During the recent Cannes Film Festival, the Pop Up Film Residency announced several new partnerships and residency selections, highlighting the expansion of the initiative’s international scope. Founded in 2018, the Pop Up Film Residency has supported over 100 projects to date and offers individually tailored residencies to filmmakers worldwide, focusing on creative mentorship and long-term project development.

The fourth MunichFilmUp! programme concluded with Cambodian director Chheangkea receiving the Kirch Foundation Award, which was presented in collaboration with the Pop Up Film Residency (see the news). The residency is intended to support emerging filmmakers through structured guidance and international visibility.

Brazilian filmmaker Julia Murat was selected for the Pop Up Film Residency Projeto Paradiso 2025 with her new project White Masks. Set in contemporary Brazil, the autofictional musical follows a diverse group of artists as they navigate the labyrinth of identity, desire and privilege through biting satire and personal reckoning. Murat, whose previous works include Found Memories [+lee también:
tráiler
ficha de la película], Pendular [+lee también:
tráiler
ficha de la película] and the Locarno Golden Leopard winner Rule 34 [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
ficha de la película], will develop her fourth feature in Revine Lago, Italy, in partnership with the Lago Film Festival.

In a new collaboration with VIPO, the Pop Up Film Residency launched the Japan Film Frontier programme, designed to offer Japanese filmmakers a creative residency abroad. Chie Hayakawa, whose latest film, Renoir [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Chie Hayakawa
ficha de la película], premiered in competition at Cannes, was selected with her new sci-fi allegory Myopia, which tells the story of a girl with high sensitivity to human sadness who has been raised in total isolation by her parents to protect her life. She will be joined by filmmaker Momi Yamashita, who will develop her first feature, Autumn Ripens, inspired by her own inner conflict following the success of her short Kanoyama at the Venice Film Festival. As both a filmmaker and haiku poet, Yamashita seeks to explore human connection through poetic storytelling. Both directors will be hosted in Paris during the summer of 2025.

The residency’s selection from Focus CoPro 2025, aimed at short filmmakers working on their first feature-length project, was South African director Dian Weys for his project Bergies (see the interview with producer Émilie Dubois). The real-time film centres on a law enforcement officer who discovers a dead body while serving an eviction notice to more than 50 homeless individuals living around the moat of Cape Town’s Castle of Good Hope. The initiative is closely aligned with Cannes’ Short Film Corner and the Cinéma de demain industry strand. Previous recipients include Carlota Pereda for Piggy [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Carlota Pereda
ficha de la película], which premiered at Sundance, and Thomas Woodroffe for Erratics, currently in post-production (see the interview).

With the support of France’s CNC, the Pop Up Film Residency CNC 2025 will welcome two Iranian filmmakers. Sahand Sarhaddi will develop What Has Passed, while Abbas Taheri will work on Dwellers of the Sea, a story set in the harsh and evocative landscapes of southern Iran. The residencies will take place in Monbalen and Paris, with the participation of script consultant Philippe Barrière. The programme is designed to support independent Iranian cinema through a combination of mentorship and professional exchange.

Finally, Luiza Paiva, a UK- and Brazil-based documentary producer, was selected for the Pop Up Film Residency Emerging Producers 2025. Organised in partnership with the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, the programme aims to enhance collaboration among European documentary producers. Paiva’s work focuses on socially engaged storytelling with a human rights angle, and she will be hosted in Bratislava as part of a training and networking residency dedicated to creative documentary production.

More information on each residency, including past participants, can be found on the Pop Up Film Residency platform. The initiative is carried out in collaboration with festivals, markets and institutions, and continues to serve as an evolving network designed by filmmakers for filmmakers.