Leading Polish film producers Ewa Puszczyńska (Ida, Cold War) and Klaudia Śmieja (High Life, Gareth Jones, The Innocents, Under the Tree) are teaming up with Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales (Rams, Summer 1993) to set up a new production outlet called NEM Corp. The new company’s aim will be attracting prestigious international film projects to Poland, both as co-production and service work, as well as developing new projects with the most interesting Polish talents.

The company is working on a slate of projects already and wants to take advantage of the 30% tax incentives newly introduced by the Polish parliament as well as the soft money and private funding opportunities available in the country.

Ewa Puszczyńska is an Oscar and European Film Award winner for Ida and Cannes award-winner for Cold War (Cannes and TIFF 2018), both by Paweł Pawlikowski. She also coproduced Robert Schwentke’s latest film The Captain the Berlinale-selected Hostages and works as an expert for the Torino Film Lab, among others. Klaudia Śmieja is the producer of Agnieszka Holland’s upcoming $8,5mln historical drama Gareth Jones and Claire Denis’ High Life (TIFF 2018). She also coproduced some of the most successful Polish minority co-productions in recent years –   Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents, Haffstein Gunnar Sigurdsson’s Under the Tree and Babis Makridis’ Pity.

New Europe Film Sales – run by Jan Naszewski and Katarzyna Siniarska is one of the leading European sales agencies with films such as Grimur Hakonarsson’s Rams (Prix Un Certain Regard 2015), 2016 Silver Bear winner United States Of Love by Tomasz Wasilewski, Venice/TIFF-selected Under The Tree (sold to over 30 countries), 2017 Berlinale best debut Summer 1993 by Carla Simon, and Locarno winner Winter Brothers by Hlynur Palmason. New Europe Film Sales has also a leading position in the short film market and over the years has represented over 10 Oscar® shortlisters and shorts by Ruben Östlund, among others.

The group hopes to use its combined resources and international and domestic position to become a leading European production outlet and a go-to address for top international partners and local talents. New Europe also plans to further cement its position on the European market and enter projects not only as a sales agent but also as a co-producer, especially on the new films by the filmmakers discovered by the label. The representatives of the group will attend Venice, Telluride and Toronto this year to discuss projects with key partners.

In addition to its existing workshops in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Warsaw (Poland), SOFA – School of Film Agents is launching a third workshop in Vilnius, Lithuania. Between 11 and 15 September 2018, selected SOFA alumni will get the chance to present their projects in front of experienced private investors and representatives of European public film funds. With this new workshop, SOFA offers its participants and their cultural projects direct access to potential financing partners from the public and private sector.

SOFA – School of Film Agents offers training for up-and-coming cinema professionals in developing, financing and realizing innovative projects for national and international audiences. The initiative is unique in the international context because it is aimed not at directors and producers, but at cultural managers, agents and ambassadors within the cinema industry, from Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, Greece, Israel, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Since 2013, SOFA has actively supported projects relating to the European cinema market and the structural development of national film industries. Through collaboration with highly-qualified experts and experienced professionals within the cinema industry, the initiative helps participants to fully develop their project ideas, prepare them for financing, and realise them effectively. This, in turn, boosts the regional development of cinema culture and the local film industry. The pilot workshop in Vilnius will offer added value to selected SOFA alumni, as it explores alternative ways of financing cultural projects in the field of cinema. The Vilnius edition will bring SOFA alumni together with potential financing partners from the public and private sector.

Five agents and SOFA alumni active in the film industry have been selected: Iris Elezi (Albania), Miroslav Mogorovic (Serbia), Lizaveta Bobrykava (Belorussia), Inesa Ivanova (Lithuania) and Dorina Oarga (Romania). SOFA’s Head of Studies, Nikolaj Nikitin, explains: “With the newly created pilot, our SOFA workshop programme reaches three stages, and a year-round training structure: from now on, each year we’ll hold one workshop for participants focusing on project development (Warsaw), and one focusing on project marketing (Tbilisi). In addition, the newly established Vilnius workshop will be open to all SOFA alumni, and will focus on private-public financing/partnership. We’re very grateful to our main partner, the Lithuanian Film Centre, and to the German Federal Foreign Office, for making this dream come true! We’re especially pleased to be holding our new workshop in Vilnius, a vibrant city with an active cultural life – particularly as Lithuania is prospering economically, and is very active in the field of cinema and new media right now.”

Participants in the SOFA Vilnius event will learn from two highly experienced cinema industry professionals, Juliane Schulze and Thierry Baujard from Media Deals. Media Deals organises European Investment Forums in a range of European countries, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to meet up and discuss investment and partnership opportunities.

After two days of intensive training with their instructors, participants will present their project ideas to financiers and representatives from a number of European public foundations: Cathrin Frisemo (mentor, connector, investor from Sweden), Eugene Smyth (investment manager at Dublic BIC VC Funds, Ireland), Veikko Maripuu (co-founder and managing partner at Head Capital, Estonia), Robert Balinski (head of the International Relations Department at the Polish Film Institute, Poland), and Rolandas Kvietkauskas (director of the Lithuanian Film Centre, Lithuania).

The SOFA Vilnius workshop is funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre and by the German Federal Foreign Office.

We thank our funding partners, as well as the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Goethe-Institut Vilnius, the Embassy of the German Federal Republic, the Mayor of Vilnius City and the Vilnius Film Office.

About SOFA:

SOFA – School of Film Agents is a programme of workshops aimed at strengthening national film industries and the European cinematic landscape, as well as kickstarting projects in the realm of cinema. SOFA helps its participants to develop their ideas into concrete projects, opening up new avenues towards application for financing programmes and final implementation. SOFA’s focus on cultural managers and film agents rather than producers and directors has made it a unique programme on the international film scene.

The Czech Film Center is heading to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) September 7-13. We’ll be based at the EFP Europe! Umbrella No. 24 at TIFF Industry Centre at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

If you would like to meet with us, get some information about Czech film industry, please come and say hello during the working hours of the Czech Film Center at the EFP Europe! Umbrellastand:

Friday, Sept 7              11am - 1pm
Saturday, Sept 8          9 - 11am
Sunday, Sept 9             2 - 5pm
Monday, Sept 10          2 - 5pm
Tuesday, Sept 11          2 - 7pm

Markéta Šantrochová, Head of Czech Film Center, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +420 724 329 948

Czech Film magazine at TIFF and online

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