– The 14th edition of the industry programme supporting post-production on films from African countries and from six Middle Eastern nations, will run from 6 to 8 September
A previous edition of Final Cut in Venice
Selection is now complete on the six films set to take part in the 14th edition of Final Cut in Venice, the industry programme which has supported post-production on films from African countries and from six Middle Eastern nations – Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen – since 2013. The event is unspooling within Venice Production Bridge as hosted by the 83rd Venice Film Festival (running 2 – 12 September).
Stand-out titles include A Quarter to Thursday (read our news), which is Sofia Djama’s second feature after Blessed (the winner of the Best Actress Orizzonti Award), and Eldorado, the Taste of the South, which is Alaa Eddine Aljem’s sophomore feature film following on from The Unknown Saint (selected in Cannes’ Critics’ Week).
Co-financed by the European Commission’s MEDIA programme, the initiative looks to provide opportunities to present films which are still in production to film industry professionals, in order to facilitate their post-production and promote their market access. For the fifth year running, the FCV programme will benefit from additional support from the Red Sea Film Foundation.
The programme consists of three days (6 – 8 September) spent working on the Lido in Venice. Work-in-progress cuts of the six selected films will be screened to producers, buyers, distributors, production companies and festival programmers. The first two days of the workshop will be devoted to screenings of the six films, while one-to-one meetings between the selected projects and professionals holding Gold or Trade accreditation will take place at Venice Production Bridge on 8 September.
On this particular occasion, La Biennale di Venezia will award a €10,000 prize for the best film in post-production. The prize will be awarded by a jury composed of three members, appointed by festival director Alberto Barbera. The other awards offered up by supporters — which include, among other services, colour correction, sound mixing, digital effects, creation of a DCP master and subtitles — will be assigned at the sole discretion of the festival director, assisted by these supporters and by the heads of the involved institutions.
The six selected films are as follows:
A Quarter to Thursday (Jeudi moins le quart) – Sofia Djama (France/Belgium/Algeria)
Eldorado, the Taste of the South (Eldorado, Le Goût du Sud) – Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco/France/Italy/Norway)
Madi Makambu – Machérie Ekwa Bahango (DR Congo/France/Belgium)
Mehal Sefari – Abraham Gezahagne (Ethiopia/Canada/Germany/Netherlands/Norway/Saudi Arabia)
Occupational Hazards (Al Htilal Wa Al Hal) – Bassel Ghandour (Jordan/Qatar/United Kingdom/Saudi Arabia/Palestine)
Plague (Balaa) – Youssef Chebbi (Tunisia/France/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Slovenia)
(Translated from Italian)
