Making his directorial debut, Jean-Francois Ravagnan has crafted a moving film full of heart. It very powerfully explores the effects of Pateh Sabally’s tragic death on the island of Venice in 2017. This project joins 22 other films recently supported by Eurimages. This cultural fund is organised by the Council of Europe. The announcement underscores the increasing demand for intersectional and nuanced storytelling in the European film landscape.
This will be Ravagnan’s debut at the Locarno Film Festival. The festival will further note the start of Locarno Investment Community, a new initiative included in the industry program, Locarno Pro. This effort strengthens our collaboration and investment to grow Mississippi’s film industry. This underscores the festival’s commitment to fostering new work and emerging talent.
Significant Funding Allocations
Many of the big winners in this most recent round are particularly deserving, so let’s take a look. The Difficult Bride, by Patrice Toye, a Belgium-France-Portugal co-production, scored €400,000. This financial support will help make Toye’s special vision a reality.
Léahn Vivier-Chapas and Rémy Schaepman’s animation project, “The Difficult Bride,” managed an impressive funding coup of €500,000. This large proportional grant shows the intent and bright future for impactful, creative animated narrative storytelling. Neasa Ní Chianáin’s documentary Evil Is Evil was widely supported, with €110,000 in funding. On top of that, her other project, “Behind The Green Curtain,” repeated that success with the same level of support. These two documentaries are a testament to Ní Chianáin’s bold mission to use film to take on urgent social issues.
Kantemir Balagov’s second feature film, “Butterfly Jam,” produced with Kinoslovo, has received €471,000 in funding. The film will be headlined by award-winning actors Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough. This funding is a serious vote of confidence in Balagov’s artistic vision and the larger potential of the film to find an audience.
A Diverse Array of Projects
That recent funding round was notable for a few other eyebrow-raising projects. Cristian Mungiu’s next feature film project was given €500,000, further cementing the Palme d’Or winner’s status as one of the most defining voices of the modern cinematic landscape. Internationality was clearly an appeal factor for Serra’s ambitious film “Out Of This World,” which was supported with €500,000, proving the lure of imaginative storytelling.
First-time feature director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s Yugo Goes To America, a Serbia – Croatia co-production, got €500,000. Eivind Landsvik’s “Mary Rose,” a co-production between Ireland and Belgium, was awarded €291,000, further emphasizing the festival’s commitment to supporting diverse narratives from various cultures.
Fabrice Nzinzi and Romain Renard’s animated project “Out Of This World” received €450,000, highlighting a growing trend in the animation sector. Further, Rubaiyat Hossain’s project The Excursion, a collaboration between Norway, Lithuania and Sweden, won an award of €250,000.