06/10/2023 - Works tackling the “sentiment of politics” take centre stage at the German industry event, set to unspool from 16-18 October

The sixth edition of European Work in Progress Cologne (EWIP) is set to take place from 16-18 October. From among over 180 submissions, 32 film projects have been selected to be presented to the industry audience in attendance.

All of the projects will be introduced exclusively to the EWIP guests and the international jury through a 15-minute pitching session. Furthermore, there will be direct meetings arranged by EWIP so as to bring producers together with distributors, world sales agents and other backers. Five experts from the international film industry make up this year’s jury: Michael Stütz (head of the Panorama section at the Berlinale), Holger Stern (commissioning editor at ZDF/ARTE), Lorna Lee Torres (head of International Sales at Magnolia Pictures), Reta Guetg (head of Industry and Programming at the Zurich Film Festival) and Hattie Yu (film producer and consultant).

As one of the most important film-industry events based in North Rhine-Westphalia, this year’s edition will host a focus on Benelux. A total of three projects from the region will be pitched: Eric Lamhène’s Breathing Underwater (staged by Luxembourg’s Samsa Film and Belgium’s Artémis Productions), Jean-Claude Barny’s Fanon (produced by France’s Special Touch Studios) and Elmar Imanov’s Restless (produced by Germany’s Color of May and Luxembourg’s Wady Films).

Moreover, the gathering will host a special focus on Africa. The invited projects are Dagim Sissay’s The Night Before Easter (produced by Ethiopia’s History Film Company) and Adeouluwa Owu’s ADIRE (staged by Nigeria’s Filmone Entertainment). Fanon is also part of the focus on Africa, as it is a co-production with Tunisia. Furthermore, Yasemin Şamdereli’s Little Dreamer, a co-production between Germany, Italy, Kenya and Belgium, and Greta Marie Becker’s Germaine Acogny – Romancing the Shadow (staged by German, French and Senegalese outfits) are both being presented within the framework of the African focus, but out of competition for the EWIP awards.

Speaking of which, at the end of the event, a number of prizes worth a total of €61,500 will be handed out to the winning pictures. In detail, K13 Studios sponsors the EWIP K13 Studios Award, comprising a voucher for Dolby Atmos sound mixing. Meanwhile, the EWIP MMC Studios Award, created in co-operation with MMC Film & TV Studios Cologne, grants the use of high-quality studio technology worth a total of €15,000, and the EWIP LAVAlabs Moving Images Award backs the winning project with visual-effects technology to the tune of €10,000.

Together with TorinoFilmLab (TFL), EWIP will hand out the EWIP TFL Audience Design Award. This includes a consultation with TFL experts aimed at analysing the film from a marketing perspective and developing creative ideas for the international sales and distribution of the movie.

Gruvi, one of the leading international platforms for digital marketing, will substantially support two winning films in their online marketing through the EWIP Gruvi Awards. 

Finally, Way Film GmbH, one of the leading providers of high-quality subtitling, audio description, script translation and other language services, will again be an official cooperation partner of EWIP this year. The German company will sponsor the EWIP Way Film Translation Award, worth €4,000.

“It is thanks to the continuous support of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW that EWIP was launched and has been able to massively expand its market significance in the last six years. The industry event also takes place at the Cinenova cinema in cooperation with Film Festival Cologne, KölnBusiness and the International Distribution Summit – IDS. EWIP continues to receive substantial support from Creative Europe Desks Germany and MEDIA,” the event’s latest press release further explains.

EWIP accreditations are reserved for experts who are actively involved in the film industry: representatives of production companies, world sales agents, film distributors, TV channels or streaming providers, film festivals, or complementary fields in the audiovisual sector. Accreditation provides access to the project presentations, panel discussions, film screenings and all networking events, plus Film Festival Cologne’s industry events (subject to ticket availability). The accreditation fee is €65, and the pass is not transferable.

