PRODUCTION: Totonel Shooting in Romania
{mosimage}BUCHAREST: Romanian Emmy-winning director Alexander Nanau is in production with Totonel, a 90 minute documentary about the education of a 10 year old boy growing up in an ill-fated neighborhood…
Bulgaria 2011 Country Profile
SOFIA: Despite severe cutbacks in funding, Bulgarian films had another strong year, attracting international attention and domestic audiences. The film services industry was bolstered by the largest-ever international production, and…
The Hungarian National Film Fund is waiting for better scripts
The Hungarian National Film Fund (MNF, www.filmalap.hu) discussed its first experiences with film professionals on an open debate in Budapest, on 13th December 2011. The new support body, that took…
OBITUARY: Mihnea Gheorghiu
{mosimage}BUCHAREST: The president of the Romanian Filmmakers Union (UCIN, www.ucin.ro) passed away on 11 December 2011. He was 92. Gheorghiu was born in 1919. He was the head of the…
OBITUARY: Velko Kanev
{mosimage}SOFIA: Bulgarian actor Velko Kanev died on 11 December 2011. Kanev was born 31 July 1948 and began his career in regional theatre before joining the Bulgarian National Theatre in…
Baltic Lotte Heads to Berlinale
{mosimage}Lotte ja kuukivi saladus (Lotte and the Moonstone Secret) a coproduction from Estonia and Latvia, directed by Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits, is one of 14 films selected to screen…
Hanakova Leading Candidate for Czech Minister of Culture
PRAGUE: Alena Hanakova has been put forward for the vacant post of Czech Minister of Culture, following the resignation of Jiri Besser last week.
IDF Announces New Documentary Platform
PRAGUE: The Institute of Documentary Film (www.dokweb.net) will launch a new industry event, East Doc Platform, 5-11 March 2012 at the One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival (www.oneworld.cz) in…
FESTIVALS: Anifest Last Call for Submissions
The 11th edition of Anifest (26 April - 1 May 2012, www.anifest.cz) is accepting film submissions through 20 December 2011. Films produced after 1 January 2010 are eligible to apply.
PRODUCTION: Mystery Of Westerplatte Resumes Filming
{mosimage}WARSAW: After a filming break of over a year, production has resumed on the Polish war drama Mystery Of Westerplatte (Tajemnica Westerplatte), a debut film directed by Paweł Chochlew.
Polish Films Shortlisted for Oscars
{mosimage}WARSAW: Two Polish films have made the cut for the shortlist of ten animated short films still in contention for Oscar nominations, out of 44 films originally under consideration.
New Riga Film Fund drive boom in foreign productions shooting in Latvia
TALLINN: The Riga Film Fund has fueled a boom in foreign productions in Latvia with nine foreign productions shooting in this Baltic state in 2011. Surprisingly producers from Asia including…
Left Behind Wins Tbilisi’s Doc Pitch
{mosimage}TBiLISI: The project Left Behind by Anna Tsimintia and Misha Svanidze was awarded with 2500 GEL in development funding at PITCH.DOC, hosted in connection with the 12th Tbilisi IFF (www.tbilisifilmfestival.ge).…
Bulgaria’s National Film Center Selects Films for Grants
{mosimage}SOFIA: Two feature films, two script development projects, nine documentaries and four animated films have been selected to receive grants from Bulgaria's National Film Center (NFC, www.nfc.bg). The grants session…
Lithuanian Russian German coproduction Last November to Shoot in 2012
{mosimage}TALLINN: Last November is the working title for a new 3.5-4m EUR Lithuanian, Russian, German coproduction currently in development and due to start shooting in autumn 2012. The project which…
Croatia Looks to Tax Rebate in 2011
ZAGREB: Croatia joins the growing club of countries from central and eastern Europe offering a tax rebate for audiovisual productions shooting locally on 1 January 2012. FNE courtesy of the…
Crulic – The Path to Beyond Sells in Foreign Territories
{mosimage}BUCHAREST: The Romanian-Polish animated documentary Crulic - The Path to Beyond directed by Anca Damian was sold by Wide House/Wide Management (www.widemanagement.com, under construction) has been sold to France, Czech…
FESTIVALS: Turkish Films at Festival on Wheels
{mosimage}The 17th edition of Turkey's Festival on Wheels (www.festivalonwheels.org) concluded the second segment of its traveling film screening on 12 December 2011 and now moves on to Izmir for the…
FESTIVALS: December 15 Deadline for NexT IFF
{mosimage}BUCHAREST: The deadline for submitting films to the 6th edition of the NexT IFF (www.nextfilmfestival.ro), which takes place in Bucharest 28 March to 1 April 2012, is 15 December 2011.
Turkey Sets TV Sales Record
The sale of Turkish TV shows to foreign buyers is expecte to break the $60 million mark in 2011. Bulgaria and Greece are the two countries where Turkish TV programmes…
