CHANGE project BOXES FROM GEORGIA is in post-production
Development & Production News August 2025
In development
Film Fund Luxembourg
Film Fund Luxembourg has announced the recipients of its latest round of funding following the selection committee’s third session of the year, which took place from 21-25 July. 14 projects received funding commitments for writing and/or development and production. The projects include four live-action feature films, two animated features, three live-action series, one animated series, one live-action short film, two animated short films and one XR project. Among them:
- CAPITANI 3 by Christophe Wagner, associate producers: EAVE graduate and Luxembourgish National Coordinator Bernard Michaux, EAVE+ Head of Studies Jani Thiltges
- DONJONS & CHATONS by Clément De Ruyter and Jérémy Guiter, producer: EAVE graduate Stephan Roelants
- LES GENS DE LA PLUIE by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, producer: EAVE graduate Marion Guth
- MARGINAL 2 by Loïc Tanson, producer: associate producers: EAVE graduate and Luxembourgish National Coordinator Bernard Michaux, EAVE+ Head of Studies Jani Thiltges
- POMERHIN by Julie Schroell, producer: EAVE graduate Gilles Chanial
- STUFFED COMPANION by Ken Barthelmey, producer: EAVE graduate Bernard Michaux
- SUZANNE by Anaïs Caura and Joëlle Oosterlinck, producer: EAVE graduate Marion Guth
- THE MAN IN THE STOREROOM by Maria Solrun, co-producer: EAVE graduate Vincent Quénault
- THE WILD INSIDE by Patrick Imbert, producer: EAVE graduate Stephan Roelants
In production
- 1949 by Pawel Pawlikowski, producer: EAVE FFF graduate Lorenzo Gangarossa is in production. Set against the backdrop of a devastated Europe at the dawn of the Cold War, 1949 follows renowned German novelist and Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika. A journalist, actress and rally driver, Erika accompanies her father on a road trip in a black Buick cruiser, travelling from US-dominated Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar. Their journey through the ruins of Germany becomes a reflection on family bonds, identity and guilt, while capturing the moral uncertainty of a continent divided by new ideological frontiers. 1949 is based on the 2021 novel The Magician by Irish novelist Colm Toibin, and the script is co-written by Pawlikowski and German writer-director Henk Handloegten. The film continues Pawlikowski’s thematic exploration of identity, guilt, family and love amid the moral confusion of post-war Europe. Shooting is currently taking place in Poland, Germany and Italy. The German-Italian-Polish-French co-production is being staged by Lorenzo Gangarossa for Circle One, Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli for Rome-based OUR Films, ; for Lodz-based Extreme Emotions; Jeanne Tremsal and Edward Berger for Nine Hours; and Dimitri Rassam for Chapter2.
https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/482382
- LA CHALEUR by Stéphane Demoustier, producer: EAVE graduate Jean des Forêts is in production. Adapted by the director from Victor Jestin’s novel of the same name, the film’s plot goes as follows: it’s unusually hot on the beaches of Landes, and on his last day on the camping site, 17-year-old Marouane is plagued by dread: will the body that he buried on the beach the night before be discovered in broad daylight?. Produced by Jean des Forêts for Petit Film LA CHALEUR is being co-produced by Italy’s Wildside, plus Belgium’s Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique, in conjunction with Switzerland’s The Dreaming Sheep Company. Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+/OCS, the feature has also secured support via the CNC’s advance on receipts, the Aquitaine region and Procirep/Angoa. The shoot will continue until 24 September in Contis-plage, with David Chambille serving as DoP.
https://eave.org/network/desforets
- TARTUFFERIES by Igor Sterk, producer: EAVE graduate Bostjan Virc, co-producer: EAVE graduate Sinisa Juricic is in production. The story: Truffles, the riches of the underworld, have clouded the minds of the villagers of an Istrian village. When a master truffle hunter catches the biggest specimen in the world, the frenzy of greed bursts. A story of obsession, and two young people who love each other, and of everyone else who doesn’t. “The story is set in Istria, but I understand it as an allegory. Truffles can be anything: power, money, influence. Through the prism of comedy, we explore what happens when an individual achieves something extraordinary, and how the community reacts to it,” says director and co-writer Igor Šterk. The film is produced by Bostjan Virc and Natasa Vugrinec through Studio Virc in co-production with RTV Slovenija, Nukleus Film (Croatia) and Levante Produzioni (Italy). Studio Viba Film is providing technical support. The Slovenian Film Centre, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Fondo Audiovisivo FVG, and Creative Europe– MEDIA are backing the project. The first part of the 33-days shooting is taking place in Ljubljana, while the second part is set for the Istrian region, Croatia and Italy, in October 2025.
