Participants 2022 - Munich Film Up!

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PARTICIPANTS 22/23

The 6 promising young filmmakers are offered a 8-month journey that starts & ends all together in Munich (at the Film School Fest Munich at first & at the Filmfest München at the end), with individual 3-week-long Pop Up Film Residencies in between.

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Sadeq Es-Haqi

I belong to the generation of Iranian young filmmakers who are exploring the least discussed aesthetic and thematic issues in Iranian cinema.

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Double Blind (WT)

The story takes place in a criminal city. The life of a young girl is turned upside down during the course of one day.

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Hang L Nguyen

A Vietnamese woman filmmaker who cares to explore the transnational female identity in relationships with family dynamics and grief. With a morbid sense of humor, occasionally.

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Rooftop Lempicka (WT)

A coming-of-age drama with magical realist elements. In 2002 Saigon, Vietnam, a ten-year-old girl learns her first lessons about womanhood and sexuality by possessing a nude painting book by a female artist, and befriending her conservative parents’ new tenant.

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Soham Kundu

Soham is an Indian born, London based Writer-Director, an alumna of University of the Arts London (Directing), NFTS (Writing the TV Pilot) and a recipient of the JN Tata Scholarship. His latest film ‘Love Death and Everything In Between won the ‘Prix Interculturel Award’ at Film School Fest Munich’.

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The Sea Urchin (WT)

The Sea Urchin follows the story of Vitthal, a Bangladeshi immigrant in the UK, who comes to terms with his own identity, triggered by the untimely demise of his schizophrenic brother. While in mourning, he forms a unique friendship with a deaf woman who shares a similar desire to escape from the responsibilities and mundanities of everyday life.

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Nancy Calmado

I am Nancy and I grew up in the Italian Alps. After studying at the HFF, now I’m based in Munich.

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Wolf (WT)

Will be my debut film. It is a crazy, hilarious horror/thriller mix about the return of the ,,evil” wolf in Europe.

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Viv Li

Viv Li is a Chinese filmmaker and artist based in Berlin. She likes to approach everything with humor, especially her films.

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A Hazy Romance (WT)

A Chinese layabout and a Swiss photographer accidentally drive themselves into China’s deep west. Despite the clash in culture, the two strangers must learn to trust each other in this strange get adventurous journey.

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Ashmita Guha Neogi

Ashmita Guha Neogi (1991) is a filmmaker based out of Delhi, India. She studied Scriptwriting & Direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. She is currently developing her debut feature, Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires.

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Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires (WT)

During a winter vacation, the teenage daughters of two families slowly discover secrets that exist between the families, threatening their own friendship.

MunichFilmUp! 2022/23 participants

KIRCH FOUNDATION AWARD

WINNER

Viv Li

Statement of the jury
KIRCH FOUNDATION AWARD
MUNICHFILMUP!2023

Although Viv’s project is still in its very early stages, it still offers a refreshing perspective: a pair of individuals with vastly different cultural backgrounds, almost strangers, embarking on a grand adventure in Northwest China. Throughout this journey into the unknown, they not only get to know each other but also gain deeper insights into contemporary China. After engaging in a deep conversation with Viv and listening to her presentation, we believe she possesses genuine enthusiasm for this project. The ongoing short film shooting will take place at the same location and will involve the same team as much as possible, demonstrating Viv’s foresight as a director, understanding the challenges of feature film production, and her willingness to steadily accumulate experience for more challenging projects in the future. The judges feel that the Kirch Foundation award can provide tangible assistance to the development of her project, and thus have decided to award it to her.