Guria by Levan Koguashvili

During the fall of 2025, TATINO announced the creation of First Cut Lab Paris, a brand new onsite edition of its acclaimed editing consultancy program. TATINO is now proud to unveil the 4 selected projects that will be workshopped in Paris at the end of January 2026.

The 4 selected projects

A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra

Director, writer: Jacqueline Lentzou
Producers: Annabelle Aronis, Ioli Antzoulatou
Co-producers: Arda Ciltepe, Steffen Goldkamp, Andrea Queralt
Editor: Myrto Karras
Production: Avion Films (Greece), Atalante Productions (Greece), Kelek Film (Germany), 4A4 (France)
Feature film

JO, wild, melancholic and only 15, has a cosmic dream. Superbly quiet yet bathed in visual music, a dream whose details and nuances will be mysteriously reappearing as the day proceeds, even if Jo won’t notice. Indeed, her attention is elsewhere, on the choir auditions which she cannot miss, hence the fight with her moody mom, Eleni, who denies driving her to school, claiming she has no car – although she does.

Guria

Director: Levan Koguashvili
Producers: Olena Yershova
Writers: Levan Koguashvili, Boris Frumin
Editor: Pia Dumont
Production: Kino Iberica (Georgia)
Co-production: Cineworx (Switzerland), Tarantula (Luxembourg), ArtFest (Bulgaria), Staer (Norway), TatoFilm/Asteros (Turkey)
Feature film

As a raging civil war goes on, a local “beauty contest” becomes the unlikely stage where lyrical relationships unfold: Zuriko, a farmer, meets Maya, a music teacher, while Achi, his son, competes for the attention of his classmate Eka. Kidnapping, surgery without electricity, a funeral with singing and crying, fighting, and falling in love and friendship become the dynamics of Gurian life.

My Letter to B

Director, writer: Helen Beltrame Linné
Producers: Emilie Lesclaux
Editor: Marina Kosa, Amanda Paiva
Production: Cinemascopio (Brazil)
Co-production: OPar (Brazil)
Hybrid Documentary

My Letter to B is a reflexive journey of a woman and an island through decades, intertwined with cinematic fiction and dictated by Ingmar Bergman’s cinema. A 20-year-old girl visits her dream island. A 24-year-old knocks on Ingmar Bergman’s door with a letter. A 32-year-old woman moves to Fårö to pursue a fantasy. A 34-year-old becomes the guardian of her idol’s legacy. A 37-year-old is forced to leave the island she always dreamed of. Twenty years after the first visit, she will try to reconquer her dream with a prefabricated house.

Wild Horse in the Rotten West

Directors, writers: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
Producers: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
Editor: Donka Ivaniova, Yann Dedet
Production: Activist38 (Bulgaria)
Co-production: MK38 (United Kingdom), Loco Films (France)
Feature film

A mystery boy appears in his new London college with a baggage of several languages, hairy appearance, wild behaviour, and thinking outside the box. At first, he’s popular and gets assigned a student Governor. But then he gets muddled up in his friends’ new concepts. When a Russian Oligarch is buying the school – a welcome move to abolish the previous slave trader owner, he becomes a whistleblower.

Press materials available here

Each selected team – composed of a director, producer, and editor – will benefit from tailored feedback aimed at refining the film’s artistic vision, enhancing its international appeal, and strengthening its circulation potential. The participants will also get the chance to connect with key players from the French film industry – including many of the driving forces behind today’s global arthouse cinema. The industry advisors for this edition are:

Olivier Barbier (Lucky Number), Pamela Biénzobas (Locarno Film Festival), Paul de Beco (Playtime), Lucie Desquiens (Charades), Virginie Devesa (Alpha Violet), Nicolas Kaiser (Paradise City), Emmanuel Pisarra (mk2), Anne-Cécile Rolland (Pyramide), Nadia Turincev (Easy Riders Films), Thomas Unterberger (Le Pacte), and Michel Zana (Blue Train Films, Dulac Distribution).

Regular First Cut Lab editing consultants include:

• Catalin Cristutiu (Romania) – Editor of the entire works of Radu Jude, member of the European Film Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science
• Maya Maffioli (Italy, United Kingdom) – Editor of Michael Pearce’s Beast (Bafta for best debut feature film), the Netflix-backed documentary Kingdom of Us by Lucy Cohen ), Sarah Gavron’s Rocks, and Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava.
• Benjamin Mirguet (France) – Long term editor advisor of Ruben Östlund
• Matthieu Taponier (France) – editor of László Nemes’ Son of Saul (Grand Prize Festival de Cannes 2015) and Sunset (FIPRESCI prize at Venise 2018), and Thorsten Klein’s Adventures of a Mathematician.

Recent First Cut Lab projects include:

• Renoir by Chie Hayakawa (Japan) – Cannes Film Festival 2025
• Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari (Canada) – Swatch First Feature Award, Locarno Film Festival 2025
• Mr. K by Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab (New Zealand, Norway) – Méliès d’Or, European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation 2025
• Wind, Talk To Me by Stefan Djordjevic (Serbia) – Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film Award, Sarajevo Film Festival 2025

Organized by Tatino, a Paris-based hub for global film and talent development, First Cut Lab has supported over 300 feature films through 90+ labs across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. With the launch of its Paris edition, the program continues its mission to empower filmmakers and strengthen creative collaborations internationally.