The award winners at the 21st Berlinale Co-Production Market (17-21 February) have been announced. Similar to past editions, over 1,500 individual meetings between the teams behind the 34 selected feature-film projects and potential suitable partners were organised and scheduled beforehand, and the event counted a total of over 600 participants (see the news).

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Ukrainian writer-director Antonio Lukich was honoured with the prestigious Eurimages Co-production Development Award, amounting to €20,000, for his project Screaming Girl, which is being produced by ForeFilms. The jury responsible for the decision included Emma Scott from Screen Ireland, international sales agent Oscar Alonso (Latido Films) and Lithuanian producer Uljana Kim (Studio Uljana Kim).

Moreover, the project Ich Bin Marika, directed by Hajni Kis from Hungary and produced by Proton Cinema, was the recipient of this year's ArteKino International Award. ARTE thus recognised this artistically exceptional project from the Berlinale Co-Production Market by presenting it with the €6,000 prize.

The VFF Talent Highlight Award, featuring a €10,000 prize, is granted annually by the VFF – Copyright Agency of Film and TV Producers. The award aims to recognise and support a promising project from the Talent Project Market, a collaborative effort between the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents. This year, the honour went to Silence Sometimes, helmed by Álvaro Robles, which was pitched at the Berlinale Co-Production Market by producer Mireia Vilanova, of Cartuna (USA/Spain). Additionally, director-producer Assel Aushakimova (Risk Pictures) from Kazakhstan and producer Liselotte Persson (Snowcloud) from Sweden received two Honourable Mentions, each valued at €1,000, respectively for the project Astana Internet Stars and for More than a Hug, directed by Christian Zetterberg. The jury panel for this year included Mmabatho Kau, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad and Gabor Greiner alongside VFF supervisory board chairman Alexander Thies.

Thanks to the close partnership between the Berlinale Co-Production Market and the Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF), a significant in-kind prize has been awarded for the second year running: the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award. This prestigious accolade is bestowed upon a Co-Production Market project originating from a WCF-supported country. The producers from Seera Films in Germany, along with director Fradique, will thus be granted extensive consultations aimed at optimising audience engagement and refining communication strategies for their film project Hold Time for Me.

In recent years, more than 370 films and 22 series that sought partners at the Berlinale Co-Production Market have been completed. Among them, five outstanding films are screening in this year's Berlinale programme: My Favourite Cake [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, in the competition; Arcadia [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Yorgos Zois
scheda film] by Yorgos Zois, in Encounters; My Summer with Irène [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Carlo Sironi
scheda film] by Carlo Sironi and Who by Fire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Philippe Lesage
scheda film] by Philippe Lesage, in Generation; and Oasis of Now by Chee Sum Chia, in Forum.

Here is the full list of winners at the 21st Berlinale Co-Production Market:

Eurimages Co-production Development Award
Screaming Girl - Antonio Lukich (Ukraine)
Producer: ForeFilms

ArteKino International Prize
Ich bin Marika - Hajni Kis (Hungary)
Producer: Proton Cinema

VFF Talent Highlight Award
Silence Sometimes - Álvaro Robles (USA/Spain)
Producer: Mireia Vilanova (Cartuna)

Honourable Mentions
Assel Aushakimova (Risk Pictures) – producer and director of Astana Internet Stars (Kazakhstan)
Liselotte Persson (Snowcloud) – producer of More than a Hug (Sweden)

World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award
Hold Time for Me - Fradique (Germany)
Producer: Seera Films