As part of the 26th Arras Film Festival (6-16 November), the 14th edition of Arras Days will unveil seven projects currently being written, to be pitched on Saturday 15 November to a jury of three professionals: Simone Baumann (managing director of German Films), Miroljub Vuckovic (head of International Relations and Promotion at Film Center Serbia) and Bruno Deloye (former director of Ciné+). The seven contenders will be vying for two development grants (worth €7,500 and €5,000, respectively, awarded by the festival and the City of Arras).

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Also conceived as a co-production and financing platform, Arras Days will allow producers, distributors and international sales agents interested in these projects to discover them on site. The event has recently been thrust into the spotlight notably with Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emanuel Pârvu
scheda film] by Emmanuel Parvu (in competition at Cannes in 2024 and pitched in 2022), Hesitation Wound [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Selman Nacar
scheda film] by Selman Nacar (Venice Orizzonti 2023 and pitched in 2021), Panopticon [+leggi anche:
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intervista: George Sikharulidze
scheda film] by George Sikharulidze (in competition at Karlovy Vary in 2024 and pitched in 2018), Made in EU [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stephan Komandarev
scheda film] by Stephan Komandarev (Venezia Spotlight 2025 and pitched in 2023) and Teresa [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Teona Strugar Mitevska
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Among the projects being showcased this year, standouts include the new works by Macedonian helmer Teona Strugar Mitevska and Bulgaria's Stephan Komandarev, both returning to Arras after a successful pitching experience, as well as that of Polish director Piotr Domalewski (who shot to fame in San Sebastián's New Directors in 2020 with I Never Cry [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Piotr Domalewski
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Also set to be pitched are sophomore feature projects by Slovenia's Urška Djukić (highly acclaimed in Berlinale Perspectives with Little Trouble Girls [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Urška Djukić
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intervista: Jean-Benoît Ugeux
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Note that the pitching session will be preceded by a round-table titled "Co-production and Co-financing of a First Feature" with producer Frédérique Dumas (Inga Films, co-president of the Aide aux Cinémas du Monde's first committee) and Bruno Deloye.

Finally, on Sunday 17 November, Arras Days will shine a spotlight on Poland (in partnership with the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Institute) through the presentation of five titles: two works in progress (by Natalia Pietsch and Agata Trzebuchowska), and three in development by Anna Jadowska, Katarzyna Iskra and Tomasz Habowski.

Here are the participating projects in more detail:

Magoa - Jean-Benoit Ugeux (Belgium)
Production: Apoptose
Thiago left Portugal with his mother, Monica, who became a nanny in Brussels for the wealthy Seghers family. One day, Mrs Seghers discovers that Thiago has a penchant for classical music. A bond develops between them, giving Thiago hope for a life full of promise. However, it threatens Monica's relationship with her only son.

The Block Universe - Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria)
Production: Argo Film
Inspired by physics theory that all events happen simultaneously, Sofia ambulance crew members Elza and Zhoro appear in five interconnected stories from 1989-2030. They deliver a baby in 1989, lose one in the 1997 protests, face violence in 2007, confess their love in 2013 and reunite with the grown baby in 2030. Time enters a loop as their past selves witness their future crash.

Kathy Moves - Marie Vernalde (France)
Production: Folle Allure Films
Kathy’s whole life is driven by one resolution: to claim the child support she’s owed. With kids to feed and rent to pay, she won’t give up. But her ex has moved on, started a new life with new priorities, and refuses to pay. Evicted from her home, Kathy takes refuge in a shelter and begins the harsh journey towards independence.

Absence - Eamonn Murphy (Ireland)
When an Irish exchange student goes missing in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, a Parisian detective is brought in to help solve the case.

Death in Babylon - Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia)
Production: Entre Chien et Loup
In the dark throne room of the Babylonian palace, on the sacred podium, lie two male bodies, clinging to each other: one is that of Alexander, motionless, his veins still pulsing even though he is presumed dead; the other is that of Bagoas, his eunuch lover who refuses to leave him. It is an ancient love story, whose relevance and significance persist to this day.

The Witch - Piotr Domalewski (Poland)
Production: Apple Film
The town of Reszel, early 19th century. Truda, the mayor's servant, witnesses an argument: Barbara, a peasant woman, is accused of seducing a man with witchcraft by his jealous wife. In anger, Barbara exclaims that she wishes the couple would burn in hell. That same night, a fire breaks out and the witch hunt starts.

The Forbidden Fruit - Urška Djukić (Slovenia)
Accused of witchcraft, pregnant Veronika seeks refuge in a Carthusian monastery, where Prior Arnold offers her shelter. Her healing skills soon prove invaluable, but her wild, curious nature unsettles the monks as Count Herman of Celje threatens to destroy anyone who dares protect her.

New Projects From Poland

Works in Progress

Milk - Natalia Pietsch
Production: Larmo Film
Nina, a single woman, donates one of her eggs to help her friend Filip and his partner Krzysiek start a family. She accompanies Filip to a surrogacy clinic in Kyiv, posing as his wife. The surrogate gives birth to their child. When Nina returns to Poland, she begins to realise her own needs, which she has long been suppressing.

Sick - Agata Trzebuchowska
Production: Lumisenta Film
Sixteen-year-old Maks, a neurotic teen torn between a maelstrom of hormones and a childhood he’s not ready to leave behind, is sent to the Mazury countryside to care for his ailing grandmother. What was once a childhood haven now feels dark and alien. His beloved grandma no longer recognises him, and his older sister Emma - shaken by a tennis career in tatters - seeks comfort in drugs and detachment. Their sibling dynamic, initially marked by rivalry, begins to shift in unsettling ways. As they cross erotic boundaries, something awakens: the unresponsive grandmother rises. On her bed lies what resembles shed skin, and she appears… younger. Her health improves rapidly, unnaturally. But the stronger she gets, the weaker Maks and Emma become. To survive, Maks must confront not only the monster she’s become, but the terrifying end of innocence.

Projects in Development

The Crack - Katarzyna Iskra
Production: ASF Studio
Aspiring pianist Rose faces a health crisis that prevents her from playing. Awaiting a diagnosis, she retreats to the mountains and reunites with Teresa, her gifted childhood friend. Secretly recording Teresa’s haunting voice, Rose uncovers a mystery that may heal her.

Little Mary, Always a Virgin - Anna Jadowska
Production: Mozaika Films
Sixteen-year-old Marysia tries to sell her virginity online. She arranges meetings with various men, thinking she can keep the situation under control. However, she’s not able to predict everything - least of all her own emotions.

RadioAmateur - Thomas Habowski
Production: Watchout Studio
Krzysztof (65), a freshly retired working-class widower, is sent to a post-Soviet sanatorium. While his daughter urges him to confront years' worth of buried grief, he isolates himself there with an old radio set, until a rebellious woman draws him into late-life intimacy.