Pop Up Film Residency is partnering with the Marché du Film – Cannes Film Festival to showcase and support Ukrainian filmmakers through its Ukraine in Focus programme. Alongside Le Groupe Ouest's Less Is More and the Göteborg Film Festival, this initiative aims to celebrate the richness and diversity of Ukrainian cinema. As part of this collaboration, at 4:00 pm on Monday 22 May, at the Cinémas du Monde pavilion, the Marché du Film will organise a pitching session, presenting ten Ukrainian feature-film projects in development to potential co-producers and financiers.

Three of these projects have been selected by the Pop Up Film Residency, which organised three individual residencies benefiting Ukrainian filmmakers between July 2022 and March 2023. Due to the proximity to Ukraine, all of the residencies took place in Bratislava. The three selected projects are Women Suicide Season by Anastasiya Gruba, a debut feature supported by Munich Film Up!, a programme initiated by HFF Munchen, and mentored by Ayman El-Amir; Fucking Sensitivity by Tetyana Simon, also a debut feature, mentored by Sonja Tarokic; and Consider Vera by Marina Stepanska.

As part of the Ukraine in Focus programme, the Pop Up Film Residency will also be rewarding one of the selected projects with a three-week residency in Warsaw in July. This residency will be financially supported by Eurimages and will be part of the Pop Up Film Residency Visegrad Programme, which is backed by the Visegrad Fund. The chosen Ukrainian filmmaker will have the opportunity to work on their project in a creative environment and receive individualised mentorship. They will also have the chance to connect with filmmakers from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. More details can be found here.

The programme is organised in partnership with leading film festivals from Central Europe: the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw, Febiofest in Bratislava and Friss Hus’s Budapest Debut Film Forum. The Terrarium platform for screenwriters is the Ukrainian partner.

Last May, the Pop Up Film Residency co-organised Ukrainian Films Now, an event hosted by Cannes' Marché du Film, which showcased nine Ukrainian feature films in post-production (see the news). Maryna Vroda's debut feature, Stepne [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], received the main award at the event. Thanks to financial support from Eurimages, Vroda participated in a Pop Up Film Residency in Bratislava from September to October. The residency focused on finalising the film's editing and seeking financial support for post-production costs. Vroda was able to attach Slovak producer Peter Kerekes during her residency, and together, they successfully applied for funding from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, which supports Ukrainian films. As a result of her residency, the movie is now ready for its world premiere.