When East Meets West (WEMW) is one of the leading annual co‑production forums, held in Trieste, Italy, to foster collaboration between Eastern and Western European audiovisual industries. The latest edition in January 2026 brought together over 650 professionals.
WEMW offers a wide range of initiatives catering to industry needs, from script and project development for fiction shorts and a co‑production pitching forum open to multiple genres to a programme exploring the intersections of film and games.
In this presentation, Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW and managing director of the FVG Audiovisual Fund, will outline WEMW’s programmes with a special focus on opportunities for documentary filmmakers. He will explain how the Italian funding ecosystem works — regional funds, film commissions, and the national minority co-production fund — and will present co‑production opportunities offered by the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Audiovisual Fund, one of WEMW’s organisers. The FVG fund disburses €1.2 million annually and supports development and production.
Over the past 15 years, Alessandro has planned the international strategy of the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Audiovisual Fund. He has managed various initiatives, such as “When East Meets West”, “Ties That Bind” Asia Europe Coproduction Workshop, and “RE-ACT Co-Development Funding Scheme”.
Since 2024, he has been the new managing director of the FUND, and with this new role, he will lead the future vision of the regional funding schemes and international activities. He is an EAVE graduate and a member of the European Film Academy.
