Big news: Six Canadian coproductions are among the films recently funded by Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe!

At their 163rd meeting held virtually in June 2021, the Board of Management of the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund chose to finance 49 features, including five Canadian coproductions! With another Canadian copro selected for Eurimages funding back in March, this amounts to a total of 1,296,000 € in support of these six 2021 projects.

Support announced in June 2021:

Richelieu

Directed by Canadian filmmaker Pier-Philippe Chevigny, this Canada-France coproduction’s homegrown producer is Quebec’s Le Foyer Films Inc.. This will be the filmmaker’s first directorial feature, which he also wrote, about a Latino-Quebecois translator working in a factory, who stands up for the rights of her Guatemalan colleagues.

Something You Said Last Night

This Canada-Switzerland coproduction tells the story of a trans girl in her twenties whose codependent family dynamics come to light while on a trip to Florida. This will be Canadian filmmaker Luis De Filippis’s first feature – their 2017 short For Nonna Anna won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival! Canadian producer is J.A. (Jessica Adams) Productions Inc., based in Ontario.

Infinity Pool

Directed and written by Canadian filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg and starring Alexander Skarsgård, this Canada-Hungary-Croatia coproduction is a thriller about a holiday gone wrong. Canadian producers are Ontario’s Elevation Pictures and Film Forge Productions. (P.S. Revisit our spotlight on Cronenberg’s award-winning 2020 hit feature, Possessor, right this way! This Canada-U.K. co-production was a New York Times critic’s pick and won Best Feature Film and Best Director at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.)

The Z Word  

This Canada-France coproduction is from the filmmaking trio of François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yohann-Karl Whissell — collectively known as RKSS (Roadkill Superstar). The Z Word follows 2018’s Summer of ‘84 and 2015’s Turbo Kid, which snagged the Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature at the Fantasia Film Festival, the Midnighters audience award at SXSW, and loads of other prizes. The Z Word’s Canadian producer is Quebec’s Christal Films Productions.

Motherhood

This France-Canada-Tunisia coproduction is the first feature by Montreal-based director Meryam Joobeur, and explores a mother’s love, visions, and guilt. Her 2018 short Brotherhood scored an Oscar nom, and took home Best Canadian Short Film honour at the Toronto International Film Festival, among many other international awards. Canadian producer is Les Films Leona.

Support announced in March 2021:

Ways to Run

This Netherlands-Canada coproduction is directed by award-winning Dutch-Afghan filmmaker Aboozar Amini. The Canadian producer on board this drama (filmed in Afghanistan) is Quebec’s GreenGround Productions, who recently produced Denis Côté’s 2021 film Social Hygiene (Hygiène sociale) and 2019’s Wilcox.

For more highlights about Canada’s participation in Eurimages, check out this article!