Final Cut in Venice selects eight work-in-progress films for 13th edition
The 13th edition of Final Cut in Venice, the Venice Film Festival's dedicated support programme for films from Africa and select Middle Eastern countries, has selected eight work-in-progress films for its 2025 lineup. Launched in 2013, Final Cut in Venice offers vital support for the completion of films from all African countries and six nations in the Middle East—Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.
Taking place under the banner of the Venice Production Bridge during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (August 27 – September 6, 2025), Final Cut in Venice provides a platform for these unfinished films to connect with international producers, distributors, post-production firms and festival programmers. The initiative, directed by Alberto Barbera and organised by La Biennale di Venezia, aims to help filmmakers access the resources needed to bring their projects to completion and secure wider exposure.
This year's Final Cut in Venice will be held from August 31 to September 2, 2025, at the Venice Lido. Over three days, the selected films will be presented in working copy format to key industry professionals. The event will also include one-to-one meetings between project teams and invited guests, with an awards ceremony scheduled for September 2 at Hotel Excelsior's Spazio Incontri.
Among the eight selected films, two are featured as part of this year's VPB Focus initiatives, highlighting the United Kingdom and Morocco.
The selected fiction films include House of the Wind (La Maison du Vent) by Kouemo Yanghu Auguste Bernard; My Semba (Meu Semba) by Hugo Salvaterra; Standing at the Ruins (Al Woqoof Ala El Atlal) by Saeed Taji Farouky; The Station (Al Mahattah) by Sara Ishaq; and Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep by Rakan Mayasi.
In the documentary section, the lineup features Legacy (Soleil, Lune, Étoiles) by Mamadou Dia; an Untitled Project from Yemen by Mariam Al-Dhubhani; and Out of School (La Cour des Grands) by Hind Bensari (Denmark, Morocco), part of the VPB Focus on Morocco.
The programme will culminate in the awarding of several post-production prizes, both in cash and in kind. These include €5,000 from La Biennale di Venezia for the best film in post-production, with the winner selected by a three-member jury. Other prizes, determined by the Festival Director and supporting organisations, aim to support colour correction, sound mixing, music services, visual effects, subtitling and more, with contributions from entities such as Laser Film, Studio A Fabrica, Oticons, MAD Solutions, Titra Film, 196-MEDIA, M74 srl, Mnemonica, Sub-Ti Ltd. and Sub-Ti Access Srl.
Additional cash prizes will be offered by the Red Sea Fund, Rai Cinema, El Gouna Film Festival, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Cinémathèque Afrique of the Institut Français, and both the Festival International du Film d'Amiens and the Festival International du Film de Fribourg, which will contribute towards DCP production costs.
This marks the fourth consecutive year of support from the Red Sea International Film Festival. Industry professionals attending the Venice Production Bridge will be able to request one-on-one meetings with project teams via the dedicated Final Cut section on the Venice Production Bridge website.
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