© WEMW | Trieste

Now in its 12th edition since 2020, First Cut+ is a program that works in close cooperation with Trieste’s When East Meets West, a dynamic and well-established film industry platform.

Each year, following a carefully curated, hand-picked selection process, eight feature films are promoted and benefit from lectures and individual mentoring consultations on promotion, marketing, PR & press, festivals, and sales strategy from various film industry consultants.

The program is managed by producer Natalia Libet and has welcomed returning advisors: Cătălin Cristuțiu (editor), Christina Pelekani (Marketing & Distribution Consultant – Endorphin Film Sales), Boris Pugnet (Marketing Consultant), Katarzyna Siniarska (Head of sales – New Europe Film Sales), Joanna Solecka (Digital Marketing Specialist – Alphapanda).

For this edition, the online lectures were conducted by Wendy Mitchell (film journalist), Katarzyna Siniarska (Head of sales – New Europe Film Sales) and Michael Arnon (PR Expert – Wolf Consultants). The onsite master talk on the Future of Digital Marketing for Independent Cinema was given by marketing specialist Cornelia Paris (UGC Distribution).

The marketing master talk welcomed WEMW guests on the first day of the market. It was followed by the showcase of eight hand-picked projects. All WEMW guests then continued their networking and post-holiday conversations at the Welcoming Cocktail. As always, this moment is dedicated to reconnecting with longtime friends and partners, while also meeting new collaborators.

First Cut+ Trieste’s WEMW 2026 Line-Up

Among this edition’s selection, 3 projects were debut feature films, and 4 were second feature films. Half of them were documentaries. We were proud to welcome projects from Armenia, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States.

The Arctic Circle of Lust

Director: Markku Heikkinen
Producers: Zone2 Pictures (Finland), Dirk Manthey (Germany) Film ug, Vilda Bomben (Sweden)
Documentary

Under the northern sky a couple learns the rules of a new relationship. FIfty-year-old Petri has faced his bisexuality and needs to fulfil his passions while Anu in turn questions her own expectations in a relationship.

La Détention

Director: Guillaume Massart
Producers: TS Productions (France), Triptyque Films (France)
Documentary | 2nd feature film

Prison guards in training are learning the rules of detention.

Elephants in the Fog

Director: Abinash Bikram Shah
Producers: Underground Talkies Nepal (Nepal), Les Valseurs Bordeaux (France), Die Gesellschaft DGS (Germany), co-produced by: Bubbles Project (Brazil), Zischlermann Filmproduktion (Germany), Enquadramento (Brazil), Storm Films (Norway), Jayantii Creations (United States)
Fiction | 1st feature film

In a Nepalese village bordering an elephant forest, Pirati leads a family of transgender women. Torn between a forbidden love with the Drum Master and her duties, she is tested when the youngest disappears during an elephant watch.

Everything That’s Wrong With You

Director: Urša Menart
Producers: Vertigo (Slovenia), Chromosom Film (Germany), Living Pictures (Serbia)
Fiction | 2nd feature film

After the emotional collapse that follows her mother’s illness, Maruša builds an intense online bond with Alja, who masks her own struggles behind curated posts. When they finally meet, they are forced to confront the truths they’ve been trying so hard to hide.

New Life (working title)

Director: Bernadette Weber
Producers: Albolina Film (Italy)
Documentary | 2nd feature film

When a joyful second pregnancy turns into a devastating diagnosis, Anna must choose between her baby’s suffering or letting him go. Then a hidden family history reveals that her pain is part of a generational story of women making impossible choices.

Patty

Director: Luise Donschen
Producers: Fünferfilm UG (Germany)
Fiction | 1st feature film

Amid the turmoil of German reunification, 50-year-old Patty decides to retreat into the forest and builds a life of her own. Decades later, her faint traces surface in the people and landscapes of a changed East Germany.

We Are Not Dreaming

Director: Ulisses Arthur
Producers: Cup Filmes (Brazil), Céu Vermelho Fogo (Brazil)
Fiction |  1st feature film

Ciro, an overworked medical student and pole-dance instructor, loses his stability as Brazil’s university system collapses. Forced out of his home, he finds refuge with António, a reclusive DJ, an encounter that reshapes both their survival and their intimacy.

The Winning Generation

Director: Marco De Stefanis
Producers: BIND (Netherlands), EiE (Italy), executive producer Ofelya Zalyan (Armenia)
Documentary | 2nd feature film

Filmed over 12 years, a 14-year-old Armenian activist grows into a rising political leader, carrying the weight of his father’s and grandfather’s resistance while fighting to reshape Armenia’s democratic future and counter Russian influence.

Selected projects materials

The First Cut+ TRT Award

The 2026 First Cut+ TRT Award was given to Luise Donschen’s Patty. It was selected by a jury consisting of Keiko Funato (Alpha Violet sales), Jessica Kiang (Berlinale), Angela Prudenzi (Venice International Film festival), Vojtech Kocarnik (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), and Esra Demirkiran, TRT (Award sponsor). Thanks to the sponsorship of TRT, this €5,000 cash prize aims at further supporting and highlighting one of the projects showcased at Trieste.

Joyful moments in trieste!