The wait is over! After receiving a vast amount of applications from all over the world, we are thrilled to announce the 12 filmmakers selected for Directors Village 2026!

Directors Village 2026

During an intensive 5-day residency, these emerging writer-directors from all over Europe will take their short fiction projects to the next level. They will be guided by our world-class coaches Sofia Norlin (Sweden), Oscar-winner Martin Strange-Hansen (Denmark) and of course Janneke van Heesch (The Netherlands). Together, they will dive deep into script development, directorial vision, and working with actors. We can’t wait to see how these projects evolve!

Directors Village 2026 takes place from March 18-22 in Heerlen and Maastricht, during Euregion Film Forum. Directors Village is organized by CineSud in collaboration with Screen Talent Europe.

Meet the participants

The following talents have been selected for Directors Village 2026. Read more about their projects by clicking on the pictures below!

Jasmin Luu (MOIN Film Fund) | Crush

Emma Jane Hedman (FilmCloud) | The World Is Your Oyster

Stephen T. Lally (Ardán) | Ernest

Shirin Aziz (Aarhus Film Workshop) | You Do Realize I Can Move Back To My Mom’s, Right?

Sem Dingemans (CineSud) | Rolling into the Pocket

Joshua Ianniello |The Departure

Jonas Robstad Nielsen (Odense Film Workshop) | Når ingen ser os

Aurora Kollerud Nossen (Mediefabrikken) | Pappas Skatt

Carmen Marie (CineNord) | Kiek

Arjun Acharya (Tivbit Film) | Trekant

Claudia Morillo Rodriguez (GMAC Film) | El Hijo de la Abuela

Ronsson Huynh (Film Stockholm) | Erase Me

About Directors Village

Directors Village is a unique 5-day on-site residence training program to enhance and develop the skills of new European directors-writers and bring their next film to the screen.

Directors Village is organised by CineSud in collaboration with our Screen Talent Europe partners: CineNord, Ardán Ireland, FilmCloud, Film Stockholm, GMAC Film, Aarhus Film Workshop, Mediefabrikken, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Tvibit Film and Odense Film Workshop