At its 10th edition, Meeting Point - Vilnius, the industry event of Vilnius Film Festival Kino Pavasaris, renews its structure and programme. Alongside with these changes, Rita Stanelyte who has lead 8 years of successful editions is stepping out of her role as the director of MPV.
„It‘s always difficult to part with immense members of the festival team. Rita has made MPV one of the key industry platforms in the Baltics as well as in the international panorama. Many projects presented at MPV continue to thrive in international film festivals and the distribution circuit all thanks to Rita and the team she leads. The whole gang of VIFF Kino Pavasaris and Meeting Point – Vilnius thank Rita for the tremendous job done. We all wish her great success for her new and exciting adventures” - says Vilnius Film Festival’s executive director Algirdas Ramaška.
In its edition in 2019, Meeting Point – Vilnius team will be led by Alessandra Pastore who has acquired exceptional experience in film production and development. Alessandra has been working in production and international training for almost 15 years and she is part of the co-production market When East Meets West team. She, joining the team, marks the international dimension and direction of the event.
“It’s terrific to take over the direction of such a high level event. MPV will continue to facilitate the cooperation between European macro-regions and will push further in the direction of talents development and support”, - explains Alessandra.
New call for projects, sessions and programme will be announced soon.
More information: www.kinopavasaris.lt/en
After the great success of the first season, the filming of the second season of Shadows over the Balkans, a series by the author and director Dragan Bjelogrlić, has recently begun. Between Friday and Sunday (16 – 18 November), the shooting took place in the Slovenian town of Piran as well.
The Slovenian partner is the Perfo production house with producers Aleš Pavlin and Andrej Štritof, who, on this occasion, said the following: "We are proud to be able to actively participate in the making of the second season. The cooperation took place due to the successful past cooperation with Dragan Bjelogrlić and our sincere wish to ensure that Slovenia can participate in the project as well, at least partly. We are happy that the project is also taking part in the Cash Rebate Scheme for film and audio-visual projects at the Slovenian Film Centre. We are convinced that this will ensure an even greater recognition of Slovenia as a film location."
Slovenian filmmakers are participating in the film crew as well – in the fields of costumes design, makeup design, and production design. The character of Major Kosmač is played by Miha Rodman; while Vlado Novak has transformed himself into the famous pre-war politician and theologian Anton Korošec, who also became the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1928.
Like in the first season, the music will be written by Robert Pešut Magnifico.
"Some of the names of our characters are known to the wider public, for example Ivan Meštrović and Josip Broz, but also the famous Slovenian politician and theologian Anton Korošec and Ante Godina, the right-hand man of Al Capone and Ante Pavelić. We will also reveal how the unveiling of the Monument to the Unknown Hero at Avala came to pass," Bjelogrlić, who also stars in the series, stated at the beginning of the shooting.
As the filming began, the second season of Shadows over the Balkans and its numerous and well-established team returned to Jatagan mala, where the first scenes of this dramatic thriller were shot. The new season takes place six years after the events from the first season. The main characters of Tane (Dragan Bjelogrlić) and Stanko (Andrija Kuzmanović) are once again in the centre of a mystery that could alter the fate of Europe. International conspiracies, secret societies, extreme ideologies, "narco" wars, and decadence in face of the imminent catastrophe represent the historical setting for the exciting resolution of the mysterious and chilling crimes that shake Belgrade in 1934. The new season, which depicts the hidden history of the Balkans even more ambitiously, offers a spectacular mix of action and drama, mystery and suspense; and it takes us from the muddy streets of Jatagan mala to the shiny corridors of the Vienna authorities.
Apart from Slovenia, the series will also be shot at authentic locations in Serbia and Austria; while the premiere is planned for 2019.
PRODUCTIONS FUNDED BY THE POLISH FILM INSITUTE IN THE 3rd SESSION OF 2018 INTERNATIONAL MINORITY COPRODUCTIONS:
BRATISLAVA: Films from a diverse range of countries including Guatemala, Qatar, Belarus and Norway are screening in the main competition section of the 20th Bratislava IFF, which takes place 29 November – 3 December 2018. The competition section shows directors’ first and second films.
LJUBLJANA: The Icelandic action-thriller Woman at War directed by Benedict Erlingsson won Best Film at the 29th Ljulblana IFF, which ended on 18 November 2018.
