Projects

Projects

Cannes Docs

Tens Across the Borders

Original title: Tens Across the Borders

Directed by: CHAN Sze-Wei

Produced by: Alemberg ANG (Daluyong Studios, Philippines), TAN Si En (Momo Film Co, Singapore), Yasmin RAMS (Perennial Lens, Germany/USA), CHAN Sze-Wei (Oddpuppy Productions, Singapore), Executive Producers - Derren LAWFORD and Daniel KARSLAKE (DARE Pictures, UK)

Country of production: Philippines, Singapore, Germany, UK

Runtime: 90' / 52'

Expected release: February, 2024

Production stage: Late Production

Budget: €484.000 (53.89% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Broadcaster, TV co-productions, finishing funds, sales and distribution

Synopsis:

We witness four trailblazers of the underground ballroom scenes in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, as they journey to hold on to their ballroom and birth families, connect with ballroom’s source in New York City, and grow a flourishing queer community across Southeast Asia.

Director’s profile:

Sze is a documentary and experimental dance filmmaker who observes alternate histories, identities and social issues as expressed in the body, movement and art. They are also a dance maker, arts journalist, activist, and parent. Since 2016, their films and installations have screened at festivals including the Singapore International Festival of the Arts, Signes de Nuit Paris, Screen.dance Scotland, and Dança em Foco. Sze’s projects have received grants from Purin Pictures, the Asian Cinema Fund, DMZ Film Festival, HessenFilm, Dance Films Association USA and the National Arts Council of Singapore. They are a member of the Cinemovement Collective (Singapore) founded by Jeremy Chua and Elysa Wendi.

Producer’s profile:

Working with first and second-time filmmakers, Alemberg Ang produces films that provide a voice to marginalized communities. Recent projects include RIA (Cannes Residency CNC Award), Plan75 (Camera d’Or Special Mention, Cannes 2022), and Divine Factory (Cannes Docs-in-Progress award, Singapore International Film Festival SEA-DOC Grant).
Yasmin Rams is a producer and director based in Germany and Los Angeles, who produced the IDFA Bertha Awarded In Exile (2016). Her award-winning film Go Heal Yourself (2022) had a German cinema run of 10 weeks.
Tan Si En is a film & TV producer, and founder of Momo Film Co. She was the producer for Wet Season by Anthony Chen, which World Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her co-production The Year Of The Everlasting Storm premiered in Cannes, and Arnold is a Model Student by Sorayos Prapapan premiered in Locarno.

Cannes Docs

Rebelled

Original title: Rebeladas

Directed by: Andrea GAUTIER, Tabatta SALINAS

Produced by: Dafne ESPINOSA, Julio FERNANDEZ (Perro Rojo, Mexico); Manuel DIAZ, Andrea GAUTIER, Juan GAUTIER (Smiz and Pixel, Spain)

Country of production: Mexico, Spain

Runtime: 80'

Expected release: March, 2024

Production stage: Final cut

Budget: €227.328,53 (70% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, Sales agents, Distributors, Buyers

Synopsis:

40 years ago in Mexico, a group of women filmmakers gathered to make films dealing with taboo subjects, gender violence, rape, feminicide, clandestine abortion, labor discrimination. They called themselves “Cine Mujer » and were active as a collective for over 10 years. Today they reflect on violence against women and their continuous struggles, which are still prevalent in modern society.

Director’s profile:

Andrea Gautier was born in Madrid in 1980. A producer, journalist and cultural manager, as well as an advisor in the cabinet of the Minister of Culture, González Sinde. Since 2011, she has been producing both fiction and documentary films, focusing on arts, culture, and society from a critical feminist perspective, while also teaching film production in several institutions offering high audiovisual studies. Andrea is an alumna of Berlinale Talents. “Rebeladas” is her first feature film, co-directing with Tabatta Salinas (Mexico).

Co-Director’s profile:

As a director, Rebeladas will be Tabatta Salinas’ first feature documentary. She has a degree in Communication Sciences from the Intercontinental University, with professors such as Paty Luke, Ximena Urrutia or Mario Luna. She is a member of the board of directors of the Association of Producers of Madrid (AMA) and of the Spanish coordination of short films. Part of the production team of the Fluffers del CCC generation, she has directed mainly on advertising and web content. Her latest short film was selected for Shorts Mexico (September 2016).

Producer’s profile:

Manuel Díaz Pereda (Mintxo Díaz), Bilbao, 1980. In 2011 he created his own production company, DYNAMITE FILMS S.L. the projects are focused in a visual quality and an international feature.In 2016 he got completely involved in the production of his first company’s feature film, Maus in coproduction with Apaches Entertainment, Cine 365 and Orange. In collaboration with “Next Step” – Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes. He participated in the Berlinale Talents 2017.

Goes to Cannes

Sima’s Song

Category: Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes

Directed by: Roya Sadat

Produced by: Alba Sotorra SL / Baldr Films (NL) / Urban Factory (FR)

Country of production: Spain, Netherlands, France

Original title: LA CANCIÓN DE SIMA

Language: Farsi, Russian

Runtime: 90'

Completed in: 2024

In the pre-civil war context in Afghanistan, Suraya (communist) and Sima (conservative) keep their lifelong friendship alive despite their opposing life choices. While Suraya becomes a part of the communist party in power, Sima gets involved with the mujahideen to defend Muslim values.

