Since its June 2024 edition, FIDLab has seen six of its projects premiere at major international film festivals, cementing its role as a key platform for contemporary cinema. In its 17th edition, to be held as part of FIDMarseille, eleven new projects have been selected from 417 submissions from around the world, confirming the laboratory’s diverse, free, and committed spirit. Among them, the works of four filmmakers stand out as embodying the present and future of auteur cinema: María Aparicio, Helena Wittmann, Nicolás Pereda, and Alexandra Karelina.

Argentinian filmmaker María Aparicio will participate in FIDLab through the Joaquim Jordà residency with De sol a sol. The film offers a poetic reevaluation of political violence in Colombia, weaving together the death of a former guerrilla fighter in 1957 and the recent killings of social leaders.

For her part, German filmmaker Helena Wittmann presents Die Stadt, which is currently in post‑production. The film follows Lou, a French woman on an ambiguous mission in an unnamed city. As she secretly observes the relationship between two young people, a tragic accident changes the course of events. Wittmann here returns to her fascination with emotional and physical landscapes, balancing intimate suspense with geographic disorientation.

From Mexico, Nicolás Pereda is participating with Lo demás es ruido, a project in post‑production that brings together three female composers inside an apartment. Through the conversations among Rosa, Tere, and Luisa, the film offers a reflection on gender mandates, family tensions, and artistic creation in an intimate key, without losing the political edge that characterizes Pereda’s work.

Finally, I Can Feel You Breathing Into My Palm marks Russian filmmaker Alexandra Karelina’s debut at FIDLab. The project, currently in development, delves into a fantastical world where a girl, after her mother is turned to stone, ventures into a forest that whispers voices from the past. Karelina intertwines the girl’s story with those of other women pursuing unattainable ideals, evoking a poetics of the invisible, sacrifice, and collective history.

All selected FIDLab projects:

• Post-producción

  • Título: Lo demás es ruido (Everything Else Is Noise)

  • Director: Nicolás Pereda (México)

  • Productora: En Chinga Producciones (México)

  • Duración: 66’

• Desarrollo (Development)

  • Título: I Can Feel You Breathing Into My Palm

  • Director: Alexandra Karelina (Rusia)

  • Productoras: Denapa SAS (Francia); Eversince GmbH (Alemania/Georgia)

  • Locación de rodaje: Georgia

  • Duración: 70’

• Escritura (Script)

  • Título: La volière (Long Call)

  • Director: Judith Auffray (Francia)

  • Productora: Macalube Films (Francia)

  • Duración: 80’

• Escritura (Script)

  • Título: Marcela Marcela

  • Director: Salka Tiziana (España)

  • Productora: FAUST (Alemania)

  • Duración: 90’

• Escritura (Script)

  • Título: Je m’appelle Nina Shakira (My Name Is Nina Shakira)

  • Director: Samuel Suffren (Haití)

  • Productoras: GoGoGo Films (Francia); Kitfilms (Haití)

  • Duración: 90’

• Desarrollo (Development)

  • Título: Ne quittes pas ton pays (Do Not Leave Your Homeland)

  • Director: Aliha Thalien (Francia)

  • Productora: LECX Films (Francia)

  • Duración: 85’

• Escritura (Script)

  • Título: Notes of a Crocodile

  • Director: Daphne Xu (Canadá)

  • Productoras: Lumeria Pictures (Hong Kong); Anti-Archive (Camboya)

  • Duración: 100’

• Desarrollo (Development)

  • Título: The Case Against Space

  • Director: Graeme Arnfield (Reino Unido)

  • Productoras: Les Films Invisibles (Francia); Local Vertical Ltd (Reino Unido)

  • Duración: 50’

• Financiamiento (Financing)

  • Título: Die Stadt (The City)

  • Director: Helena Wittmann (Alemania)

  • Productoras: Fünferfilm (Alemania); Cinéphage (Francia)

  • Duración: 90’

• Post-producción

  • Título: El espejismo (The Mirage)

  • Productoras: Endymion Pro (Estados Unidos); Terratreme (Portugal)

  • Duración: 70’

• Producción

  • Título: The Most Dangerous Question

  • Director: John Bruce (Estados Unidos)

  • Productor asociado: Miko Revereza (México)

  • Duración: 90’