When East Meets West (WEMW) is gearing up for its 2024 edition, and it's set to bring a fresh perspective to the world of cinema. With its theme centred on "inspiration", the event promises to redefine the boundaries of creative thinking and cross-cultural exchange. Scheduled to take place in Trieste from 21-24 January, WEMW aims to stimulate the film industry by drawing inspiration from diverse artistic disciplines, including music, painting, philosophy and photography.

In a bid to transform the event into a cross-cultural hub, WEMW plans to host a series of exhibitions and performances, creating an environment where industry professionals can immerse themselves in alternative artistic disciplines. This approach seeks to inspire filmmakers to think differently and infuse fresh perspectives into their work.

While embracing this creative revolution, WEMW remains committed to preserving its historic features. The event aims to maintain its unique ecosystem, combining market activities, training programmes, professional empowerment and policy exchanges. In a continuation of its dedication to bridging East and West, WEMW will once again focus on spotlight territories, featuring projects and professionals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. This focus creates a safe space for fostering both creative and business exchanges.

The core activities of WEMW, including the Co-Production Forum and Works in Progress sessions, are undergoing significant changes and introducing new elements. Filmmakers and producers from Europe, Latin America, Canada and the USA have until 18 October to submit their live-action features, creative documentaries and short animated projects at the development/financing stage to the WEMW Co-Production Forum.

Selected projects will vie for two main cash prizes of €5,000 each: the Film Center Serbia Development Award and the CICLIC WEMW Award, sponsored by the French Centre-Val de Loire region. The event's extensive network of partners will also offer other major awards, including the EAVE Producers Workshop scholarship, the Laser Post-Production Award, the Marché du Film Producers Network Badges, the #DocsConnect Taskovski Training Award and the Pop Up Film Residency Award. Additionally, female-identifying directors will have the chance to compete for the EWA Network's I HAVE A DREAM Award for Equality & Inclusion.

To submit applications, interested parties can access an online form provided on the official WEMW website. Furthermore, from today until 20 November, filmmakers can submit projects for two Works in Progress sections of WEMW. This opportunity allows them to present selected scenes from their films in post-production to a panel of international decision makers, including festival programmers, sales agents, commissioning editors and distributors.

The Last Stop Trieste section will select documentaries at the fine-cut stage that have previously been presented at partner events, such as Ex Oriente Film, Balkan Discoveries at the Balkan Documentary Centre, Docu Rough Cut Boutique, ZagrebDox PRO, the Baltic Sea Forum and When East Meets West. The tenth-anniversary edition of Last Stop Trieste will feature special surprises, and all selected documentaries will be eligible for the HBO Max Award, which comes with a cash prize of €1,000.

Another section, This is IT, will focus on feature-length fiction films and hybrid works with a strong visual and artistic approach. Eligible projects must be produced or co-produced by Italian producers or originate from the East & West 2024 spotlight territories. All works in progress in this category will compete for the brand-new ARTEVIDEO Award, offering a cash prize of €5,000.

In addition to these offerings for projects in development and post-production, WEMW 2024 plans to launch a second round of calls for submissions for various workshops and labs. These include the First Cut Lab Trieste, designed for first and second feature films in the editing phase; the new Inspirational Labs; and the EAVE Slate, a series of initiatives aimed at encouraging producers to explore different content, business models and sustainability strategies.