Call for applications: CinEuro Film Lab – Cross-border Inspiration Session “Bridging Stories, Building Futures”

As part of the thematic strand “Conflicts and Reconciliations”, the Grand Est Region, lead partner of the CinEuro Film Lab project, is launching a call for applications for a cross-border Inspiration Session taking place between Lörrach, Basel, Mulhouse and Mannheim from 11 to 13 November 2026.

CONTEXT

Every day, thousands of people cross the borders between France, Germany and Switzerland to work, study, or simply live together. They move between several languages, cultures and memories, making the Rhine region a place where borders are crossed as much as they are explored through stories.

Yet this everyday reality is the result of a history marked by conflicts, divisions and successive reconciliations that have shaped the region. Today, the borders between the three countries, once contested, have become spaces for cooperation, exchange and innovation, offering fertile ground for writers and directors seeking to explore local stories.Over three days, a delegation of 12 participants will discover iconic locations, meet experts across the three territories and immerse themselves in local stories that could inspire new European and cross-border film projects.

The “Bridging Stories, Building Futures” session invites filmmakers to explore the industrial and social connections that develop across borders, while seeking to understand past conflicts through the processes of reconciliation that have brought people, territories and memories together.

What stories emerge when borders become spaces of encounter rather than separation? How has a history of conflict shaped everyday life today? How can we tell the stories of the past while imagining shared futures?

Building on this theme, the session will also explore how film and audiovisual industry professionals are currently developing new forms of cooperation at European level. This reflection will continue during a professional day in Mannheim, organised by MFG Baden-Württemberg through the CinEuro Film Lab as part of the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH).

On this occasion, Torsten Zarges, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of DWDL.de, one of the leading specialist media outlets covering the audiovisual industry and a leading voice in media journalism across the DACH region, will analyse current market developments during a panel discussion called “Future Trends and Markets in Film, TV and Streaming”. He will look at the latest transformations in the sector, new business models and emerging opportunities shaping the future of film, television, streaming and audiovisual creation.

CANDIDATE PROFILES

This call for applications is aimed at film and audiovisual professionals (writers, directors and producers), primarily from the cross-border territories that are members of the CinEuro Network (cross-border cooperation areas known as the “Upper Rhine” and the “Greater Region”: Brussels-Capital Region, Wallonia, Luxembourg, Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Grand Est, and the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Aargau), who can demonstrate professional experience and a strong interest in the theme of the session. Applicants may apply with or without a feature-length film project (fiction, documentary, and/or animation) related to the theme.

However, screenwriters and producers from other territories may also apply, provided that they are developing (or intend to develop) film projects connected to the thematic of conflicts and of reconciliation in the CinEuro territories.

The working language will be English. However, some parts of the programme will take place in French- and German-speaking groups, depending on the activities offered.

Candidates will be selected based on their motivation to take part in the Inspiration Session, their connection(s) to the CinEuro territories, and their professional profile.

DEADLINE : 29/09/2026

Please read the document of the call for projects before finalising your application.

Apply Here

Should you have any questions, contact us at:

This inspiration session is organised as part of the “Conflicts and Reconciliations” strand of the CinEuro Film Lab, in partnership with Balimage and MFG Baden-Württemberg, with the support of the Agence d’Attractivité Mulhouse Sud-Alsace, on the occasion of the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH).