At the 22nd Berlinale Co-Production Market (15-19 February), five cash prizes and one in-kind prize were awarded to selected feature-film projects, continuing a tradition of fostering international collaboration and innovation in film production. As in previous editions, the event facilitated numerous meetings between project teams and potential partners, hopefully setting the stage for exciting future co-productions.

Swiss writer-director Andrea Štaka was honoured with the Eurimages Co-production Development Award, amounting to €20,000, for his project Ibicaba – Visions of Paradise, which is being produced by Cinédokké and Okofilm Productions. The jury responsible for the decision included Eleni Chandrinou (National Representative of Greece to Eurimages), distributor Øistein Refseth (Mer Film, Norway), and producer Labina Mitevska (Sisters and Brother Mitevski, North Macedonia). Eurimages also dedicated an additional €20,000 to support a promising Ukrainian project. The Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award was presented to Maksym Nakonechnyi for his project The Earth Is Flat – I Flew Around and Saw It that is produced by Ukrainian company Tabor.

In a first for the market, the Gen Z Audience Award, valued at €5,000, recognised a project that resonated with young cinema enthusiasts aged 20 to 28. The prize was awarded to Ukrainian producer Aleksandra Kostina (Bosonfilm) for 30 Days of Summer directed by Anastasiia Solonevych. The jury, composed of five film students from German and French film universities – Billy Betulius, Charbel Habib, Constanza Schmidt, Juliette Bultel and Yusuf Celik – was sponsored by the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ).

Moreover, the project Dreamgirl, directed by Kaan Müjdeci from Turkey and produced by Tatofilm and Asteros Film, was the recipient of this year's ArteKino International Award. ARTE thus recognised this project from the Berlinale Co-Production Market by presenting it with the €6,000 prize.

The VFF Talent Highlight Award, featuring a €10,000 prize, is granted annually by the VFF – Copyright Agency of Film and TV Producers. The award aims to recognise and support a promising project from the Talent Project Market, a collaborative effort between the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents. This year, the honour went to March 14th, helmed by Alberto Gross Molo, which was pitched at the Berlinale Co-Production Market by producer Laura Egidos Plaja, of Contraria Media (Spain). Additionally, producer Alice Bloch (Marianne Productions) from France who presented All That We Could Be by Rohena Gera and producer Julia Alves (Quarta-feira Filmes) from Brazil who presented The Serpent by Diogo Hayashi, received two Honourable Mentions, each valued at €1,000.

Thanks to the close partnership between the Berlinale Co-Production Market and the Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF), a significant in-kind prize was awarded for the third year running: the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award. The accolade is bestowed upon a Co-Production Market project originating from a WCF-supported country. The producers of Abbout Productions and director Wissam Tanjos from Lebanon will thus be granted extensive consultations aimed at optimising audience engagement and refining communication strategies for their film project The Sun Sees Everything.

Here is the full list of winners at the 21st Berlinale Co-Production Market:

Eurimages Co-production Development Award
Ibicaba - Visions of Paradise - Andrea Štaka (Switzerland)
Producers: Cinédokké, Okofilm Productions

Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award
The Earth Is Flat – I Flew Around and Saw It - Maksym Nakonechnyi (Ukraine)
Producer: Tabor

Gen Z Audience Award - sponsored by the Franco-German Office for Youth (OFAJ)
30 Days of Summer - Anastasiia Solonevych (Ukraine)
Producer: Bosonfilm

ArteKino International Prize
Dreamgirl - Kaan Müjdeci (Turkey)
Producers: Tato Film, Asteros Film

VFF Talent Highlight Award
March 14th - Alberto Gross Molo (Spain)
Producer: Laura Egidos Plaja (Contraria Media)

Honourable Mentions
Alice Bloch (Marianne Productions)
Julia Alves (Quarta-feira Filmes)

World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award
The Sun Sees Everything - Wissam Tanios (Lebanon)
Producer: Christian Eid (Abbout Productions)