CASA CINE 2024

Organized by La Napoule Art Foundation and SERENA Productions, the CASA CINE residency takes place annually over three weeks at the Château de La Napoule, during the Cannes Film Festival. It aims to accompany authors in their transition to feature film, to introduce them into professional networks and to encourage international co-productions.

This year, 4 screenwriting projects and 2 film score composition projects for first or second feature films were selected by a jury of film professionals out of over 130 applications. The selected residents were authors Miao Yu (China), Pascal Tessaud (France), Julia Castro (Argentina) and Amaya Sumpsi (Portugal and Spain) as well as film score composers Marisol Cao Milán (Spain and Cuba) and Damian Scholl (Germany).

The writers and composers were welcomed in residence at the Château de La Napoule from May 10 to 29, in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, in the south of France. The selected screenwriters had the privilege of being accompanied in the development of their projects by two internationally renowned mentors: French filmmaker Agnès Jaoui and Cuban filmmaker Fernando Pérez. The film music composers, for their part, benefited from a research and creation residency and inspiring workspaces by the sea.

After intensive pitch preparation by Anna Glogowski, the residents had the opportunity to present their projects to an audience of film professionals at the Cannes Film Festival.

Organized in collaboration with the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the pitch event took place on the 19th of May at the Region Sud Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival. It offered each participant the chance to present their work and professional path to an audience composed of film professionals such as producers, distributors, festival representatives and directors. The public presentation was followed by exchanges with the audience over a welcome drink, allowing the residents to consider new collaborations and expand their professional networks.

During the Cannes Film Festival, Région Sud organized a special meeting dedicated to international writing residencies take place in the region: organizers, mentors and residents of CASA CINE, AFLAM and Meditalents exchanged and shared their experiences at this event for film professionals!

In addition to the professional encounters following the project pitch, the residents had other opportunities to develop their networks, notably through one-to-one professional encounters at the Cannes Film Festival or meetings with writer-directors and producers invited to Château de la Napoule, such as Melody Cooper (USA) and Måns Mårlind (Sweden). There were plenty of moments to meet with working professionals, gain insight into the film industry, and plan future collaborations!

In 2024, CASA CINE consolidated its ongoing partnership with Campus Georges Méliès of the Université Côte d’Azur - Cannes Bastide Rouge, where once again events were organized for students as well as the general public during the residency.

Resident composers Marisol Cao Milán and Damian Scholl were invited to share their experiences as film score composers with MA Music Scoring and Sound Design students at an international workshop at the Campus Georges Méliès, addressing issues related to the creative process at different stages of film production.

CASA CINE also organized a CINE-RENCONTRE at the Campus Georges Méliès for the public screening of Agnès Jaoui's directorial debut The Taste of Others (2000). The screening was attended by director and CASA CINE mentor Agnès Jaoui, and was followed by lively discussions with the audience about the film and about the writing and directing of first films!

Before the residency came to an end, a moment dedicated to film music was organized at the Château de La Napoule, in partnership with the M. G. Art association: strings, flutes, keyboard and percussion joined the projection of film excerpts in a magnificent evening with a group of six musicians who transported the audience to the world of famous soundtracks.

During the CASA CINE residency, screenwriters and composers devoted themselves entirely to their projects and experienced unique moments, which will always be invaluable sources of inspiration and collaboration in their artistic careers.

All in all, CASA CINE 2024 were three rich and intense weeks, with public events conducive to exchange, music and creativity! We look forward to seeing you at the next edition of the residency, from May 6th to 27th, 2025, at the Château de La Napoule.