PRAGUE: Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s acclaimed Burning Bush won 11 Czech Lions in Prague including a best director and best film.  The 21 edition of the Czech Lions which was held over Saturday night in Prague (22 February 2014) is the Czech film industry’s national equivalent of the Oscar.

BERLIN: The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the producer of Bai Ri Yan Huo/ Black Coal, Thin Ice directed by Diao Yinan while the popular and star studded Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson picked up the Grand Jury Prize and a Silver Bear. Richard Linklater picked up the Silver Bear for Best Director as well as a number of other awards for his critically successful Boyhood.

BERLIN: Films from Georgia, Romania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and a Slovak Czech Croatian coproduction have all scored slots in the 2014 Berlinale Panorama and Forum programme lineups although no film from CEE countries has been selected for the main competition this year.

VILNIUS: The Vilnius Film Cluster will launch a new 1000 sq m sound stage and production centre in March 2014. The 4.5m LTL project aims to cash in on Lithuania’s new tax incentives which take effect at the beginning of 2014.

WARSAW: The deadline is fast approaching (31 December 2013) to apply to be an expert for the Education, Audiovisual and Culture executive Agency in the framework of the management of European Union programmes. FNE urges qualified AV professionals from the new EU member and smaller countries to apply.

TALLINN: The Italian debut The Great Beauty directed by Paolo Sorrentino was awarded the main prize of the EurAsia international competition at the 17 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival held 15 November-1 December.

TALLINN: The Baltic Event has announced the winning projects of its annual coproduction market (26-29 November) with the award for best project going to Romanian project Miracle in Cluj represented by producer Melinda Boros and director Botond Püsök of Romania’s Spotfilm.

ATHENS: The focus was on digital distribution and the new opportunities that new platforms like VOD can provide for European films at the second annual Europa International conference in Athens.  

ATHENS: Estonian cinema Kino Artis was awarded the prize for Best Programming of 2013 in the Europa Cinemas network at the 18th Europa Cinemas Conference in Athens held 21-24 November 2013.