‘Border’ Star Josefin Neldén to Play Sally Bauer in Frida Kempff’s ‘The Swedish Torpedo’ (Exclusive)
Frida Kempff (“Winter Buoy”) is set to direct “The Swedish Torpedo,” a period film inspired by the life of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. The prominent Nordic cast is led by Josefin Neldén, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, as well as Lisa Carlehed (“The Emigrants”).
Produced by David Herdies and Erik Andersson at Momento Film, the film will start shooting in August in Sweden, Estonia, Belgium and England.
“Five years ago I didn’t know who Sally Bauer was and even less what she had achieved. Five days ahead of the outbreak of WWII she swam across the English Channel,” said Kempff I feel this is a story that needs to be told, about a woman who accomplished the impossible and shattered both social norms and world records.”
Neldén, who will play Bauer, said she feels “such a strong connection to Sally’s dreams, life and ambitions.
Produced by David Herdies and Erik Andersson at Momento Film, the film will start shooting in August in Sweden, Estonia, Belgium and England.
“Five years ago I didn’t know who Sally Bauer was and even less what she had achieved. Five days ahead of the outbreak of WWII she swam across the English Channel,” said Kempff I feel this is a story that needs to be told, about a woman who accomplished the impossible and shattered both social norms and world records.”
Neldén, who will play Bauer, said she feels “such a strong connection to Sally’s dreams, life and ambitions.
- 5/11/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The official selection of the Baltic Event Co-Production takes place on November 23-24.
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has set the projects that will take part in next month’s event, set to run from November 23-24, including two co-productions with Iran that deal with the issues of violence against women.
Blue Girl is an Iranian-Luxembourg co-production written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Mahmoud Ghaffari, and produced by Elaheh Nobakht and Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu.
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market runs as part of the industry platform of Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (November 11-27). Marge Liiske returns as the...
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has set the projects that will take part in next month’s event, set to run from November 23-24, including two co-productions with Iran that deal with the issues of violence against women.
Blue Girl is an Iranian-Luxembourg co-production written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Mahmoud Ghaffari, and produced by Elaheh Nobakht and Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu.
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market runs as part of the industry platform of Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (November 11-27). Marge Liiske returns as the...
- 10/19/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Georgian director Ana Kvichidze is in production with her first feature documentary, the Georgian/French coproduction “Heart, Don’t Be Afraid.” The film is supported by the Georgian National Film Center and France’s Cnc, Film New Europe reports.
Vardo lives alone and unlike the witches from the fairytales, she is a kind character. She was a popular “magician” years ago, but now her livelihood is mainly pension money and food brought by neighbors. With the help of her spells, the film examines the lives of everyone in the village and witnesses their plight, from young women who have reproductive problems to families who are losing the last of their livelihood.
“I fell in love with witchcraft because of my grandmother, who was a spellcaster in our village. People came for spells and healing to her. I inherited spells and recipes from her,” Ana Kvichidze told Fne. “I want to...
Vardo lives alone and unlike the witches from the fairytales, she is a kind character. She was a popular “magician” years ago, but now her livelihood is mainly pension money and food brought by neighbors. With the help of her spells, the film examines the lives of everyone in the village and witnesses their plight, from young women who have reproductive problems to families who are losing the last of their livelihood.
“I fell in love with witchcraft because of my grandmother, who was a spellcaster in our village. People came for spells and healing to her. I inherited spells and recipes from her,” Ana Kvichidze told Fne. “I want to...
- 6/24/2022
- by Alexander Gabelia
- Variety Film + TV
Riding the high of a production-servicing boom, Estonia’s domestic industry has likewise shown no signs of slowing down. Here’s a roundup of top local productions in the pipeline, from producers who are searching for international partners in Cannes:
The Invisible Fight
Director: Rainer Sarnet
Producers: Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), Alise Gelze, White Picture (Latvia), Amanda Livanou, Neda Film (Greece), Helen Vinogradov, Helsinki-filmi (Finland)
Sarnet, whose fantasy-drama “November” played at Tribeca in 2017, returns with a ‘70s-set kung-fu comedy about a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who, after surviving a deadly attack, decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he’s capable of becoming the enlightened man he set out to be.
Lioness
Director: Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo
Producers: Ivo Felt (Estonia), Guntis Trekteris (Latvia)
The sophomore feature from Trishkina-Vanhatalo, whose debut “Take It or Leave It” was Estonia’s submission for the international feature Oscar,...
The Invisible Fight
Director: Rainer Sarnet
Producers: Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), Alise Gelze, White Picture (Latvia), Amanda Livanou, Neda Film (Greece), Helen Vinogradov, Helsinki-filmi (Finland)
Sarnet, whose fantasy-drama “November” played at Tribeca in 2017, returns with a ‘70s-set kung-fu comedy about a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who, after surviving a deadly attack, decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he’s capable of becoming the enlightened man he set out to be.
Lioness
Director: Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo
Producers: Ivo Felt (Estonia), Guntis Trekteris (Latvia)
The sophomore feature from Trishkina-Vanhatalo, whose debut “Take It or Leave It” was Estonia’s submission for the international feature Oscar,...
- 5/21/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Estonia received a splashy introduction to the limelight in 2019, when it played host to Christopher Nolan’s time-bending sci-fi drama “Tenet.” The biggest production to shoot in the Baltic nation to date, Warner Bros.’ 200 million blockbuster landed Estonia squarely on the map for international film and television productions.
Though the coronavirus pandemic arrived not long after principal photography wrapped, the industry hasn’t skipped a beat since, with both domestic and international production — drawn by a cash rebate of up to 30 —continuing apace. This year, says Estonian Film Institute CEO Edith Sepp, there are no signs of slowing down.
“The Estonian cash rebate has been booming more than ever in the first half of this year,” she says. “In the whole of 2021, we had seven projects using the cash rebate scheme, but by January this year, we already had eight projects lined up for the rebate and the year had barely started.
Though the coronavirus pandemic arrived not long after principal photography wrapped, the industry hasn’t skipped a beat since, with both domestic and international production — drawn by a cash rebate of up to 30 —continuing apace. This year, says Estonian Film Institute CEO Edith Sepp, there are no signs of slowing down.
“The Estonian cash rebate has been booming more than ever in the first half of this year,” she says. “In the whole of 2021, we had seven projects using the cash rebate scheme, but by January this year, we already had eight projects lined up for the rebate and the year had barely started.
- 5/21/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Since hosting its first dedicated drama series conference during the 2017 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event – the festival’s industry arm – has continued to expand the scope of its popular TV Beats Forum.
This year’s event, which will take place during the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event from Nov. 18-25, includes a conference program focused on the latest industry trends, preview screenings of the newest series from the Nordic, Baltic and Central and Eastern European regions, and a co-financing market showcasing a curated selection of eight-10 series currently in development.
Marge Liiske, managing director of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, says the growing TV strand is a recognition of the “well-established reality” facing Baltic producers today.
“It’s been clear for many years that the most important thing is to follow audience demand and be also to tell just great stories,” she says. “Whether they’re on...
This year’s event, which will take place during the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event from Nov. 18-25, includes a conference program focused on the latest industry trends, preview screenings of the newest series from the Nordic, Baltic and Central and Eastern European regions, and a co-financing market showcasing a curated selection of eight-10 series currently in development.
Marge Liiske, managing director of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, says the growing TV strand is a recognition of the “well-established reality” facing Baltic producers today.
“It’s been clear for many years that the most important thing is to follow audience demand and be also to tell just great stories,” she says. “Whether they’re on...
- 5/20/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has acquired world sales rights to “Estonia,” an ambitious Finnish series telling the true story of Europe’s deadliest maritime disaster of the 20th century. The eight-part event drama will reteam “Bordertown” creator Miikko Oikkonen and helmer Juuso Syrjä (Bordertown), who will split directing duties with Måns Månsson (“Snabba Cash”).
