Projects by Cameroonian director Cyrielle Raingou and Mosotho filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese have been recommended for grants from the World Cinema Fund, an initiative of the Berlin Film Festival and the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The selections were made from 195 submissions spread across 55 countries.
While Mosese’s team was recommended for a grant of 30,000 euros as production funding for a documentary titled Ancestral Visions of the Future, Raingou’s is listed as 40,000 euros for I’m Coming For You, a feature film.
Speaking about the selection, which includes eight other projects, two of which will use the funding for distribution in Germany, WCF head, Vincenzo Bugno, said, “At a time when the complexity of the world is often suppressed, the WCF jury meetings provide a space for reflection where we can engage with the worlds around us in all their marvellous and intricate diversity.”
He added: “All of this is made possible by the countless projects of the highest quality that we receive. We have selected eight projects with great artistic potential that fascinate and move us. Many come from the African continent, many introduce us to unique characters who are able to withstand their often tragic fate. We are looking forward to the special films that will emerge from them.”
Both Raingou and Mosese have enjoyed some success in the European film circles in recent years. The Cameroonian won the Tiger Award at the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam for the documentary Le Spectre de Boko Haram; Mosese has screened his last two films at the Berlinale Film Festival. In 2020, he was invited to join the jury that chose winners for the festival’s short film section.
Other countries also up for WCF grants this year are Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, and Nepal.