TALLINN: Ten films from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and one Finnish film, will be presented in the Baltic Event Works in Progres,s taking place during the Black Nights festival, running through 2 December 2018. The films will be competing for a 3,000 EUR prize to aid in promotion and distribution in the Baltics.
BYDGOSZCZ: Ji Yong Kim won the Golden Frog, the top prize of the 26th edition of the festival honouring cinematographers EnergaCAMERIMAGE, for the South Korean film The Fortress directed by Dong-Hyuk Hwang. The festival ended with the awards ceremony on 17 November 2018.
MAIN COMPETITION
Golden Frog: The Fortress
cin. Ji Yong Kim
dir. Dong-Hyuk Hwang
Silver Frog: Cold War
cin. Łukasz Żal
dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
Bronze Frog: Roma
cin. Alfonso Cuarón
dir. Alfonso Cuarón
*** *** ***
FIPRESCI AWARD
The International Critics Prize to the director of the best film in the Main Competition – under specific consideration of its cinematography: Peterloo
cin. Dick Pope
dir. Mike Leigh
*** *** ***
AUDIENCE AWARD
Camerimage Audience Award: The Favourite
cin. Robbie Ryan
dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
*** *** ***
POLISH FILMS COMPETITION
Best Polish Film: Nina
cin. Tomasz Naumiuk
dir. Olga Chajdas
*** *** ***
STUDENT ETUDES COMPETITION
Laszlo Kovacs Student Award - Golden Tadpole – Sirene
cin. Douwe Hennink
dir. Zara Dwinger
school: Nederlandse Filmacademie - Netherlands Film Academy (AHK)
Silver Tadpole: Almost Everything
cin. Simon Bitterli
dir. Lisa Gertsch
school: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste - Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
Bronze Tadpole: Them
cin. Holger Jungnickel
dir. Tim Dünschede
school: Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin - German Film and Television Academy (dffb), Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München - University of Television and Film Munich (HFF München), Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
*** *** ***
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION
Golden Frog — best documentary feature: When the Bull Cried
cin. Karen Vázquez Guadarrama
dir. Bart Goossesn, Karen Vázquez Guadarrama
Golden Frog — best docudrama: I, Dolours
cin. Kate McCullough
dir. Maurice Sweeney
*** *** ***
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION
Golden Frog — Grand Prix: Horse Riders
cin. Tomasz Wolski
dir. Anna Gawlita
Special Mention: Pain Is Mine
cin. Farshid Akhlaghi
dir. Farshid Akhlaghi
*** *** ***
DIRECTORS’ DEBUTS COMPETITION
under the patronage of the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP)
Best Director's Debut: The Guilty
cin. Jasper J. Spanning
dir. Gustav Möller
*** *** ***
CINEMATOGRAPHERS’ DEBUTS COMPETITION
under the patronage of the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP)
Best Cinematographer's Debut: Obey
cin. Albert Salas
dir. Jamie Jones
*** *** ***
MUSIC VIDEOS COMPETITION
Best Music Video: Novo Amor "Birthplace"
cin. Nihal Friedel
dir. Jorik Dozy, Sil Van Der Woerd
Best Cinematography In A Music Video: Childish Gambino "This Is America"
cin. Larkin Seiple
dir. Hiro Murai
*** *** ***
FIRST LOOK - TV PILOTS COMPETITION
Best Pilot: Patrick Melrose: Bad News
cin. James Friend
dir. Edward Berger
*** *** ***
ADVERTISING SPOTS COMPETITION “EUROPEAN FUNDS IN FOCUS”
Organised in co-operation with Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region
Main Award: The Marshal Office of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship for Zmieniamy Podkarpackie z Funduszami Europejskimi - Dołącz do bohaterów lokalnych zmian. Katarzyna Być – Pracownia Ceramiki i Rękodzieła Być
Special mention: The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship for Województwo Kujawsko-Pomorskie mecenasem kultury w regionie
Docs from IDF's programmes are part of the line-up at IDFA in Amsterdam.
ZAGREB: The Croatian multiplex chain Blitz CineStar opened a three-screen miniplex in Pula, the first one in the city, on 7 November 2018.
