2015 Cannes Cinéfondation News - Update

Ten days before the festival begins and no news about the Cinéfondation jury members. Imagine next week will be busy as usually eight (8) days before the fest opening day data becomes available for all the Official Selection, including the jury members for several Cannes juries still pending (Cinéfondation, Un Certain Regard, Camera d'Or).

But today is time to update post with L'Atelier Livre des Projets. Let's check some of the available info.

In 2005, the Festival gave the Cinéfondation the task of organizing L'Atelier, a new step in its action to promote the creation of new works. Each year, L'Atelier selects about fifteen feature length projects from around the world, and invites their directors to the Festival de Cannes in order to put them in contact with film professionals. The filmmakers are selected according to the quality of their project and that of their previous films, as well as on the state of progress of their finance plan. The program will enable them to gain access to international financing and speed up the production process.

In order to help the selected filmmakers, L'Atelier undertakes to:

- publish a Livre des Projets (Project Brochure) to promote the film projects and present the directors and their producers to film professionals and the media.
- organize appointments with producers, distributors and grant distribution managers in the L'Atelier pavilion, in order to meet any shortfall with other already agreed financing. The filmmakers' previous films and screenplays will be made available for consultation.
- associate the selected filmmakers with the daily life of the Festival by providing them with access to the program of daily Festival screenings, meetings and events.

Browse the brochure to read about each director and the project. Available in English and French.



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3/3/15
Last month was announced that Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako was named President of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury. Next April we will learn the jurors that will accompany Sissako in their task to find the best projects and short films.

Today the Festival de Cannes organizers announced the Cinéfondation Atelier projects for its eleventh edition. Here are all the news available up to this moment.

Post will be updated constantly with relevant Cinéfondation news until becomes final when the 2015 Book of Projects is released.

La Résidence

The Residence offers its laureates the opportunity of devoting themselves to the writing of their feature films in a privileged setting in the heart of Paris. Over the four and a half months of their stay at the Residence, every filmmaker is accompanied in the development of his or her script, and advised in the transition to production.

This year the 30th Session began yesterday, March 2 and will end on July 15, 2015. The session president of the Jury is none other than Gilles Jacob. These are the participants.

Khadar Ahmed, Somalia
He's currently developing My Best Summer Job Ever, which is slated to get into production in summer 2015.

Jonas Carpignano, Italy
Currently finishing post-production on his first feature film Mediterranea and will work on his second feature film based on A Ciambra at the Cinéfondation Résidence.

Una Gunjak, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Better known for her fabulous multiple award winner short film The Chicken that premiered at the 2014 Cannes Critics' Week. Una is now developing her first feature Alfa which focuses on issues of immigration and loss of identity, as lived by a 40 year old mother trying to keep her family together while making it in the promise land.

Serhat Karaaslan, Turkey
He participated in the 2015 Berlinale Talents Project Market with his first feature film project Passed by Censor and with the same project goes to Cinéfondation Résidence.

Gábor Reisz, Hungary
In 2014, he graduated with his first feature For some inexplicable reason. The film premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the East of the West competition. Since, the film has been awarded in several international film festivals (Torino Critics award and Audience prize, Cinefest - Adolph Zukor prize). Gábor is developing his second feature film.

Ernesto Villalobos, Costa Rica
He is currently developing his second feature, El Hombre de la Mancha, a deadpan comedy about a confident motorcycle messenger who was born with a big stain on his face. This project was previously selected in Tres Puertos Development Workshop (BAFICI and FIC Valdivia).

The Opening Shot Prize is attributed every year to the best script of the last two sessions and it is awarded to the French partner of the film project.

L'Atelier

The Cinefondation’s Atelier hosts its 11th edition this year and will invite to the Festival de Cannes 15 directors whose projects have been considered particularly promising. Together with their producers, they will be able to meet potential partners, a necessary step to finish their project and start the making of their film. L’Atelier provides its participants access to international co-productions, thus accelerating the film’s completion.

The Cinefondation’s Atelier has been created in 2005 to stimulate creative filmmaking and encourage the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers. So far, out of 156 projects accompanied, 103 have been released in the theaters and 40 are currently in pre-production. For L’Atelier’s 11th edition, 15 projects from 14 countries have been selected, from the new director to the well-known filmmaker.

Butterfly Diaries, Paula Un Mi Kim, Brazil
The Road to Mandalay, Midi Z, Burma
The Contestant, Carlos Osuna, Colombia
Compte tes blessures, Morgan Simon,France
Pari, Siamak Etemadi, Greece / Iran
Out, György Kristóf, Hungary / Slovakia
Twin Flower, Laura Luchetti,Italy
Our Madness, João Viana,Portugal and Angola
Borders,Ionuţ Piturescu, Romania
Popeye, Kirsten Tan, Singapore
The Tree, Louw Venter, South Africa
Lands of Loneliness, Meritxell Colell, Spain
The Mother, Alberto Morais, Spain
Soundless Dance, Pradeepan Raveendran, Sri Lanka
Hilal, Feza, and other Planets, Kutluğ Ataman,Turkey

From May 15 to 21, L’Atelier will arrange meetings with the directors for film industry professionals interested in investing in their projects. The Livre des Projets and the meeting request forms will be available online at the beginning of April.