12/01/2026 - The selection comprises four fiction and four documentary features, with half of them directed by sophomore filmmakers, including France’s Guillaume Massart and Slovenia’s Urša Menart

Everything That’s Wrong With You by Urša Menart

The First Cut+ programme has announced the eight projects selected for its Trieste 2026 session, which will take place within the framework of When East Meets West (WEMW) at the Trieste Film Festival. Now in its 12th edition since its launch in 2020, First Cut+ continues its close collaboration with WEMW, positioning itself as a key support platform for feature films at a crucial stage of post-production.

Each year, following a carefully curated selection process, eight feature films are chosen to benefit from a series of lectures and one-to-one mentoring sessions focused on promotion, marketing, PR and press, festival strategies, and sales positioning.

The programme is managed by producer Natalia Libet, who underlines the importance of timing and visibility at this stage of a film’s life cycle, “First Cut+ continues to support films at a decisive moment, when creative vision meets the need for clear positioning and visibility. This year’s hand-picked selection brings together eight projects, seven of which are debut or second feature films, reflecting the strength, diversity, and international scope of emerging voices we are proud to champion.”

This year’s selection brings together three debut features and four second features, with documentaries accounting for half of the lineup and addressing themes of intimacy, identity, political agency, and social transformation, while also reflecting the distinct sensibilities of their filmmakers.

Finnish documentarist Markku Heikkinen turns his camera towards a middle-aged couple renegotiating desire and freedom in the Nordic north. French filmmaker Guillaume Massart (La Liberté [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), builds on his interest in institutional systems and power dynamics by observing prison guards in training and the mechanisms that shape authority. Slovenian director Urša Menart (My Last Year as a Loser [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Timon Sturbej
film profile]) continues her exploration of contemporary youth and digital culture, examining emotional collapse, online intimacy, and the gap between curated selves and lived reality. Italian-based Austrian filmmaker Bernadette Weber returns to documentary with an intimate, multi-generational portrait of motherhood and loss, following a woman confronted with an impossible prenatal decision rooted in inherited trauma. Italian director Marco De Stefanis (Waiting for Giraffes), presents a project filmed over twelve years, tracing the coming of age of an Armenian activist shaped by generational resistance and contemporary geopolitical tensions.

In their debut features, German director Luise Donschen revisits the period of reunification through a quiet, feminist lens, following the tracks of a woman who chose self-exile in the forest as an act of resistance. Brazilian filmmaker Ulisses Arthur captures precarity, desire, and solidarity amid the collapse of Brazil’s public education system. Meanwhile, Nepalese director Abinash Bikram Shah presents a lyrical yet politically charged story set at the edge of an elephant forest, where a transgender matriarch is torn between forbidden love and communal responsibility.

Returning advisors for the 2026 edition include editor Cătălin Cristuțiu, marketing and distribution consultant Christina Pelekani (Endorphin Film Sales), marketing consultant Boris Pugnet, head of sales Katarzyna Siniarska (New Europe Film Sales), and digital marketing specialist Joanna Solecka (Alphapanda). The online lecture programme features film journalist Wendy Mitchell, Katarzyna Siniarska, and PR expert Michael Arnon (Wolf Consultants), while the onsite master talk, titled The Future of Digital Marketing for Independent Cinema, will be delivered by Cornelia Paris (UGC Distribution).

The First Cut+ TRT Award, sponsored by TRT, will once again offer a €5,000 cash prize to one of the showcased projects. The jury for the 2026 edition comprises Keiko Funato (Alpha Violet), Jessica Kiang (Berlinale), Angela Prudenzi (Venice Film Festival), Vojtěch Kočárník (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), and Esra Demirkiran (TRT).

Over the years, First Cut+ has supported 88 feature films, many of which have gone on to major international recognition. Alumni titles include Listen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Rocha de Sousa
film profile] by Ana Rocha de Sousa (Lion of the Future, Venice Orizzonti 2020), Immaculate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Monica Stan, George Chiper-…
film profile] by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark (Lion of the Future, Venice Giornate degli Autori 2021), 107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] by Peter Kerekes (Best Screenplay, Venice Orizzonti 2021, and Grand Prix, Les Arcs 2021), A Piece of Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile] by Michael Koch (Silver Bear Special Mention, Berlinale 2022), The Maiden by Graham Foy (Venice Giornate degli Autori 2022), Charcoal by Carolina Markowicz (Toronto Platform 2022), Sea Sparkle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Domien & Wendy Huyghe
interview: Thibaud Dooms
film profile] by Domien Huyghe (Crystal Bear Special Mention, Berlinale Generation Kplus 2023), Explanation for Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gábor Reisz
film profile] by Gábor Reisz (Best Film, Venice Orizzonti 2023), and White Lies by Alba Zari (Special Mention and three distribution awards at Festival dei Popoli 2025).

The full selection for the 12th edition of First Cut+:

We Are Not Dreaming – Ulisses Arthur (Brazil)
Producers: Cup Filmes, Céu Vermelho Fogo

Elephants in the Fog – Abinash Bikram Shah (Nepal/France/Germany/Brazil/Norway/USA)
Producers: Underground Talkies Nepal, Les Valseurs Bordeaux, Die Gesellschaft DGS
Co-producers: Bubbles Project, Zischlermann Filmproduktion, Enquadramento, Storm Films, Jayantii Creations

The Winning Generation – Marco De Stefanis (Netherlands/Italy/Armenia) - Documentary
Producers: BIND, EiE Film
Executive producer: Ofelya Zalyan

Patty – Luise Donschen (Germany)
Producer: Fünferfilm UG

The Arctic Circle of Lust – Markku Heikkinen (Finland/Germany/Sweden) - Documentary
Producers: Zone2 Pictures, Dirk Manthey Film ug, Vilda Bomben

La Détention – Guillaume Massart (France) - Documentary
Producers: TS Productions, Triptyque Films

Everything That’s Wrong With You – Urša Menart (Slovenia/Germany/Serbia)
Producers: Vertigo, Chromosom Film, Living Pictures

New Life (working title) – Bernadette Weber (Italy) – Documentary
Producer: Albolina Film