Cannes’ Focus COPRO, dedicated to first feature films, has announced this year’s selection of seven projects.
“Asaa” by Valentin Noujaïm, “Bergies” directed by Dian Weys, Anna Martí’s “Cara de Santa” and Huiju Park’s “Fantasy Island” made the cut, as well as “Giliw” by Kyla Romero, “Imazhe të humbura” by Samir Karahoda and “Je m’appelle Nina Shakira” by Samuel Suffren.
“It’s a key opportunity to discover talented filmmakers at an early stage of their career, and – specifically for producers and sales agents – to foster innovative artistic visions and new voices from filmmakers selected with a short film in Competition or at Directors’ Fortnight, in addition to projects and auteurs we scout all year round,” says Florian Fernandez, head of SFC and Rendez-vous Industry.
“It’s also part of Cinéma de Demain’s DNA, the entity created by Cannes Film Festival, gathering all its initiatives dedicated to championing filmmakers, pursuing its long-standing tradition of revealing fresh talents and supporting the film industry of tomorrow.”
Its biggest goal?
“To highlight these new talents on an international scale and to help them find the most meaningful opportunities to facilitate the making, and the release, of their forthcoming feature debut.”
In “Fantasy Island,” Huiju Park explores a mother-daughter relationship centered around dreams and fantasies on Mactan Island in the Philippines.
“By following their relationship, I aim to invite the audience into the teenage girl’s world and highlight the mother’s unconventional love for her daughter. At the same time, the story portrays how Koreans on the island have shaped the local landscape – and how they’ve been taking land from the Filipinos.”
According to Park, the biggest challenge for debuting filmmakers right now is “finding the right direction.”
“It’s like you’re driving somewhere. You know the destination, but you don’t have a map. You worry whether you’ll make it and question every decision you’ve made. I don’t know if I’m talented enough to survive in this competitive industry. But the one thing I do know is that I want to keep filming, crafting stories and making people feel something.”
Making the first feature is “always a challenge,” agrees Samir Karahoda, who previously showed his shorts in Cannes. Especially “balancing artistic vision with the realities of a larger production.”
In “Lost Frames,” he’s exploring stories specific to his country, “issues that are visible but rarely addressed, such as social injustice, migration and the everyday struggles of ordinary people.”
The film, focusing on a man who films funerals for a living, mostly for those who can’t attend them, deals with “memory, loss, transformation, generational gaps and the fragile relationship between men and women.”
“At its core, the film contrasts two worlds: the loud, chaotic nightlife where people escape their reality, and the quiet, often harsh daily life filled with pressure, debt, and injustice. This tension reflects both the protagonist’s inner world and a society still healing from war.”
“Bergies” was inspired by a short Dian Weys made four years ago. Since then, the housing crisis in Cape Town has worsened.
“Last year, a court ruling gave the city the authority to evict people from these sites and offer them alternative accommodation. I witnessed some of these evictions and used those experiences as the foundation for the film’s fictional treatment. I plan to continue this research and conduct more interviews in the coming months,” he says, hoping his participation in Focus CoPRO will “also draw attention to the South African film industry and its talented filmmakers,” struggling to find local funding support.
“We have a voice and we have something to say.”
So do female filmmakers, argue Anna Martí and Laura Santos behind “Cara de Santa.”
“We feel challenged to talk about a generation of our mothers. When we talk about the concept of weariness, we talk about looking at these women with dignity, without infantilizing them. We believe that by doing so, there can be a horizontal dialogue between two generations that, although separated by thirty years of experience and life, are closer than it seems.”
Their main objective is to “generate a debate that’s current and necessary.” “We want to give a voice to a woman in her sixties with the care and respect that the story deserves. We hope our voice and our position as women in the industry can help to improve and nurture the diversity of the sector, and generate references for future filmmakers.”
Manon Messiant, producing “Asaa,” promises “a sensual and politically charged tale set in a city still reeling from catastrophe.” The film follows a single mother and her teenage son in a bourgeois house near the port of Beirut. “It’s a study of masculinity through the lens of a coming-of-age thriller and a deeply emotional melodrama, unfolding in a city haunted by violence and beauty.”
As emerging filmmakers are “navigating an increasingly difficult landscape,” she notes, with the market “more reluctant than ever to take risks on bold or unconventional visions,” this kind of platform becomes crucial.
“It helps us reach potential partners, particularly international ones, and gives visibility to films that might otherwise struggle to break through the noise.”
Fernandez notes: “We act as a launching pad for the projects to shine in other key industry initiatives led by prestigious festivals or independent labs and residencies, and thus turn into matchmakers in the hope of seeing the projects travel in various important events capable of boosting their development.”
This year, as always, they were looking for “a unique voice, an original and inspiring way to approach a topic, boldness and above all, strong and authentic personal intentions.”
“Additionally, we always aim for a great variety in our final line-up, with projects coming from different territories, carried by different visions, and using the cinematic language in different ways – documentary projects always hold a special space in our hearts as well.”
“This year, we were pleased to discover projects inspired by literature, thoughtfully adapted to the situation of specific regions and personal stories. We also observed a variety of approaches to themes such as feminism, sorority and self-assertion, and were moved by their authenticity — at times infused with poetry, at others wrestling with a world that leaves little room for such reverie.”