Finland’s biggest drama project to date, “Estonia” is produced by Beta Nordic Studio’s Finnish banner Fisher King, and co-produced by Swedish Kärnfilm Ab, Panache Production Belgium and the Estonian Amrion Oü. Also co-producing are streaming service C More Finland and Sweden, along with the broadcaster TV4 and MTV Finland, in collaboration with Beta Film.
The character-driven series, whose shoot is due to start in the spring, will captures the true event of the sinking of the Ms Estonia, the country’s largest ship, in September 1994. The cruise ferry was hit by a major storm, which led to uncontrolled tilting.
Finland’s biggest drama project to date, “Estonia” is produced by Beta Nordic Studio’s Finnish banner Fisher King, and co-produced by Swedish Kärnfilm Ab, Panache Production Belgium and the Estonian Amrion Oü. Also co-producing are streaming service C More Finland and Sweden, along with the broadcaster TV4 and MTV Finland, in collaboration with Beta Film.
The character-driven series, whose shoot is due to start in the spring, will captures the true event of the sinking of the Ms Estonia, the country’s largest ship, in September 1994. The cruise ferry was hit by a major storm, which led to uncontrolled tilting.
- 2/1/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Swedish director Katarina Launing’s ‘You Can Dance’ named the winner of Screen International ’s best pitch award.
The 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has named the winners of its Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event awards.
The industry showcase took place as a hybrid of in-person and virtual events, with the winners announced today (November 26) following a week of presentations and networking with around 700 delegates.
Swedish director Katarina Launing’s feature project You Can Dance was named the winner of Screen International’s best pitch award at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, which guarantees coverage on Screen throughout the project’s lifecycle.
The 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has named the winners of its Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event awards.
The industry showcase took place as a hybrid of in-person and virtual events, with the winners announced today (November 26) following a week of presentations and networking with around 700 delegates.
Swedish director Katarina Launing’s feature project You Can Dance was named the winner of Screen International’s best pitch award at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, which guarantees coverage on Screen throughout the project’s lifecycle.
- 11/28/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects from across Europe selected for Cannes showcase.
The industry platform of Tallinn Black Night Films Festival is to showcase seven projects seeking co-production partners at the Cannes market for the first time.
The Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event Co-Production Market will spotlight the titles at the Marché’s Co-Production Day on July 9, where projects in development – looking for co-producers and financiers – are presented in one-to-one meetings.
They include Estonian project Black Hole, written and directed by Moonika Siimets, whose Stalinist drama The Little Comrade won the audience award at South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival in 2018.
Siimets...
The industry platform of Tallinn Black Night Films Festival is to showcase seven projects seeking co-production partners at the Cannes market for the first time.
The Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event Co-Production Market will spotlight the titles at the Marché’s Co-Production Day on July 9, where projects in development – looking for co-producers and financiers – are presented in one-to-one meetings.
They include Estonian project Black Hole, written and directed by Moonika Siimets, whose Stalinist drama The Little Comrade won the audience award at South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival in 2018.
Siimets...
- 6/10/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The producers came together for a Scandinavian Films webinar at the virtual Berlinale.
How producers can navigate the disruption of streaming platforms, put together cross-border productions during Covid and why the UK’s exit from the European Union may have a positive impact on UK-European co-productions were among the topics chewed over during an online talk at the virtual Berlinale called ’Joining Forces: Collaborating for Strong Co-Productions’.
Hosted by Scandinavian Films, the panel aimed to offer practical advice from producers and players behind high-profile, Nordic-based pan-European co-productions including Flee, Triangle Of Sadness and Compartment No 6.
For London-based producer and former...
How producers can navigate the disruption of streaming platforms, put together cross-border productions during Covid and why the UK’s exit from the European Union may have a positive impact on UK-European co-productions were among the topics chewed over during an online talk at the virtual Berlinale called ’Joining Forces: Collaborating for Strong Co-Productions’.
Hosted by Scandinavian Films, the panel aimed to offer practical advice from producers and players behind high-profile, Nordic-based pan-European co-productions including Flee, Triangle Of Sadness and Compartment No 6.
For London-based producer and former...
- 3/4/2021
- by Stuart Kemp
- ScreenDaily
The Estonia 100 project ignites local production and cinema-going.
Estonia is one of Europe’s most interesting emerging co-production territories. Buoyed by the success of the six films supported by last year’s government-backed Estonia 100 film programme, created to celebrate the country’s centenary, local producers are now putting together a wide array of productions aimed at an international market.
Veteran producer Ivo Felt of Allfilm is close to completing the finance on the English-language sci-fi thriller Gateway 6, which is set to star Olga Kurylenko It is being set up as a UK-Estonian-German coproduction. It will be the...
Estonia is one of Europe’s most interesting emerging co-production territories. Buoyed by the success of the six films supported by last year’s government-backed Estonia 100 film programme, created to celebrate the country’s centenary, local producers are now putting together a wide array of productions aimed at an international market.
Veteran producer Ivo Felt of Allfilm is close to completing the finance on the English-language sci-fi thriller Gateway 6, which is set to star Olga Kurylenko It is being set up as a UK-Estonian-German coproduction. It will be the...
- 11/25/2019
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Trans-Siberian Railway-set tale is Kuosmanen’s follow-up to The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
New Paris-based sales company Totem Films is kicking off its slate with the acquisition of the international rights to Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s upcoming Trans-Siberian Railway-set drama Compartment No 6.
It is Kuosmanen’s second feature following The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki which won the main prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2016.
Totem Films was launched last October by leading sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent and cinema finance expert Laure Parleani.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Soviet Union,...
New Paris-based sales company Totem Films is kicking off its slate with the acquisition of the international rights to Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s upcoming Trans-Siberian Railway-set drama Compartment No 6.
It is Kuosmanen’s second feature following The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki which won the main prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2016.
Totem Films was launched last October by leading sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent and cinema finance expert Laure Parleani.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Soviet Union,...
- 3/5/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Benedikt Erlingsson’s Icelandic title gathers momentum on award-winning run.
Icelandic filmmaker Benedikt Erlingsson’s eco-warrior tale Woman At War, which premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week earlier this year, continued its prize-winning run at the Lübeck Nordic Film Days in northern Germany over the weekend, clinching four awards worth a total €25,000.
Its Colombian-born supporting cast member Juan Camilo Roman Estrada attended the awards ceremony in Lübeck’s historical theatre to accept the Ndr Film Prize, the Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic fiction film, the Interfilm Church Prize and the audience award.
It was the first time in the 60-year...
Icelandic filmmaker Benedikt Erlingsson’s eco-warrior tale Woman At War, which premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week earlier this year, continued its prize-winning run at the Lübeck Nordic Film Days in northern Germany over the weekend, clinching four awards worth a total €25,000.
Its Colombian-born supporting cast member Juan Camilo Roman Estrada attended the awards ceremony in Lübeck’s historical theatre to accept the Ndr Film Prize, the Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic fiction film, the Interfilm Church Prize and the audience award.
It was the first time in the 60-year...
- 11/6/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Feb. 24 marked the centenary of the proclamation of Estonia as an independent, democratic republic. In preparation for that milestone anniversary, a special initiative, Estonia Film 100, brought an extra €9.6 million ($11.7 million) into the domestic production coffers. The Estonian Film Institute used the money to fund five feature films; two documentaries; a feature-length animation (“Lotte and the Lost Dragons”); and the TV series “The Bank,” which will air this fall.
The period drama “The Little Comrade,” directed and written by documentarian-turned-feature-debutant Moonika Siimets and produced by Riina Sildos of Amrion Production, was the first of the Estonia Film 100 titles out of the gate. Released domestically on March 23, it has ranked No. 1 at the box office for four consecutive weeks. With 99,191 admissions so far, it is on course to rank No. 4 in the top domestic box office of all time.
“The Little Comrade” is based on an autobiographical novel by Estonia’s beloved writer Leelo Tungal.
