© Catherine Vinay – La Fabrique Cinéma 2019

In order to deal with the global health crisis, the Institut français and its partners [France Médias Monde, the SACEM (French society of authors, composers and publishers of music), the International Organisation of La Francophonie and with the support of Orange Studio] are unveiling exceptional measures to support artists and all culture industry professionals in France and elsewhere.

That is why, by mutual agreement, they have also decided to maintain La Fabrique Cinéma so that the emerging filmmakers taking part in the 2020 edition don’t lose out on the programme’s benefits, and can continue to be supported, while respecting the difficult and unusual situation that they are each currently experiencing.

More details on how La Fabrique Cinéma will operate in 2020 will be announced at a later date as the situation evolves.

PROJECTS

La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français is a programme that aims to identify and promote directors and producers from emerging countries. Working together with other professional partners, it offers personalized support to first and second feature film projects.

La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français is pleased to announce the ten projects selected for this year's program.

AFRICA

MOZAMBIQUE: The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder

by Inadelso Cossa – Documentary, second feature film, produced by Inadelso Cossa / 16mmFILMES

SENEGAL: Coura + Oulèye

by Iman Djionne – Fiction, first feature film, produced by Souleymane Kebe / Sunuy Films

LATIN AMERICA

BRAZIL: Babylon

by Francisco Bahia – Documentary, first feature film, produced by Alice Riff / Sendero Filmes

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Without a Name

by Valeria Valentina Bolivar – Fiction, first feature film, produced by Fernando Santos Diaz / Guasábara Cine

ASIA

KAZAKHSTAN: A Pair of Leather Clogs

by Olga Korotko – Fiction, second feature film, produced by Olga Korotko / Seven Rivers Cinema

THAILAND: 9 Temples to Heaven

by Sompot Chidgasornpongse – Fiction, second feature film, produced by Kissada Kamyoung / Kick The Machine Films

VIETNAM: Skin of Youth

by Ash Mayfair – Fiction, second feature film, produced by Tran Thi Bich Ngoc /An Nam Productions

EUROPE

MONTENEGRO: Gina

by Sara Stijović –  Documentary, first feature film, produced by Branimir Žugić / LIVE production

NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST
EGYPT: Seeking Haven for Mr Rambo
by Khaled Mansour – Fiction, first feature film, produced by Rasha Hosny / Patchwork Productions

IRAN: Do you know anything about Omid?

by Keywan Karimi – Fiction, second feature film, produced by Keywan Karimi / Key film

This is the first time that the Fabrique has selected projects from Kazakhstan and Montenegro.

It is also the first time the Committee has selected three documentary projects and seven fiction projects.

Five projects are presented by female directors and five projects are presented by male directors, represented by six male producers and four female producers.

Five projects are first feature films and five projects are second feature films.

THE PATRON

Each year, an internationally renowned director is chosen to be the programme's patron. He or she acts as a mentor, running several workshops during the event.

This year, Rachid Bouchareb has accepted the invitation from the Institut français to act as patron for the Fabrique Cinéma 2020.

“My films have addressed issues such as slavery, colonisation, the Vietnam War, World War II and more recently, terrorism. Acting as patron for the Fabrique 2020 program will enable me to discover more contemporary concerns through the projects presented by emerging filmmakers from all over the world.”

Rachid Bouchareb started out in the early 1980s with a series of short films, before directing his first feature film, Bâton Rouge, in 1985. Twelve feature films followed, with three receiving Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film: Dust of Life in 1996, Days of Glory in 2006 and Outside the Law in 2010. Days of Glory and Outside the Law were presented in the main competition of the Festival de Cannes, and the leading male roles in Days of Glory won the best actor award collectively.

La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français has supported:

• 111 selected projects, 202 directors and producers from 63 countries, including 23 French-speaking countries.

In 2019 and early 2020, eight Fabrique films were released in France or presented at major festivals:

• All the Dead Ones (Todos os Mortos) by Marco Dutra and Caetano Gotardo (selected to compete in the main competition at the Berlin International Film Festival 2020)
• Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness by Massoud Bakhshi (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2020 and selected in the Generation 14plus strand at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival 2020)
• The Unknown Saint by Alaa Eddine Aljem (in the main competition at Cannes Critics’ Week 2019 and released in France on 1 January 2020)
• Bombay Rose by Gitanjali Rao (selected at the 2019 Venice International Film Critics’ Week and Toronto 2019)
• The Fever by Maya Da-Rin (in the main competition at the Locarno Film Festival 2019, best actor award and FIPRESCI prize)
• The Mercy of the Jungle by Joel Karekezi (Etalon d’Or at Fespaco 2019, released in France on 24 April 2019)
• The Family by Gustavo Rondón Córdova (in the main competition at Cannes Critics’ Week 2017, released in France on 10 April 2019)
• Amal by Mohamed Siam (in the official competition at IDFA 2017 and released in France on 20 February 2019)

Nine films were shot in 2019 or were in post-production. We will be closely monitoring their progress in cinemas and festivals in the coming months.

La Fabrique Cinéma programme was developed by the Institut français in close collaboration with the Festival de Cannes, and in partnership with France Médias Monde, the Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique (SACEM) and the International Organisation of la Francophonie (IOF), with the support of Orange Studio.                                                                                                                                                 

The Institut français

The Institut Français is a public institution which promotes French culture abroad. Under the supervision of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Ministry for Culture, the Institut français actively contributes to France’s “diplomacy of influence”. Its projects and programmes are implemented through France’s cultural network abroad, which includes the Instituts français, Alliances françaises and cultural services in embassies around the world.