The 17th edition of When East Meets West (WEMW) will take place in Trieste from 17 to 19 January 2027. Ahead of launching its calls for entries later this summer, the co-production forum has unveiled its new East & West Focus, pairing Poland with the Benelux countries - Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - as part of its long-standing mission to foster cross-border collaboration across Europe's audiovisual industries.

For 17 years, WEMW has served as a key platform connecting film professionals from Eastern and Western Europe, promoting international co-productions, financing opportunities and creative partnerships. The 2027 edition introduces Poland as the new Eastern territory in the event's "two-year mismatched" focus format, which showcases an Eastern region over two consecutive editions while rotating its Western counterpart. The Benelux states, meanwhile, are returning to the spotlight after featuring in the 2025 edition.

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The 2027 East & West Focus is supported by the Polish Film Institute, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Screen Flanders, Film Fund Luxembourg and the Netherlands Film Fund. As a result of this collaboration, more than 80 producers, film talents and industry decision-makers from the four focus territories are expected to participate across the various market sections.

Calls for submissions for WEMW 2027 will open between late August and early September, once again welcoming projects in development and post-production, alongside film professionals seeking new international collaborations. The programme will include WEMW's flagship Co-Production Forum, the Works in Progress sections, a broad selection of Inspirational Labs and the second edition of the Films x Games Connection Hub, which debuted in 2026 to strengthen ties between the audiovisual and interactive-media sectors.

The new focus was announced by the forum organisers during New Horizon’s Polish Days in Wrocław, underlining WEMW's continued commitment to building new bridges between film industries and increasing opportunities for international collaboration through its evolving regional partnerships.

Further information on the 2027 calls and programme will be announced when submissions officially open later this summer.