The period drama “The Little Comrade,” directed and written by documentarian-turned-feature-debutant Moonika Siimets and produced by Riina Sildos of Amrion Production, was the first of the Estonia Film 100 titles out of the gate. Released domestically on March 23, it has ranked No. 1 at the box office for four consecutive weeks. With 99,191 admissions so far, it is on course to rank No. 4 in the top domestic box office of all time.
“The Little Comrade” is based on an autobiographical novel by Estonia’s beloved writer Leelo Tungal.
- 5/10/2018
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Seventh edition of Locarno’s showcase of works in progress dedicated to films from the three Baltic states.
Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Puidokas’ El Padre Medico was the big winner at this year’s first look awards at the Locarno Festival (Aug 2-12), picking up Kaiju Cinema D/ffusion’s $5899.93 (€5,000) award for the production of key art design as well as $3539 (€3,000) worth of DCPs and international promotional measures offered by Baltic View and Noir Lumiere.
The co-production between Lithuania’s Ironcat and Dansu Films with Brazilian production house Lente Viva Films tells the story of A. F. Bendoraitis who lived in the Amazonian jungle in the early 1960s under the false identity of a European missionary, philanthropist and doctor.
The Le Film Francais award of $6,492 (€5,500) worth of advertising went to the Estonian first feature The Little Comrade by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion’s Riina Sildos “for its great storytelling, international appeal, the great performance...
Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Puidokas’ El Padre Medico was the big winner at this year’s first look awards at the Locarno Festival (Aug 2-12), picking up Kaiju Cinema D/ffusion’s $5899.93 (€5,000) award for the production of key art design as well as $3539 (€3,000) worth of DCPs and international promotional measures offered by Baltic View and Noir Lumiere.
The co-production between Lithuania’s Ironcat and Dansu Films with Brazilian production house Lente Viva Films tells the story of A. F. Bendoraitis who lived in the Amazonian jungle in the early 1960s under the false identity of a European missionary, philanthropist and doctor.
The Le Film Francais award of $6,492 (€5,500) worth of advertising went to the Estonian first feature The Little Comrade by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion’s Riina Sildos “for its great storytelling, international appeal, the great performance...
- 8/7/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Amazon Studios’ Ted Hope to reveal “vision for film”; works in progress winner to receive new award worth more than $100,000.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) has announced its industry programme and the projects selected for its works in progress and Eurimages Lab Project awards.
The line-up includes an in conversation event with Ted Hope, head of motion picture production at Amazon Studios, who will offer his future vision for film.
The festival will also host mark 20 years since the death of Czech filmmaker František (Frank) Daniel with a workshop, where Daniel’s teaching methods will be presented by analysing the film Some Like It Hot.
Other events will provide insight into the Czech Republic’s production benefits; panels on approaches to film education in Europe; and the 10th annual conference of Europa Distribution.
In addition, the European Parliament will unveil the 10 films nominated for the 10th Lux Film Prize; the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program...
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) has announced its industry programme and the projects selected for its works in progress and Eurimages Lab Project awards.
The line-up includes an in conversation event with Ted Hope, head of motion picture production at Amazon Studios, who will offer his future vision for film.
The festival will also host mark 20 years since the death of Czech filmmaker František (Frank) Daniel with a workshop, where Daniel’s teaching methods will be presented by analysing the film Some Like It Hot.
Other events will provide insight into the Czech Republic’s production benefits; panels on approaches to film education in Europe; and the 10th annual conference of Europa Distribution.
In addition, the European Parliament will unveil the 10 films nominated for the 10th Lux Film Prize; the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program...
- 6/21/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
School of Film Agents celebrated its third edition in Wroclaw, Poland, bringing together, once again, some of the best and most promising young players active in the European film industry today. The unique, core philosophy behind Sofa is the initiative's continuous commitment to strengthening the film landscape of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus States where unstable political and economical conditions result in an underdeveloped film industry.
Sofa-Founder Nikolaj Nikitin: "Granted, many films from these countries are being successfully screened at the big film festivals. Nonetheless, they are still lacking the necessary infrastructure and institutional support that not only acknowledges and strengthens the position of film as an art form and relevant socio-cultural and economic factor, but also backs the much-needed film mediators managing these initiatives - such as film festival-makers, distributors and cinema operators."
The Program
Ten intensive days of workshop participation were made available to the eight film agents and their top-class tutors, where, together, they were given the opportunity to successfully develop and push their promising ideas forward towards realization. Strengths and weaknesses of the projects pitched were openly and constructively discussed in close dialogue with some of the biggest names in the European film industry. Lectures and panel discussions dealing with the central topics at hand were visited and numerous in-depth one-to-one meetings took place. In comparison to last year's edition, this year, an intensive exchange between mentors and participants was able to take place already in advance guaranteeing optimal preparation for the workshop activities ahead.
The film agents and their film projects
In its third year, Sofa was, once again, able to pave the way towards realization for eight particularly committed projects. The eight participants were selected out of over one hundred applicants in total - the rising number of applications in 2015 is a clear confirmation of the growing popularity of Sofa.
The goal of strengthening the regional film culture and industries in their respective countries unified most of the participants' projects in 2015. Additionally the production and distribution of European co-productions within the international theatrical market also took center stage at this year's Sofa edition.
With her project Lviv Film Commission the Ukrainian participant Olha Reiter pursued the establishment of the first regional film commission in the Ukraine, a project which already commenced with its important work in August earlier this year.
The Dushanbe Documentary Film Center from Sergey Chutkov serves as a place for film education in Tajikistan - a platform providing space, equipment and seminars for the production of documentary films by young filmmakers.
The project Criss-Cross Film Lab developed by the Serbian participant Milica Bozanic would also like to provide a space for workshops and networking. In addition to bringing together young filmmakers with producers, business skills and marketing strategies will also be taught.
A mobile film educational project will be put into motion by the Polish participant Malgorzata Tusk. With her project Cinebus - Mobile Center of Audiovisual Education she would like to bring the already well-established workshop initiative "Film Spring Open" (led by the world-renowned Dop Slawomir Idziak) into light in Poland.
With his project Cuz We Are Talented, the Czech participant Michal Kracmer plans to steer the attention to young talents from countries in Central Europe while promoting co-productions between these countries.
Conceptualized as a full-service agency, the project Kaleidoscope, developed by the Slovakian participant Katarina Tomkova, intends to offer consultation and internationalization strategies from script to theatrical release.
The Romanian participant Dorina Oarga aims to digitize student films from the National University of Theatre and Film Archive and make them available online with her project Cinepub 2nd Life - a pilot project with the intention of preserving the film heritage of Romania.
Creating new visibility for ambitious children's films is the goal of the möwe. derKinderFilmVerleih, conceptualized by the German Sofa-participant Hella Riehl.
The Lecturers
Each of the eight participants had a tutor by his/her side offering project feedback from his/her own special and professional perspective. The following mentors lent their expertise to Sofa this year: Claudia Dillmann (Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt), Maciej Jakubczyk (New Horizons Association, Wroclaw), Matthijs Wouter Knol (European Film Market, Berlin), Roberto Olla (Eurimages, Strasbourg), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund, Tel Aviv), Riina Sildos (Baltic Event, Tallinn), Tamara Tatishvili (Ablabudafilm, Tbilisi) und Kristina Trapp (Eave, Luxemburg). An additional lecture dealing with the topic of Marketing and Consumer Psychology was presented by Domenico la Porta (Cineuropa, Brussels).
Four further experts - each of whom have been an integral part of the Sofa-Team since the inception of the initiative - accompanied the participants from the first day to the very last of the workshop. Participants were able to develop individually tailored marketing strategies for their projects with Renaud Redien-Collot (Novancia Business School, Paris), while Pitching Expert Sibylle Kurz (Frankfurt am Main) ensured that projects are presented with a sense of confidence and ease. Oliver Baumgarten (Programme Director, Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken) und Oscar-Winner Ewa Puszczynska (Opus Film, Lodz) were also present, offering individual feedback-meetings aimed at stylistically and conceptually enhancing the participants' concept drafts as well as helping them to work out appropriate budgeting and realistic timeline schemes for their projects.
