– The Rhinish Co-Production Meeting will take place from 1 to 3 July in Strasbourg and will showcase French- and German-language projects, including fiction and documentaries
Director Rémi Giordano, whose project Cross has been selected
As a hub for cross-border cooperation between Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, the Alentours Forum – Rhinish Co-Production Meeting has unveiled the list of 21 selected projects that will be pitched at its 2026 edition (1–3 July in Strasbourg), where nearly 300 industry professionals are expected to attend. On 2 July, 21 French- and German-language projects – 14 fiction films and 7 documentaries – will be pitched.
Among the French projects, Cross stands out in particular; it will be Rémi Giordano’s second feature film (he is due to shoot À la faveur du roi in November). The plot sees 17 sixth-formers fall victim to unexplained fainting spells during an inter-departmental cross-country race. Charli Kermer, the most popular girl in school, ends up in a coma. Nora, one of her classmates who feels out of place, takes advantage of the commotion surrounding the tragedy and pretends to be her best friend; she infiltrates Charli’s circle of friends and transforms from a shy teenager into a sought-after student. All the while, the risk grows that her lies will be exposed… Four other French fiction projects are on display, including Laisser tomber by Colin Van der Straeten and La grande peur dans la montagne by Hugo Bousquet.
Luxembourg will be represented by the animated project Lyra & Armin by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (a duo who competed at Annecy in 2019 with Zero Impunity and at Venice Immersive in 2024 with Ceci est mon coeur).
Belgium will be represented by Leonardo D’Antoni’s project Au Naturel, whilst Germany has five selected fiction projects, including Tuna by Julia Becker and Trainrider by Sebastian Fritzsch.
Finally, on the fiction side, two TV series projects round off the line-up: one from Switzerland (Charlemagne by Giulia Meier) and one from Germany (What the Hell!?! by Ravi Karmalker).
The pitching session will also feature four documentary projects (two German and two French), two documentary series (one French and one German) and a French animated documentary series.
The Forum Alentours will also organise one-to-one meetings and round-table discussions on industry trends (emerging trends in cinema, market trends, case studies with Creative Europe – MEDIA, etc.) and cross-border co-production. Also worth noting are the pitch sessions at the CinEuro Film Lab featuring “European Stories” (organised by screen.brussels) and “Frontieres” (MFG Baden-Württemberg), as well as the first “Stories and Legends” screenwriting workshop (Grand Est region).
Finally, launched in 2023, the CinEuro Award will this year select a winner from five finalist projects: Farbe des lichts by Mareike Sophie Danisch, Leaving Cleo by Pina Dietsche, Mama by Filip Marczewski, Opération Annie (as yet without a director attached) and the animated project Vol au vent by Margot Reumont.
The selection:
Fiction
Tuna – Julia Becker (Germany)
Production: Frauke Kolbmüller (Oma Inge Film)
Lyra & Armin – Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (Luxembourg, animation)
Production: Marion Guth (a_BAHN)
La Grande Peur dans la Montagne – Hugo Bousquet (France)
Production: Elise Tamisier (Septième Lame Films)
Au Naturel – Leonardo D’Antoni (Belgium)
Production: John Engel (Steel Fish Pictures)
Close to Hanna – Laura Engelhardt (Germany)
Production: Florian Dedek (Filmbetrieb)
Trainrider – Sebastian Fritzsch (Germany)
Production: Daniel Ehrenberg (Eyrie Entertainment) and Corinna Poetter (Orange Roughy Filmproduktion)
Cross – Rémi Giordano (France)
Production: Nelson Ghrenassia (Yukunkun Productions)
Der Krebs – Daniele Grieco (Germany)
Production: Wolfgang Link (Tokara Media)
What the Hell !?! – Ravi Karmalker (Germany, series)
Production: Ravi Karmalker (Good Karma Fiction International)
Charlemagne – Giulia Meier (Switzerland, series)
Production: Kaspar Winkler (Tilt Production)
L’Hôtel Parfait – Jeremias Nussbaum (France)
Production: Benjamin Bonnet (Mood Film Production)
Cracks – Elisa Puerto Aubel (France)
Production: Coralie Dias (Inter Spinas Films)
Wo die Blumen sind – Julia Roesler (Germany)
Production: Johannes Jancke (Wüste Film)
Laisser Tomber – Colin Van der Straeten (France)
Production: Gaëlle Bayssière (Everybody On Deck)
Documentaries
Nellie Bly et le Pari de Jules Verne – Pauline Coste (France, series)
Production: Jan Vasak (Day for Night Productions)
Schatten über der Lagune – Carmela Daza (Germany)
Production: Maik Gleitsmann-Frohriep (B2 Medien Film)
Animals Talking – Julia Dordel (Allemagne)
Production: Julia Dordel (Dorcon Film)
Laulima – Natacha Nisic (France)
Production: Nicolas Brevière et Emmanuelle Koenig (Local Films)
Grenzenlos – Thomas Oberlies (Germany, series)
Production: Andrew van Scoter (Andrew van Scoter Film Production)
Lycéens de Guerre – Marjory Ott and Nathan Otano (France, animated series)
Production: Marjory Ott (Kestu)
Le Dernier Hiver – Geoffrey Saint-Joanis (France)
Production: Mathieu Lesueur (La Casquette Productions)
CinEuro Award Finalists
Farbe des lichts – Mareike Sophie Danisch (Germany/Luxembourg)
Production: Storytelle by Tellux Film, Samsa Film
Leaving Cleo – Pina Dietsche (Germany/France)
Production: Achtung Panda!, Tripode Productions
Mama – Filip Marczewski (Poland/France/Luxembourg/Germany)
Writers: Grzegorz Eoszewski, Filip Marczewski and Maciej Marczewski
Production: Wytwornia Dokumentalnych I Fabularnych, Blick Productions, Iris Productions, 27 Films Production GMBH
Vol au vent – Margot Reumont (Belgium/Luxembourg, animation
Writer: Eléonore Devillepoix
Production: Take Five, Dog House
Operation Annie (Luxembourg/Belgium/Germany)
Writer: lan Martin
Production: Samsa Film, Wrong Men, Weydemann Bros.
(Translated from French)
