02-05-2011

EFP 2011 Producers on the Move

By FNE Staff

    This year 26 up-and-coming young European producers will head to Cannes for European Film Promotion's Producers on the Move presentation and networking events. Profiles on the producers follow:

    Joonas Berghall (Finland)

    Documentary producer/director Joonas Berghall (born 1977) cofounded the Finnish production company October Oy (www.oktober.fi) in 2004 with colleagues Katja Gauriloff and Mika Hotakainen. Berghall's most notable success to date has been the full-length documentary Stream of Life which he co-directed with Hotakainen. The film was nominated for the EFA Prix Arte and was the Finnish entry for the 2010 Oscars. It won prizes at numerous festivals including Tampere, Visions du Reel, DocAviv, Planete Doc Review, Silverdocs, Parnu, DOK Leipzig, Doclisboa, and Nordic Film Days. His latest production is the 2011 documentary Canned Dreams directed by Gauriloff, which "follows the journey of a canned food product" across Europe.

    Oktober Oy
    Uutiskatu 3
    00240 Helsinki
    Tel. +358 40-709 3331

    Marta Donzelli (Italy)

    Marta Donzelli (born in Turin in 1975) and her production company Vivo Film (www.vivofilm.it) made a splash with director Michelangelo Frammartino's 2010 Italian-German-Swiss coproduction The Four Times. It was selected for the 2010 Directors' Fortnight in Cannes and went on to win the Europa Cinemas Label and both the CICAE and Grand Prix at the Annecy Italian Cinema Festival. Her 2007 documentary My Country (dir. Daniele Vicari) received a Donatello award for best documentary. Donzelli moves between film and publishing, as a member of the editorial board of Donzelli Publishing House.

    Vivo film srl
    via Alamanno Morelli, 18
    00197 Rome
    Tel. +39 06- 807 8002
    Fax +39 06- 8069 3483

    Michael John Fedun (The Netherlands)

    Canadian-born Michael Johhn Fedun moved to The Netherlands to study film and stayed on as the cofounder of Corrino Media Group (www.corrino.com), a full-service cross media production company, where his title is CEO of Corrino Entertainment. His production credits include the 2005 romantic comedy Flirt, the €6million Belgian film Meant to Be, Dusk (2010), and the €15million bio-pic The Devil’s Double directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Dominic Cooper. He comes to Cannes as the Dutch Producer on the Move with a slate of films in development, including a film about photographer Robert Capa and an Afghani drama.

    Corrino Media Group
    Van Slingelandtplein 11
    1051 DD Amsterdam
    Tel. +31 20- 423 3002
    Fax +31 20- 423 2805

    David Grumbach (Luxembourg)

    Paris-born producer David Grumbach launched his first production company, focusing on online multimedia production, in 1999. In 2005 he partnered with Paul Thiltges (www.ptd.lu), producing documentaries, shorts, and animation. Recent credits include the crime-comedy Trouble No More (2010), 2011 DEFA Foundation winner at the Max Ophuls festival Anduni, and recently completed French thriller Nuit blanche. He comes to Cannes with four films in production: The Road Uphill (a documentary); Sylvie Testud's French-Luxembourg $6.5 million coproduction La fie d'une autre starring Juliette Binoche; Signe Baumane's animation film The Golden Horse (planned for completion in 2012); and Ari Folman's U.S. sci-fi film due in 2013, The Congress.

    Paul Thiltges Distributions
    45 Bd Pierre Frieden
    1543 Luxembourg
    Tel. +352- 447070 4628
    Fax +352- 250 394

    Samm Haillay (United Kingdom)

    Producer Samm Haillay and his Third Films (www.thirdfilms.co.uk) production company co-founder, director Duane Hopkins, met while students at film school in Newcastle, where their company is based. Working outside of the urban production centers is a financial challenge for Haillay, who put together a network of seven financiers for the 2008 film Better Things, which premiered in Cannes in the Critics Week section. His most recent credit was as coproducer of artist Gillian Wearing's documentary debut, Self Made (2010) which premiered at the London Film Festival and opened the MoMA Documentary festival.

    Third Films
    10 Pilgrim Street
    Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG
    Tel. +44 191- 227 5515
    Fax +44 191- 227 5515

    Maria Hatzakou (Greece)

    Former festival programmer (Athens, Thessaloniki) Maria Hatzakou comes to EFP Producers on the Move with just one production credit, Attenberg directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari for Greek production company Haos Film (www.haosfilm.com), but more than earns her spot. The film was selected for Venice where it won a best actress award for Ariane Labed, and captured a special jury award at Thessaloniki. Hatzakou's next production is Alps directed by Giorgos Lanthimos and once again starring Ariane Labed. The film is in postproduction and slated for release in 2011.