The Sofa-participants and lecturers were invited to attend a Film-Preview of the Cannes-premiered Swedish-Polish co-production "The Here After" in Wroclaw's largest arthouse cinema. After the screening director Magnus von Horn and producer Mariusz Wlodarski spoke about opportunities within and the challenges facing the European co-production scene.
Film culture for the future - success stories
A look back at the last two editions of Sofa proves that the pan-European Thinktank dedicated to the future of cinema is truly making waves with sustainable signs of change and the first projects bearing fruit. Many of the projects from the last two years have been able to be successfully realized or are close to realization and implementation.
The Eurimage-backed Serbian Sofa-project Fbo - Festival Box Office by Sonja Topalovic was launched as a beta version in February at the Berlinale. A presentation of the interactive online-database for film festivals followed in the Spring in Cannes. Meanwhile, Fbo is closely cooperating with the Film Center Serbia, officially evaluating for them the number of visitors and ticket sales of art house theaters participating at Serbian film festivals. Moreover, negotiations are continuously taking place with numerous international film festivals, not only keeping the project's network flow in full-swing, but also helping to supplement their valuable database at the same time. As an innovative business tool, Fbo has long-term, world-wide plans to evaluate the success of art house films screened at festivals, thereby giving key players in the industry invaluable insight into understanding public taste.
Leana Jalukse's project Doktok - a distribution initiative for Estonian documentary films was able to be realized with the help of Sofa. Leana was also able to participate in a six-week German language course in Munich where she completed a creative internship with Beta Cinema. This combination of language training with professional internship possibilities is the result of cooperation between Sofa and the Goethe-Institut Prague and will be continued in 2016. Former Sofa-participants Anna Bielak (Poland) and Gábor Böszörményi (Hungary) have also been able to take part in a German language course whilst building up their networks of German business contacts.
The Romanian Sofa-project Transilvania Film Fund by Cristian Hordila is close to being fully implemented and the Lithuanian Sofa-project Front - Film Republic of Networked Theatres by Kestutis Drazdauskas is making headway with the digitalization of cultural centers in Lithuania. The first agreements with local government administrative agencies have been reached and plans are being made to incorporate the private sector into the overall financing scheme of the project. Kestutis is also working out further financial support with Fatima Djoumer (Europe Cinemas), who plans to visit with him in Lithuania this Fall.
Sofa-Founder Nikolaj Nikitin: "Granted, many films from these countries are being successfully screened at the big film festivals. Nonetheless, they are still lacking the necessary infrastructure and institutional support that not only acknowledges and strengthens the position of film as an art form and relevant socio-cultural and economic factor, but also backs the much-needed film mediators managing these initiatives - such as film festival-makers, distributors and cinema operators."
The Program
Ten intensive days of workshop participation were made available to the eight film agents and their top-class tutors, where, together, they were given the opportunity to successfully develop and push their promising ideas forward towards realization. Strengths and weaknesses of the projects pitched were openly and constructively discussed in close dialogue with some of the biggest names in the European film industry. Lectures and panel discussions dealing with the central topics at hand were visited and numerous in-depth one-to-one meetings took place. In comparison to last year's edition, this year, an intensive exchange between mentors and participants was able to take place already in advance guaranteeing optimal preparation for the workshop activities ahead.
The film agents and their film projects
In its third year, Sofa was, once again, able to pave the way towards realization for eight particularly committed projects. The eight participants were selected out of over one hundred applicants in total - the rising number of applications in 2015 is a clear confirmation of the growing popularity of Sofa.
The goal of strengthening the regional film culture and industries in their respective countries unified most of the participants' projects in 2015. Additionally the production and distribution of European co-productions within the international theatrical market also took center stage at this year's Sofa edition.
With her project Lviv Film Commission the Ukrainian participant Olha Reiter pursued the establishment of the first regional film commission in the Ukraine, a project which already commenced with its important work in August earlier this year.
The Dushanbe Documentary Film Center from Sergey Chutkov serves as a place for film education in Tajikistan - a platform providing space, equipment and seminars for the production of documentary films by young filmmakers.
The project Criss-Cross Film Lab developed by the Serbian participant Milica Bozanic would also like to provide a space for workshops and networking. In addition to bringing together young filmmakers with producers, business skills and marketing strategies will also be taught.
A mobile film educational project will be put into motion by the Polish participant Malgorzata Tusk. With her project Cinebus - Mobile Center of Audiovisual Education she would like to bring the already well-established workshop initiative "Film Spring Open" (led by the world-renowned Dop Slawomir Idziak) into light in Poland.
With his project Cuz We Are Talented, the Czech participant Michal Kracmer plans to steer the attention to young talents from countries in Central Europe while promoting co-productions between these countries.
Conceptualized as a full-service agency, the project Kaleidoscope, developed by the Slovakian participant Katarina Tomkova, intends to offer consultation and internationalization strategies from script to theatrical release.
The Romanian participant Dorina Oarga aims to digitize student films from the National University of Theatre and Film Archive and make them available online with her project Cinepub 2nd Life - a pilot project with the intention of preserving the film heritage of Romania.
Creating new visibility for ambitious children's films is the goal of the möwe. derKinderFilmVerleih, conceptualized by the German Sofa-participant Hella Riehl.
The Lecturers
Each of the eight participants had a tutor by his/her side offering project feedback from his/her own special and professional perspective. The following mentors lent their expertise to Sofa this year: Claudia Dillmann (Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt), Maciej Jakubczyk (New Horizons Association, Wroclaw), Matthijs Wouter Knol (European Film Market, Berlin), Roberto Olla (Eurimages, Strasbourg), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund, Tel Aviv), Riina Sildos (Baltic Event, Tallinn), Tamara Tatishvili (Ablabudafilm, Tbilisi) und Kristina Trapp (Eave, Luxemburg). An additional lecture dealing with the topic of Marketing and Consumer Psychology was presented by Domenico la Porta (Cineuropa, Brussels).
Four further experts - each of whom have been an integral part of the Sofa-Team since the inception of the initiative - accompanied the participants from the first day to the very last of the workshop. Participants were able to develop individually tailored marketing strategies for their projects with Renaud Redien-Collot (Novancia Business School, Paris), while Pitching Expert Sibylle Kurz (Frankfurt am Main) ensured that projects are presented with a sense of confidence and ease. Oliver Baumgarten (Programme Director, Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken) und Oscar-Winner Ewa Puszczynska (Opus Film, Lodz) were also present, offering individual feedback-meetings aimed at stylistically and conceptually enhancing the participants' concept drafts as well as helping them to work out appropriate budgeting and realistic timeline schemes for their projects.
The Sofa-participants and lecturers were invited to attend a Film-Preview of the Cannes-premiered Swedish-Polish co-production "The Here After" in Wroclaw's largest arthouse cinema. After the screening director Magnus von Horn and producer Mariusz Wlodarski spoke about opportunities within and the challenges facing the European co-production scene.
Film culture for the future - success stories
A look back at the last two editions of Sofa proves that the pan-European Thinktank dedicated to the future of cinema is truly making waves with sustainable signs of change and the first projects bearing fruit. Many of the projects from the last two years have been able to be successfully realized or are close to realization and implementation.
The Eurimage-backed Serbian Sofa-project Fbo - Festival Box Office by Sonja Topalovic was launched as a beta version in February at the Berlinale. A presentation of the interactive online-database for film festivals followed in the Spring in Cannes. Meanwhile, Fbo is closely cooperating with the Film Center Serbia, officially evaluating for them the number of visitors and ticket sales of art house theaters participating at Serbian film festivals. Moreover, negotiations are continuously taking place with numerous international film festivals, not only keeping the project's network flow in full-swing, but also helping to supplement their valuable database at the same time. As an innovative business tool, Fbo has long-term, world-wide plans to evaluate the success of art house films screened at festivals, thereby giving key players in the industry invaluable insight into understanding public taste.
