Cannes Docs

Original Title: 甘

Runtime: 75 - 80'

Expected Release: January 2027

Production Stage: Post-Production

1st Feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents / Distributors, Gap-financing, Strategic Guidance

Synopsis:

In the mountains of China, a wildlife ranger Mingdong Gan,once a left-behind child, must learn what it means to be a father when he rescues a baby takin, a rare goat-antelope, that mirrors his own search for home. As the calf is raised up and released back into the wild but returns to caregivers, Gan questions whether he can learn to love and be present as a father.

Director’s Profile:

Ruonan Jiang is a director / producer working across fiction and documentary between China and U.S. Her work is drawn to the tensions between people and their environments, often exploring how emotional and ecological worlds intersect.

Producer’s Profile:

Huihui Lou is the founder of French production company Oui Production. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and holds a Master’s degree in directing, producing, and screenwriting from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Her work centers on intimate, cross-cultural narratives that examine identity, migration, and memory across both fiction and documentary forms. She is an IDFAcademy alumna and a selected participant in the Berlinale EFM Toolbox Program 2026. Through Oui Production, she champions emerging filmmakers and fosters creative collaboration between Asia and Europe.

Runtime: 89' & 52'

Expected Release: May 2027

Production Stage: Editing

1st Feature: No

Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents / Distributors, Buyers

Synopsis:

Somi (37), an Indigenous Indian woman, faces eviction from her land due to the opening of an iron mine. A few years ago, Somi was an armed Naxalite-Maoist rebel; now, she’s determined to lead her community in resisting the encroachment and fighting against displacement—this time without her rifle. The film is a sequel to A Rifle and a Bag (IFFR 2020, Special Mention of Bright Future Competition).

Directors Profiles:

NoCut Film Collective was founded in 2016 by Cristina Hanes (Romania), Isabella Rinaldi (Italy) and Arya Rothe (India) after graduating from DocNomads. The collective fosters creative documentaries, envisioning filmmaking as a transcultural endeavour. Their directorial debut A Rifle and a Bag won the Special Mention of the Jury at 2020 Rotterdam International Film Festival. The film has screened at over 50 festivals and was streamed by Mubi worldwide. They are currently working on Green is the Fire’s Tint, a sequel to it. Their films were supported by Chicken & Egg Films, Doha Film Institute, IDFA Bertha Fund, Romanian Film Center, Federal Office of Culture Switzerland, Redford Film Centre, IDA and others.

Cristina Hanes’ previous film António e Catarina won Pardino D’oro for Best International Short at 2017 Locarno Festival. She is an alumna of Points North Fellowship, Emerging Producers, DocNomads, Berlinale Talents. She is currently directing frosty blue forget-me-nots.

Isabella Rinaldi is involved in international co-productions with Nepal, India and Belgium. Liberland (Belgium, 52 min) had its world premiere in Visions du Réel in 2022 and was broadcast on the Flemish national television VRT. Isabella is currently developing her first fiction film Fuoristagione selected in Biennale College, the script program of Venice Film Festival.

Arya Rothe is a recipient of IDA Logan Elevate Grant. Her fiction film Where Shadows Wait is supported by Hubert Bals Fund. She has worked as a director, writer, and editor on films for platforms like Arté, RTBF, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.

Production’s Profile:

NoCut Film Collective’s first production A Rifle and a Bag was awarded the Special Mention of the Bright Future Competition of 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam, was screened at over 50 festivals and streamed on Mubi. It was financed by Doha Film Institute, IDFA Bertha Fund, Asian Cinema Fund, AlterCine Foundation.

NoCut co-produced Marching in the dark by Kinshuk Surjan (CPH:DOX 2024, Special Mention of the Jury) and No Winter Holidays by Rajan Kathet and Sunir Paney (2023 Sheffield DocFest, First Feature Competition).

