SOFA – School of Film Agents
is a workshop for up-and-coming film professionals. It supports culture promoters, mediators and catalysts with unique film/cinema project ideas for the local and international audience in their country of origin. SOFA helps its participants to make their innovative »dream project« come true.
▫ Magdalena Sroka
Director of the Polish Film Institute, producer and coordinator of many international projects. She is behind forming both The Krakow Film Commission and the Regional Film Fund. She is also one of the experts of the Congress of Polish Culture. She is a former vice-president of Cracow assigned for culture and promotion of the city.
▫ Mihai Gligor
Vice-president of one of the largest and oldest film studios in Eastern Europe, Bucharest Film Studios, former board member of the Romanian National Film Centre, one of MEDIA's experts and a longtime collaborator of the Doha Film Institute, one of the most important film institutions in the Middle East.
▫ Francine Raveney
Oxford graduate, founder and former director of EWA Network. Francine is known as a co-production project manager at the Eurimages Film Fund, where she is mainly responsible for the Fund's gender equality strategy. She is also a dedicated teacher at several universities, including Universitat Vic in Catalunya. She is a well-respected expert invited to many prestigious festivals.
▫ Tamara Tatishvili
One of the most important persons among the Georgian and Eastern Partnership film industry. She co-founded and served as Director of Independent Filmmakers Association – South Caucasus and in 2010-2013 she was Director of Georgian National Film Center. Tamara co-authored Georgian Film Strategy 2010-2012. Since 2011 she has been representing Georgia to CoE Film Fund, EURIMAGES and European Film Promotion.
▫ Maciej Jakubczyk
One of Polish Film Institute’s film experts, director of the Education Department and a board member at the New Horizons Association that organises the well respected New Horizons International Film Festival. Additionally, serves as a director of the Kids’ Cinema festival. He is also known for leading workshops for Europa Cinemas about creative marketing aimed to young audiences. He teaches Media education at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland.
▫ Marek Hovorka
FAMU graduate, founder and director of one of the largest international creative film festival in Central and Eastern Europe, Jihlava, co-founder of the Doc Alliance festival network, East Silver Film Festival and DAFilms distribution network. In addition, a jury member to many festivals, including FID Marseille, CPH: DOX, Visions du reel, Karlovy Vary IFF or Cinema Verite Tehran.
▫ Christine von Fragstein
Dedicated culture manager, curator and project consultant since 15 years. Former director of Berlinale Talents, a Berlinale initiative supporting young filmmakers from all over the world. She also collaborated with the Zurich Film Festival, the Europan Film Academy and the FIFA World Championship. In years 2014-2016 she served as a programme director of the Berlinale Open House at the Audi Berlinale Lounge.
▫ Ewa Puszczyńska
World recognised producer and board member of the European Film Academy. She has worked with a great number of well respected filmmakers, including Paweł Pawlikowski. Their great collaboration resulted in many awards, including an Oscar for IDA. She has been an active SOFA’s supporter and a wise adviser from its very beginning.
▫ Oliver Baumgarten
Co-founder of SOFA as well as the independent German film magazine “Schnitt” to which for many years he serves as a chef-editor. In 2014 he was appointed programme manager to the Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis. He also launched Europe’s first festival dedicated to film editing and montage, Filmplus. As part of the Berlinale Talents programme, he has created an international project for emerging film critics, Talent Press, which he is still in charge of.
All above film professionals will appear in Warsaw due to the invitation by Nikolaj Nikitin, founder and director of SOFA – School of Film Agents as well as co-founder of the Filmplus Festival and a delegate to the Berlinale.
SOFA – School of Film Agents is a joint project of Filmplus gUG (Cologne), Institute for Democratic Changes (Tbilisi) and Takes Film (Tbilisi), funded by German Federal Foreign Office and Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union. The 2017 Georgian workshop was funded also by Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall, Georgia National Film Centre and Film in Georgia. The 2017 Polish workshop will be also funded by: Polish Film Institute, Foundation of Polish-German Cooperation and Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission. The organisers also wish to thank other partners: Meeting Point Vilnius, Karlovy Vary IFF, European Film Festival Palić, Goethe-Institut, Mozinet, EAVE and the Israel Film Fund.
