Projects
Projects
Honeydew
Original title: Honeydew
Directed by: Marco BERGONZI, Michael PETROLINI
Produced by: Simone CATANIA, Francesca PORTALUPI (Indyca SRL, Italy)
Country of production: Italy, Sweden
Runtime: 87'
Expected release: September, 2023
Production stage: Post- production
Budget: €493.866 (83% in place)
1st feature: Yes
Looking for: Festivals, Distributors, Buyers, Gap financing
Synopsis:
Honeydew isn’t just a town it’s a state of mind. Maureen, 60s, moved to the tiny Northern California enclave in her 20s, seeking freedom in its purest form. But her simple life of writing country songs and illegally cultivating weed is disrupted due to the legalization of marijuana. Unable to adapt to government bureaucracy she has no choice but to surrender her corner of paradise to a younger generation.
Director’s profile:
Born in Parma, Italy in 1991, Marco Bergonzi obtained a degree in Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He returned to Parma where he completed his studies in 2018 with a multidisciplinary thesis about informal living. Through this research he came into contact with humanistic disciplines such as anthropology and sociology. As a passionate photographer/cinematographer, and storyteller, he has dedicated the last three years to documentary cinema. Honeydew is his first feature length film.
Co-Director’s profile:
Born in Turin, Italy in 1992, upon graduating from Liceo socio psico pedagogico, Michael Petrolini enrolled as a Sociology major in Milan but later took a hiatus from his studies to work and travel. Over the next five years he journeyed and worked an array of jobs in the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, South East Asia and Africa. In 2017 he took classes at the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern school of cinema in Bologna, where he graduated in November 2018. Honeydew is his first feature length film.
Producer’s profile:
Simone Catania is director and producer. In 2007 he cofounded Indyca in Turin, an independent movie production company oriented to international co-production. He produced films premiered at important international film festivals like Venice Film Festival, SXSW, IDFA, HotDocs and nominated at prestigious prices such as EFA and Nastri d’Argento, among the others. Currently, he is also working on an international coproduction film titled ‘Samia’ directed by Yasemin Samdereli.
Francesca Portalupi started her career in the film production with the documentary ‘Almost Married’, which premiered at IDFA in 2010. She joined Indyca in 2019 where she is executive producer of creative documentaries and feature films. Among the productions: ‘Happy Winter’ (premiered in Venezia), ‘We Are the Thousand’ (SXSW), ‘Cuban Dancer’ (Miami, San Francisco) and ‘The Store’ (BFI, Rotterdam).
Relentless Memory
Original title: Memoria Implacable
Directed by: Paula RODRIGUEZ SICKERT
Produced by: Paola CASTILLO VILLAGRÁN (Errante Producciones, Chile), Gema JUAREZ ALLEN (Gema Films, Argentina)
Country of production: Chile, Argentina
Runtime: 80'
Expected release: October, 2023
Production stage: Post-production
Budget: €265.200 (85% in place)
1st feature: No
Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents / Distributors, Buyers, Strategic Guidance.
Synopsis:
Margarita, a young Mapuche academic, discovers in an unknown archive in Berlin the testimonies of Mapuche prisoners who were expelled from their territories during the military invasions that founded Argentina and Chile. Moved by the discovery, she embarks on a journey to retrace the deportation routes of her ancestors.
Director’s profile:
Paula Rodríguez Sickert studied Architecture at the HdK and Film and Television at the DFFB in Berlin. Her work mainly portrays social and cultural issues related to Latin America. Some of her documentaries, such as Primeros pasos and Los hijos de Pinochet (Arte-SWR, Germany), have won awards at international film festivals, and together with others, such as Isabel Allende (Arte NDR, Germany), have been distributed on different television channels around the world. Her latest work is the renowned documentary about the artist Alfredo Jaar, “JAAR el lamento de las imágenes”. He has directed reports in different parts of the world, for the German international channel Deutsche Welle and the German Agency for International Cooperation GIZ.
Producer’s profile:
Producer, screenwriter and director of documentary films. She directs the production house Errante; Founder and Executive Director of the Chilean Documentary Corporation CCDoc, and Chief Executive of the sectorial brand Chiledoc. She teaches Film and TV at the Universidad de Chile and Audiovisual Direction at the Universidad Católica. Since 2020 she is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences AMPAS. His productions include the Chilean-Brazilian co-production Haydee and the Flying Fish, the award-winning Canadian-Chilean co-production Cielo, and Allende My Grandfather Allende, Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival 2015. He has directed award-winning documentaries in different national and international festivals such as Frontera, Genoveva, 74m2, La última huella and Niños del paraíso.