Leana Jalukse's project Doktok - a distribution initiative for Estonian documentary films was able to be realized with the help of Sofa. Leana was also able to participate in a six-week German language course in Munich where she completed a creative internship with Beta Cinema. This combination of language training with professional internship possibilities is the result of cooperation between Sofa and the Goethe-Institut Prague and will be continued in 2016. Former Sofa-participants Anna Bielak (Poland) and Gábor Böszörményi (Hungary) have also been able to take part in a German language course whilst building up their networks of German business contacts.
The Romanian Sofa-project Transilvania Film Fund by Cristian Hordila is close to being fully implemented and the Lithuanian Sofa-project Front - Film Republic of Networked Theatres by Kestutis Drazdauskas is making headway with the digitalization of cultural centers in Lithuania. The first agreements with local government administrative agencies have been reached and plans are being made to incorporate the private sector into the overall financing scheme of the project. Kestutis is also working out further financial support with Fatima Djoumer (Europe Cinemas), who plans to visit with him in Lithuania this Fall.
- 11/12/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Former winners of Screen International’s Best Pitch Award are among the producers with projects at the co-production market during the 14th edition of Tallinn’s Baltic Event (Nov 16-18).Scroll down for full list of projects
Finnish producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg of Making Movies Oy, who won the Screen award on two occasions (most recently, last year for the comedy Impaled Rektum) will be coming to the Baltic Event with Klaus Harö’s next feature project, the grandfather-grandson drama Dark Christ.
Making Movies is the producer of Harö’s The Fencer, Finland’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.
Another of Harö’s feature projects, Never Alone, to be produced by Mrp Productions’ Ilkka Matila, received Screen’s best pitch award in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian producer Uljana Kim, whose production of Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day took the award home from the 2013 edition of the Baltic Event, will be back...
Finnish producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg of Making Movies Oy, who won the Screen award on two occasions (most recently, last year for the comedy Impaled Rektum) will be coming to the Baltic Event with Klaus Harö’s next feature project, the grandfather-grandson drama Dark Christ.
Making Movies is the producer of Harö’s The Fencer, Finland’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.
Another of Harö’s feature projects, Never Alone, to be produced by Mrp Productions’ Ilkka Matila, received Screen’s best pitch award in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian producer Uljana Kim, whose production of Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day took the award home from the 2013 edition of the Baltic Event, will be back...
- 10/21/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Producer-director Andrey Silvestrov’s The Ice Hole was named the winner of the first Screen International Best Pitch Award at the Moscow Business Square (Mbs).
The €400,000 comedy by Silvestrov’s new company Cooperation Propub is based on characters who are typical to the modern world: an artist, an oligarch, the Russian president and an alcoholic.
The ironic and tragic view of modern Russia also received an award sponsored by the Russian company Cosmosfilm.
In addition, the Finnish post-production house Post Control offered production services as a prize to Elizaveta Stishova’s Suleiman Mountain by Trikita Entertainment, which is being developed as part of the B’Est training programme.
The Mgap entertainment legal practice donated a prize of legal advice to the documentary project Baubxy about the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas movements by Sergei Shanovich.
Valeriy Polienko’s 1990s-set drama Kosa was selected by the Russian crowdfunding platform Planeta.ru to receive professional advice on its production.
The award-winning...
The €400,000 comedy by Silvestrov’s new company Cooperation Propub is based on characters who are typical to the modern world: an artist, an oligarch, the Russian president and an alcoholic.
The ironic and tragic view of modern Russia also received an award sponsored by the Russian company Cosmosfilm.
In addition, the Finnish post-production house Post Control offered production services as a prize to Elizaveta Stishova’s Suleiman Mountain by Trikita Entertainment, which is being developed as part of the B’Est training programme.
The Mgap entertainment legal practice donated a prize of legal advice to the documentary project Baubxy about the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas movements by Sergei Shanovich.
Valeriy Polienko’s 1990s-set drama Kosa was selected by the Russian crowdfunding platform Planeta.ru to receive professional advice on its production.
The award-winning...
- 6/24/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Serbian director Vuk Rsumovic’s No One’s Child and Slovak filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský fiction debut Koza were the big winners at the 15th edition of the goEast Festival of Central and East European Film (April 22-28) in Wiesbaden.
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director and the...
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director and the...
- 4/29/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Serbian director Vuk Rsumovic’s No One’s Child and Slovak filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský fiction debut Goat (Koza) were the big winners at the 15th edition of the goEast Festival of Central and East European Film (April 22-28) in Wiesbaden.
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director...
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director...
- 4/29/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
This year’s European Film Awards are officially out of the gates with a not so lean 50 film submissions to select from. The 27th edition collects titles that date back to last year’s Venice and Toronto Int. Film Festivals moving into Sundance-Rotterdam-Berlin and finally Cannes of ’14. Among the 31 European countries represented, we’ve got likes of the Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan leading the huge pack of contenders including Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. Here’s the complete list of 50!:
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
- 9/16/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Among the deals, Mexico’s In Films We Trust will buy a package of eight Russian films from Timur Bekmambetov’s Bazelevs.
Moscow Business Square’s Latin American focus has already borne its first fruits less than a week after the event closed.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, consultant Diana Karklin revealed that Russian producer Vlad Ketkovich will serve as the executive producer on the Mexican documentary Torre about the tragic story of Mexico’s greatest ever chess player Carlos Torre, which was pitched in Moscow by director Juan Obregon and co-director/producer Roberto Garza.
In addition, Mexico’s facilities house Studio 5 de mayo plans to finance the post-production of Maria Gavrilova´s Brazilian-Russian documentary project Close Your Eyes by Marx Films, as well as for the Colombian project Revolution which was pitched at Mbs by the producer-director-screenwriter team of Camilo Molano Parra, Felipe Cano Ibanez and Santiago Ardilla Reyes.
Karklin also noted...
Moscow Business Square’s Latin American focus has already borne its first fruits less than a week after the event closed.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, consultant Diana Karklin revealed that Russian producer Vlad Ketkovich will serve as the executive producer on the Mexican documentary Torre about the tragic story of Mexico’s greatest ever chess player Carlos Torre, which was pitched in Moscow by director Juan Obregon and co-director/producer Roberto Garza.
In addition, Mexico’s facilities house Studio 5 de mayo plans to finance the post-production of Maria Gavrilova´s Brazilian-Russian documentary project Close Your Eyes by Marx Films, as well as for the Colombian project Revolution which was pitched at Mbs by the producer-director-screenwriter team of Camilo Molano Parra, Felipe Cano Ibanez and Santiago Ardilla Reyes.
Karklin also noted...
- 6/30/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Screen award-winner among seven features funded by Lithuanian Film Centre (Lfc).
Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day, winner of the Screen International best pitch award at last December’s Baltic Event, is one of seven projects - six features and one short - funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre (Lfc) with a total of 4.5m Ltl (€1.3m) this spring.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily during last week’s Vilnius International Film Festival, Vildziunas and his producer Uljana Kim of Studio Uljana Kim said that the film received 1.6m Ltl (€463,300) - 1.4m Ltl (€405,400) for 2014 and a recommendation of 200,000 Ltl (€57,920) for postproduction in 2015.
¨According to our financing plan, we’ll apply this autumn to the Lfc in order to complete the financing as now we still Have a gap for production and postproduction of 400,000 Ltl (€115,840),¨ Kim explained.
She revealed that the film’s Latvian co-producer Roberts Vinovskis of Locomotive Productions is participating in the production stage with camera and other...
Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day, winner of the Screen International best pitch award at last December’s Baltic Event, is one of seven projects - six features and one short - funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre (Lfc) with a total of 4.5m Ltl (€1.3m) this spring.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily during last week’s Vilnius International Film Festival, Vildziunas and his producer Uljana Kim of Studio Uljana Kim said that the film received 1.6m Ltl (€463,300) - 1.4m Ltl (€405,400) for 2014 and a recommendation of 200,000 Ltl (€57,920) for postproduction in 2015.