- LEAVING COPACABANA by Milcho Manchevski, co-producer: EAVE graduate and National Coordinator Serbia Milan Stojanovic is in production. The social thriller-comedy tells the story of Malina and Viktor, a brother and sister who steal busts for living. One day, the heavy bronze head-and-shoulders of a national hero slips out of Viktor’s hands and crushes his foot. When the doctor arrives to treat his injury, he demands sexual favors as payment. That’s when Viktor picks up a heavy manhole cover that was lying around the house. “This is a film about sibling love and self-sacrifice, about the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the blind and the seeing. It’s a film about how we live, how we laugh, and how we die,” Manchevski said. Jane Ķortosev is producing through Banana Film (North Macedonia) in co-production with Gala Film (Bulgaria), Sense Production (Serbia), Tirana Film Institute (Albania), Coast to Coast (Italy), and Berkeley Media Group (UK). The film is supported by the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Bulgarian National Film Centre, Film Center Serbia, the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, and also by funding from Italy and UK, as well as private investors. The shooting started on 15 July and is currently taking place at various locations around the Macedonian capital.
In post-production
- WORTHY by Christos Georgiou, line producer: EAVE graduate Marios Piperides is in post-production. The story begins when Elias, a cemetery caretaker, stumbles upon what he believes to be a weeping icon of Saint Anastasia while disposing of rubbish at a nearby dump. Moved by the discovery, he puts the icon on display at the cemetery. Soon, the site draws a diverse group of visitors, each bringing their own hopes, desires and frustrations, convinced that the icon may help them realise their wishes. At the same time, Elias struggles with the burden of being “worthy”, testing his faith, his self-belief and his ability to live up to the role he feels has been assigned to him as the icon’s chosen one. According to Georgiou, who also wrote the script, WORTHY uses a portmanteau structure to interweave the humorous and the poignant, offering a playful reflection on people’s universal need to wish for something and the often-complicated path towards making those wishes come true. Local production was overseen by EAVE graduate Marios Piperides (AMP Filmworks). WORTHY is a Cypriot-Greek co-production, staged by Christos Georgiou for Cyprus-based Lychnari Productions and Giorgos Kyriakos, Costas Lambropoulos and Sotiria Marini for Lesbos-based KPG Entertainment. The film is backed by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, Greece’s public broadcaster ERT SA and Creative Europe – MEDIA. Worthy is expected to be completed in early 2026.
