23/10/2025 - Jennifer Fanjeaux’s debut feature-length project has won the main grant at the Cinemed – Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival; Areej Mahmoud and Elena Molina were also rewarded

The winners of the Cinemed Meetings (© Liza Bibikova/Cinemed)

After two days of pitches, the jury for the 35th Development Grant, handed out as part of the 47th Cinemed – Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, has presented its Grand Prix to a debut fiction feature project: namely, Wild Visits by France’s Jennifer Fanjeaux (see the report).

Awarded by a jury comprising producers Marianne Dumoulin (JBA Production) and Dominique Welinski (DW and the driving force behind La Factory), Catherine Bizern (Céci – Moulin d’Andé, Cinéma du Réel) and consultant Thomas Pibarot, the €8,000 development grant is funded by the CNC. It also comes with €2,500 worth of subtitling services from Titra Film and a complete post-production package worth €7,000 from Saraband.

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The second grant (€4,000, provided by the Occitanie region, plus €3,500 in image post-production at Studio Phare and €2,500 in sound at Cercle Rouge) went to another debut fiction feature: The Sheikh's Disciple by Lebanon’s Areej Mahmoud (see the report). Notably, the jury also bestowed a Special Prize upon the project, which includes a consultation with Thomas Pibarot.

The writing residency offered by Moulin d’Andé singled out The Eels’ Dilemma, the debut fiction feature project by Spanish documentarian Elena Molina (produced by her fellow countrywoman Montse Pujol-Solà – see the interview).

The Music & Cinema Prize (an invitation to the European Market for Film Music Composition at MCM – Music & Cinema – Marseille International Film Festival) was won by Egypt’s Ahmed Abdelsalam for the project We Were Once Here.

The Casell’arte Prize (a writing residency plus a €1,000 grant) handed out by La Fabbrica Culturale served to reward Les choses qu’on ne dit pas by Tunisia’s Nadhir Bouslama, a debut project staged by France’s Adèle Fressoz and pitched during the 11th edition of the “From Short to Feature” scheme (open to filmmakers showcased in Montpellier’s short-film competition and presenting a feature project), whose jury also awarded it a writing residency offered by Méditalent. Within this programme, a residency at Céci – Moulin d’Andé went to the project Mar I O by Lila Koss, a Bulgarian filmmaker based in Berlin. Lastly, a Special Mention was bestowed upon the Lebanese project The Shit You Know Is Better Than the Shit You Don’t Know by Samir Syriani.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Development Grant

Main grant
Wild Visits – Jennifer Fanjeaux (France)
Production: Margaux Rivière (Été Caniculaire)

Second grant
The Sheikh's Disciple – Areej Mahmoud (Lebanon/UAE)
Production: Raja Zgheib (Studio Humbaba)

Special Prize
The Sheikh's Disciple – Areej Mahmoud

Residency at the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (Moulin d’Andé)
The Eels' Dilemma – Elena Molina (Spain)
Production: Montse Pujol-Solà (Guspira Films)

Music & Cinema Prize
We Were Once Here – Ahmed Abdelsalam (Egypt)
Production: Sawsan Yusuf (Bonanza Films)

“From Short to Feature” scheme

Casell’arte Prize
Les choses qu’on ne dit pas – Nadhir Bouslama (France)
Production: Adèle Fressoz

Méditalents Writing Residency
Les choses qu’on ne dit pas – Nadhir Bouslama

Residency at the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (Moulin d’Andé)
Mar I O – Lila Koss (Germany)

Special Mention
The Shit You Know Is Better Than the Shit You Don’t Know – Samir Syriani (Lebanon)

(Translated from French)