A Tree is a Tree
Original title: Un arbre és un arbre
Directed by: Carlos MARQUES-MARCET, Aleix PLADEMUNT
Produced by: Rafa MOLÉS (SUICAfilms, Spain)
Country of production: Spain
Runtime: 72'
Expected release: June, 2024
Production stage: Post-production
Budget: €173.700 (87,9% in place)
1st feature: No
Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents And Distributors, Gap Financing, Buyers
Synopsis:
Human are a plague. We are the specie with the strongest colonizing longing of our planet. ‘A tree is a tree’ is a journey between the most unspoiled piece of land on the planet and the oldest tree in the world. In the film the images talk to who watches. The spectator is the object. The pictures the subject. A no human voice tell us that what we see is so partial that it barely close to reality.
Director’s profile:
Carlos Marques-Marcet is a director, writer and editor from Barcelona. Degree in Audiovisual Communication (Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, 2006) and at UCLA’s School of Film and TV in Los Angeles.
Filmography:
_ ‘10,000 km’ (2014). Fiction film. Best director and best film at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival. Goya for best new director.
_ ‘Terra firme’ (2017). Fiction film. Awarded at SXSW and at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
_ ‘Los días que vendrán’ (2019). Fiction film. Biznaga de Oro for best film and silver for best direction at the Malaga Film Festival.
_ ’La mort de Guillem’ (2020). Fiction film. Malaga International Film Festival. Gaudí Award and Berlanga Award for the best film.
In recent years, Carlos Marqués-Marcet has directed several fiction series: ‘En el corredor de la muerte’ (Movistar+, 2019). ’En casa’ (HBO, 2020) and ’Escenario 0’ (HBO, 2020).
Co-Director’s profile:
Aleix Plademunt studied Technical Engineering and in 2003 he graduated in photography at the UPC, Barcelona. During the following years, he has worked on countless personal photographic projects. Since 2003 he has participated in more than sixty exhibitions. Stand out ‘Matter’ at the MACBA Museum (Barcelona, 2021), the exhibition ‘Almost There’ at IMA Gallery (Tokyo, 2015) and Le Bal’s (Paris, 2013) and ‘Espectadores’ in Waltman Ortega Gallery (Miami, 2013). He has received several awards and invitations to artist residencies. As well as the Botín Foundation Plastic Arts Scholarship (2015), PhotoEspaña Revelation Award (2015) and Tokyo Wonder Site/El Ranchito Residency in Mexico City (2015). He has published 6 books: ‘Movimientos de Suelo’ (2011), ‘Almost There’ (2013), ‘森下 Morishita’ (2017), ‘Un Passaggio’ (2017), ‘Iberia’ (2019) e ‘Intempèries – Hinterlands’ (2021).
Producer’s profile:
Rafa Molés is director and producer. Co-founder, along with Pepe Andreu, of SUICAfilms in 2013. His works have been awarded or selected in competitions such as Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, San Sebastian Film Festival, Warsaw, TIFF Toronto or Tokyo FF, among others.
Outstanding filmography:
_ ‘El agua’ (2022) by Elena López Riera.Premiere at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
_’La mort de Guillem’ (2020) by Carlos Marques- Marcet. Premiere at the Malaga International Film Festival.
_’Lobster Soup’ (2020). Documentary directed by Pepe Andreu and Rafa Molés. Premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
_’Wonderful losers. A different world’ (2017) Documentary by Arünas Matelis. Award for best documentary in Warsaw and Minsk.
_ ‘Five days to dance’ (2014). Documentary by Pepe Andreu and Rafa Molés. Premiered at DocBarcelona and selected at the San Sebastian Festival, among others.
A Distant Call
Original title: A Distant Call
Directed by: Andrea SUWITO
Produced by: Finbar SOMERS (Umbra Motion Picture Company, United Kingdom), Mandy MARAHIMIN (Talamedia, Indonesia), Xavier ROCHER (La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma, France)
Country of production: Indonesia
Runtime: 90'
Expected release: July 2024
Production stage: Production
Budget: €182.863 (57% in place)
1st feature: Yes
Looking for: Financing for the rest of our budget, along with early discussions with festivals, sales agents and distributors.
Synopsis:
In a country that increasingly persecutes LGBTQ+ people, an ancient way of life that recognises five genders survives in a remote village. Their last gender-transcendent leader must make a critical decision: conform and risk their culture’s extinction, or refuse and be ostracised by society.
Director’s profile:
Andrea Suwito is an independent documentary filmmaker from Semarang, Indonesia. Her films focus on character-driven narratives especially on underrepresented communities. Her projects have been presented at Sheffield Doc/Fest MeetMarket, DOK Leipzig Short ’n Sweet, Edinburgh Pitch, Docs By The Sea, DMZ Industry, among others. Her first feature, A Distant Call is the recipient of SGIFF Southeast Asia Documentary Grant, DMZ Docs Development Fund and PROCIREP Commission Télévision fund. She was a fellow of Scottish Documentary Institute: Connecting Stories 2021. She is currently an Erasmus+ scholar for the Doc Nomads program.
Producer’s profile:
Finbar Somers is a British/Irish producer. He studied BSc Film and Television Production at the University of York, and currently resides in London working as a producer through his company Umbra Motion Picture Company. Umbra’s work straddles documentary, fiction and commercial. Finbar’s projects have been presented at Sheffield DocFest, DMZ Industry, Docs By The Sea, Global Short Docs among others.
