Five projects took part in an intensive one week workshop open to women-identifying directors, who are developing their second or third fiction feature film.

Romanian Oscar-nominated and Golden Bear-winning producer Bianca Oana was the head of studies and the mentors included Romanian editor Dana Bunescu, Serbian-Romanian screenwriter, director and actress Ivana Mladenović, French producer Dominique Welinski, Swiss producer Britta Rindelau, and Costa Rican Sweden-based screenwriter and director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén.

CIRCLE fosters project development, but also strongly focuses on knowledge-sharing and building professional skills by connecting participants of the programme with the rest of the film industry and giving them access to world-renowned mentors.

The programme also included free public screenings and masterclasses for local film professionals.

CIRCLE is organised by the Serbian company Wake Up Films in partnership with the When East Meets West Co-production Forum, Cannes Docs – Marché du Film, the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE), European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA), the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Greek Film Center, Agora Docs, CED – MEDIA Office Croatia, CED – MEDIA Office Slovenia, Motovila, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Cineuropa, Beldocs and EURODOC. CIRCLE is co-funded by Creative Europe – MEDIA.

Participants:

Kaffemi (Greenland)
Directed by Pipaluk Jørgensen

Idda (Italy)
Directed by Irene Dionisio

Lex Julia (Finland)
Directed by Laura Hyppönen

Perla (Austria)
Directed by Alexandra Makarová

The Fourth Way (Germany)
Directed by Sasha Kulak