VILNIUS: Estonian director Ivan Pavljutskov won the Best Baltic Short prize for his film White Square as the Scanorama Film Festival (8-18 November 2012, www.scanorama.lt/en) wrapped up its 10 days in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius before rolling on to screenings in other cities around the country until 25 November.

FNE asks Nik Powell about the future of Creative Europe and how producers in small and large countries can build effective partnerships.

Read more...

MOSCOW: Glavkino Studios (www.galvkino.ru), Russia’s newest state-of-the art digital film and studio complex has announced that it is already fully booked until the end of 2012. The strong uptake from film and TV productions in just four months reflects the strong growth in the Russian audiovisual production sector.

PRAGUE: Despite a veto by Czech President Vaclav Klaus earlier this week of a new law redefining support for audiovisual production and cinematography Czech industry professionals have assured partners that incentives will continue in 2013.


FNE spoke with Pavel Strnad, chairman of the Czech Audiovisual Producers' Association about the current state of the Czech film industry

LONDON: American director Paul Thomas Anderson took home the runner-up Silver Lion Prix of the Venice Film Festival for The Master amid a storm of controversy after The Hollywood Reporter published a story about plans to give the film the main prize.

VENICE: Japanese director and actor Takeshi Kitano returns to Venice with his sequel to his gory but beautifully choreographed 2010 hit Outrage.   Beyond Outrage takes up where Outrage left off with yakuza killer Otomo played by Beat Takeshi, the name the director uses for his acting roles, still in prison and the Sanno crime family in ascendancy.

VENICE: Austrian director Ulrich Seidl launched his three part trilogy Paradise in Cannes with Paradise: Love and he now arrives in Venice with part two, Paradise: Faith.

VENICE: Oldies beware Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers might seem slight but the buzz from younger Euro-critics after its first screening in Venice was decidedly positive.

MOSCOW: Horosho Productions is developing another Latvian production after its successful work on Gulfstream Under the Iceberg.