World Cinema Fund Announces New Support for Nine International Film Projects

The Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF) has announced its latest round of funding, supporting nine ambitious film projects from across the globe. At its 43rd jury session, the WCF awarded a total of €365,000 to filmmakers from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Cambodia, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Philippines, Senegal, and Turkey, continuing its commitment to supporting diverse voices and bold storytelling.

The selected projects represent a wide range of cultures, experiences, and filmmaking styles, reflecting the WCF’s mission to strengthen cinema from regions where production opportunities can be limited. In addition to these new production grants, three German theatrical releases received a combined €28,000 in support in recent months.

This latest selection also highlights the continued success of filmmakers who have previously received WCF support. Among them are Ana Cristina Barragán, whose latest film Hiedra received recognition at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival, Amanda Nell Eu, director of the Cannes-winning Tiger Stripes (2023), and Apolline Traoré, whose film Sira premiered in the Berlinale Panorama section in 2023.

The connection between the WCF and the wider Berlinale ecosystem remains strong, with five selected directors having previously taken part in Berlinale Talents. Two projects were also presented through Berlinale industry platforms, including the Berlinale Co-Production Market and the Talents Project Market.

The latest jury session was the first chaired by Sata Cissokho, who took over as head of the World Cinema Fund at the end of 2025. Reflecting on the selection process, Cissokho highlighted the record number of submissions and the exceptional quality of projects received.

“We have received a record number of submissions and high-quality projects,” said Cissokho. “Although it is not easy to recommend only nine projects for support, this demonstrates the importance and relevance of the World Cinema Fund in supporting cultural diversity through a wide range of themes, perspectives, and forms.”

The selected projects include six debut features, alongside new works from established WCF-supported filmmakers. The chosen films explore themes including displacement, identity, environmental change, family, survival, and social injustice.

Among the WCF Classic production grants are Birthday by Lara Zeidan, a coming-of-age story set during the political unrest of Beirut in 2008, and Goodbye for Now by Kasım Ördek, which follows a young woman searching for her missing mother in Istanbul. Other supported projects include Apolline Traoré’s The Guardian of the Green Ocean, a story about protecting nature against industrial threats, and Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan’s HUM (OVUG), which blends Indigenous culture with environmental themes.

The programme also supports Little Phnom Penh by Chheangkea, Amanda Nell Eu’s historical drama Lotus Feet, and Ana Cristina Barragán’s AMAPOLA, a moving exploration of healing and survival among young trafficking survivors in Ecuador.

Additional WCF Europe-supported projects include Fagadaga by Yoro Mbaye, a Senegalese drama about poverty, dignity, and moral choices, and Farid Ahmad’s documentary Waiting for Winter, which follows a homeless mother’s struggle for safety in Bangladesh’s changing river landscapes.

With these latest grants, the World Cinema Fund continues its mission to support filmmakers with unique perspectives and bring powerful international stories to audiences around the world.