¨According to our financing plan, we’ll apply this autumn to the Lfc in order to complete the financing as now we still Have a gap for production and postproduction of 400,000 Ltl (€115,840),¨ Kim explained.
She revealed that the film’s Latvian co-producer Roberts Vinovskis of Locomotive Productions is participating in the production stage with camera and other...
- 4/10/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Timur Bekmambetov’s first outing as a director since his Hollywood film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter sees him going back in time again to the beginning of the First World War at the end of 1914.
Yolki 1914 is the fourth instalment of Bekmambetov’s New Year hit comedy franchise Yolki, which his production-distribution company Bazelevs launched in 2010.
Bekmambetov directed the first Yolki (aka The Six Degrees Of Celebration), which took $26m at the box office in the Cis territories in 2010/11.
Since then, Bekmambetov has only served as the producer on the following two Yolki films.
The first sequel Yolki 2012 – which posted $30m at the Cis box office in 2011/12 – took place on New Year’s Eve in 11 cities from small regional towns to Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and was directed by Dmitry Kiselev, Alexander Kott, Oksana Bychkova and others.
Kiselev, Kott, Alexander Karpilovsky and Olga Kharina directed the episodes of the third film Yolki 2014 which was released on Dec...
Yolki 1914 is the fourth instalment of Bekmambetov’s New Year hit comedy franchise Yolki, which his production-distribution company Bazelevs launched in 2010.
Bekmambetov directed the first Yolki (aka The Six Degrees Of Celebration), which took $26m at the box office in the Cis territories in 2010/11.
Since then, Bekmambetov has only served as the producer on the following two Yolki films.
The first sequel Yolki 2012 – which posted $30m at the Cis box office in 2011/12 – took place on New Year’s Eve in 11 cities from small regional towns to Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and was directed by Dmitry Kiselev, Alexander Kott, Oksana Bychkova and others.
Kiselev, Kott, Alexander Karpilovsky and Olga Kharina directed the episodes of the third film Yolki 2014 which was released on Dec...
- 3/11/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Benelux is the regional focus for Trieste’s fourth edition of its When East Meets West (Wemw) co-production forum (January 20-22, 2014) being held during the Trieste Film Festival.
Eight of the 22 projects being presented in public pitches at the forum, which runs Jan 20-22, will be projects from the Benelux countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - looking for potential co-producers and distributors from Italy or Eastern Europe.
They include new projects from Luxembourg’s Bady Minck, 1313 Dante’s Emperor, and The Netherlands’ David Verbeek, Full Contact, as well as the Belgian documentary film-makers Daniel Lambo, Eternal Silence, and Gilles Coton, Meet Enver Hadri.
Wemw’s project manager Alessandro Gropplero told ScreenDaily that this year’s call for projects had attracted a record 200 entries - 23 from the Benelux, 32 from Italy and 145 from Eastern Europe - with 140 fiction film projects and 60 documentary projects.
An international jury then selected 10 fiction and 12 documentary projects in development to be pitched...
Eight of the 22 projects being presented in public pitches at the forum, which runs Jan 20-22, will be projects from the Benelux countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - looking for potential co-producers and distributors from Italy or Eastern Europe.
They include new projects from Luxembourg’s Bady Minck, 1313 Dante’s Emperor, and The Netherlands’ David Verbeek, Full Contact, as well as the Belgian documentary film-makers Daniel Lambo, Eternal Silence, and Gilles Coton, Meet Enver Hadri.
Wemw’s project manager Alessandro Gropplero told ScreenDaily that this year’s call for projects had attracted a record 200 entries - 23 from the Benelux, 32 from Italy and 145 from Eastern Europe - with 140 fiction film projects and 60 documentary projects.
An international jury then selected 10 fiction and 12 documentary projects in development to be pitched...
- 12/19/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
A coalition of film professionals from the EU’s new Member States is likely to be one of the results of the Audiovisual Summit in Warsaw this week.
Tentatively called New Europe Coalition (NEC), the initiative aims to raise the profile of the new Member States and their audiovisual industries within political institutions on national and European level, with public broadcasters and in the European film industry at large.
“We are completely dissipated and the visibility of our countries is not what it used to be - or should be - so there is a need to work together,” said Hrvoje Hribar, CEO of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, at the end of the two-day event.
In addition, Polish producer-director Dariusz Jablonski (Apple Film) announced that a follow-up meeting to take the next step and launch NEC would be held during next February’s Berlinale at the offices of Scripteast.
Recommendations
A series of recommendations were drawn from the...
Tentatively called New Europe Coalition (NEC), the initiative aims to raise the profile of the new Member States and their audiovisual industries within political institutions on national and European level, with public broadcasters and in the European film industry at large.
“We are completely dissipated and the visibility of our countries is not what it used to be - or should be - so there is a need to work together,” said Hrvoje Hribar, CEO of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, at the end of the two-day event.
In addition, Polish producer-director Dariusz Jablonski (Apple Film) announced that a follow-up meeting to take the next step and launch NEC would be held during next February’s Berlinale at the offices of Scripteast.
Recommendations
A series of recommendations were drawn from the...
- 12/13/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The recently created Saint-Petersburg-based Point Of View (Pov) Development Fund has backed three film projects a total of $86,000 (€65,000).
An international expert group of producers that selected the projects included Sergei Selyanov (Ctb Film Company), Artem Vasiliev (Metrafilms), Riina Sildos (Amrion), Konstantinos Kontovrakis (Heretic) and Berlin-based sales agent Jean-Christophe Simon of Films Boutique.
The films they selected each have the fate of a woman at their centre:
The Woman From Ingria, to be produced by Pavel Odynin, is based on the biography of a simple woman in the north-western corner of Russia during the 20th century (€25,000);
Svetlana follows the real love story between Stalin’s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva and the Indian raj Brajesh Singh in the mid-1960s. It will be produced by Anastasia Perova, Olga Kolegaeva and Konstantin Nafikov with Karsten Stöter of Germany’s Rohfilm,which was a co-producer of Ritesh Batra’s Cannes hit The Lunchbox (€25,000);
Manifestation, the feature debut by Georgian-born film-maker Anna Sarukhanova...
An international expert group of producers that selected the projects included Sergei Selyanov (Ctb Film Company), Artem Vasiliev (Metrafilms), Riina Sildos (Amrion), Konstantinos Kontovrakis (Heretic) and Berlin-based sales agent Jean-Christophe Simon of Films Boutique.
The films they selected each have the fate of a woman at their centre:
The Woman From Ingria, to be produced by Pavel Odynin, is based on the biography of a simple woman in the north-western corner of Russia during the 20th century (€25,000);
Svetlana follows the real love story between Stalin’s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva and the Indian raj Brajesh Singh in the mid-1960s. It will be produced by Anastasia Perova, Olga Kolegaeva and Konstantin Nafikov with Karsten Stöter of Germany’s Rohfilm,which was a co-producer of Ritesh Batra’s Cannes hit The Lunchbox (€25,000);
Manifestation, the feature debut by Georgian-born film-maker Anna Sarukhanova...
- 9/2/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Europa Cinemas Label awarded to Tableau Noir; Fipresci prize goes to What Now? Remind Me. Talk of Marco Mueller’s return with new Palazzo project.Scroll down for full list of winners
Catalan director Albert Serra was the surprise winner of this year’s Golden Leopard in Locarno for a historical drama with a difference, Story Of My Death.
Described by Serra by as “a movie about the beauty of horror, and also about the horror of beauty,” Story Of My Death imagines an encounter between Casanova of 18th rationalism and Count Dracula from the romantic 19th century.
French co-producer Capricci Films is handling international sales on the Spanish-French co-production which will be screened in Toronto’s Wavelengths programme next month.
However, films tipped for Leopard statuettes such as Claire Simon’s Gare du Nord and David Wnendt’s Wetlands were passed over by the International Jury headed by Filipino director Lav Diaz. Moreover, local...