Fantastic 7

The Shelter 

Category: Fantastic 7

Directed by: Talal Selhami

Produced by: Lamia Chraïbi 

Country of production: France, Morocco 

Original title: Le Refuge

Genre: Psychological Horror

Language: Arabic, French

Cairo International Film Festival

Paris. A Syrian refugee and war survivor, has to take care of an old invalid French man at the end of his life, but being close to death again awakens ghosts from the past.

Animation Day

Rock Bottom

Directed by: Maria Trenor

Produced by: Alba Sotorra SL, co-productions companies : GS Animation, Jaibo Films, Empatic

Country of production: Spain, Poland

Original title: Rock Bottom

Language: English, original language : Catalan

Runtime: 80'

Completed in: 2024

Through the music of Robert Wyatt, the animated musical « Rock Bottom » plunges into the passionate love story of Bob and Alif, two young artists immersed in the creative whirlwind of early 70’s hippie culture.

Goes to Cannes

Caleta Palace

Category: Málaga Goes to Cannes

Directed by: José Antonio Hergueta

Produced by: José Antonio Hergueta (MLK Producciones)

Country of production: Spain

Original title: Caleta Palace

Language: Spain

Runtime: 97'

Completed in: 2023

The siege of Malaga in Feb 1937 shook the World: a libertarian revolution would end under Italian tanks. Out of memories of journalists and writers who lived or passed by Red Málaga, reenacted by 8 players, this fake documentary recreates the fall of the first Republican city in Spanish Civil War.

Goes to Cannes

Hani

Category: HAF Goes to Cannes

Directed by: Hou Dasheng

Produced by: Wang Hongwei, Li Zhaoyu, Li Shuaizhi (Jiagu Culture Communication Co. Ltd)

Country of production: Canada

Original title: 哈尼

Language: Putonghua, Hani Language

Runtime: 90'

Completed in: 2023

Deep in the mountain, 14-year-old Hani and 12-year-old Pushkar are ready to wed. After Hani makes a reckless act to obtain money for the dowry, the love between them is extinguished.

Goes to Cannes

Triple Oh!

Category: Queer Screen Goes to Cannes

Directed by: Poppy Stockell | Writer: Erica Harrison

Produced by: Poppy Stockell, Alexandra Galloway, Tamasin Simpkin | Sirius Pictures

Country of production: Australia

Original title: Triple Oh!

Language: English

Runtime: 45'

Completed in: 2023

Triple Oh! is a dark comedy-drama following the lives of two ambulance paramedics, as they save lives in absurd medical emergencies. Their personalities clash and are tested when street-smart Tayls introduces by-the-book Cate to her unconventional policy of having sex when a patient dies.

Ukraine in Focus

Consider Vera

Directed by: Marina Stepanska

Produced by: Natalia Libet | Esse Production House

Country of production: Ukraine

Original title: Consider Vera

Language: Ukrainian

Runtime: 100'

Budget: 1 253 875 Eur

Completed in: 2025

Nina is a 6-year old curious girl who lives with her mother Antonina in a small village on the outskirts of Kyiv. Vera, a wild woman, appears in their small village and changes their lives dramatically. A film about womanhood in Ukraine in the 80s.

Cannes Docs

The Camera Never Cries

Original title: الكاميرا لا تجيد البكاء

Directed by: Elsadig Abdelgayoum, Abuzar Adam

Produced by: Alyaa Musa (Black Balance Artistic Production, Sudan)

Country of production: Sudan, Qatar

Runtime: 75'

Expected release: April, 2024

Production stage: Production

Budget: €200.000 (25% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Co-producers, sales agents, buyers, festivals

Synopsis:

When Elsadig and Abuzar meet while filming the Sudanese revolution 2019, neither knew they would eventually turn the camera on each other. An intimate journey of a growing friendship between two directors, whom seeking redemption and beauty through the art of filmmaking when all the odds are against them.

Director’s profile:

Elsadig Abdelgayoum is a Sudanese photographer and filmmaker. He studied Multimedia and participated in a few filmmaking and photography workshops in Khartoum and other cities in the continent. Elsadig employs filmmaking, photography not only as tools to tell stories, but to research and develop further understandings and new prespectives towards his own reality. In 2012 Abuzar Osman graduated from the telecommunication engineering. His passion of classic photography started during his childhood before fleeing Darfur region. Aubzar has joined filmmaking workshops and directed two graduation projects. Between December 2018 until the end of March Abuzar joined a journalistic network Ayin (Witness).

Producer’s profile:

Transforming from a Development professional to a storyteller, Alyaa is searching for controversy, hope and beauty behind closed doors. She has creative credits as a producer, director, cinematographer, editor and visual artist in about ten shorts that were screened in international film festivals. Alyaa has two higher degrees in filmmaking from the UK; PGD London Film School 2012 and MA with distinction in Cinematography and Post Production from the University of Greenwich 2014. A graduate of EAVE producers workshop 2021, Alyaa is currently leading two feature documentaries that are supported by regional and international documentary funds and film institutions.