US IN PROGRESS

US IN PROGRESS is an industry event held biannually in Paris, France during Champs-Elysées Film Festival (this year from June 19 to 21) and in Wroclaw, Poland during American Film Festival (November). This professional programme is a collaboration between these two festivals and seeks to facilitate the circulation of American independent cinema in Europe by bringing decision makers from all over Europe to discover new US filmmakers. During 3 intensive days, the selected project holders will pitch their projects (show 20 min of excerpt and make a 10 min presentation) in front of top European decision makers in an intimate environment, have one-on-one meetings with them and attend workshops and networking cocktails, lunches and diners. A Jury of 5 professionals from the industry will choose the project that will receive a cash prize of 5000 euros. Why promote US indie films in Europe? Studio productions often offer a conventional and limited vision of American talents. American independent cinema is in a difficult position, with no public fundings for production in the US, no grants for European distribution and no official coproduction agreements between the US and other countries. US in Progress aims to fill that void by showcasing 6 to 10 American feature films (narratives only for this edition) in post production stage to an audience of European sales agents, french distributors, festival programmers and producers. Each year, our selection strives to represent the diversity and wealth of this American cinema, even its gray areas that continue to surprise us. Thanks to US in Progress, European professionals, faithful to the program since its inception, have been able to discover new filmmakers such as Joshua Weinstein, Jessica Orek, Nathan Silver, Mike Ott, Benjamin Dickinson, Matt Porterfield, Mike Tully, Daniel Carbone, Leah Meyerhoff, Onur Tukel, Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan amongst other talents.