04/06/2021 - In collaboration with ROSKINO, the Italian market is organising a co-production pitching session during the upcoming Key Buyers Event: Digital

A total of 26 projects in development – nine international and 17 from Russia, spanning various formats – are participating in WEMW Goes to Russia, the new co-production forum organised by When East Meets West and ROSKINO, which will take place during the upcoming Key Buyers Event: Digital, which runs from 8-10 June with three additional days of screenings and matchmaking.

For its third year, the Key Buyers Event: Digital has expanded its co-production programme and, in collaboration with WEMW, aims to make it easier for international and Russian filmmakers to meet the right partners. During the event, the teams will have a chance to meet leading Russian producers and have the opportunity to access minority co-production support granted by the Russian Ministry of Culture, which amounts to RUB 10 million (€110,000).

Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW, offered his insight: “We received an amazing number of international applications, almost 60 from 25 different countries. I am sure none of us could have expected this huge response at the beginning of the call. We finally selected nine very diverse projects from eight different countries. All of the projects have a different genre, a different profile in terms of their directors, and a very solid package and significant funding in place, which increases their chances of being produced. Having the chance to have a Russian point of view in the selection was a key element, as we wanted to be sure to include projects with high chances of piquing the interest of possible Russian co-producers.”

Evgenia Markova, CEO of ROSKINO, mentioned: “The number and quality of the entries for our inaugural year of WEMW Goes to Russia have exceeded our expectations. Apart from the well-known titles such as Persian Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leonie Benesch
film profile], Dovlatov [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milan Maric
film profile], The Whaler Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philipp Yuryev
film profile] and their creators, there are also a lot of new, less obvious IPs and opportunities for partnerships.”

Here is the list of the selected projects:

The Alienated - Anja Kreis (Germany)
Producer: Anna Kruglova

Cold as Marble [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Asif Rustamov (Azerbaijan/France)
Producers: Fariz Ahmadov, Guillaume de Seille

Empire of the Rabbits - Seyfettin Tokmak (Turkey)
Producer: Zeynep Koray

Gambit - Konstantin Bojanov (Bulgaria)
Producer: Katya Trichkova

The Great Tram Robbery - Slobodan Šijan (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro/Bulgaria/Czech Republic/Romania)
Producers: Miloš Biković (Archangel Digital), Marko Paljić (Gargantua Films)

I Will Not Starve [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Umberto Spinazzola (Italy/Canada/Poland)
Producer: Alessandro Borrelli

More - Bart Zmuda (Poland)
Producer: Przemyslaw Miekinia (Before My Eyes)

Our Father - Goran Stankovic (Serbia/Italy/Croatia)
Producer: Snezana van Houwelingen

The River - Haris Raftogiannis (Greece/Italy)
Producers: Eleni Kossyfidou, Luca Cabriolu

The Russian projects are as follows:

Agatha: Queen of Garden
Producer: Nikita Makarov (Animation Studio Platoshka)

Amazing Café - Evgeniy Golovin
Producers: Evgeniy Golovin, Anton Smetankin, Marie Lida (N Parovoz Animation Studio)

Amura - Igor Voloshin
Producers: Albert Ryabyshev, Igor Mishin, Maria Pork (R-media)

Art of Isolation - Oleg Khristolubskiy, Sofia Popolitova
Producers: Galina Sytsko, Ada Solovich, Inna Orkina-Sekste, Alexander Kessel (Sputnik Vostok Production)

Cat Been-In-Use
Producer: Nikita Makarov (Animation Studio Platoshka)

The Flood - Ivan Tverdovskiy
Producer: Nataliya Mokritskaya (New People Film Company)

The Formula for Water - Oleg Asadulin
Producers: Yulia Osetinskaya, Lika Blank, Sergey Demchev, Boris Mashkovtsev (SMF Studio/Soyuzmultfilm)

The Golden Beehive - Andrey Zhitkov
Producers: Yulia Osetinskaya, Lika Blank, Sergey Demchev, Boris Mashkovtsev (SMF Studio/Soyuzmultfilm)

The Last Days - Konstantin Lopushansky
Producer: Andrey Sigle (Proline Film)

Loodle Ville - Vasily Volkov
Producers: Yulia Osetinskaya, Boris Mashkovtsev (SMF Studio/Soyuzmultfilm)

Memory - Vladlena Sandu
Producer: Yanna Buryak (Mimesis)

Mittelmarch - Sofia Meledina
Producers: Alexey Uchitel, Kira Saksaganskaya (Rock Films)

The Riot - Evgeny Grigorev
Producer: Olga Erofeeva-Muravyeva (All Media Company)

Sasha - Vladimir Beck
Producer: Katerina Mikhaylova (Mars Media Entertainment/Vega Film)

Sunrise’s Land - Philipp Abryutin
Producers: Philipp Abryutin, Oxana Lakhno (Producing Centre Youth Initiatives)

Tundra Blues - Andrey Redkin
Producer: Vladislav Ketkovich (Ethnofund Film Company)

Wind - Sergei Chliyants
Producer: Sergei Chliyants (Pygmalion Production Co & New Cinema Distribution)

The event is organised by ROSKINO with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of the City of Moscow, and the Agency for Creative Industries.