We met French producer Dominique Welinski, the visionary behind the idea of bringing together different young directors to collaborate as part of the Directors’ Factory.
The Directors’ Factory at the Quinzaine des cinéastes (Directors’ Fortnight) is celebrating its 10th year. “The project started in 2012, when I was invited by the Taipei Film Commission to organize something like a co-production market in Taiwan. They wanted to promote their cinema. I mainly work on minority co-productions with what I would call ‘crazy countries’ like Sri Lanka, Burma, India—wherever. And during this co-production meeting, I understood that directors from these countries are afraid of co-production, especially co-production with the Western world—and particularly with Europe and France.”
Dominique stressed that many of the directors were either hesitant or afraid that at some point, they would lose their soul. They feared that by collaborating, their project would be weakened or burdened with a double budget—especially with a European country involved. Another issue was the long timeline it takes to finance a first feature film.
“They don’t make films. They don’t have the opportunity to really talk about cinema. And when I say cinema, I don’t mean the script—I mean the vision of cinema. They rarely have the chance to confront their vision of cinema with other directors, especially from other cultures. For me, the concept of a cultural gap doesn’t exist. I believe we can all adapt. We are all human beings.”
So, she imagined pairing two young directors—not necessarily one from the Western world and one from the Eastern world, but from different cultures—and having them write and direct together to demonstrate that they can enrich each other.
She began the project with four young Taiwanese directors.
“They all had a first feature project already with a producer on board. We put them together to write a short film. The point was to show this short film, and we used Directors’ Fortnight as a platform in the south of France. It’s in the very DNA of Directors’ Fortnight. So I went to see the artistic director at the time, shared my idea—and it’s been working ever since.”
Interestingly, Taiwan also expressed interest and invited the program to be shot there. Dominique brought together one Iranian director, one South Korean, one French, and one Chilean director.
“We made the film and screened it in Cannes the first year—2013—and it worked. Since then, I’ve changed the country every year.”
Countries featured since include Taiwan, Finland, Denmark, Chile, South Africa, Lebanon, Tunisia, and five countries from ex-Yugoslavia (in Sarajevo), as well as the north of Portugal. Last year it was the Philippines, and this year it’s Brazil. “Hopefully, next year, it’s going to be Indonesia.”
Dominique brings together directors she selects from various workshops and labs to spend one month together.
“I think this project could be useful—to make them visible. Because they end up with a short film in Cannes, and a Cannes stamp on their feature project. We also do a pitching session and co-production meetings. It’s a great opportunity for them.”
Locally, in each selected country, the team launches a call for applications. There’s no age limit for the directors. The goal is to balance the director pairs—not necessarily in terms of age, but in terms of experience and approach. All selected directors are at the stage of preparing their first feature.
“We shortlist the candidates. I go to the country, interview them, and together with the local producer, we select four directors.”
The selected duos then have three months to write a script together. After the Berlinale, they go into production: five days of shooting, five days of editing, and one week of post-production.
“Then we see each other, beautifully dressed, in Cannes.”
The directors must work with a limited budget and follow certain rules: No more than three main characters. No more than three main locations. No animals (except if they show up by chance). No babies or young children due to time constraints.
Meet the filmmakers who took part in this year’s edition of the Directors’ Factory.
Our reporters are on the ground in Cannes, France, to bring you exclusive content from the 78th Cannes Film Festival—explore our coverage here.
