14/07/2023 - From 3-5 September, the industry programme will provide support to aid the completion of films hailing from all African countries and five Middle Eastern nations

The seven work-in-progress films selected for the 11^th edition of Final Cut in Venice have been announced. Since 2013, the industry programme has been providing support specifically intended to help with the completion of films hailing from all African countries and five Middle Eastern nations – specifically Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Final Cut in Venice is one of the projects launched by the Venice Production Bridge of the 80^th Venice Film Festival (30 August-9 September 2023). The programme offers participants the chance to present films that are still at the production stage to international film-industry professionals, with the ultimate aim being to facilitate their post-production and give them easier access to the film market.

The workshop consists of three days of activities (unspooling from 3-5 September) on the Venice Lido, during the Venice Film Festival. During this time, work-in-progress copies of the seven selected films will be presented to producers, buyers, distributors, post-production companies and film-festival programmers.

The first two days of the workshop (3 and 4 September) are dedicated to screenings, while on the third day, 5 September, a special session is being organised, consisting of one-to-one meetings between the teams behind the selected projects and the professionals attending the Venice Production Bridge. One additional film has been chosen as part of the Focus on Germany. Final Cut in Venice will wrap with the handing out of in-kind awards or cash prizes, which aim to provide financial support during the film’s post-production stage. Click here to download the brochure containing all of the details of the projects selected for this year’s edition.

Here is the list of the seven work-in-progress films selected to take part:

Fiction films

Allah Is Not Obliged - Zaven Najjar (France/Luxembourg/Belgium/Canada/USA/Slovakia) (animation)
Carissa - Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar (South Africa)
Happy Holidays - Scandar Copti (Palestine/Germany/France/Qatar/Italy) (Focus on Germany)
Life Is a Railroad - Kevin Mavakala, Manassé Kashala, Tousmy Kilo, Isaac Sahani (DR Congo/France/Germany)

Documentaries

Sudan, When Poems Fall Apart - Hind Meddeb (France/Tunisia)
She Was Not Alone - Hussein Al-Asadi (Iraq/Saudi Arabia)
Zion Music - Rama Tiaw (Senegal/Ivory Coast/Germany)

(Translated from Italian)