WHEN EAST MEETS WEST is a co-production platform organised in Trieste by Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission. It brings together over 450 producers, financiers, decision makers and film professionals from more than 35 countries. The East & West double focus is based on two complementary ideas: on the one hand, every year the call for entries will be open to all producers from Europe and North/Latin America who are developing a project with international co-production potential, preferably with one of the countries in focus; on the other hand, WEMW will ensure the presence of a large delegation of key decision makers, financiers, producers and film professionals from each spotlight territory so to maximise the co-production, financing and distribution opportunities for all selected projects. The programme includes different actions: WEMW CO-PRODUCTION FORUM, FIRST CUT LAB, LAST STOP TRIESTE. 

Pop Up Film Residency: Vilnius (August 2021)

 

Zhannat Alshanova

Zhannat Alshanova

Director

Kazakhstan

Zhannat is an award-winning writer/director and producer from Kazakhstan.

She studied MA in Filmmaking at the London Film School. Her graduation short film End of Season (2018) premiered at Cannes Film Festival (Cinefondation), won the Most Promising Director Award in Tel-Aviv and Best Cinematography Award in Munich. In 2019 Zhannat got selected for Bela Tarr’s directing residency, where she developed and shot a film Paola Makes A Wish (2019), produced by Locarno Film Festival, CISA and Ticino Film Commission. The film got screened at various international film festivals, including Locarno Film Festival, PÖFF Shorts, Sundance.

Her latest short film History of Civilization (2020) premiered at Locarno Film Festival in Pardo di Domani section and won silver prize – PARDINO D’ARGENTO. The film was also selected for TIFF, Hamptons IFF, Clermont-Ferrand and others.

Zhannat is currently developing two feature projects: Mother Tongue (ARTE France’s ArteKino International Award at Asian Project Market) and A Winner is Seen at The Start (WEMW Co-Production Forum).

Recently, she has served as a juror for Sundance Collab Challenge “Time Capsule”. She is Berlinale Talents and Sundance Institute alumna.

 

A Winner is Seen at the Start

MILA (19) joins the new experimental swimming school. The accidental death of her teammate alters the course of events and reveal corruption schemes, doping, and controversial relationships. 

Mentors

Anna Ciennik

Anna Ciennik

Polish-born, French-educated, Anna Ciennik likes to look at the world from different perspectives.

After graduating from la fémis French film school in 2010 from the production department, she worked in various capacities – mostly as line producer and post-production supervisor – for the French Film Academy Les César and Les Films d’Ici, as well as Les Films de Pierre and Kazak productions, among others.

In parallel, she has been reading scripts for companies and institutions in France and the UK including the CNC, Why Not Productions, and Creative Films.

Anna’s interest for international independent production led her to join Paris’ Coproduction Village and Les Arcs European Film Festival as manager of the European Industry events. Between 2017 and 2021, she curated five editions of its co-production markets.

These experiences combined give Anna an in-depth and unique view into the entire journey of a film. She keeps working as a talent and project scout for various labs and markets. As a script consultant, her credits include Clara Sola by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén (Directors’ Fortnight 2021) and Amparo by Simón Mesa Soto (Cannes Critics’ Week 2021).