Catalan director Albert Serra was the surprise winner of this year’s Golden Leopard in Locarno for a historical drama with a difference, Story Of My Death.
Described by Serra by as “a movie about the beauty of horror, and also about the horror of beauty,” Story Of My Death imagines an encounter between Casanova of 18th rationalism and Count Dracula from the romantic 19th century.
French co-producer Capricci Films is handling international sales on the Spanish-French co-production which will be screened in Toronto’s Wavelengths programme next month.
However, films tipped for Leopard statuettes such as Claire Simon’s Gare du Nord and David Wnendt’s Wetlands were passed over by the International Jury headed by Filipino director Lav Diaz. Moreover, local...
- 8/18/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Film-makers from Georgia were the big winners at the Open Doors awards ceremony at the Locarno Film Festival.
The prizes were handed out at the end of the 11th edition of Locarno’s four-day co-production lab devoted to cinema from the South Caucasus, with a focus on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
See You In Chechnya, a feature documentary about war correspondents, won the Open Doors Production Award worth $22,600 (20,000 Chf).
The film, directed by Georgia’s Alexander Kvatashidze, also won the Arte Open Doors Award worth $8,000 (€6,000). Set for release next year, it already has French, Dutch and Estonian partners on board.
Abysm, directed by Armenia’s Oksana Mirzoyan, picked up the Open Doors Development Award while Madona, by Georgian director Nino Gogua, won the Open Doors Post-Production Award. Both prizes are worth $16,000 (15,000 Chf).
Sleeping Lessons, the second feature from Georgia’s Rusudan Pirvelli, won the Cnc Award, worth $9,300 (€7,000).
The 12 projects that participated in the co-pro lab were selected...
The prizes were handed out at the end of the 11th edition of Locarno’s four-day co-production lab devoted to cinema from the South Caucasus, with a focus on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
See You In Chechnya, a feature documentary about war correspondents, won the Open Doors Production Award worth $22,600 (20,000 Chf).
The film, directed by Georgia’s Alexander Kvatashidze, also won the Arte Open Doors Award worth $8,000 (€6,000). Set for release next year, it already has French, Dutch and Estonian partners on board.
Abysm, directed by Armenia’s Oksana Mirzoyan, picked up the Open Doors Development Award while Madona, by Georgian director Nino Gogua, won the Open Doors Post-Production Award. Both prizes are worth $16,000 (15,000 Chf).
Sleeping Lessons, the second feature from Georgia’s Rusudan Pirvelli, won the Cnc Award, worth $9,300 (€7,000).
The 12 projects that participated in the co-pro lab were selected...
- 8/13/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Karlovy Vary’s industry days continue today with the Pitch & Feedback initiative, now in its second year. Czech and Slovak filmmakers presented projects in development which have international co-production potential.
The jury of experts featured Matthieu Darras from the Torino Film Lab, producer Mike Downey of the UK’s F&Me, Loic Magneron of Wide Management, Riina Sildos from the Baltic Event and Brigitta Manthey of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
The projects pitched are:
The Red Captain (Cerveny Kapitan) (Slovakia)
Dir. Michal Kollar, prods Kollar, Viktor Taus
A slow burning thriller adapted from the bestelling detective novel novel by Dominik Dan. The film is set in the early 1990s when a homicide detective investigates the former secret service and the religious elite. The first Slovak feature supported by Media single project support.
Little Crusader (Krizacek) (Czech Republic)
Dir. Vaclav Kadrnka, prods Kadrnka, Alice Tabery
The Eighty Letters filmmaker returns with this drama about a father and son’s relationship...
The jury of experts featured Matthieu Darras from the Torino Film Lab, producer Mike Downey of the UK’s F&Me, Loic Magneron of Wide Management, Riina Sildos from the Baltic Event and Brigitta Manthey of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
The projects pitched are:
The Red Captain (Cerveny Kapitan) (Slovakia)
Dir. Michal Kollar, prods Kollar, Viktor Taus
A slow burning thriller adapted from the bestelling detective novel novel by Dominik Dan. The film is set in the early 1990s when a homicide detective investigates the former secret service and the religious elite. The first Slovak feature supported by Media single project support.
Little Crusader (Krizacek) (Czech Republic)
Dir. Vaclav Kadrnka, prods Kadrnka, Alice Tabery
The Eighty Letters filmmaker returns with this drama about a father and son’s relationship...
- 7/2/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The St Petersburg-based P.O.V. Development Fund has been launched with a budget of $130,000 (€100,000) to encourage international co-productions with Russian producers attached as lead or delegate producers.
A selection committee of Russian producers Sergei Selyanov (Stv), Artem Vasiliev (Metrafilms), Berlin-based sales agent Jean-Christophe Simon (Films Boutique), Baltic Film Event coordinator Riina Sildos, and Jani Thiltges, head of studies at Luxembourg-based Eave will choose four to five projects to be allocated development funding in the form of interest-free loans.
The private fund is intended to help develop the film industry infrastructure in St Petersburg, promote the city as a cinematographic hub at home and abroad, and prevent a “brain drain” of film-making talent to the capital further south.
The grants, which are aimed at projects of “high artistic value” and “with strong distrbution potential or global festival potential”, are repayable on the first day of principal photography.
The recipients of the first grants will be announced at the...
A selection committee of Russian producers Sergei Selyanov (Stv), Artem Vasiliev (Metrafilms), Berlin-based sales agent Jean-Christophe Simon (Films Boutique), Baltic Film Event coordinator Riina Sildos, and Jani Thiltges, head of studies at Luxembourg-based Eave will choose four to five projects to be allocated development funding in the form of interest-free loans.
The private fund is intended to help develop the film industry infrastructure in St Petersburg, promote the city as a cinematographic hub at home and abroad, and prevent a “brain drain” of film-making talent to the capital further south.
The grants, which are aimed at projects of “high artistic value” and “with strong distrbution potential or global festival potential”, are repayable on the first day of principal photography.
The recipients of the first grants will be announced at the...
- 6/26/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy currently unites 1,850 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting Europe’s film culture. Their annual awards will be December 8 in Copenhagen. ACE (Ateliers de Cinema Europeanne) which operates out of France and is a network of producers in the process of developing scripts, which become the films everyone loves at festivals, has 12 producers in the network who have received European Film Awards Nominations. Congratulations to ACE producers for their nominations at the 2008 European Film Awards and… good luck! WALTZ WITH BASHIR by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (ACE producer / Razor Film Produktion): Nominated for European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter & European Composer categories. THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta (ACE producer / Haut & Court) & Caroline Benjo (Haut & Court): Nominated for European Film & European Director categories. LEMON TREE by Eran Riklis, produced by Bettina Brokemper (ACE producer / Heimatfilm GmbH): Nominated for European Actress & European Screenwriter categories. WOLKE 9 by Andreas Dresen, produced by Peter Rommel (ACE producer / Rommel Film e.K): Nominated for European Director & European Actress categories. MOSCOW, BELGIUM by Christophe Van Rompaey, produced by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (ACE producer / A Private view): Nominated for European Composer category. DELTA by Kornel Mundruzco, produced by Viktoria Petranyi (ACE producer / Evolution Films): Nominated for European Film Academy Prix d’Excellence 2008
Also 10 ACE producers’ films are among the 67 vying for the 2008 nominations for 2007 Best Foreign Language Oscar. ALGERIA: MASQUERADES by Lyes Salem, produced by Isabelle Madelaine (Dharamsala, FR) BELGIUM: ELDORADO by Bouli Lanners, produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Versus Production, BE) and Jerôme Vidal (Noodles Production, FR) ESTONIA: I WAS HERE by René Vilbre, produced by Riina Sildos (Amrion Oü, EST) and Aleksi Bardy (Helsinki Filmi, FI) FRANCE: THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut & Court, FR) ISRAEL: WALTZ WITH BASHIR by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (Razor Film Produktion, DE) KAZAKHSTAN: TULPAN by Sergey Dvortsevoy, co-produced by Thanassis Karathanos (Twenty Twenty Vision / Pallas Film, DE) LATVIA: DEFENDERS OF RIGA by Aigars Grauba, produced by Andrejs Ekis (Plat Forma Filma, LET) - Developed at the ACE Workshop! MACEDONIA: I’M FROM TITOV VELES by Teona Strugar Mitevska, co-produced by Diana Elbaum (Entre Chien et Loup, BE) THE NETHERLANDS: DUNYA & DESIE by Dana Nechushtan, co-produced by Joost de Vries (Lemming Film, NL) and Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (A Private View, BE) SWEDEN: EVERLASTING MOMENTS by Jan Troell, co-produced by Christer Nilson (GötaFilm, SE), Sigve Endresen, (Motlys AS, NO) and Tero Kaukomaa (Blind Spot Pictures, FI)
3 ACE producers’ films have been nominated for France’s prestigious Louis Delluc Award. THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, Palme d’Or 2008, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut et Court, FR), SERAPHINE by Martin Provost, produced by Milena Poylo and Gille Sacuto (TS Productions, FR) and VERSAILLES by Pierre Schoeller, produced by Philippe Martin (Les Films Pelléas, FR) are nominated for the 2008 Louis Delluc Prize.
