EXCLUSIVE: Female and non-binary filmmaker-focused international training initiative Circle has kicked off its inaugural Circle Fiction Orbit initiative at a meeting in Montenegro and unveiled the participants.
The new program extends Circle’s activities beyond its founding Woman Doc Accelerator program, which has supported some 50 non-fiction projects since its launch five years ago.
Employing the same methodology as the Doc Accelerator, the inaugural fiction initiative is supporting five fiction projects in development.
They include Danish birthday party-set drama Kaffemi, from director Pipaluk Jørgensen, whose short film Ivalu was Oscar nominated this year, and screenwriter-actress Nukâka Coster Waldau.
Italian director Irene Dionisio participates with Idda about two childhood friends who reconnect as they scale the perilous slopes of Mount Etna. Dionisio previously made waves with Pawn Streets which played in Venice Critics’ Week.
Finnish director Laura Hyppönen and producer Merja Ritola (Greenlit Productions) are attending with Lex Julia, exploring the dynamics of acquaintance rape through the tale of a woman who discovers an old friend is now married to man who attacked her 15 years previously.
The selection also features Austrian-Slovakian director Alexandra Makarová’s drama Perla, exploring the theme of relationships to homeland. She is participating with producer Sabine Gruber, who is producing with Arash T. Riahi under the banner of Golden Girls Film.
Belarus filmmaker Sasha Kulak is also participating with contemporary Uzbekistan-set drama The Fourth Way, revolving around four young women who are intertwined in a dreamlike way, alongside German producer Julia Shaginurova at Einbahnstraße Productions.
The participants and mentors of the pilot edition are meeting in currently coastal resort town of Herceg Novi in Montenegro.
The aim of the Circle initiative is to create a safe space for participating filmmakers to go in depth into all aspects of the filmmaking process, with creative and psychological support.
Oscar nominated producer Bianca Oana, whose credits include the Berlinale Golden Bear winner Touch Me Not is head of studies for the inaugural edition.
Other mentors include Romanian editor and sound designer Dana Bunescu (The Death of Mr Lazarescu, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days); French producer Dominique Welinski, who is also the founder of the Cannes Directors’ Factory; Swiss producer Britta Rindelaub (The Hive), Costa Rican, Sweden-based screenwriter and directo rNathalie Álvarez Mesén (Clara Sola), and Serbian-Romanian screenwriter, director and actress Ivana Mladenović (Stories from Ferentari, Ivana the Terrible).
As part of the initiative, Circle is organizing free public screenings in Herceg Novi of Clara Sola and Ivana the Terrible and three masterclasses for local film professionals.
Circle is co-funded by Creative Europe – MEDIA and organized by Wake Up Films production.
Other partners include When East Meets West Co-pro Forum, Cannes Docs – Marché du Film, Documentary Association of Europe (DAE), European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA), International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), Film Centre of Montenegro, Greek Film Centre, Agora Docs, CED – MEDIA Office Croatia, CED – MEDIA Office Slovenia, Motovila, Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Cineuropa, Beldocs and EURODOC.
Circle Fiction Orbit is organized in partnership with the Film Centre of Montenegro and is co-funded by Creative Europe – MEDIA.
