In today’s deeply unsettling international context, LIM’s selection team faced an increase of around 35% in the number of projects coming from all over Europe and beyond. We see this as a positive sign, a sign that difficult times are pushing filmmakers to work together to optimize and strengthen their films.
We feel a sense of urgency among these projects, whether they are first features or film projects by more established filmmakers. As if filmmaking is an art in need of challenging periods to thrive. It is clear that this new group of filmmakers has emerged from the changing geopolitical landscape with a strong representation of talent and projects coming from eastern Europe and beyond: Poland, Romania, as well as projects from the Baltic states. And beyond the borders of E.U., Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan… with filmmakers often taking a stand against the nonsensical violence around them. These projects will work hand in hand with up and coming filmmakers from Ireland, Italy, France, UK, Brittany, Switzerland or Belgium…
Once again this year, we’re back in the game, continually striving to raise the bar a little higher. We sought out those individuals to help them spread their wings and to fly a bit further in their work as storytellers and filmmakers. And this year again, we’ve been helped in our quest for sharper development tools and intense digging for meaning, served by our steady work with European researchers coming from cognitive sciences to anthropology and sociology (www.storytank.eu). The filmmakers display an incredible appetite for rethinking work methods and how to process and deepen the paths allowing them to deliver untold stories.
We believe that our responsibility is precisely in trying to help strengthen the voices of those who have the ability to make this world a better place through their films.
As a result, the films written during our LIM workshops are increasingly present and highlighted in the international panorama, they obtain awards and prestigious selections. While still in the development phase when reaching our yearly event LIM MEET, an impressive number of these film projects and stories find inspiring and often new generation producers. But most importantly, with each passing year, we are thrilled by the constant rise of individuals who come to work with us and who have something to say about the world, their world. They represent a bold bet on what cinema is potentially becoming: a powerful tool for awakening humanity.
