18/09/2025 - The eighth edition of EWIP received over 240 submissions, with 30 projects selected, while Charades will receive the Best International Innovation Distribution Award at IFDS

Heysel 85 by Teodora Ana Mihai (© Guillaume Van Laethem for visit.brussels Film Commission)

Unspooling from 29 September-1 October, European Work in Progress Hamburg (EWIP) will take place for the first time in the eponymous German Hanseatic city, in cooperation with Filmfest Hamburg and the MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein. Now in its eighth edition and unspooling over one additional day, EWIP will once again bring together filmmakers and industry experts, offering the opportunity to invest in and license late-stage European film projects while bringing together key players from across the European industry.

Both EWIP and the International Film Distribution Summit (IFDS, 30 September-2 October) will take place as part of Filmfest Hamburg’s Industry Days. IFDS will begin with several case studies on best practices for the international distribution and marketing of European arthouse cinema, presented in collaboration with EWIP and Creative Europe Desks Germany. The second day will bring keynotes from representatives of Polish distributor Velvet Spoon, Germany’s Constantin Film Verleih, France’s ELEV8ON, Mexican distributor CineCANÍBAL, Germany’s Comscore and Spanish PR firm The Connector. On 1 October, French world sales company Charades and its co-founder and chairman, Yohann Comte, will be presented with this year’s Best International Innovation Distribution Award.

At EWIP, 27 European film projects will vie for a cumulative prize sum of €140,000, a €75,000 euro increase on last year’s total. Supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA, EWIP received a record number of over 240 project submissions for participation in this year’s event, highlighting its continued relevance as a competitive platform for works in progress that are close to completion or in post-production. Additionally, the gathering will continue its focus on African cinema, including two co-productions staged with Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

All projects will be given 15 minutes to pitch to EWIP guests and the international jury, with the chance to participate in one-on-one meetings with producers, distributors, sales agents and other crucial industry participants. Select past successes from last year’s event include the Cannes Critics’ Week picks A Useful Ghost [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke and Guillermo Galoe’s Sleepless City [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillermo Galoe
film profile] as well as the Berlinale selections What Marielle Knows [+see also:
film review
interview: Frédéric Hambalek
film profile] (Competition) by Frédéric Hambalek and I Want It All [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Luzia Schmid (Panorama).

Six international members will serve on this year’s jury, including three film industry experts and three film distribution professionals: Rémi Bigot (head of Film Department, Cannes Critics’ Week), Maren Schmitt (producer, Sound of Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Simon Ofenloch (commissioning editor for Fiction, ZDF/ARTE), Beatrice Gulino (head of Acquisitions, Teodora Film), Yuan Sui (founder and co-managing director, Picture Tree International) and Aaron Kassaye (distributor, African Alliance Films).

This year’s edition of EWIP also comes with new sponsors, joining the event’s longstanding partners K13 Studios, Gruvi, WayFilm and mm filmpresse. OneGate Media, a distribution company and ARD sales subsidiary, has joined forces with EWIP to offer a new award: a €20,000 licence purchase offer for television rights for Germany and Austria. The alliance of Northern Stars – Hamburg Film Partners, The Post Republic and D-Facto Motion will also be first-time EWIP sponsors.

Here is the full list of this year’s projects selected for EWIP:

Kill Me Like a Dog – Robiul Alam Robi
Producers: Made in Banialulu (Bangladesh), Sunday Film AS (Norway)

Heirloom - Upamanyu Bhattacharyya
Producers: Odd & Even (India), Otter (India), Fabian&Fred (Germany), Potocol (Singapore), NFDC (India), Pom Pom Animation (Germany)

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

Belén – Francesca Canepa
Producers: Split Films (Peru), Piano Producciones (Mexico), Tripode Productions (France)

Down by the River – Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
Producers: Gatopardo Filmes (Brazil), Tama Filmproduktion (Germany), Poetik Films (France)

The Guests - Cristina Diz, Stefan Butzmühlen
Producers: The Match Factory (Germany), Frida Films SL (Spain)

My Friend the Pornstar – Rosa Friedrich
Producer: Ostblok GesbR (Austria)

Runner - Laura García Alonso
Producers: Distinto Films (Spain), Elastica Films (Spain), Dos Soles Media (Spain)

Mensch Puppe – Thomas Janze
Producer: Thomas Janze (Germany)

The Fourth King - Zvonimir Jurić
Producers: Kinorama (Croatia), Forum Ljubljana (Slovenia), Atalanta (Serbia)

The Bog - Reinis Kalviņš
Producers: Mistrus Media (Latvia), Junafilm (Germany), Meteoriit (Estonia)

Verdandi – Dagmar Knöpfel
Producers: Elfenholz Film GmbH (Germany), Gretchenfilm GmbH (Germany) (in co-production with the Faroe Islands)

I Spy With My Little Eye – Alisa Kolosova
Producer: Maverick Film GmbH (Germany – co-produced with Georgia)

Truck Driver – Francisco Marise
Producers: La Claqueta PC SL (Spain), Amania Films (Spain), Amateur Cinéma (Argentina)

Avenir – Basilio Maritano Sailer
Producers: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Third Picture GbR (Germany), Pilumpiku Production (Burkina Faso)

I Won’t Die For Love – Marta Matute
Producers: Solita Films (Spain), Elastica Films (Spain), Saga Film (Belgium)

Tour One – Seamus McNally
Producers: Tour One Pictures GmbH (Germany), Product Vision LLT (Germany) (in co-production with Bulgaria)

Heysel 85 – Teodora Ana Mihai
Producers: Menuetto Film (Belgium), Leitwolf Filmproduktion (Germany), Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium), Topkapi Films (Netherlands)

Bike Bike Baby – Simon Ostermann
Producers: Wüste Medien GmbH (Germany)

Resonance – Yordan Petkov – presented in cooperation with TorinoFilmLab
Producers: Gar Films (Bulgaria), Portokal (Bulgaria), Marni Films (Greece), Ikinci Yeni Film (Türkiye)

Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon – Finlay Pretsell
Producers: Parcel of Rogues Ltd (UK), Grand Ourse Films (France)

I’ll Be Gone in June – Katharina Rivilis
Producers: Road Movies GmbH (Germany), Wolfskind Films (Germany), 8Horses (Switzerland)

Thursday Night Is Too Dark – Onus Sefer
Producers: Praksis Film (Türkiye), Bombay Berlin Film Producers (Germany), Bombay Berlin Film Productions (India)

Wish I Didn’t Know Now; What I Didn’t Know Then – George Sikharulidze
Producers: Meridian 1520 (Georgia), Nor Film UG (Germany)

A Little Bit of Dying – Marleen Valien
Producers: Kurhaus Production Film & Medien GmbH (Germany), ANORAK Film GmbH (Germany)

Hidden Hills – Virgil Vernier
Producers: Petit Film (France), Opening Nights Films (France), Blossom Street Films (USA/France)

Guardian of the Island - Sewmehon Yismaw Sendekie
Producer: Tamirat Mekonen Film Production (Ethiopia)