Here is a list of this year’s selected projects:

ADIRE - Adeouluwa Owu (Focus on Africa)
Producer: FilmOne Entertainment (Nigeria)

Armand - Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
Producer: Eye Eye Pictures (Norway) (co-production with the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany)

Aroma Dream - Ma Xue
Producers: Beijing Drama Pictures (China), House on Fire (France)

Bayo Bayo Baby - Raúl de la Fuente, Amaia Remírez (documentary)
Producer: Kanaki Films (Spain) (co-production with France)

Breathing Underwater - Eric Lamhène
Producers: Samsa Film (Luxembourg), Artémis Productions (Belgium)

Brothers - Türker Süer
Producer: MFP (Germany) (co-production with Turkey)

Chaos and Silence - Anatol Schuster
Producer: Zwilling Film (Germany)

Eternal Peace - Vojtěch Strakatý
Producer: Xova Film (Czech Republic)

Fanon - Jean-Claude Barny (Focus on Africa, Focus on Benelux)
Producer: Special Touch Studios (France) (co-production with Tunisia and Luxembourg)

Germaine Acogny – Romancing the Shadow - Greta Marie Becker (documentary)
Producer: Cala Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany) (co-production with France and Senegal)

House - Veronica Nicole Tetelbaum
Producers: Marker Films (Israel), Nova Productions (Israel)

Impatience of the Heart - Lauro Cress
Producer: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin GmbH (Germany)

Invisible – Adele Tulli (documentary)
Producer: Film Affair (Italy) (co-production with France)

Little Dreamer - Yasemin Şamdereli (Focus on Africa)
Producers: Neue Bioskop Film (Germany), Indyca Film (Italy) (co-production with Kenya and Belgium)

Nothing in Its Place - Burak Çevik
Producer: Vayka Fil (Turkey) (co-production with Germany, France and South Korea)

Pacifico’s Daughter - Juan Olea
Producers: Juntos Films (Chile), Tarkio Film (Uruguay), Whisky Content (Mexico), Plotlessfilm (Germany)

Restless – Elmar Imanov (Focus on Benelux)
Producers: Color of May (Germany), Wady Films (Luxembourg)

Second Land - Michael Kofler
Producers: Starhaus Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany), Helios Sustainable Films (Italy), KGP Filmproduktion GmbH (Austria)

Simas Song – Roya Sadat (Focus on Benelux)
Producer: Alba Sotorra (Spain) (co-production with the Netherlands, France and Taiwan)

Strangers in the Night - Ivona Juka
Producer: 4Film (Croatia)

The Best Reward - Federico Ferrone
Producer: Apapaja (Italy)

The Book of Joy – Camille Lugan
Producer: Barney Production (France)

The Cowardly Beauty - Moritz Krämer
Producer: Jost Hering Filme (Germany)

The New Illusion – Jasmin Gordon
Producer: maximage (Switzerland)

The Night Before Easter - Dagim Sissay (Focus on Africa)
Producer: History Film Company (Ethiopia)

The Shameless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Konstantin Bojanov
film profile] - Konstantin Bojanov
Producers: Akka Films (Switzerland), Klas Films (Bulgaria), Urban Group (France), House on Fire (France)

The Song of Breathing - Simona Canonica (documentary)
Producer: Amka Films (Switzerland) (co-production with Italy)

The Wolves Always Come at Night – Gabrielle Brady (documentary)
Producers: Chromosom Film (Germany), Over Here Productions (Australia), Guru Media (Mongolia)

Transamazonia – Pia Marais
Producers: Pandora Film Produktion (Germany), GAÏJIN (France) (co-production with Switzerland, Brazil and Taiwan)

Turning Tables - Angelina Maccarone
Producer: Cala Film (Germany)

Vena - Chiara Fleischhacker
Producer: Neue Bioskop Film GmbH (Germany)

Waterdrop - Robert Budina
Producers: Erafilm (Albania), Avanpost (Romania) (co-production with Kosovo and North Macedonia)