Dream Team: Intercontinental Co-Production

With: Thao Dong, Marie Dubas, Weijie Lai, moderated by Dorothee Wenner
Topics: #Talents Alumni #Berlinale #Collaborative Working #Production Conditions

Lê Bảo's first feature Vị (Berlinale Encounters 2021) tells the story of a time-limited utopia, as the film's characters retreat into an old hotel to build a new world for themselves. But does the story also say something of the production behind the film? Three of the film's producers reconvene to walk us through the different stages of production, from the initial moment of noticing a promising director's work at a festival to the creative aspects of executive production on set. With production companies located in 6 countries across Asia and Europe, the production story behind the film will no doubt shed fascinating light on the advantages and challenges of international co-production and how to build the dream team for that.

Thao Dong

Thao Dong graduated from the Faculty of Literature in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University. She completed a cinema scriptwriting course at the Faculty of Arts, National University and an independent documentary filmmaking course at Doclab, the centre for documentary and experimental film in Hanoi. The first step on her path is as a producer for the first independent film of director Le Bao.

Marie Dubas

Marie Dubas founded Deuxième Ligne Films in 2014 in Normandy. Her recent credits include John Trengove's THE WOUND (Sundance 2017, Berlinale Panorama 2017), Teona Mitevska’s GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRUNYA (Berlinale Competition 2019) and Le Bao’s TASTE (Berlinale Encounters 2021). Deuxième Ligne Films also produces documentaries, fiction series and shorts. Marie is an EAVE 2013 graduate and serves as a Media Program expert.

Weijie Lai

Lai Weijie is a film producer based in Singapore and Toronto, Canada. In 2010 he co-founded E&W Films, a Singapore-based film development and production company with Elizabeth Wijaya. He has several years of experience as a senior programmer at the Singapore International Film Festival, developing its film academy and overseeing its Asian selection. He has served on the selection committee for several fund bodies.

Dorothee Wenner

Dorothee Wenner is a filmmaker, film programmer and writer. She serves as the Berlinale delegate for films from Sub-Saharan Africa. She is also a founding jury member of the Africa Movie Academy Awards and the founder of the Cinema Spaces Network.