PHASE IX

Rising Stars™

Every constellation begins with a single star.

A dedicated sanctuary for the filmmakers the world is about to discover. Presented with the same prestige as our most celebrated creators — because every legend began unknown.

Rising Star Archive

Debut films, first awards, creator interviews, festival moments. When tomorrow's legend returns to the stage, visitors can revisit where it all began.

Noor Haidari
Iran · First-Time Director
Debut · 2025
DEBUT FILM
The Quiet Atlas

A cartographer returns to the city her family fled, redrawing it with the people who stayed.

INTERVIEW
What did your first set teach you?
"That listening is the most expensive piece of equipment on the floor."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2019First Story
  • 2022First Submission
  • 2023First Selection
Kwame Asare
Ghana · Independent
Debut · 2023
DEBUT FILM
The Listening Year

A blind radio archivist preserves the last summer before a city falls silent.

INTERVIEW
Why sound first?
"Because pictures lie politely. Sound tells the truth before you're ready."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2020First Story
  • 2023First Submission
  • 2024First Selection
Inés Castel
Argentina · Student
Debut · 2025
DEBUT FILM
Floors Without Walls

An essay film about buildings whose construction never finished, and the people who live anyway inside them.

INTERVIEW
What does your school give you?
"Permission to fail in front of people who will tell me the truth."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2024First Story
  • 2025First Submission
  • 2026First Selection
Lin Yuhao
China · Breakthrough
Debut · 2023
DEBUT FILM
The Hour of Mist

A village wakes inside a fog that has feelings of its own.

INTERVIEW
Why hand-drawn?
"Because the hand knows things the computer is still learning."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2021First Story
  • 2023First Submission
  • 2024First Nomination
Mateus Ferraz
Brazil · Young Creator
Debut · 2025
DEBUT FILM
Saint of Wires

An electrician discovers the city's power grid hums in the voice of his late grandmother.

INTERVIEW
What is your studio?
"Three friends, one stairwell, and the patience of every neighbor we have ever bothered."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2023First Story
  • 2025First Submission
  • 2026First Selection
Harmattan Pictures
Ghana · New Studio
Debut · 2025
DEBUT FILM
Harmattan Slate One

A trio of features anchored in Ghanaian futurism.

INTERVIEW
Why now?
"Because waiting for permission is a kind of silence."
FIRST MILESTONES
  • 2024First Story
  • 2025First Selection
  • 2026Future Project