    HAOS Film
    Agiou Markou str 10
    105 60 Athens
    Tel. +30 210- 3222 466

    Dritan Huqi (Albania)

    After acting as line producer on Artan Minarolli's Albanian-Austrian-French coproduction Alive! and executive producer on Goran Paskeljevic's Serbian-Albanian coproduction Honey Moons (Thesaloniki Festival Audience Award in 2009), Huqi moved into the coproducer's chair for the 2010 German-Albanian film The Albanian directed by Johannes Naber with his production company OnFILM Production (www.onfilmproduction.com). The film won the Max Ophüls Award in Saarbrücken Germany in 2011 as well as the best actor award and special jury prize at the 2010 Moscow film festival. Huqi brings two new production to Cannes: Children of the Winter Sun and Love and the Rags of Time by Albanian director Gjergi Xhuvani (Slogans, 2001, awarded in Cannes, Tokyo, Cottbus, and Bratislava).

    OnFILM Production
    Rruga "Sami Frasheri", Pall. Agimi, shk 19, ap 336
    1013 Tirana
    Tel. +355 44- 819 793
    Fax +355 42- 223 830

    Hlin Johannesdottir (Iceland)

    A former journalist, Hlin Johannesdottir joined Zik Zak Filmworks (www.zikzak.is) in 2000, becoming partner in 2006. Her production credits include the Icelandic-French comedy Back Soon (2008), the 2008 documentary Electronica Reykjavik, line producer on the Danish-Icelandic-US-French-German drama The Good Heart (2009), coproducer on the 2010 documentary Dreamland, producer on the teen film Gauragangur (2010), and associate producer on the recently completed drama Volcano (2011).

    Zik Zak Filmworks
    Fiskisklóð 45 m
    101 Reykjavík
    Tel. +354 511- 2019
    Fax +354 511- 3019

    Jesper Morthorst (Denmark)

    Jesper Morthorst is in postproduction with first feature film Room 304, a drama set in a Copenhagen hotel, due to premiere in Denmark on 20 October 2011. Along with producing a number of shorts, he produced two full-length documentaries for Nimbus Film Productions in 2006: Afghan Muscles, a unique look at the world of body-building in Afghanistan; and The Prize of the Poles, a study of Robert E. Peary's struggle to reach the North Pole, seen through the eyes of the explorer's Eskimo great-grandson. Morthorst later joined director Christopher Boe's Alphaville Pictures (www.alphavillepictures.com) in Copenhagen, which produced Room 304.

    Alphaville Pictures Copenhagen APS
    Badstuestræde 17, 1
    1209 Copenhagen K
    Tel. +45 33- 9191 59
    Fax +45 33- 9191 86

    Rebecca O'Flanagan (Ireland)

    Former development manager of the Irish Film Board, Rebecca O'Flanagan moved into production with her company Rubicon Films on the 2007 TV mini-series The Running Mate. She was executive producer for the 2009 Conor McPherson film The Eclipse starring Ciaran Hinds, returning to TV as executive producer on My Bad Self (2010) and coproducer on ITV's Primeval in 2011. In between, she produced My Brothers (2010), which screened at the Tribeca film festival, for Rubicon and Treasure Entertainment.

    Treasure Entertainment
    St Kevin's Cottages
    Dublin 8
    Tel. +353 1- 475 8820
    Fax +353 1- 475 8819

    Borja Pena (Spain)

    After studying law, Galician native Borja Pena moved on to film production, founding Lorelei Producciones in 2001, and then Vaca Films (www.vacafilms.com) in 2003. His extensive list of feature production credits dates back to the 2003 Chilean-Spanish coproduction El regalo de Silvia, and includes the 2005 sci-fi horror thriller Somne, and the 2009 Spanish-French critical and box office success Cell 211 (25 awards, including 8 Goya awards), directed by Daniel Monzon, which was picked for development as a remake. He racked up another commercial success with Miguel Angel Vivas' 2010 thriller Kidnapped which was picked up by IFC Films. Pena is executive producing Lobos de Arga, now in postproduction for a 2011 release.

    Vaca Films
    C/ Real 11, 3º izqd
    15003 A Coruña
    Tel. +34 881- 917 566
    Fax +34 881- 894 671

    Darko Popov (Macedonia)

    After honing his skills as line producer on the Czech-Macedonian-UK coproduction Normal the Dusseldorf Ripper (2009), Producer Darko Popov, along with director Vladimir Blazevski, founded Pank Film (www.pankfilm.mk) in May 2009 and debuted their deliberately low-budget black comedy Punk's Not Dead at the Skopje film festival in April 2011. Next up is the coproduction between Slovenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Macedonia, State of Shock directed by Andrej Kosak, now in post-production, and Foster Pride currently in development.

