18/12/2025 - We report back on the industry sidebar and zoom in on the Work In Progress, the Co-Production Village and the Talent Village titles which received the most meeting requests from professionals

"Attendance at the Industry Village (which unspooled 13 – 16 December) hit the same level as last year’s record edition, with around 650 badge-holders taking part. But we had no intention of setting a new record this year, because we’re looking to preserve the warm, human side of the event where everyone can meet one another."

Lison Hervé and Jérémy Zelnik, directors of Industry Village - the professional sidebar of the 17th Les Arcs Film Festival - are congratulating themselves over the success of the event. "We wanted to maintain the same attendance numbers overall, whilst also widening the variety of people coming along, with more international professionals attending the Music Village, for example, thanks to partnerships developed with the CNM and the Thessaloniki Festival’s Meet The Future & Agora line-up. We’ve also strengthened partnerships with regional and national European institutions in order to accommodate even more nationalities when it comes to producers. Latvia was present for the first time ever this year, the Czech Republic returned too, etc."

"In terms of conferences, we were delighted to see Oliver Laxe (who was also the patron of the Talent Village, dedicated to young filmmakers) in conversation with the composer behind the music in Sirāt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile]: this helps us to link together our music and film professional sidebars, and to ensure knowledge is being passed on, whilst also welcoming an unmissable director who’s definitely one to watch. And our other conferences were all in line with the festival’s democracy leitmotif, especially the debate on resistance, censorship contexts and film, involving director Tarik Saleh, while the professional sidebar involved Margot Hervée (Totem Films), Jean-Christophe Simon (Films Boutique) and Alexandre Mallet-Guy (Memento), since knowing how to produce, distribute and sell works seems essential to us. We’re also very focused on the crucial conversations around the future AgoraEU Media programme, involving the European Producers Society panel"

Lison Hervé and Jérémy Zelnik also stressed that the various projects gracing the Work in Progress line-up, the Co-Production Village and the Talent Village have sparked well-distributed interest among professionals, although some are more highly sought after than others.

Work in Progress

Four projects - which were later singled out for awards - lead the pack when it comes to requests for meetings organised the day after the Work in Progress event, before the winners were revealed at the end of the day (read our news).

Girl Beast - Selma Sunniva
Production: Manna Film (Denmark)
First place goes to the Danish filmmaker’s first feature, which she herself wrote in league with Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen. The story tells a Lolita story through the eyes of Lolita herself. Sara is a girl-beast, an object of desire and a being full of desire. The film is a heightened-reality, psychological drama, telling a story of power, loss, liberation and self-destruction... The cast stars Trine Dyrholm, Christian Tafdrup, Thure Lindhardt, Josephine Park, Rebecca Ellen, Ila Melina Raja and Nanna Skaarup Voss. Shooting wrapped in September and production is entrusted to Maria Møller Keldgaard and Ann-Sofie Grøndal.

Man vs Flock - Tamara Kotevska
Production: Video Studio Petkovski (North Macedonia), asterisk* (Greece), Nukleus Film (Croatia), Filmoskopija (Serbia), Cine Planet (Montenegro), Zeynofilm (Turkey)
In second place is Macedonian director Tamara Kotevska’s first fiction film (read our interview) after Honeyland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara K…
interview: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir S…
film profile] and The Tale of Silyan [+see also:
film review
interview: Tamara Kotevska
film profile]. Man vs Flock revolves around an old Macedonian farmer who fights to defend his land from a Chinese company constructing the New Silk Road, until things turn personal… And an unexpected ally, in the form of an influencer and plane crash victim, changes everything… Production is steered by Jordanco Petkovski on behalf of Video Studio Petkovski (North Macedonia), in co-production with asterisk* (Greece), Nukleus Film (Croatia), Filmoskopija (Serbia), Cine Planet (Montenegro) and Zeynofilm (Turkey).

A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra - Jacqueline Lentzou
Production: Avion Films (Greece), Atalante Productions (Greece), Kelek Film UG (Germany), 4 A 4 Productions (France)
On the third step of the podium is the second feature film by the Greek director who previously gave us Moon, 66 Questions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jacqueline Lentzou
film profile]. The story follows Jo, a cool 15-year-old kid who wakes up from a cosmic dream and sets off for a high school day which will change everything. Rebelling against her parents and obsessed with her classmate Pheadra who has an angelic voice, she decides to skip classes and hang out on the streets of Athens with her group of friends. They then find themselves confronted by the police. Production is steered by Annabelle Aronis.

A Happy Family - Jan-Eric Mack
Production: C-Films AG (Switzerland)
In fourth place is the Swiss director’s debut feature film. Written by Anna Schinz, Nikita Afanasjev, Eva Kienholz and the director himself, the story revolves around Niki who is always short of money despite juggling two jobs, and whose life is under constant supervision by the social services. When her two children accidentally set the kitchen on fire, they are placed in the care of a foster family. Despite a restraining order, Niki finds them on the other side of Switzerland. With an altered appearance and a new identity, she secretly plays a part in her children’s lives. But when Niki seems close to being unmasked, the only possible option is to run. Production falls to Martin Joss.

Co-Production Village

Of the 18 projects selected for the Co-Production Village (read our news on the winners), three films dominated the rankings in terms of meeting requests:

Alicante – Lina Soualem (France)
Production: Easy Riders
First place goes to this first fiction feature project by the filmmaker who won great acclaim for her documentaries Their Algeria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] and Bye Bye Tiberisu. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] The movie revolves around 33-year-old Assia who’s in the throes of a midlife crisis and who goes to stay with her Algerian parents for the summer, as they’ve just opened a restaurant in Spain. But what was meant to be a family vacation turns into a mission to rescue a fragile business and the family’s fragile equilibrium.

Hard Copy - Marleen Valien (Germany)
Production: Sommerhaus Filmproduktion
The winner of the ArteKino International Prize clinched second place in the popularity rankings. Penned by the German director in league with Max Rauer, the story revolves around a girl who meets a printer: a millennial fairy tale where the printer is the prince.

Since You’ve Been Gone - María Herrera López (Spain)
Production: Avalon
Stealing focus on the third step of the podium is the Spanish filmmaker’s debut feature, which follows 64-year-old Luisa who doesn’t know what to do with her life following the recent passing of her 100-year-old mother Eugenia, whom she cared for unconditionally and to whom she’s dedicated the past ten years of her life.

Talent Village

Among the eight projects jostling in the Talent Village line-up are Annie & Joan by British director Chloe Culpin (produced by Erebus Pictures Limited and Riff Raff Entertainment) and Daughters of the Burning Heart by Romania’s Xandra Popescu (produced by Germany’s Angst & Bange), which both stood out from the pack in terms of meeting requests.

(Translated from French)