Mandy Marahimin is an Indonesian film producer, working through her company Talamedia. She produces both fiction and documentaries. She was also the Outreach Director for Good Pitch Southeast Asia and Good Pitch Indonesia. She was the interim director of InDocs, a non-profit organisation with missions to cultivate talents in documentary and to grow the documentary ecosystem in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.”
Ever Since I Knew Myself
Original title: რაც თავი მახსოვს
Directed by: Maka GOGALADZE
Produced by: Maka GOGALADZE (Formo Production, Georgia), Anke PETERSEN & Lilian TIEYJEN (Jyoti Film, Germany)
Country of production: Georgia, Germany
Runtime: 90'
Expected release: April, 2024
Production stage: Production
Budget: €308.287 (32% in place)
1st feature: Yes
Looking for: Gap financing, Sales agents, Festivals, Distributors
Synopsis:
Maka, the daughter of a strict math teacher and high-maintenance mother, launches a journey around post-Soviet Georgia to observe children in the process of education. This quest is accompanied by her intimate conversation with her mother Nino. Two women of different generations, with different experiences and clashing perspectives, reflect on parenting, education and systems of power.
Director’s profile:
Maka Gogaladze is a director and photographer based in Georgia. With a degree in medicine, she started working as a photographer in 2010. In 2016, Maka received a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism and Media Management at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. Currently she is Multimedia Storytelling tutor at the GIPA and directs short documentaries for the South Caucasian media platform Chai-Khana. In 2016, Gogaladze co-founded FORMO Production. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, CIRCLE, ESoDoc, EAVE Change, IDFA Academy, CineDoc mentoring program and Close Up. “Ever Since I Knew Myself” is her first feature documentary.
Producer’s profile:
After completing a degree in medicine, Maka Gogaladze found her true self in photography in 2008. She have been collaborating with the NGO, media and other organisations in Georgia since. In 2016, Gogaladze embraced documentary filmmaking while completing a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism and Media Management at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). Currently she is tutoring photography at GIPA. Since 2016, Gogaladze have been directing short documentaries for the South Caucasian media platform Chai Khana. In 2016, she co-founded FORMO Production Company in order to develop my own projects – which have been supported by the Georgian National Film Center – and start collaborating with international co-producers. Ever Since I Knew Myself is her first feature-length documentary.
A Nuestros Amigos (To Our Friends)
Category: Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes
Directed by: Adrián Orr
Produced by: El Viaje Films / New Folder Studios (Spain) / Karõ Filmes (Portugal)
Country of production: Spain
Original title: A NUESTROS AMIGOS
Language: Spanish
Runtime: 90'
Completed in: 2023
Sara, a young woman from a working class neighbourhood, begins to change her social circle, constructing her identity as she starts school and becomes an adult. She makes her own way while confronting the consequences of her decisions.
The Chapel
Category: Fantastic 7
Directed by: Carlota Pereda
Produced by: Laura Fernández, Carlos Fernández, Iñaki Gómez and Pablo Echart
Country of production: Spain
Original title: La ermita
Genre: Supernatural drama
Language: Spanish
Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia
A fantastic fable that navigates between past and present, the real world and the paranormal, through the eyes of Emma, a young girl who wishes to keep communicating with her mother, even if that means contacting the other side.
Heirloom
Directed by: Upamanyu Bhattacharyya
Produced by: Otter Studios Odd, Even Pictures
Country of production: India
Original title: Heirloom
Language: Hindi, English
Runtime: 90'
Completed in: 2025
“Heirloom” is a period fantasy family story set in Ahmedabad. Kirti spends a fortune to build a collection for a handloom museum. His wife, Sonal, thinks they should instead enter the powerloom business to secure their family’s future.
On the Go
Category: Málaga Goes to Cannes
Directed by: María Gisèle Royo & Julia de Castro
Produced by: María Gisèle Royo & Julia de Castro - Jur Jur Productions, S.L.
Country of production: Spain
Original title: On the Go
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Runtime: 72'
Completed in: 2023
Milagros (37) stretches a carefree youth in her last years of fertility while Jonathan (24) seeks solace in Grindr to overcome abandonment issues. Milagros escapes her appointment for single-parent insemination. Jonathan triggers a reunion with a childhood sweetheart. The road and friendship alleviate the disorientation caused to these two friends by the deceptive freedom of the early 21st century. A delirious road movie, full of music, where a mysterious mermaid with a magic crown will set the course of the journey.
Sunflower
Category: Queer Screen Goes to Cannes
Directed by: Gabriel Carrubba
Produced by: Producer(s): Gabriel Carrubba, Zane Borg | Production Compnay: Pancake Originals
Country of production: Australia
Original title: Sunflower
Language: English
Runtime: 80'
Completed in: 2023
A seventeen-year-old boy struggles to understand and embrace his sexuality as he comes of age in the working class suburbs on Melbourne’s edge.