Just before the start of the upcoming Summit of the Western Balkan countries, which will be held tomorrow, May 17th in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Director of the Macedonian Film Agency, Gorjan Tozija together with the Director of the Bulgarian Film Center Jana Karaivanova, today in Cannes have agreed on and signed the text that will be the basis for the signing and entry into force of the Agreement on Audiovisual co-production and mutual cooperation between the two countries in the field of film art.
The signing of the agreement was attended by film producers and directors from both countries who have long expected this agreement in order to facilitate and deepen the mutual co-operation.
We are very pleased to inform you about the series of events within the Cannes Film Festival, which once again confirmed that the universal language of film and art is easily understood when it comes to regional and European cooperation and that their cultural impact significantly relieves the political obstacles and misunderstandings.
Three days ago on May 13th, within the framework of the Cannes Film Festival, the Macedonian Film Agency also signed a cooperation agreement with the film institution from Kosovo with Mr. Arben Zarku, and began the talks on signing the agreement with Michel Plazanet from the Center National Du Cinema (CNC). Contacts have also been made with Telefilm Canada, which will also verify the cooperation between the two cinematographies.
Furthermore, yesterday the Macedonian stand was visited by the Director of the Greek Film Center Vasilis Kosmopoulos, where he and the Director of the Macedonian Film Agency discussed the future cooperation between the two countries, and initiated the potential cooperation on specific projects.
During the co-production event at the Italian pavilion in Cannes, the Director Tozija addressed the audience presenting the new concept for the Macedonian Film Agency’s strategy, with an emphasis on the importance of the co-productions with the countries of the region and wider.
"Among other things, in our strategy, it is particularly important to emphasize the attention of female filmmakers and producers who, through the established cooperation corridor, will facilitate the possibility for realization, as well as support for young authors, which are needed to invest in because they are the future of the film industry ".
From the beginning of this year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where Macedonia has the most fruitful participation, the stand was visited by a large number of film professionals, where our country was promoted as a destination for filming and the national achievements were presented, which this year are part of this renowned manifestation.
Promotional materials were distributed to the visitors and they were introduced in details with Macedonia and its film potential.
The promotional event was attended by the crew from the film "The Wild Pear Tree", co-producer of which is Macedonia and is in the official selection of the Cannes Festival. The national achievements that are part of the film market - two feature films, Borjan Zafirovski's "The Happiness Effect" and Ilija Piperkovki's "Grandfather and Grandson" - were also presented, as well as two short films, "Edna" by Vuk Mitevski and “Gottlieb” by Krste Gospodinovski.
The Macedonian Film Agency this year has put an emphasis on the development and improving the promotion of Macedonia as a destination for filming, and also prepared a special website www.filmingmacedonia.com for which special promotional slides were made with photographs of the most attractive locations for shooting. Additionally, on May 9th in the Hollywood Reporter's daily issues, the Film Agency purchased space for a post that promoted Macedonia as a destination for filming.
