10th La Fabrique Cinéma de l'Institut Français Selection -Update 1

As expected there will be several updates to this post and we start with the most unexpected news as the program changed its name from La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde to La Fabrique Cinéma de l'Institut Français!

Even when the new name appears in the new posts at the official site, there has been no other change in the site name or logo.  Expect the changes to happen soon as already read news articles about the program name change.

The second major announcement is about the Patron of the 2017 edition and is none other than master filmmaker Brillante Mendoza.  Down below you will find info about the director but if you're a blog regular reader then you've to be familiar with him.

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4/8/17
As not many are aware of this Festival de Cannes collateral event let's share some basics about the professional program.

La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde is a professional program helping talented young directors from emerging countries increase their international exposure. Each year this program, developed by the Institut français, in partnership with France Médias Monde with the support of The International Organization of La Fancophonie, invites ten directors working on their first or second feature films to attend the Festival de Cannes along with their producers.

During work sessions, directors have the opportunity to discuss their project with the program’s patron, an internationally renowned director.  In addition, they have direct access to the festival’s different competitive selections (La Semaine de la Critique, La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) and major Professional events and receive accreditation for the Marché du Film. They also meet the French and international press accompanied by event press officer. 

The Institut Français  also has other programs to support cultural diversity like the Cinémathèque Afrique (African Film Archive) and Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (World Cinema Support), a fund which is co-managed with the CNC.

Most interesting is to find that a La Fabrique Cinéma film (Inxeba by John Trengove) opened the Panorama section at 2017 Berlinale and there are five films ready to be distributed in theaters and festivals.

The 10 projects that will participate in La Fabrique Cinéma de l'Institut français 2017 are the following and according to French press, there are six (6) projects from first-time directors and four (4) projects are director's second feature film.  Also there is one animation, one documentary and eight fiction projects done by 3 female and 7 male directors and most interesting, these numbers flip when it comes to producers are 7 are female and 3 male.

A Love of Boluomi, Kek-Huat Lau, Malaysia
Amanda and Caio, Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil
Hawa Hawaii, Amirah Tadjin, Kenya
Nuna: The Last Myth of the Wamani, Jimy Carhuas Tintaya, Peru
One Summer Day, Zay Yar Aung, Myanmar
Renaissance, Andrey diarra, Mali
Shock Labor, Marcos Diaz Sosa, Cuba
The Bridge, Hala Lofty, Egypt
The Maiden's Pond, Bassem Breche, Lebanon
The Sovereign, Wim Steytler, South Africa

To check announcement at official site go here.

About 2017 Patron: Brillante Mendoza

One of the most prominent and important Filipino filmmakers today. He is the first Filipino to compete and won in 3 major international film festivals. His film, Captive, competed in coveted Berlin International Film Festival in 2012, while Tirador (Slingshot) won the Caligari Film Award in 2007. Thy Womb, on the other hand, won the La Navicella Venezia Cinema Award in the equally prestigious Venice Film Festival in 2012, while Lola was nominated for the Golden Lion in 2009.

But his most notable achievement is when he won the elusive Best Director in the well-renowned Cannes Film Festival for the film, Kinatay in 2009. The year before, his film, Serbis (Service) was nominated for the acclaimed Palme d’ Or Award.  In 2016, his film MA' ROSA won the Best Actress Award (Jaclyn Jose) in Cannes. The film was Philippines' entry to 2017 Oscars.

Known to his peers as Dante, he started as a production designer in various films and television advertisements. In 2005, he founded Centerstage Productions (CSP), an independent film production outfit that aims to rethink and rebrand Filipino cinema by producing meaningful and relevant films.

His debut film, Masahista (The Masseur) immediately won the Golden Leopard Award in the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and paved the way for the rise of Alternative Cinema in the Philippines.

Since then, Mendoza has produced a body of work that garnered awards and recognition from local and international film festivals, including his recent achievement in the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards for Thy Womb; Asia-Pacific’s equivalent to the Oscars. His works launched a yearly retrospective in Europe, Asia and Russia where the world’s film critics regard him as a “neo-realist” for depicting social realities and lives of ordinary people in extraordinary situations.

Recently, the French government decorated Brillante Mendoza with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres or Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. No Filipino director has been awarded the singular distinction of being ranked with the likes of renowned filmmakers, Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento.

Mendoza’s films are commercially shown in Europe, affording the cinema-loving audience a glimpse of contemporary Philippine society. For his achievements and stature in world cinema, various film festivals all over the world have invited Mendoza to sit not only as Jury Member but as Jury President as well.
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Post is a work-in-progress as soon more data about this year event and about each project will be announced; but, wanted to share the names of the 10 projects today.  Will update post as soon as data becomes available.