TFL Selections & Awards

ZAFARI by Mariana Rondón winner of the new WCF Europe – TFL Audience Design Award!

July 21, 2020

We are proud to announce the recipient of the very first WCF Europe – TFL Audience Design Award, powered by the World Cinema Fund and TorinoFilmLab: ZAFARI, by Mariana Rondón!

The Audience Design Award – by WCF Europe & TFL consists of a scholarship to participate in a TFL Next workshop in September 2020, which is an intensive training on international distribution for feature film projects.

Guided by tutor Benjamin Cölle, the workshop will gather 4 projects at different production stages: ZAFARI and the three recipients of the TFL Audience Design Fund 2020. The film teams will take part in tailor-made consultations, discussing their overall strategy and testing ideas to reach, build and engage audiences. Four Audience Design trainees, selected through a dedicated call for applications, will also join the process. They will gain a hands-on experience on creating audience engagement strategies for feature film projects, and will have the opportunity to network with the film teams.

ZAFARI is the fourth feature of Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón, recipient of the Golden Shell at San Sebastián 2013 with her latest film PELO MALO. Amidst the chaos and food shortages of contemporary Caracas, Zafari the hippopotamus arrives at the city zoo. For Ali, its new caretaker, this is a chance to gain status over his neighbour Edgar.

ZAFARI is being produced by Sudaca Films (Venezuela) and Still Moving (France). The project was presented at San Sebastián’s 8th Europe-Latin American Co-production Forum and participated in Berlinale Co-Production Market 2020. It also received the production support of WCF Europe (€ 40.000).

More about the WCF Europe – TFL Audience Design Award here.

The TFL Next workshop will take place between September 15th and 29th 2020. The selected trainees will be announced at the end of August 2020.