the WCF Day once again provided an opportunity to learn more about the programme, successes, funding strategies, films, initiatives and partners of the World Cinema Fund.

Panel discussion:

“Supporting film production in Africa - Realities, pragmatism and dreams: WCF approach and strategy”
followed by an informal get-together / small networking lunch
February, 16. 11:00 – 14:00 at Filmhaus, Potsdamer Str. 2, 4th Floor

For February 17, 2011 the Berlinale Talent Campus and the World Cinema Fund organized a panel discussion with Iranian filmmakers and artists on censorship, and the restriction of freedom of opinion and expression in Iran. The event took place at the Hebbel am Ufer / HAU1 at 2:00 pm.
For further information:
Special Presentations - Solidarity with Jafar Panahi