- EAVE CHANGE project BOXES FROM GEORGIA by Gvantsa Meparishvili, co-producer: Natalie Humphreys is in post-production. The observational documentary captures the emotional dynamics and political fault lines inside a small humanitarian aid centre in Tbilisi, Georgia, where Georgian, Ukrainian and Russian volunteers try to cooperate amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The film centres on Lasha, a 47-year-old Georgian former lawyer who, after years of unemployment, becomes an active volunteer at the centre. Located on Paliashvili Street, the space becomes an unexpected meeting point for those fleeing violence or political repression, Ukrainians seeking refuge and Russians escaping Putin’s regime. Initially a haven of tolerance, the aid hub slowly unravels as internal tensions, power struggles and suspicions take hold. As the conflict outside creeps into this fragile space of solidarity, trust begins to collapse. Shot entirely in Tbilisi and edited in Glasgow, the film offers a rare, close-up view of a grassroots effort to maintain unity in a region long marred by historical trauma and political instability. Through the perspective of Lasha and his interactions with fellow volunteers, including Russian street artists, Ukrainian refugees and mixed-heritage individuals, the documentary investigates how personal relationships are strained and reshaped under pressure. Speaking to Cineuropa, Meparishvili explains: “What I discovered was a group of people from vastly different backgrounds, all united by one simple, honest purpose: to help. The centre felt like a microcosm of something greater, a symbolic space where the idea of peaceful coexistence was put to the test. But when the money disappeared and the founder vanished, the tension became unbearable. Suddenly, friends turned into strangers overnight.” Echoing her approach in her well-travelled short Number 26, Meparishvili maintains a stylistically intimate, observational tone throughout the film. “The camera stays close to the action. I wanted viewers to feel like they were present in the room, caught in the emotional currents, the mistrust and the fleeting beauty of genuine human connection,” she says. Drawing a subtle parallel between the protagonist and his country, Meparishvili describes Lasha as “a hopeful but destabilised figure – much like Georgia itself, caught between aspirations for independence and the constant pull of external forces”. The documentary touches on themes of identity, trust, post-Soviet fragmentation and the emotional toll of displacement, while carefully avoiding didacticism or political grandstanding. BOXES FROM GEORGIA is a Georgian-UK co-production between Meparishvili’s ZuchiFilms and Natalie Humphreys, of Glasgow’s Storyboard Studios. The project was developed through the EAVE CHANGE programme (2022-2023) and was pitched at CPH:DOX in 2023. It is supported by Screen Scotland and Glasgow-based post-production company Blazing Griffin.
https://eave.org/programmes/change-co-production-training-course-2022-2023
- OBJET by Ann Oren, producers: PUENTES graduate Sophie Ahrens, EAVE graduates Fabian Altenried, Donato Rotunno, Vicky Miha is in post-production. The project participated in Locarno’s Alliance 4 Development lab and FIDMarseille’s FIDLab in 2023, and a synopsis shared from around that time reads as follows: Ingeborg and Adam live and work together as hand surgeons. Ingeborg is a kleptomaniac. During a fit, she hurts her ankle and gets a walking aid. As she becomes attached to her new, sensitive body part, the envious Adam finds his own object of desire. While they explore their objectophilias, the mysterious Gaia begins working for them. She has unusually wild armpit hair, and she uses dried mushrooms to soak up her sweat. Gradually, she lures the couple into a surreal dialogue with nature. The title refers to Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory of an unattainable object of desire, specifically a projection or reflection of the “ego”. “Objet a is a tale about control and the hidden power in letting go of it,” said Oren in a statement. “It’s structured like a triangle of desire but with a twist. Objectophilia and fetishism in OBJET a are a commentary on our modern, desensitised body. We touch flat screens more than our lovers’ skins, and so we miss out on touching and being touched.” The film’s producers expanded to say that it “explores themes of desire, control and bodily autonomy in a modern world that seems to have lost touch with its own senses”. The picture is being produced by Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens and Fabian Altenried, of Germany’s Schuldenberg Films, Donato Rotunno, of Luxembourg’s Tarantula; and Vicky Miha, of Greece’s Asterisk*. Further backing comes from Creative Europe – MEDIA, Deutscher Filmforderfonds, Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung fur Kultur und Medien, Hessen Film & Medien, Filmforderungsanstalt and Film Fund Luxembourg.
- ESPIONAGE FOR BEGINNERS by Viktor Oszkar Nagy, co-producer: EAVE graduate Benoit Roland is in post-production. Written by Norbert Csala, the story revolves around 28-year-old György who’s a receptionist in a hotel in Hungary nestled on the shores of Lake Balaton. Feeling trapped in a life which isn’t going anyway, he’s convinced he’s made for greater things. During the summer of 1976, he meets a young Belgian woman called Mathilde with whom he falls hopelessly in love. But their romance doesn’t go unnoticed. The Hungarian minister for the interior takes an interest, because Mathilde’s father is the chief deputy of Ouest Machine, a Belgian firm specialising in military technology. Hoping to obtain crucial information through György, the ministry employees try to force his hand by blackmailing him into cooperating. But, to their great surprise, György offers to help them voluntarily – it turns out he’s keen to take part in an international operation in Belgium. Believing that he’s finally found an opportunity to realise his spy potential, György dives in headfirst, but finds himself stumbling from one disaster to another.... Produced by Istvan Major for Hungarian outfit Filmsquad, in co-production with Belgium’s Wrong Men and Spain’s Javier Toledo, ESPIONAGE FOR BEGINNERS enjoys support from the National Film Institute Hungary (NFI). Having kicked off on 27 May, shooting unfolded in Hungary (in Budapest and at Lake Balaton) and Belgium.
