New Dawn selects first 6 projects; Telefilm Canada joins

“We are happy that so many film makers responded to our call and very pleased with the wide variety of submissions!" - Film maker Shamira Raphaëla, chair of the advisory committee.

New Dawn celebrates its first selection round today at the Toronto International Film Festival and is proud to announce that Telefilm Canada is joining the international fund.

The selected projects, supported with up to €200,000 for features and €100,000 for documentaries are:

Documentaries

Kouté Vwa (Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Twenty Nine studio, Wallonia/Belgium)

Ten years after the murder on his best friend Yannick returns to French Guiana. Kouté Vwa is a contemporary tragedy, in which many voices unfold and try to remedy an impossible mourning.

No Place Like Home (Myrid Carten, Inland film, Ireland)

A survival story, framed around a contested family house in rural Ireland, about the cost of love; and how difficult it can be to escape.

Feature films

Árru (Elle Sofe Sara, Mer Film, Norway)

A Sami joik musical about Kari, a reindeer herder who joins the fight against the destruction of the reindeer grazing area

Undisclosed (Undisclosed, Hobab, Sweden)

An afternoon tea in Teheran leads to reflection and daring the unthinkable.

The Omen (Baloji, Wrong Men, Wallonia/Belgium)

A young Congolese man comes back to his hometown to face the complexities of his family and his culture.

Time Out (Jonas d'Adesky, Néon Rouge, Wallonia/Belgium)

A Rwandan-Belgian basketball player in the twilight of her professional career leaves Belgium for Rwanda to join the African championship.

New Dawn was launched in May this year at the Cannes Festival by 9 European film institutes and funds, aiming to support more diversity in the international film industry. With the introduction of New Dawn the participating funds want to explore more ways to establish variety and representation. A vibrant, open and inclusive film industry with true diversity of perspectives and filmic expressions has relevance for everyone.

New Dawn is supported by the following film institutes and funds: Communauté Française de Belgique Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel; Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF); Film Fund Luxembourg; Finnish Film Foundation; Norwegian Film Institute; Swedish Film Institute; Screen Ireland; Telefilm Canada; Instituto Português do Cinema e do Audiovisual and Netherlands Film Fund.

For general information about the New Dawn Fund please contact Ezra Droog (Netherlands Film Fund) at [email protected] and/or visit newdawn.film.

Image: f.l.t.r.t.t.b.: Undisclosed project, Baloji (The Omen), Maxime Jean-Baptiste (Kouté Vwa), Elle Sofe Sara (Árru), Myrid Carten (No Place Like Home), Jonas d'Adesky (Time Out)