32nd Résidence Cinéfondation at 2016 Festival de Cannes

A few days back Cinéfondation organizers announced the six filmmakers that will participate in the first Résidence of 2016. What follows is an overview of the program plus info about the participants in the 32nd edition.

The Résidence du Festival welcomes every year a dozen young directors who work there on their first or second fictional feature film project, in two sessions lasting four and a half months (from October 1st to mid February, and from the end of February to mid July).

Since its creation in 2000, the Résidence has welcomed more than one hundred and seventy filmmakers from more than fifty different countries. It makes available to them a place of residence in the heart of Paris, a personalized program accompanying the writing of their scripts, and a collective program of forums with film industry professionals.

Nearly fifty filmmakers emerging from the great halls of this “Villa Médicis” of cinema have seen their films selected by international festivals and distributed in theatres. The residents equally benefit from:

– a 800-euro grant per month;
– free access to a large number Paris cinemas;
– French lessons (optional);
– the possibility of attending festivals during their stay.

The selection of the residents by a jury, presided by a director or a motion-picture celebrity, is based on the quality of their already made shorts – or first feature film, as well as on the interest of the feature film project in the course of being written, and on the candidates’ motivation.

The Individual Program
The Residence provides continuous follow-up during the writing of the directors’ scripts. A presentation booklet of each project is offered to producers and distributors at appointments set up within the framework of various festivals: Rotterdam (Cinemart), Locarno (Open Doors), and, of course, Cannes. The directors can likewise pursue the writing of their scripts at the Moulin d’Andé, with whom agreement has been made for a complementary stay.

The Collective Program
In complement to individual follow-up, the Residence organizes a collective program of forums with directors, professionals and representatives of cinema institutions. These forums help the directors gain deeper insight into co-production systems both in France and Europe. The first sessions demonstrated the importance of sharing experience between young directors. The Residence increases the opportunity for encounters and exchanges during their stay: going to cinemas, visiting Paris’ heritage sites and participating in festivals, all go to enrich these exchanges. Following their stay, the Residence prolongs its proactive work with directors, from assistance with translation of their script in French and to advice as concerns production.

See also Things (Andrew Jordan, 1989)

Partnerships
Ile-de-France Film Commission: Cultural program at the beginning of each session (visits of museums and monuments).

The Place
The Résidence du Festival is located at 6, Cité Malesherbes, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, a centrally-situated quarter rich in history. The apartment, on the 3rd floor of an early 20th-century villa, is divided into both private and collective living spaces.

The Participants
32th Session will run from March 1, 2016 – July 15, 2016 and as always the President of the Jury is none other than Gilles Jacob.

Ali Asgari

Ali Asgari was born in Tehran, Iran. He graduated in cinema from the University of Rome in Italy. He began his career as an assistant director and after working in several short and feature film he started to make his films independently. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talent Campus 2013. His third short film More Than Two Hours was in competition at the 2013 Cannes film Festival and was screened at Sundance film festival and many festivals around the world. His next short film The Baby premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival 2014. His short films have won more than 100 international awards. While at the Residence he will develop the screenplay of his first feature film.

Nuno Baltazar

Nuno Baltazar was born in Lisbon, Portugal, Nuno Baltazar cultivated his passion for the visual arts from a very young age. After studying Graphic Design and working in the area for several years, he decided to pursue his filmmaking career and began directing music videos and advertising projects. He also started focusing on writing and after some experience as a screenwriter for television, he began developing his first short film Doce Lar, shot in 16mm and completed in 2014. Written, directed and produced by himself, the film screened in many international film festivals and won several awards. While at the Cinéfondation, Nuno will be developing his debut feature screenplay Fronteira.

Federico Cecchetti

Federico Cecchetti was born in Mexico City (1982). He studied film directing at CUEC- UNAM, Film School of the Mexican National University. He participated in an academic interchange at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografìa in Rome, Italy, (2009) where he finished his thesis short film Los Trashumantes. He has been supported twice by the FONCA (National Fund for Culture and Arts). He was alumni at the Berlinale Talent Campus (2010). He is writer and director of eight short films, screened in several International Film Festivals. He is co – founder of Agrupación Caramelo Cinematográfica, company in which he worked in two feature films: The beginning of Time (associated producer) and Dark Fire (executive producer). Mara´akames Dream is his first feature Film as a director and screen writer. Federico is currently writing his second film Letters from the Land of the Tarahumara at the Cinefondation’s Residence.

Omar El Zohairy

Omar El Zohairy studied film directing at the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. During his school years, Zohairy worked as an assistant director in feature films and TV commercials from 2007 till 2015 alongside some of Egypt’s most prominent filmmakers, including Yousry Nasrallah, Ahmed Abdallah and Ali Ali. Zohairy’s first short film Breathe Out premiered at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival and won the Jury Special Mention Prize in the Muhr Arab Short Competition. The film also competed at the 34th Cinemed Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival and the 2014 Arab Film Festival Berlin. Zohairy’s second short film, The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the PublicToilet at Kilometre 375, was the first Egyptian film to be selected to compete in the Cinéfondation competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, Aftermath went on to win several awards around the world. Zohairy is currently working on his first feature film Feathers of a Father, in collaboration with Ahmed Amer (co- writer). The project was also selected for Torino Film Lab’s Script & Pitch Program 2016 and was awarded the first Baumi Script Development Award from Pandora Film and Film- und Medienstiftung NRW during the 66th berlinale.