The Russian film industry will be widely represented at the international co-production forum When East Meets West (WEMW), which will be held January 24–28 in Trieste, Italy. For the first time Russia will be “a country in focus” of one of the largest European co-production platform.
“The participation of the Russian delegation in the international co-production forum When East Meets West in Italy is a logical continuation of both our partnership with the forum as part of the market for Russian content “Key Buyers Event” and the further development of our dialogue with the Italian industry that began at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, when we organized a “Focus on Russia”. The increase in interaction with the European production community is not accidental. We can see a readiness for co-production from Russian colleagues and the international community. It is significant that almost 10% of the total number of applications for the WEMW co-production forum came from Russia. I am sure that the forum will give the Russian film industry an opportunity to maximize its potential and will also help raise the level of expertise of Russian producers.” Evgenia Markova, CEO of ROSKINO commented.
“In this incredibly challenging edition of WEMW, one of the most pleasing outcomes is the Russian film industry’s huge interest in our range of activities. Over the past few months, we have received an incredible number of high-quality Russian submissions for all our sections, and we are very happy to have selected several promising talents and outstanding projects, and we hope to offer them the chance to find co-production partners, festival premiere and international sales amongst the 750+ international WEMW attendees.” Alessandro Gropplero, Head of the When East Meets West forum commented.
Markova said that five Russian film projects selected by the jury will be presented at the forum, and the directors and producers of these films will be able to personally present their work to the international professional community. The national delegation will include producers taking part in special sessions and panel discussions. Markova went on to explain that the WEMW forum will be held in partnership with the ROSKINO export brand Russian Content Worldwide (RCW). This year, WEMW will take place in a hybrid format: delegations from participating countries will join WEMW physically and virtually.

Five Russian projects were selected by the jury to participate in various WMEW programs:

•  A Short Summer, directed by Nastya Korkia, one of the best young prospects of Russian cinema. In 2021, her documentary film GES-2 was in the program of the Venice Film Festival. The producer of the film A Short Summer is Natalia Drozd (co-producer of the Compartment No. 6, which received the Grand Prix at the 74th Cannes Film Festival). A Short Summer will be presented at the WEMW co-production forum.
• White Road! directed by Ella Manzheeva and produced by Victoria Lupik (the film was presented in the Atelier section of the Cinefondation program of the 74th Cannes Film Festival). White Road! will be presented in WMEW This is IT (full-length feature films or hybrid projects in post-production) and the First Cut Lab Trieste workshop.
• The Year of Birth directed by Mikhail Mestetsky and produced by Sergei Kornikhin and Semyon Zakruzhny. The film will be presented in WMEW This is IT (full-length feature films or hybrid projects in post-production) and the First Cut Lab Trieste workshop.
• Against the Wind, directed and produced by Tatyana Soboleva. The film will be presented in the new Impact Pyramid Inspirational Lab section.
• Talk to Me, directed by Yulia Mironova. The film will be presented in the Impact Pyramid Inspirational Lab section.

The Russian delegation, which will include producers and cinematographers, headed by ROSKINO CEO, Evgenia Markova, will take part in the business program of the forum. A “Meet the Russian Delegation” session is also planned: Russian film industry professionals will be able to present themselves and their companies to all the participants of the WEMW forum. Markova said that the WEMW forum will help attract potential international co-production partners to Russia, support interaction between Russian and international producers, and will raise awareness of film production opportunities in Russia and government support programs.