In the past editions, the initiative welcomed An Pham Thien’s “Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell” – which went on to win Caméra d’Or – Felipe Gálvez’ “The Settlers,” presented at Un Certain Regard and Carlota Pereda’s Sundance revelation “Piggy.”
“We’re also proud to witness the great support many of the projects get from key industry initiatives and film funds, as our main aim is to serve as a networking platform giving the filmmakers the opportunity to develop their first feature project further, since the journey can be quite a long process,” says Fernandez. Focus COPRO “counts on the support of three programs,” granting projects training and development: Pop Up Film Residency, ECAM Industria and HFF München.
“I hope this opportunity will lead me to meaningful conversations. As an independent filmmaker, I usually talk to myself, think alone and work alone. I’m hoping to meet people who can challenge me, question my thoughts and help me grow. It’s incredibly helpful to have a space where you can feel like you belong,” says Huiju Park.
Karahoda adds: “This is the first time we’re presenting the project publicly and it’s a significant step for us. Being a part of this initiative gives us visibility and motivation to bring the story to life in the best way possible.”
“Asaa”
France, Lebanon
Director: Valentin Noujaïm
Producer: Manon Messiant (Iliade et Films)
In post-blast Beirut, 13-year-old Charbel’s world unravels when his mother falls for a gentle Syrian sailor. Expecting a hero, the boy is drawn into dark fantasies. A psychological thriller that probes masculinity and grief in a city suspended between ruin and myth.
Director’s Statement: “I aim to explore masculinity, faith and class within Lebanon’s Christian class, amidst the ruins of a city in constant reconstruction. The film delves into the violence passed through generations, the harsh rituals of boyhood, and the tender moments that flicker beneath, in a world scarred by war and fragile hope.”
“Bergies”
South-Africa, France
Director: Dian Weys
Producer: Le Roux Fourie (Electronic Roof Films)
Co-producer: Insolence Productions
Llewellyn, a law enforcement officer close to retirement, finds a dead body while carrying out the eviction notice of over a fifty homeless people. He must manage his team, placate the ravenous media, divert the curious public and try to treat the evictees with dignity and respect.
Director’s Statement: “In this real-time film, filled with a series of long takes linked with sharp and striking cutting points, I want to immerse the viewer alongside the protagonist into the chaos, in order to make spectators feel like implicated witnesses.”
“Cara de Santa” (“Face of Grace”)
Spain
Director: Anna Martí
Co-director: Laura Santos
Producer: Mayca Sanz (Allegra Films)
Co-producer: Nocturna Pictures
63-year-old Dolores violently assaults a man in public on Christmas Eve. Her animalistic behavior, unbecoming of a mother, wife and teacher like her, will put her femininity and her sanity under the spotlight.
Director’s Statement: “In this drama with a satirical tone, we aim to talk about the relationship between violence and femininity and put at the center of the story what happens in our society when the rules of coexistence are challenged by who should not.”
“Fantasy Island”
South Korea, Philippines
Director and Producer: Huiju Park
A hardworking Filipino mother teaches her daughter how to clean houses for Korean families, but while the mother holds on to the “Korean Dream”, the daughter dreams of her own path and future.
Director’s Statement: “This film explores the ‘Korean Dream’ through Filipino domestic workers employed by upper-class Koreans. Through a mother and daughter’s perspectives, it questions the dream’s true meaning. A portrait of two women, the story captures their struggles, sacrifices, and the inevitable clash between their differing dreams and aspirations.”
“Giliw” (“Beloved”)
Philippines
Director: Kyla Romero
Producer: Fea Fortuna, Arvin Belarmino (901 Studios)
Co-producer: WAF Studios
As a small town enters a new year, a girl reconnects with the ghost of her dead father through a clairvoyant dancer-seamstress. They search for his lost remains in the midst of the ongoing wreckage of the old cemetery, and the inevitable erasure of the town’s past.
Director’s Statement: “Before my father died, he longed to return home to Agoo, where generations of our family are buried. Today, the Agoo cemetery is being demolished in the name of progress. He never returned home. This film is my tribute to him, and to a hometown losing pieces of its soul.”
“Imazhe të humbura” (“Lost Frames”)
Kosovo, Germany
Director: Samir Karahoda
Producer: Yll Uka (Ikone Studio)
Co-producer: Donkey Films
In post-war Kosovo, Sherif’s a wedding and funeral videographer whose life begins to unravel after he loses footage from a grand wedding. What begins as a technical error turns into a personal and social fallout.
Director’s Statement: “Through the main story, I aim to use the parallel narratives to reflect both the challenges and the values of our society today.
“Je m’appelle Nina Shakira” (“My Name Is Nina Shakira”)
France, Haïti
Director: Samuel Suffren
Producer: Louise Basard, Carine Ruszniewski (GoGoGo Films)
Co-producer: Kitfilms
Nina Shakira, a 12-year-old girl, lives for books. When her adoptive mother, a prostitute in Port-au-Prince, falls into debt, Nina ends up walking the streets of Grand Rue. She meets Yvon, a professor who encourages her to write. Soon, her novel eclipses everything else.
Director’s Statement: “Nina Shakira runs away from home because she can’t stand her mother being beaten by her father. As a filmmaker, I took Mackenzy Orcel’s book ‘Les Immortelles’ as my own to free her voice and shed light on the violence against women. In Haiti, as elsewhere, this should be a problem for men too.”