24-10-2011

FNE at CentEast Moscow 2011: Event doubles in size and scope

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    MOSCOW: The third edition of CentEast Moscow (www.centeast.eu) saw organizers expand the event from one to two days and add screenings of films for participants to its programme. The expanded programme was made possible by a grant from the Russian Cinema Fund. The fund became a backer of the event for the first time this year joining the EU's MEDIA MUNDUS programme and the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl) as sponsors of the event which is held in conjunction with CentEast Warsaw.

    {mosimage}The CentEast Moscow event was held on 23 and 24 October and welcomed 25 distributors, festival organizers and other industry representatives to Moscow as international guests for the presentation of 11 works in progress from central and Eastern Europe. Works in progress from eight Russian producers were also presented as well as a special screening of Crulic directed by Anca Damian and produced Bucharest based Aparte Film (www.apartefilm.net) who was a participant of CentEast Warsaw Moscow 2010. Guests met Russian film professionals who turned out for the event.

    A new feature of the event was Story For Tomorrow, a presentation of 10 new Russian books with film rights available by publishers and authors.

    {mosimage}Evgeniy Gindilis, CentEast Moscow organizer and head of Russian production company TVIndie said: "This is the first year we have been supported by the Russian Cinema Fund and it has been a very important step for us that allowed us to increase the length of the event from one to two days. We have also added screenings of Russian films. Our goal is to eventually set up market screenings of Russian films for European distributors within the framework of the event."

    TVIndie (www.tvindie.ru) co-organises the CentEast Moscow/ Project for Tomorrow Film Forum with the Warsaw Film Foundation. The event takes place within the framework of the 2Morrow Film Festival held in Moscow (18-23 October 2011).

    {mosimage}Among the projects presented that drew attention from festival programmers and distributors in Moscow was a new Andrzej Jakimowski project with the working title Blind Watching about a Lisbon instructor for the blind who develops a new system of orientation for his students. Blind Watching is an international co-production between Poland, France and Portugal.The producers of the film are Polish company ZAiR (www.zair.eu), French KMBO (www.kmbofilms.com) and Filmes do Tejo II Multimedia based in Lisbon. The planned budget of the film is 7.2 million PLN (EUR 1.8 million). The film received 4 million PLN of financing from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl) as well as support from Canal+ (www.canalplus.pl), Centre National de la Cinematographie (www.cnc.fr) and Institito Do Cinema E Do Audiovisual (www.ica-ip.pt).

    Another international coproduction that created a buzz was The Home which is due for release in spring 2012. Produced by Moscow based Rekun-Cinema and Kinoglaz (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with backing from the Russian Federation Foundation for Support of Cinema and participation of Kyrgyzstan and France the film is directed by Kirgiz director Nurbek Egen. It was shot in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and France and takes a tough look at the life of Kirghiz migrant workers. The story is about Ascel a young, pregnant Kirghiz girl who flees her village for Moscow to escape an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't love. But in Moscow she is unable to survive and she decides to sell her soon-to-be-born baby to Virginie a French woman who is unable to adopt.

    Sponsored by CentEast Moscow