Following its latest round of deliberations in Paris, the German-French film funding commission has decided to award a total sum of €940,000 to four film projects all telling stories of freedom and adventure. The movies will be produced in South-Eastern Europe, Jordan and Egypt.

German director Valeska Grisebach is preparing her next feature after her acclaimed most recent effort, 2017's Western [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jonas Dornbach
intervista: Valeska Grisebach
intervista: Valeska Grisebach
scheda film]. With Das geträumte Abenteuer (lit. “The Dreamt Adventure”), she returns to Bulgaria. She tells the story of a woman living in the border region between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, who agrees to partake in a special deal in order to help a friend. However, this will lead her into a dangerous situation, and she will have to confront her desires. The film is a co-production between Komplizen Film GmbH from Germany (majority producer) and Kazak Productions from France. Grisebach is receiving a total of €360,000 in production funding.

Another female character will be at the centre of Cotton Queen, which Sudanese-Russian director Suzannah Mirghani will shoot in Egypt. The coming-of-age film tells the story of 15-year-old girl Nafisa, who lives in a Sudanese village, where her family grows cotton. Nafisa is forced to strike a balance between the expectations of her parents and her growing wish for independence. Cotton Queen is receiving a total of €240,000, and is a co-production between Strange Bird GmbH from Germany and Maneki Films from France.

The third feature to secure production funding is Rabia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mareike Engelhardt
scheda film] by German director Mareike Engelhardt. The film is a co-production between Starhaus Produktion GmbH from Germany and Films Grand Huit (majority producer) from France. Rabia is getting €340,000 from the commission. In it, a 19-year-old French woman travels to Syria to wage a jihad. But instead, she ends up in a women’s shelter and realises how her beliefs are turning her into a cold, intolerant person.

The last €30,000 of the budget also go to a female director and are destined for the development of an animated project. With Juliet und die Salamander (lit. “Juliet and the Salamander”), French helmer Catherine Maximoff adapts the 1936 science-fiction novel War with the Newts by Czech author Karel Čapek. The film will be co-produced by Fabian & Fred GmbH from Germany and Les Contes Modernes SAS (majority producer) from France.

The commission provides funding in accordance with the German-French agreement and deliberates twice a year on the applications it receives. The next session will be held in November, and the deadline for applications is 15 September.