17/12/2025 - Among the 22 lucky projects are new works by Sara Fattahi, Cristina Grosan, Anita Rivaroli, Silvia Brunelli, Alireza Ghasemi and Sander Joon

The 16th edition of the Trieste Film Festival’s co-production forum, When East Meets West (WEMW), has unveiled the projects selected for the event, set to run from 18-20 January in Trieste.

Twenty-two projects from 18 countries have been chosen, including 11 live-action features, nine creative documentaries and two animated short films. They were selected from a pool of nearly 500 submissions and will be showcased to more than 600 decision makers and film professionals from over 60 countries. As in previous editions, the forum aims to foster new creative and business connections, providing a key meeting point for producers, directors and industry players working across Europe and beyond.

This year’s line-up proposes a journey across time and geography, bringing together stories that engage with past wounds and future uncertainties, while addressing bias, inner conflict and the challenges of an ever-shifting reality. The selection once again balances emerging voices with established filmmakers. Among the participating directors are Biennale College Cinema alumni Anita Rivaroli (Orange Peel) and Silvia Brunelli (The Miracle Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), as well as Cristina Grosan, who returns to WEMW following the success of Ordinary Failures [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristina Grosan
film profile], awarded Best Director in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival in 2022.

The line-up also includes Alireza Ghasemi, presenting his first animated documentary after winning the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024 for In the Land of Brothers [+see also:
film review
interview: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Gha…
film profile]; Sander Joon, shortlisted for the Academy Awards in 2022 with the animated short Sierra; Vasile Todinca, with his debut feature, following the selection of the short film Alișveriș in the 2025 Cannes Critics’ Week; and Sara Fattahi, winner of the Golden Leopard in Filmmakers of the Present at Locarno in 2018 with Chaos, now developing her new feature.

All 22 projects will be eligible for two €5,000 cash prizes: the Film Center Serbia Development Award and the CICLIC WEMW Award, granted by the French Centre-Val de Loire region. Thanks to its established network of partners, the WEMW Co-Production Forum will also present a range of additional awards, including the EAVE Producers Workshop scholarship, the Marché du Film Producers Network badges, the DAE Talent Development Prize in collaboration with the EFM, the Pop Up Film Residency Award and the GoGo25 Residency Award. Moreover, all female-identifying directors will be eligible for the EWA Network’s Award for Equality & Inclusion.

Here is the complete selection of WEMW projects for 2026:

My Name Is Enough – Marina Arzumanova (Armenia, documentary)
Producer: Order Film Production

Hot Spot. Docutherapy – Michał Bielawski (Poland, documentary)
Producers: Telemark, The Wrocław Feature Film Studio, MX35

The Cold Breeze of Summer – Silvia Brunelli (Italy)
Producer: Pilgrim

Beyond the Blue Mountains Is the Sea – Eneos Çarka (Albania, documentary)
Producer: Artalb Film Productions

Anela & Silan – Tamara Denić (Germany/Serbia)
Producers: Weydemann Bros, Sense Production

Calm – Sara Fattahi (Austria/France)
Producers: Freibeuter Film, Les Films de l’Altaï

Solitaire – Maja Gehrig (Switzerland/Croatia/France, short animation)
Producers: Langfilm, Adriatic Animation, Toku

Rainy Dreams – Alireza Ghasemi (France/Iran, documentary)
Producers: Mystic Makers, Two Dots, Anna Films

Pretty Baby – Cristina Grosan (Hungary/Canada/Czech Republic)
Producers: Laokoon Filmgroup, LOI – Buffalo Gal Pictures, MetaFilms, Xova Film

Hair of Hare – Sander Joon (Estonia, short animation)
Producer: AAA Creative

The Last Dog on Earth – Nina Kopko (Brazil)
Producers: Vitrine Filmes, Boulevard Filmes

Macramé – Alexis Koukias-Pantelis (Greece)
Producer: StudioBauhaus

Koryo – Mladen Kovačević (Serbia/Croatia)
Producers: Horopter, Eclectica

My Shining Darkness – Lia Lőrinczy (Hungary, documentary)
Producer: Éclipse Film

What Kind of People Are You – Lina Lužytė (Lithuania/Estonia)
Producers: Just a Moment, Stellar Film

The Dough – Carlotta Napolitano (Spain, documentary)
Producer: KaBoGa art&films

Pearls – Hanka Nobis (Switzerland, documentary)
Producer: First Hand Films

Foreign Body – Anita Rivaroli (Italy/Slovenia, documentary)
Producers: Indyca, The Family, Studio Virc

Bright Future – Lara Scherpinski (Germany)
Producer: Elemag Pictures

The Summer Holiday – Vasile Todinca (Romania)
Producer: microFILM

Going Underground – Armands Začs (Latvia, documentary)
Producer: Mistrus Media

Magic Mountain – Mykola Zasieiev (Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Latvia)
Producers: 2Brave Productions, Cinéphage Productions, R&R Stories, Trickster Pictures