Italian-born Irish-resident director Nathalie Biancheri’s new feature film Wolf won the Danny Lerner Grand Prix for Best Project at the 15th edition of the Sofia Meetings co-production market in Bulgaria.
The prize is €50,000 in services and a cheque for €5,000, which was bestowed by Nu Boyana Film Studios’ CEO Yariv Lerner. This is the second pitching win for Wolf, having won the Irish section of the JETS event at the Berlinale just three weeks ago.
Wolf is a film about a seventeen year old boy, Jacob, who is trying to repress some unfathomable, lupine instincts. He is sent to the “Zoo” a clinic which specialises in curing this disorder – a little known but growing condition called species dysphoria in which people believe they are an animal trapped in a human body. The patients undergo a series of increasingly odd and violent repressive therapies and Jacob’s only respite comes from his secret nocturnal meetings with another patient, the Wildcat. A love story begins between the two -but will he be able to renounce his true, wild self, for love?
The film is produced by Jessie Fisk (Song of Granite) for production company Feline Films, which she runs with Biancheri. Feline Films aims to produce innovative and thought provoking feature films and documentaries which support diversity in both subject matter and talent. The company’s first fiction feature will be, Wolf, developed at Le Group Ouest’s ‘Less Is More’ script lab. Wolf was awarded development funding from the Women In Film Lottery Fund in 2017.
We are over the moon having won the grand jury prize at the Sofia meetings, our company has only been active a short few months and winning such a prestigious prize that pushes us closer to production is just wonderful. We are so grateful to the jury, the Sofia International Film Festival and of course the Nu Boyana Studios.
Jessie Fisk, Producer and Nathalie Biancheri, Director
Full list of winners from the 15th Sofia Meetings:
NUBOYANA Film Studios – Danny Lerner Award – Grand Prix for Best Project in the main sections
50,000 Euro in services and 5,000 Euro in cash once the project starts its production
WOLF, Ireland
Director Nathalie Biancheri, Producer Jessie Fisk
NUBOYANA Film Studios – Danny Lerner Award – Grand Prix for Best Bulgarian Project in all sections
50,000 Euro in services and 5,000 Euro in cash once the project starts its production
THE TROJAN CRISIS, Bulgaria/France
Director Francois Nouguies, Producer Martichka Bozhilova
CINELAB Romania – 25,000 Euro in post-production lab services
MARCH.APRIL.MAY, Russia
Director Andrey Gryazev, Producer Vlad Ketkovich
FOCUSFOX Studio Award – 10,000 Euro in post-production services
JA SAM ANA, Italy
Director Ado Hasanovic, Producer Massimo D’orzi
YAPIMLAB Young Producer Award (equal of 5,000 Euro)
DUO, Spain
Director Meritxell Colell, Producer Belén Sánchez
EASTWEST FILMDISTRIBUTION Award – script consultancy (equal of 5,000 Euro)
THE CROWN OF CREATION, Hungary
Directors László Csuja and Anna Eszter Nemes, Producer András Muhi
MEDITERRANEAN FILM INSTITUTE scholarship to participate in MFI Script 2 Film Workshops
CRISEA IV, Romania
Director Vladimir Dembinski, Director Bogdan Craciun
FIRST FILMS FIRST AWARDS
BALKAN FILM MARKET Award for the best project in the FIRST FILMS FIRST selection – an invitation to an official selection of the next Balkan Film Market
LIFE BEATS REALITY, Romania
Director and Producer Andrea Valeean
GOEAST Award for the best pitch in the FIRST FILMS FIRST selection – an invitation as a special guest to the East-West Talent Lab during the next edition of goEast in Wiesbaden
DAJNA, Albania/Germany
Director Christos Netsos, Producer Ermir Keta