Munich Film Up! is a 9-month mentoring & residential program welcoming fresh film school graduates with first feature film projects. Presented by HFF München, Munich Film Up! is run in cooperation with the Pop Up Film Residency as exclusive content partner, and in partnership with Film School Fest Munich and Filmfest München.
Each year 6 participants from all over the world take part in the Lab that notably consists in two workshops held in Munich: first in parallel to the Film School Fest Munich in November, and then during the Filmfest München in June, when they present their projects to film industry executives. In between, each aspiring filmmaker benefits from a tailor-made Pop Up Film Residency in one of the residences of our network.
More infos: www.munichfilmup.org
1st edition in 2022: Lana Bregar, Erec Brehmer, Anastasiya Gruba, Loïc Hobi, Cyrielle Raingou, Pratik Thakare
2nd edition in 2023: Sadeq Es-Haqi, Hang L Nguyen, Soham Kundu, Nancy Calmando, Viv Li, Ashmita Guha Neogi
Leila Basma
Lebanon
Bio:
Fleeing with the dogs
Romy Bou Nasr
Lebanon
Bio:
Romy is a filmmaker from Lebanon who graduated from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in 2021. She wrote and directed her graduation film ‘Apnea’ that screened in festivals like Medfilm Festival and is currently developing her first feature.
Project:
Clinical
Sara is a young nurse who’s gone into a complete state of apathy and boredom with her life until she encounters strange night visions with flickering lights and obsesses over finding meaning behind her visions.
Leonardo Martinelli
Brazil
Bio:
Leonardo Martinelli (1998) is a filmmaker from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With the short
“Fantasma Neon” he won the Golden Leopard for Best International Short Film at the 74th Locarno Film Festival. His next short film, “Pássaro Memória”, premiered at the 76th Locarno Film Festival and was selected to TIFF, Zinebi, Vancouver, Gent, among others. In a vote by Brazilian film critics, who considered short film directors who haven’t yet made feature films, he was listed as one of the Top 10 New Brazilian Filmmakers by Papo de Cinema.
Project:
Fantsama Neon
João Lázaro, a young delivery man from Rio, has his worldviews challenged when several protests organized by delivery workers begin to emerge. Questioning his working conditions and his role within a meritocratic system, we dive into a musical that clashes the dreams and fantasies of the young into the reality of inadequate wages, unempathetic customers and constant threats that surround them.
Gretta-Garoliina Sammalniemi
Finland
Bio:
Gretta-Garoliina originates from Finland, South Lapland, where she graduated as a Bachelor in communication, continuing her studies at the HFF München and in the Icelandic Film school. Her interest can be caught especially with the weight of social and political themes and questions about identity, injected with some dry humour.
Project:
THIS IS NORMAL
What do breast cancer, teenagers and a tick-tock challenge have in common? Marla, 45, and her daughter Sarah, 14, have no choice but to find out. As their relationship with their bodies crumble, the relationship between the two is also put to the test.
Inès Sieulle
France
Bio:
Inès Sieulle is a French filmmaker based in Paris. Through a choir of life paths, her films aim to shed sensitive light on the contemporary social dynamics that surround her through the themes of intimacy, community and their way of defining themselves in the world.
Project:
Aux Relais des Maux
In 2019, in Gluiras, a village in the Ardèche region of France, a throbbing, incessant noise of unknown origin is heard, disrupting the quiet lives of the inhabitants. The inhabitants divide into two groups, The Hearers and the Non-Hearers and the story becomes known as “The Mysterious Sound of Gluiras”. As a result, the village is invaded by tourists wanting to hear the sound.
Berthold Wahjudi
Germany
Bio:
Born in Hamburg in 1993, Berthold studied Arts & Sciences at University College London. In 2016 he joined the directing programme at the University of Television and Film Munich. His short SUMMER HIT screened at many festivals including SXSW and won prizes at Palm Springs Shortfest and Premiers Plans amongst others. His new short SENSIBELCHEN is currently in post-production. As a screenwriter and director Berthold has worked on various TV projects and is developing his first feature film.
Project:
WOLKENBRUCH
A coming-of-age story set at a Bavarian lake. BENNI, a 14 year-old Asian-German, gets caught in a web of lies when he tries to fit with a group of rich German kids during the summer holidays.
