Espinho, in the north of Portugal and south of Porto, comes alive with a host of filmmakers with the arrival of summer. In addition to the extensive programme of the 18th FEST – New Directors New Films Festival, its industry section, called FEST PRO, which runs from 21 to 26 June, includes everything from professional meetings to conferences, without forgetting pitching of projects (short and feature films) currently underway and others that are in the final stretch (work in progress).

This year, for example, such prestigious names as the Argentinean-Galician filmmaker Gaspar Noé, the British director Peter Webber, the producer Polly Duvall (An Education [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]), the Polish director of photography Michal Luka (Prime Time [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jakub Piątek
fiche film]), the Portuguese casting director Jo Monteiro (Fátima [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]) and the writer-screenwriter Jeff Pope (Philomena [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Stephen Frears
fiche film]), among many others, as well as two days dedicated to VFX (read more) and sound and music in film (read more), with leading international specialists in both fields.

But one of its most interesting events is undoubtedly the presentation of films currently in development through pitching sessions (which will take place on 24 and 25 June), that will be eligible for various prizes as well as receiving expert advice. 22 projects are presented to the Pitching Forum, divided into three sections, which are detailed below.

The Feature Gems section is made up of ten fiction, documentary and animation films that are in the early stages of development, such as the European films 4 Hours, a parent-child drama written - together with Stavros Raptis - and directed by Cypriot Petro Charalambous; Apple Cheeks, a script in development by Portuguese filmmaker José Félix Marques Torrado; Bloodless Revolution, a historical drama by Portugal's Rui Pedro Sousa currently in pre-production; La batalla de Carmen, an LGBTQ+ thriller by Spain's María Sánchez Testón; Lore's Home, a tragicomedy being written by Germany's Maria Hengge; Points of View, a social film soon to be directed by Italy's Pepi Romagnoli; and Pirica, a psychological and anti-war drama by Romania's Cosmin Nicolae.  

The Work in Progress section has the same project requirements as the previous section in terms of genres and duration, but in an advanced stage of development. The European films include Another Day [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] (Albania), a documentary road movie by Eneos Carka; Eight bones (France), African adventures by Valentina Foubert; Go, Friend, Go (Italy/Germany/UK), by Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini and Gabriele Licchell; and Support (Poland), a sports documentary by Adam Roszkowski.

Finally, the Make it Short section selects titles up to 55 minutes in both stages of production. Selected here are Alice (Belgium), a screenplay by Sven Spur; Antenna, a horror short film in post-production by Portuguese director Duarte Pedroso de Lima; Art is Missing, by Greek director George Kontos, in pre-production; Only the Forgotten in New (Germany/Netherlands/Belgium), a hybrid title by Mona Scher; and Sea Salt (Czech Republic/France/Lebanon), a coming-of-age film by Leila Basma.

The selected projects:

Feature Gems

4 Hours - Petro Charalambous (Cyprus/Greece)
Production: Petros Charalambous

Apple Cheeks - José Félix Marques Torrado (Portugal)

Bloodless Revolution - Rui Pedro Sousa (Portugal)
Production: Sónia Resende, Jessica Martins, Nuno Rocha

La batalla de Carmen - María Sánchez Testón (Spain)

Fidan - Aycil Yeltan (Turkey)
Production: Yalçın Akyıldız, Görkem Yeltan

Lore’s Home - Maria Hengge (Germany/Austria)
Production: Maria Hengge

Peer through the Sky - Sertac Koyuncu (Turkey)
Production: Diler Ercan

Points of View - Pepi Romagnoli (Italy/Romania)
Production: Michelangelo Pastore, Oana Muntean, Pepi Romagnoli

Pirica - Cosmin Nicolae (Romania)
Production: Velvet Moraru

The Night Letters - Tim Coleman (Afghanistan)  

Work in Progress

Another Day [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Eneos Carka (Albania)
Production: Joni Shanaj, Eneos Çarka

Beyond Patagonia - Kike Colombo and Manuel Fernández Arroyo (Argentina)
Production: Manuel Fernández Arroyo

Eight Bones - Valentina Foubert (France)
Production: Valentina Foubert

Go, Friend, Go - Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini, Gabriele Licchell (Italy/Germany/United Kingdom)
Production: Alice Drago, David Suber, Andrea Settembrini, Margherita Mini

Support - Adam Roszkowski (Poland)
Production: Adam Roszkowski, Anna Różalska

Make it Short

Alice - Sven Spur (Belgium)
Production: Brecht Van Elslande

Antenna - Duarte Pedroso de Lima (Portugal)
Production: Abel Ribeiro Chaves

Art is Missing - George Kontos (Greece)
Production: Mina Dreki

Only the Forgotten in New – Mona Scher (Germany/Netherlands/Belgium)
Production: Manouchka Theuns

Sea Salt – Leila Basma (Czech Republic/France/Lebanon)
Production: Natália Pavlove

Totality - Laura Low (Malaysia)
Production: Mary Grace Liew

When the Fridge Took My Mom Away - Cris Bringas (Philippines/United States)
Production: Cris Bringas, Alemberg Ang, Cecilia Mejia