Their upcoming film Green is the Fire’s Tint co-produced with La Belle Film (Switzerland) is supported by Romanian Film Center, FOC, ZFF, SRF/SRG, IDA Logan Elevate, Chicken & Egg Films, Redford Film Centre, InMaat Foundation and was pitched at FIFDH Geneva Impact Days, MeetMarket Sheffield DocFest, Points North Fellowship, Ji.hlava New Visions Forum.

Runtime: 75'

Expected Release: November 2026

Production Stage: Post-Production

1st Feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents/Distributors, Buyers, Impact Producer, Gap Financing, Strategic Ideas, Post Services.

Synopsis:

Land of Evanescence is a creative documentary where the director, a child of the post-war era, makes the link between her recurring nightmares and a trauma inherited from the Vietnam War.

Director’s Profile:

Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang is an acclaimed filmmaker with nearly 20 years of experience in international cinema. After early work in commercials, she transitioned to independent film in 2014 via the Kyoto Filmmaker Lab. Her career gained global momentum at the Bucheon Fantastic Film School and Locarno’s Open Doors Lab, where she won the 1st Prize FAI Producer Grant.
A pivotal figure in Southeast Asian cinema, Trang is known for high-profile collaborations with Trương Minh Quý. She was Line Producer for Hair, Paper, Water… (2025), the Golden Leopard winner at Locarno. Her production Viet and Nam (2024) competed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, following the success of The Tree House (2019). In 2022, she debuted as a director with After Taste, which premiered at Fantasia. Her work reflects a deep commitment to independent storytelling and global co-production.

Producer’s Profile:

Wilfredo Manalang is the founder of FUSEE and a prominent producer in the Asian film industry. His diverse co-production portfolio includes Plan 75 (2022), which won a Cannes Camera d’Or Special Mention, and Don’t Cry, Butterfly (2024), the Venice Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner. Other notable works include Elsewhere at Night (2025), winner of Best Screenplay at Torino, and Through Your Eyes (2025), selected for the Berlinale Short Competition.
Locally, he produced Blue Room (2022) and Topakk (2023), which premiered at Locarno. An alum of EAVE Ties That Bind and APOSTLAB, Manalang previously served as Managing Director for International Production at ABS-CBN and Executive Director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (2016–2019). He also represented the nation as a board member of the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines.

Runtime: 93'

Expected Release: November 2026

Production Stage: Post-Production

1st Feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents, Distributors, Gap Financing

Synopsis:

When the Fire Sleeps is a character-led documentary about Keiko, a Japanese woman in her fifties who teaches pubescent virgins the sacred dance to calm Mount Fuji. When Keiko questions this patriarchal tradition and faces the threat of an erupting volcano, she must choose between resigning or reinventing the tradition. The film prompts reflection on women’s struggle against traditional gender roles.

Director’s Profile:

Eri Mizutani is a director from Kyoto who has made Poland her second home for the last 10 years. She graduated from TAMA Art University in Tokyo and excelled in film directing at the Polish National Film School in Łódź. Her short documentary Their Voices was selected for BBC LongShots Film Festival and DOK Leipzig Panorama, and awarded at the 21st MECAL Pro Barcelona, among others. Daughter of Fuji won Best Pitch at the prestigious European Work in Progress during Film Festival Cologne, took part in the Polish Docs Pro showcase at IDFA 2020, and has received international recognition at DMZ, Sunny Side of the Doc and DOK Leipzig, among others.

Producer’s Profile:

Sara Skrodzka is a Paris-based producer and archival producer, and a partner at Warboys Films, which she joined in 2023. She is currently developing a diverse range of projects that leverage her extensive experience in international productions and archival work. Sara is passionate about supporting projects by committed, inclusive creators and is dedicated to championing both emerging and established filmmakers. Among the films she has worked on is Johan Grimonprez’s Oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The film won the World Cinema Documentary Award at the 2024 Sofia International Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award in 2024.Her most recent production includes Closure by Michał Marczak, which premiered at Sundance 2026 and won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.