24/08/2026 - The ninth edition of the Hamburg-based industry showcase will present up to 25 European feature-length projects, with prizes and service awards worth around €100,000 up for grabs

l-r: Christian Bräuer, Paolo Bertolin, Rebecca De Pas, Valeska Neu and Iñigo Trojaola

European Work in Progress (EWIP) has unveiled the international jury for its ninth edition, which will once again bring European projects nearing completion to Hamburg in cooperation with FilmFest Hamburg.

The jury brings together professionals from the fields of exhibition, festivals, sales and broadcasting: Christian Bräuer, managing director of Germany’s Yorck Kinogruppe and president of the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE); Paolo Bertolin, a member of the selection committee of the Venice International Film Festival and artistic director of Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival; Rebecca De Pas, film curator at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR); Valeska Neu, responsible for management and sales at Films Boutique; and Iñigo Trojaola, editorial director at Spanish pay-TV and VoD platform Movistar Plus+.

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Bräuer also chairs the German Arthouse Cinema Association (AG Kino) and sits on the board of Europa Cinemas. Bertolin, meanwhile, has worked with numerous international festivals and institutions, including Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, Locarno Open Doors, IFFR, the Doha Film Institute and the Cannes Critics’ Week, alongside his activities as a producer, critic and programmer.

De Pas joined IFFR’s selection committee in 2022 after working with organisations including FIDMarseille, the Viennale, Berlinale Talents and Visions du Réel. She is also project manager of the Fondazione Prada Film Fund. Neu has worked at Films Boutique since 2010 and is currently responsible for international sales and general management, while also serving as president of Europa International. Trojaola has more than 30 years of experience in content selection, acquisition and production, and currently oversees the editorial strategy for films, series and non-fiction content at Movistar Plus+.

Supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA and the MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, EWIP will showcase up to 25 European feature-length projects that are either in post-production or close to completion, and have at least one European producer or co-producer attached. The selected teams will present their films to international sales agents, distributors, festival programmers and other industry professionals.

Prizes and service vouchers worth around €100,000 will be provided by a group of longstanding EWIP partners. This year’s sponsors include post-production company The Post Republic, Berlin-based K13 Studios, film-marketing specialist Gruvi and translation company Wayfilm. The initiative is also continuing its partnership with Northern Stars – Hamburg Film Partners, which brings together Loft Tonstudios, Zeigermann_Audio, Optical Art and Zeitkostüm.

The platform can point to a growing number of former participants subsequently making their mark on the international festival circuit. Two EWIP 2025 award winners premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard this year: Abinash Bikram Shah’s Elephants in the Fog, recipient of The Post Republic Award, worth €30,000 in post-production support; and Katharina Rivilis’ I’ll Be Gone in June, which walked away with the Way Film Translation Award. Elephants in the Fog went on to win the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize.

Other recent EWIP alumni include Alisa Kolosova’s I Spy with My Little Eye and Alex Camilleri’s Zejtune, both presented at EWIP 2024 and subsequently world-premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. At the most recent Locarno Film Festival, two projects from the 2025 selection also picked up prizes: Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias’ The Riverbank won the Special Jury Prize in the International Competition, while Marleen Valien’s Paradeisa received the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare.

Over the years, projects presented at EWIP have gone on to screen at festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, San Sebastián, IFFR and Toronto, while also securing international sales and distribution deals.