15/07/2025 - The industry sidebar supporting the post-production of films hailing from the African continent and from six Middle Eastern countries is unspooling between 31 August and 2 September

The eight films taking part in the 13th edition of Final Cut in Venice - the industry sidebar unspooling in Venice Production Bridge within the wider context of the Venice International Film Festival (running from 27 August-6 September), which has been supporting the post-production of films from the African continent and from six Middle Eastern countries (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen) since 2013 – have now been selected. Two of the selected projects will also form part of the VPB Focus on the United Kingdom and the VPB Focus on Morocco.

The programme provides an opportunity to present films which are still in the production phase to film industry professionals with a view to facilitating the post-production process and helping them access the market. Over the course of three days (from 31 August to 2 September), rough cuts of the eight selected films will be shown to producers, buyers, distributors, production companies and festival programmers. The first two days of the workshop will be dedicated to film screenings, while a special session of one-to-one meetings will be organised between these selected projects and film industry professionals on 2 September.

The event will end with the awarding of prizes, in kind or in cash, aimed at supporting the film financially in the post-production phase. For the nineth year, the Venice Biennale will award a prize worth €5,000 to the best film in post-production. And for the fourth consecutive year, the FCV programme will enjoy the added support of the Red Sea International Film Festival.

The new brochure containing details of the projects selected for this year’s edition of Final Cut in Venice will be accessible in the “VPB Programme 2025/Downloads” section of the Venice Production Bridge website.

Film industry professionals accredited to participate in Venice Production Bridge can request one-to-one meetings with the teams behind the selected projects via the dedicated Final Cut in Venice page on the Venice Production Bridge website.

The eight selected films in post-production are as follows:

Fiction Films

The Station - Sara Ishaq (Yemen/Jordan/France/Germany/Netherlands/Norway/Qatar)
House of the Wind - Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu (Cameroon/Benin/France/Belgium)
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep - Rakan Mayasi (Belgium/Lebanon/Palestine)
My Semba - Hugo Salvaterra (Angola)
Standing at the Ruins - Saeed Taji Farouky (Egypt/UK) –  Focus on the United Kingdom

Documentaries

Untitled Project From Yemen - Mariam Al-Dhubhani (Yemen/Qatar/Norway/France)
Out of School - Hind Bensari (Denmark/Morocco) –  Focus on Morocco
Legacy - Mamadou Dia (Senegal/France)

(Translated from Italian)