La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, a professional programme developed by the Institut français to help talented young directors from emerging countries to increase their international exposure, has launched a call for entries.
The directors and producers of ten first or second feature-film projects will be invited to attend this programme during the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The Fabrique will cover the directors’ and producers’ travel, accommodation, meal and accreditation costs, for a maximum period of ten days from 16-26 May 2017.
Directors and producers will receive guidance from a personal coach who helps to identify their needs and makes appointments with professionals who might be interested in co-financing their project. They will attend professional events and meet key players in the international film industry. During work sessions, directors will get the opportunity to discuss their project with the programme’s patron, an internationally renowned director (this will be Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke in 2016). In addition, they will have direct access to the festival’s different competitive selections and receive accreditation for the Film Market, besides meeting the French and international press.
Before applying, please ensure you meet the following criteria:
- Directors must come from one of the eligible countries, including Algeria, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia;
- The project must be the director’s first or second feature-length film (fiction, documentary or animation);
- The project must have a local producer (or a producer from one of the eligible countries) who has produced a short or feature-length film in the last five years;
- Each director or production company may only submit one film project;
- Co-producers may not apply, but they must appear on the registration form;
- The director and/or producer must speak English;
- The film’s provisional budget must be less than €3 million.
To apply, please fill in the online submission form here, in English or in French. There is no registration fee.
The submission deadline is 16 November 2016. Please note that a maximum of 120 projects will be accepted, so sometimes the Fabrique closes the call for applications before the official deadline.
The selected projects will be announced in March 2017.
Since 2011, 11 South Mediterranean directors and their projects have taken part in the Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, including Mohamed Siam’s Amal (Egypt) and Alaa Eddine Aljem’s Saint Unknown (Morocco) in 2016, and Hala El Khoussy’s Cactus Flower (Egypt) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Beauty and the Dogs (Tunisia) in 2015. Since 2012, 60% to 70% of all Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde projects have signed co-production agreements within six months of the end of Cannes.