    Punk Film
    ul. Samoilova 142A
    1000 Skopje
    Tel. +389 71- 255 864
    Fax +389 78- 255 867

    Gian-Piero Ringel (Germany)

    Gian-Piero Ringel (b. 1976) produced a number of shorts before moving to executive producer on Afternoon, Angela Schanelec's low-budget film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull (2007) and her 2010 French-German airport drama Orly (as Ringel Filmproduktion). He joined Neue Road Movies (www.neueroadmovies.com), producing Wim Wenders' The Palermo Shooting, a 2008 German-French-Italian coproduction, and his German-French-U.K. 2011 dance film Pina based on legendary choreographer Pina Bausch. Ringel is no stranger to Cannes. The Palermo Shooting screened in competition there, and his upcoming project Wolf directed by Bogdan Mustata was selected for the Cannes L'Atelier.

    Neue Road Movies GmbH
    Münzstr. 15
    10178 Berlin
    Tel. +49 30- 8145 293 50
    Fax +49 30- 8145 293 79

    Mimmi Spang (Sweden)

    Sweden's EFP Producer on the Move Mimmi Spang is one of four co-owners of the young production company Garagefilm International (www.garagefilm.se), founded in 2004. The company's roster of award-winning films includes two Berlinale films, Sebbe directed by Babak Najafi (Best First Feature, 2010) and A Soap directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen (Best Debut, 2006). She shared the Lorens Award for producers at the Goteborg film festival earlier this year. Other credits include the Danish-Swedish family animation The Apple & The Worm (2009), the 2009 drama Guidance, and the 2006 TV mini-series A Matter of Life and Death.

    Garagefilm International
    Kvarngatan 4
    118 47 Stockholm
    Tel. +46 70- 9227 989

    Justin Taurand (France)

    Since founding Les Film du Belier in 2003, Justin Taurand has amassed a long list of short film production credits as well as some notable feature films, beginning in 2006 with 7 Years (Seattle and Valencia festivals best actress awards for Valerie Donzelli). In 2010, he completed two features. Love Like Poison, a study of a teenager's questions of faith directed by Katell Quillevere, was shown in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2010. Man at Bath directed by Christophe Honore screened in competition at Locarno and was picked up by Le Pacte for distribution. New projects include debuts from music consultant and short film director Frank Beauvais, I Do Not Love You, and Helier Cisterne, Vandal.

    Les Films du Bélier
    54, rue René Boulanger
    75010 Paris
    Tel. +33 1- 4490 9983
    Fax +33 1- 4452 1500

    Joao Trabulo (Portugal)

    Producer/writer/director Joao Trabulo began his career at the top, working with producer Paolo Branco and directors including Manoel de Oliveira. Prior to founding his own production company Periferia Filmes (www.periferiafilmes.com) in 2004, he wrote and directed a French-Portuguese coproduction, During the End (2003). He wrote, directed, and produced the 2007 drama Sombras - Um Filme Sonambulo, and produced and directed the 2010 documentary No Company, (best cinematography at IndieLisboa). His production credits include A History of Mutual Respect (2010) and Lusitanian Illusion (2010), both of which had numerous festival screenings. His upcoming projects include the Portuguese-set documentary The Fear, which he produces and directs.

    Periferia Filmes
    Rua do Crucifixo n° 28 2° Andar
    1100-183 Lisbon

    Tel: +351 21 31 41 744

    Dan Wechsler (Switzerland)

    Dan Wechsler brought a business background to his production company, Bord Cadre films (www.bordcadrefilms.com), which made its feature film debut with Laurent Nègre's Fragile, winning the audience award at the Mons festival and the Swiss film prize for best actress (MartheKeller) in 2006. After a stint as assistent producer on the Swiss-Russian coproduction La traductrice (2006), he coproduced the Romanian-French-Swiss-German film Aurora by Cristi Puiu (2010). A busy 2011 includes the completion of Nègre's second feature film, Operation Casablanca produced by Wechsler, and coproducer credit on the Spanish-Swiss film Los Pasos Dobles by Catalonian director Isaki Lacuesta.

    Bord Cadre films Sàrl
    CP 5353
    1211 Genève 11
    Tel. +41 22- 320 90 25
    Fax +41 22- 320 90 25