Saturday 22 November saw the 18th Meeting Event organised by the TorinoFilmLab (TFL) draw to a close (read the news), after showcasing projects in advanced stages of development and close to the shooting phase in the FeatureLab line-up, and in their very early stages of development in ScriptLab, in front of an audience of around 350 industry professionals. Four additional projects were presented in ComedyLab, each accompanied by a comedian, and 8 projects within the Boost-It Lab facilitating co-productions between Italy and foreign entities. The TFL Co-Production Fund (worth €50,000 and backed by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme) was also awarded.

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These many projects took part in three days of intense pitching sessions and 1-1 meetings. Introducing these pitching sessions, the director of the National Museum of Cinema Carlo Chatrian stressed the importance of TorinoFilmLab for the future of cinema, while managing director Mercedes Fernández Alonso quoted writer Elizabeth Strout, emphasising that “stories only exist when someone hears them”, and expressed the hope that these projects and stories would act as “the seeds of change in our society”.

We’ve selected six projects from among the different labs which reflect the diversity of the many works showcased:

ScriptLAB

Ismaelillo - Tommaso Santambrogio (Italy)
Production: Ivan Casagrande Conti, Giulia Briccardi (Chiotto Films)
One of the most highly anticipated projects in the selection, this second feature by Tommaso Santambrogio - who studied in Cuba and has collaborated with Lav Diaz – follows Oceans are the Real Continents [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Tommaso Santambrogio
ficha de la película], which was presented in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori line-up in 2023. Ismaelillo tells the story of a young Italian-Bangladeshi torn between his roots in Chittagong and his life in Venice. After a childhood marked by the loss of his father, twenty-five-year-old Ismael is living with his uncle in Marghera, working in a shipyard. A romantic encounter leads him to question the dreams he’s inherited and to find his own identity. The film explores personal and political themes in contemporary Italy, such as belonging and identities suspended between different cultures.

History of Illness - David Gašo (Croatia)
Production: Tina Tišljar, Marta Eva Mećava, Rea Rajčić (Eclectica)
In a hospital undergoing renovation, Jošt tries in vain to get a tic diagnosed, only for it to vanish when faced with the doctors. The lives of a surgeon in spiritual crisis, a nurse worried about her popularity, and a crowd of patients intertwine around him in this surreal comedy of errors. Absurd events – whose protagonists range from a stubborn pigeon to a strawberry cake – unfold over the course of 24 hours, culminating in tragic and grotesque mishaps. The film portrays the hospital as a fragile organism, exploring human inadequacy and the weaknesses of the healthcare system with pitch-black humour. The film previously scooped the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.

FeatureLAB

Culebra Cut - Ana Elena Tejera (Panama/France)
Production: Tomás Cortés
After Panama regains control of the Canal Zone in 2000, a soldier meets a mysterious woman who’s the former leader of the resistance which fights forced evictions. This encounter sets him on a path of personal transformation, forcing him to face up to his roots and the history of a territory scarred by a century of occupation. The film takes an intimate and political approach to explore the wounds of a land and the suspended identity of an entire people. The project has already secured backing from the CNC, Arte France Cinéma, HBF, Ibermedia, and the Ministries of Culture for Panama and Chile.

Boost IT LAB

Pratopia - Sean Ali Wang (China/Netherlands)
Production: Helen Tsang (Muyi Film)
Pratopia is a documentary project delving into the diverse communities inhabiting the city of Prato, a European textile hub and a microcosm of globalisation. Through the stories of a Chinese entrepreneur, a Pakistani worker and an Italian consultant, the film traces cycles of exploitation and capitalism in the fashion industry. The lives of the three protagonists interweave in a portrait of a community caught between utopia and dystopia. The aim is to offer a human perspective on cultural clashes and the quest for dignity and solidarity in the context of labour and migration. The project is currently seeking an Italian co-producer.

ComedyLAB

How to Become a Trophywife in 10 Days - Julia Penner (Germany)
Pampered fifty-something Erika reinvents herself as a trophy-wife coach after her husband winds up in prison. One of her pupils is Janina, an undercover journalist who infiltrates the course in order to expose Erika. Janina unexpectedly discovers the authentic side of Erika, who helps women regain their self-confidence, and she falls for a charming millionaire. As the two women strike up a friendship, Erika begins to question her own marriage. Amidst laughter and twists and turns, this group of women redefine what it means to be a “trophy wife”, discovering the importance of independence and friendship. In the author’s words, it’s “the perfect romcom to watch on repeat on rainy Sundays”. The project was introduced to the pitching session audience by stand-up comedian Laura Fincias Marín.

TFL Fund

9 Temples to Heaven - Sompot Chidgasornpongse (Thailand, France)
Production: Kissada Kamyoung, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Kick the Machine Films), Elizabeth Wijaya, Weijie Lai (E&W Films), Thomas Hakim, Julien Graf (Petit Chaos)
Produced, among others, by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and French outfit Petit Chaos, who were also behind Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing [+lee también:
crítica
entrevista: Payal Kapadia
ficha de la película] and All We Imagine as Light [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], 9 Temples to Heaven follows a man who organises a pilgrimage to nine temples with his large family, hoping to avert a prophecy about the imminent death of his 83-year-old mother. During the gruelling journey, unresolved family conflicts resurface and tensions rise, especially as his mother’s condition worsens. The family is forced to question its beliefs and dynamics, while the exhausted grandmother would sooner throw in the towel. 9 Temples to Heaven is a compassionate portrait of family relationships and the clash between different faiths under the shadow of religion.