- IVAN & HADOUM by Ian de la Rosa, producer: EAVE graduate Hubert Toint is in post-production. The film explores themes of identity, family legacy and reclaiming one's body through love, told through the relationship between its protagonists: a trans man and a Hispanic-Moroccan woman. “If our bodies are not represented as desired and loved, we will not live a full life. One way to make this happen is to share and show love for them and their stories, as we do with Ivan and Hadoum. This film was born out of that impulse," said the director and screenwriter. The story follows Ivan, a forklift driver in a greenhouse warehouse in southern Spain. Against all odds, he falls in love with Hadoum, a colleague from the packaging line. Their relationship unfolds in defiance of both of their families’ disapproval. IVAN & HADOUM is produced by Stefan Schmitz and Emilia Fort for Avalon along with José Alba and Odile Antonio-Baez for Pecado Films, Carlotta Schiavon for Vayolet Films and Ivan & Hadoum AIE, in co-production with Roshanak Khodabakhsh and Jan Krüger for the German company Port au Prince, and Flavia Biurrun and Hubert Toint for the Belgian company Saga Film. It is also supported by RTVE, Canal Sur, Movistar Plus+, ICAA, Regional Government of Andalusia, ICEC, Europa Creativa - MEDIA, Eurimages and ARTE/ZDF.
- THE ASSISTANCE by Jutta Brückner, producer: EAVE graduate Herbert Schwering is in post-production. The main protagonist is Ursula, an archaeologist whose mother mysteriously dies after she uncovers a perfectly preserved bog body. Circumstances become more complex when Ursula hires an assistant named Mel to help her, as referred to by the German title, but this mysterious young woman seems to know much more about the researcher’s past than she should. Brückner returns to create feature films 20 years after her last effort, the 2005 flick The Hitler Cantate, in total having made nine features between 1975 and 2005. She is a Düsseldorf-born director for film, theatre and radio who began creating movies in the 1970s; her work includes both fiction and documentary. Her autobiographical 1980 film The Hunger Years (Hungerjahre) won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlinale, and she served as the head of the Berlinale jury in 1981. Brückner has also won the German Film Critics' Award three times for her work. The film is being produced by Christine Kiauk and Herbert Schwering for Coin Film. Additional funding was provided by Hessen Film, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the German Federal Film Board (FFA)/German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB).
- DIRT IN YOUR FACE by Jaak Kilmi, producer: EAVE+ graduate Kristian Taska is in post-production. Inspired by the autobiographical novel of Mihkel Raud, the film tells the story of a teenage metal band, Golem, as they take a wild ride from Tallinn to Võru to play the legendary rock festival in the last days of Soviet rule. Described by Kilmi as "a punk movie, a road movie, and a memory movie," the film is weighed down with youthful rebellion against period absurdity. The book itself has a pivotal share in Estonian culture. Martin Algus penned the script. „Mihkel Raud’s Dirt in Your Face is the most-read book in the Estonian literature of the last 20 years, and it is fair to call it a modern classic. Its film adaptation visualises the youthful adventures in the story, and shows how rock and punk music were the catalyst that helped fight the stupid Soviet repression", said producer Kristian Taska. EAVE+ graduate Kristian Taska is producing through Estonia's Taska Film in co-production with Tanel Tatter and Veiko Esken through Estonia’s Apollo Film Production, Janis Kalejs through Latvia’s Film Angels Studio, and Rain Rannu and Tõnu Hiielaid through Estonia’s Tallifornia. The project is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, the Viru Film Fund, the Tartu Film Fund, the National Film Centre of Latvia, and the Latvian State Guarantee Fund.
Page published 29 August 2025.
