17/08/2023 - Five European projects will be presented in the WIP Europe section and six Latin American ones (three of them in co-production with Europe) in the WIP Latam section of the festival’s industry area

There are five productions in the of WIP Europe selection, the industry initiative of the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival to be held from 25 - 27 September and is aimed at films of primarily European production currently in the post-production phase and detailed below.

German director Michael Fetter Nathansky (You Tell Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) will present Every You Every Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Fetter Nathansky
film profile] (working title: Mannequins), provisional title of his second film, a drama about the magic of falling in love and the painful process of falling out of love. Sima’s Song [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] is the second feature film by Afghan film maker Roya Sadat (A Letter to the President), a Spanish co-production with the Netherlands and France set in her home country before the outbreak of the civil war, telling story of a confrontation between two friends with opposing political positions.

Rock Bottom [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a co-production between Spain and Poland and the work of Maria Trénor,is an animation inspired by the life and music of Robert Wyatt. Hungarian film maker Mihaly Schwechtje (Hope you’ll die next time :-) [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) is included with his second feature film, A Hunt for Hedgehogs, about a student opera singer who looks after her cousin's children. The final entry in this WIP section is the début work from Turkish film maker Zeynep Köprülü, On the Water Surface (Suyun Yüzü), in which the main character travels to her hometown to attend her mother’s second wedding, which takes her own her own inner journey.

The WIP Europe Industry Award consists of the post-production of one of the candidate films into a DCP subtitled in English and Spanish, as well as distribution in Spain.

Meanwhile, six Latin American feature films (three of them in co-production with Europe) in the post-production phase will be up before the professionals in the WIP Latam on the same days in September and will be eligible for the WIP Latam Award and the EGEDA Platinum Industry Award, with 30,000 euros gross for the full production of the winning project.

The Argentine playwright Lola Arias (Theatre of War [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) will present Reas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lola Arias
film profile], co-production between her country, Germany and Switzerland that moves between reality and fiction, starring former inmates who reconstruct their lives as a musical. Another co-production between Argentina and Switzerland as well as Italy is Most People Die on Sundays [+see also:
film review
film profile], the second film by Iair Said (Flora's Life is No Picnic), a bittersweet comedy about the vicissitudes of a young Jewish homosexual when he returns home to face his father in his last days.

Mi bestia [+see also:
film review
film profile] is the first feature film by Colombian film maker Camila Beltrán, a co-production with France set in a Bogotá where there are continuous power cuts and rumours about the coming of the Devil, and how this affects the adolescent protagonist.

Camilo Becerra and Sofia Paloma Gomez (director and screenwriter, respectively, of Sleep Disorders and Dead Dog) will be presenting the co-production between Chile and Argentina, Maybe it's True What They Say About Us [+see also:
film review
film profile], which focuses on the relationship between a psychiatrist and her daughter who is in a cult.

Big Shadow, by Argentinian  Maximiliano Schonfeld (Jesus Lopez [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), is set in a place inhabited by descendants of German immigrants, where a group of friends make a film about an extinct language. Colombian film makers Juan Miguel Gelacio and Esteban Hoyos will present their first feature film, Selva, which follows its protagonist after receiving an mysterious phone call at work, while a plague of flamingos flies over the city.

Selected projects:

WIP Europe

Every You Every Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Fetter Nathansky
film profile] - Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany)
Production: Contando Films

Sima’s Song [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]  - Roya Sadat (Spain/Netherlands/France)
Production: Alba Sotorra, S.L.

Rock Bottom [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - María Trénor (Spain/Poland) 
Production: Alba Sotorra, S.L.

A Hunt for Hedgehogs - Mihály Schwechtje (Hungary)
Production: Kino Alfa

On the Water Surface (Suyun Yüzü) – Zeinep Köprülü (Turkey/Germany)
Production: Periferi Film

WIP Latam

Reas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lola Arias
film profile] - Lola Arias (Argentina/Germany/Switzerland)
Production: Gema Films

Most People Die on Sundays [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Iair Said (Argentina/Italy/Switzerland)
Production: Campo Cine

Mi bestia [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Camila Beltrán (Colombia/France)
Production: Felina Films

Maybe it's True What They Say About Us [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Camilo Becerra and Sofía Paloma Gómez (Chile/Argentina)
Production: Storyboard Media

Jungle (Selva) - Juan Miguel Gelacio and Esteban Hoyos García (Colombia)
Production: Selva Producciones

Big Shadow (Sombra Grande) - Maximiliano Schonfeld (Argentina)
Production: Monte Total

(Translated from Spanish by Alexandra Stephens)