Fondazione Prada has announced the 14 projects selected for the first edition of the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, an annual initiative launched in 2025 to support independent cinema. The announcement marks a new phase in the institution’s twenty-year engagement with film, expanding its commitment from exhibition and research to the development and production process itself.
The Film Fund provides a total of €1.5 million to projects in development, production, and post-production, without restrictions of genre or geography, embracing a plurality of forms and perspectives with a focus on formally rigorous and visionary works. The first open call, held from September 1 to October 17, 2025, attracted more than 1,200 submissions from around the world, reflecting both the vitality and structural fragility of contemporary independent cinema.
Fourteen projects were selected, involving production companies active across 26 countries and five continents. Among them, four are in development, nine in production, and one in post-production. The selection includes six women and eight men directors, as well as two debut features.
The chosen titles are Amarcord ’90 by Yuri Ancarani; Captions Will Be Needed by Natalia Almada; Cosmofonia by Verena Paravel; Galerna by Tatiana Huezo; Jenjira’s Magnificent Dream by Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Las Italianas by Laura Citarella; Mulatresse Solitude by Baloji; On Land and Sea by Hlynur Pálmason; Summer in Heat by Levan Akin; The Costume by Corneliu Porumboiu; The Difficult Bride by Rubaiyat Hossain; The Hallucinations by Andrea Gatopoulos; The Human Purge by Eduardo Williams; and The Sleeping Woman by Daria Martin.
According to Miuccia Prada, President and Director of the foundation, the selected projects demonstrate the dynamic and experimental nature of contemporary independent cinema, reaffirming the institution’s intention to support authors in translating their artistic vision into reality. Paolo Moretti, Head of the Film Fund, underlined how many of today’s most ambitious works face increasing difficulties in securing adequate production backing, and described the fund as a concrete response aimed at fostering rigorous and innovative research across all stages of filmmaking.
Fondazione Prada has also announced that a new call for entries will be launched in June 2026, confirming its intention to establish the Film Fund as a recurring platform for international auteur cinema.