And finally The Class by Laurent Cantet has hit a record 1.5+ admissions in France.
Also 10 ACE producers’ films are among the 67 vying for the 2008 nominations for 2007 Best Foreign Language Oscar. ALGERIA: MASQUERADES by Lyes Salem, produced by Isabelle Madelaine (Dharamsala, FR) BELGIUM: ELDORADO by Bouli Lanners, produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Versus Production, BE) and Jerôme Vidal (Noodles Production, FR) ESTONIA: I WAS HERE by René Vilbre, produced by Riina Sildos (Amrion Oü, EST) and Aleksi Bardy (Helsinki Filmi, FI) FRANCE: THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut & Court, FR) ISRAEL: WALTZ WITH BASHIR by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (Razor Film Produktion, DE) KAZAKHSTAN: TULPAN by Sergey Dvortsevoy, co-produced by Thanassis Karathanos (Twenty Twenty Vision / Pallas Film, DE) LATVIA: DEFENDERS OF RIGA by Aigars Grauba, produced by Andrejs Ekis (Plat Forma Filma, LET) - Developed at the ACE Workshop! MACEDONIA: I’M FROM TITOV VELES by Teona Strugar Mitevska, co-produced by Diana Elbaum (Entre Chien et Loup, BE) THE NETHERLANDS: DUNYA & DESIE by Dana Nechushtan, co-produced by Joost de Vries (Lemming Film, NL) and Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (A Private View, BE) SWEDEN: EVERLASTING MOMENTS by Jan Troell, co-produced by Christer Nilson (GötaFilm, SE), Sigve Endresen, (Motlys AS, NO) and Tero Kaukomaa (Blind Spot Pictures, FI)
3 ACE producers’ films have been nominated for France’s prestigious Louis Delluc Award. THE CLASS by Laurent Cantet, Palme d’Or 2008, produced by Carole Scotta & Caroline Benjo (Haut et Court, FR), SERAPHINE by Martin Provost, produced by Milena Poylo and Gille Sacuto (TS Productions, FR) and VERSAILLES by Pierre Schoeller, produced by Philippe Martin (Les Films Pelléas, FR) are nominated for the 2008 Louis Delluc Prize.
And finally The Class by Laurent Cantet has hit a record 1.5+ admissions in France.
- 11/30/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
Dutch director Hanro Smitsman has won this year's Golden Bear for a short film for his ingenious humoristic tryptich movie "Raak". The jury, comprised of producer Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima (Nigeria), critic and producer Riina Sildos (Estonia) and director Ning Ying (China), said they chose the title for being "a brilliant film" on its approach to the subjects of love, anger and desperation. "We honor the ability of the director to show in a compact manner three angles of the same story," they said. The runner-up Silver Bear award was shared by France's Manuel Schapira for the comedy "Decroche" and the urban love story "Mei" from Arvin Chen, a USA-Taiwan coproduction. The Prix UIP went to "Rotten Apple" by Ralitza Petrova of the U.K., the story of a young boys' quest for a normal family life. The awards were presented Tuesday evening at a ceremony in Berlin's Kino International theatre.
Hong Kong will open with "Cyborg"
Hong Kong International Film Festival curator Jacob Wong said Tuesday that this year's event will kick off with "I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK". Director Park Chan-wook and leading talent Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) and Lim Soo-jung will attend the official opening gala March 19 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, with the festival running March 20-April 11 this year.
Hong Kong will open with "Cyborg"
Hong Kong International Film Festival curator Jacob Wong said Tuesday that this year's event will kick off with "I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK". Director Park Chan-wook and leading talent Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) and Lim Soo-jung will attend the official opening gala March 19 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, with the festival running March 20-April 11 this year.
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Short films are getting a boost at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.
Berlinale organizers are merging the short film programs of both the Competition and Panorama sections to create a new section -- Short Film Competition -- in a move the festival says will focus more attention on the form.
The 16 films chosen from 12 countries will compete for Golden and Silver Berlinale Bears as well as European distributors' Prix UIP award and a three-month scholarship at Berlin's artist-in-residence program, the DAAD.
"We believe the short film to be an important art form in itself, and intend to underline this with the new structure," festival director Dieter Kosslick said. "This year's selection stands out due to its impressive variety of forms and genres: from political documentaries through laconic comedies to clever satires, everything is represented."
A three-person jury made up of Nigerian film producer Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima, Chinese director Ning Ying and Estonia producer Riina Sildos will choose the winners, which will be honored Feb.
Berlinale organizers are merging the short film programs of both the Competition and Panorama sections to create a new section -- Short Film Competition -- in a move the festival says will focus more attention on the form.
The 16 films chosen from 12 countries will compete for Golden and Silver Berlinale Bears as well as European distributors' Prix UIP award and a three-month scholarship at Berlin's artist-in-residence program, the DAAD.
"We believe the short film to be an important art form in itself, and intend to underline this with the new structure," festival director Dieter Kosslick said. "This year's selection stands out due to its impressive variety of forms and genres: from political documentaries through laconic comedies to clever satires, everything is represented."
A three-person jury made up of Nigerian film producer Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima, Chinese director Ning Ying and Estonia producer Riina Sildos will choose the winners, which will be honored Feb.
- 1/24/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- The annual industry gathering known as the Baltic Event opens its second annual Co-Production Market on Sunday in the Estonian capital of Tallin, when more than 120 producers, film financers, distributors and film fund representatives are expected to arrive, organizers said Wednesday.
The market -- which runs Dec. 3-6 alongside the Black Nights Film Festival -- will present 12 "challenging and controversial projects" from the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Eastern and Central Europe and Russia.
Designed to help projects find wider support, it is part of a European trend toward festival-based industry sessions that seek to promote greater cooperation across the continent.
Last year's event proved itself in the progress exhibited by a number of its projects, said Riina Sildos, managing director of the Baltic Event.
"The results of the first Co-Production Market in 2005 proved the necessity and effectiveness of the event -- five of the 12 film projects presented are already approaching world screens," Sildos said in a statement.
The market -- which runs Dec. 3-6 alongside the Black Nights Film Festival -- will present 12 "challenging and controversial projects" from the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Eastern and Central Europe and Russia.
Designed to help projects find wider support, it is part of a European trend toward festival-based industry sessions that seek to promote greater cooperation across the continent.
Last year's event proved itself in the progress exhibited by a number of its projects, said Riina Sildos, managing director of the Baltic Event.
"The results of the first Co-Production Market in 2005 proved the necessity and effectiveness of the event -- five of the 12 film projects presented are already approaching world screens," Sildos said in a statement.
- 11/29/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.