WEMW 2024 is set to bring a fresh perspective to the world of cinema and for the first time it will offer a unique combination of industry talks, inspirational talks and regenerating experiences to more than 550 attendees from over 60 territories.  

Once again WEMW has put together a series of Industry Talks tackling different cutting-edge topics, thanks to the close collaboration with several major long-lasting content partners. The 2024 programme will open with the conversational inspiring keynote “The Power of Storytelling: How Can We Get Inspired, Truly Impacted, and Encourage Others?”. Curated and moderated by Tamara Tatishvili, the talk will delve into the transformative influence of storytelling with the insights of two multi-talented filmmakers and activists, Bisi Alimi and Sara Fazilat. In the lecture “Marketing Is Your Friend: Tips & Treats”, Christina Pelekani of Endorphin Film Sales & First Cut+ will share useful tips for creating the best possible promotional materials in order to stand out from the clutter. EAVE will host the panel on “Paving the Way for Equitable Co-Productions” where Mohamed Saïd Ouma (Documentary Africa), Karen Harnisch (Film Forge), Heejung Oh (Seesaw Pictures) and Tamara Mariam Dawit (Gobez Media) will explore the challenges and opportunities in fostering equitable co-production relationships. First Cut Lab Trieste will celebrate its 10th anniversary with the session “The Poetics of Editing” in which Una Gunjak, Benjamin Mirguet and Matthieu Taponier, moderated by Julie Marnay, will share their personal experiences in the editing room. ACE Producers will host the “ACE Interview with Émilie Blézat and David Dusa”, founders of the innovative IP boutique company Dark Riviera. Apulia Film Commission is unveiling its new 2024 film fund, whereas thanks to the partnership with MEDICI-The Film Funding Journey (organised by FOCAL), fund representatives and producers from Catalunya, Brazil, Colombia and Montenegro will present their funding landscape. Finally, the WEMW programme will be framed in the evenings by a series of DAE Confidential chats about documentary film financing and distribution, and in the morning by the Circle Doc Accelerator breakfast sessions.

WEMW 2024 will inaugurate the first season of Inspirational Talks, sessions open to all market attendees and connected to the themes tackled in the WEMW Inspirational Labs, such as virtual production, drama series content, animation production, impact and outreach strategy, video game development, genre film production. Highly concise and engaging, the 30-minute Inspirational Talks will open and close the programme of each day and will be delivered by professionals who share their innovative vision, success stories and new business paradigms in order to spark curiosity and foster forward thinking in the audiovisual community.

Last but not least, the rich programme of WEMW will stimulate the film industry by drawing inspiration from diverse artistic disciplines, and will “incorporate” several regenerating moments in its programme to make the WEMW experience even more unique: from live music as soundtrack of the pitching session and performances on environmental themes, to graphic recording sessions during the Talks and a series of poetricks (artworks and minimal poems to question and redefine the essence, meaning, and boundaries of art, language, and poetry). Finally, thanks to the collaboration with the Berlin-based non-profit organisation Tactical Tech, WEMW will host, for the first time, a forward-looking exhibition that invites people to think about how technology influences our lives and changes the world we live in.

 

WEMW Juries & Awards

After unveiling all projects, works in progress, professionals and companies selected in the different sections of the market, WEMW is happy to announce the four juries and all the awards. 

The WEMW Co-Production Forum Jury consisting of Hervé Aubron (Quinzaine des cinéastes), Pierre Dallois (Ciclic Centre-Val de Loire), film director Una Gunjak, and Angeliki Vergou (AGORA | Thessaloniki IFF & Thessaloniki IDF) will assign two cash prizes of the value of 5.000 EUR each: the Film Center Serbia Development Award and the Ciclic WEMW Award (granted by the French, Centre-Val de Loire Region). Moreover, all selected projects will be eligible for the EAVE Producers Workshop scholarship, the Marché du Film Producers Network Badges, the DAE Talent Development Prize, in cooperation with the EFM, the Pop Up Film Residency Award, the Taskovski #DocsConnect Training Award and the Laser Film Post-Production Award. Furthermore, all female identifying directors will be eligible for the EWA Network’s Award for Equality & Inclusion, of the value of 500 EUR & 1 EWA Network Year Membership.

The Last Stop Trieste Jury composed by Aleksandra Božović (Film Centre of Montenegro), Aleksandra Derewienko (CAT & Docs), Hanka Kastelikova (HBO Max) and film producer Tereza Simikova will be called upon to decide the winner of the Film Centre of Montenegro Award, a cash prize of 2.000 EUR, and the HBO EUROPE Award, a cash prize of the value of 1.000 EUR; whereas the This is IT Jury, headed by Zsuzsi Bankuti (Locarno Film Festival), Hugo Rosak (Karlovy Vary IFF), and Susana Santos Rodrigues (International Film Festival Rotterdam) will assign the Arte Video Award, a cash prize of 5.000 EUR. Finally, the First Cut+ Jury, consisting of Esra Demirkiran (TRT), Paolo Bertolin (Venice International Film Festival) and Clément Chautant (Indie Sales), will award the TRT Prize, worth 5.000 EUR.

Last but not least, for the first time the Shorts Showcase curated and organised by MIDPOINT Shorts will assign an award to one of the presented projects in development. The Jury composed by Anamaria Antoci (Tangaj Production), Bernd Buder (Film Festival Cottbus) and film director Una Gunjak will assign the HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award, a cash prize of 3.000 EUR.

With this new, ambitious 2024 edition, WEMW wishes to become a 360° Inspirational Market, bringing a perfect mix of financing, training, matchmaking, mentoring, networking, brainstorming, thinking, exploring, re-thinking, dancing and singing. 

Everything is carefully shaped under one single underlying idea: inspiration is everywhere.

 

WEMW is organised once again by the FVG Audiovisual Fund in collaboration with the Trieste Film Festival, and thanks to the precious and constant support of Creative Europe/MEDIA Programme, MIC – Direzione Generale per il Cinema, CEI – Central European Initiative, Programa IBERMEDIA, Film Center Serbia, CICLIC – Centre-Val de Loire and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. 

The 2024 Focus East & West country focus on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine & Spain, Portugal, Latin America is realised in partnership with CNC Moldovan National Film Center, ICAA – Film and Audiovisual Arts Institute, Projeto Paradiso, Proimágenes Colombia and  Ukrainian Institute. 

The Inspirational Labs are organised in collaboration with CEE Animation Workshop, ESoDoc, European Virtual Production Alliance, Fantastic Film Forum, MIDPOINT Institute, Spielfabrique, and in partnership with Apulia Film Commission, Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Commission Vallée d’Aoste, Fondazione Campania Film Commission, Greek Film Centre, Icelandic Film Centre, IDM Film Fund and Commission Südtirol, REACT Regional Audiovisual Cooperation & Training – Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Film Center Serbia, Friuli Venezia Giulia Audiovisual Fund, Slovenian Film Centre, Telefilm Canada, MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstei, German Films and Polish Film Institute.