The 6 work-in-progress films have been selected for ninth ‘Final Cut in Venice’

The 6 work-in-progress films of the 9^th edition of Final Cut in Venice have been selected.

Final Cut in Venice is the project that has been providing since 2013 concrete assistance in the completion of films from all African countries and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. Final Cut in Venice is one of the projects launched by the Venice Production Bridge of the 78^th Venice International Film Festival (September 1—11, 2021), directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by La Biennale di Venezia.

The workshop offers the opportunity to present films still in production phase to international film professionals, in order to facilitate post-production and film market access.

The workshop consists in three days of activities (September 5^th to 7^th 2021) on the Venice Lido during the 78^th Venice Film Festival, in which the working copies of the selected films are introduced to producers, buyers, distributors, post-production companies and film festival programmers.

Please note that the first 2 days of the workshop (September 5^th and 6^th) are devoted to the screenings, while a special one-to-one meeting session between the selected projects and the professionals attending the Venice Production Bridge will be organized on the third day, September 7^th.

The 6 work in progress films selected are:

FICTION

Under the Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri (Tunisia, Qatar, Switzerland, France)

Mami Wata by C.J. “Fiery” Obasi (Nigeria, France)

Hanging Gardens by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji (Iraq, Palestine, United Kingdom)

DOCUMENTARY

The Mother of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir (Morocco, Germany, Qatar)

We, Students! by Rafiki Fariala (Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy)

The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder by Inadelso Cossa (Mozambique, Germany, France, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal)

Final Cut in Venice will conclude with the awarding of prizes, in kind or in cash, for the financial support of the films in their post-production stage.

The Venice Production Bridge gratefully acknowledges OTICONS and Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) for the two new awards generously offered.

The Prizes:

• For the fifth year in a row, La Biennale di Venezia will offer a cash prize of € 5.000 to the best film in post-production; La Biennale di Venezia Prize will be awarded by a jury composed of three members designated by the Festival Director. The other prizes offered by supporting companies – which include, among the many services, colour correction, sound mixing, the creation of a DCP master and subtitles – will be awarded by final and irrevocable decision of the Festival Director, in conjunction with the supporting companies and the heads of the Institutions involved.
• € 15.000 for the colour correction of a feature-length film offered by Laser Film (Rome) for up to 50 hours of work (technician included);
• € 15.000 offered by Mactari Mixing Auditorium (Paris) for the sound mixing of a feature length film (up to 12 days of work, sound mixer not included);
• One of the selected projects will benefit from the film composers represented by OTICONS and the original score that they will create. The production of the original score will include all relevant services, such as spotting sessions/composition/orchestration/mockups/final production, of a total value of €12,000.
• for a feature-length fiction film a $ 10.000 MG or for a feature-length documentary a $ 3.000 MG for marketing, publicity and distribution in the Arab World offered by MAD Solutions for one Arab project (except for projects already funded by MAD Solutions);
• Titra Film (Paris) will offer up to € 5.000 for colour-grading; up to € 3.000 for the production of a DCP master, or the creation of i-Tunes, Google or Netflix files; up to € 2.000 for French or English subtitles (translation not included);
• up to € 7.000 for the creation of the DCP master with Italian or English subtitles, offered by Sub-Ti Ltd. (London);
• up to € 7.000 for the accessible contents of the film for audiences with sensory disabilities: subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired and audio description for the blind and visually impaired, including audio subtitles in voiceover, in Italian or English (the subtitles and the audio-described soundtrack for the DCP will be provided) offered by Sub-Ti Access Srl (Turin).
• € 5.000 for the purchase of two-year broadcasting rights by Rai Cinema;
• $ 5.000 awarded to an Arab project and an invitation to participate in the CineGouna Platform offered by the El Gouna Film Festival;
• € 5.000 offered by Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) as a refund for post-production services – delivered by societies based in one of the EU or OACPS countries (except South Africa) – of a feature-length film realised by a director from one of the ACP countries and produced or co-produced by a society based in one of the ACP countries;
• “Coup de cœur de la Cinémathèque Afrique” Prize, offered by Cinémathèque Afrique of the Institut Français (Paris). The prize consists in the acquisition of the non-commercial and non-exclusive broadcasting rights for 7 years for a value of € 4.000 – € 6.000 depending on the genre and length of the film and the number of available territories;
• participation in the production costs of a DCP (€ 2.500), offered by the Festival International du Film d’Amiens;
• participation in the production costs of a DCP (€ 2.500), offered by the Festival International de Films de Fribourg;
• One of the selected projects will benefit from the Eye on Films label, which will present the film to distributors and festivals affiliated with EoF and will contribute to the communication of the film for a value of € 2.500 on the occasion of its world premiere in an A-category festival.