Three films funded by the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (WCF) have been invited to the Festival de Cannes: Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul will be screening in the Competition. In October 2008, the WCF-Jury recommended funding this film project. Its German partner is Match Factory.   
Another WCF-funded film, The Light Thief by Aktan Abdykalikov from Kyrgyzstan (German partner: Pallas Films), will be screening in the Directors’ Fortnight section in Cannes.
Last but not least, Bi, Don’t Be Afraid by Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di (German partner: TR9 Film) will celebrate its world premiere in the Critics’ Week sidebar.

Since its establishment in 2004, the WCF has awarded production and distribution funding to a total of 70 projects chosen from 1165 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia, and the Caucasus. All of the WCF films completed so far have screened in cinemas and/or in the programmes of renowned international film festivals - proof of the international success of the initiative.

The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival in cooperation with the Goethe Institute.