BRATISLAVA: The Slovak/Czech/Slovenian/Macedonian historical drama Piargy is moving into production after three years in development which resulted in a change of director. Czech director Ivo Trajkov began the first days of shooting on the four-seasons film in May 2016 and will continue throughout 2017.

ZAGREB: The Egyptian film Clash by Mohamed Diab won the best film prize in the main competition of the 14th Zagreb Film Festival, which concluded on 20 November 2016.

ZAGREB: A film studio for Croatia is one of the priorities for the film industry. The new Croatian Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Korzinek told FNE, “We’re looking at options for investment in a studio. There is some international interest.”

ZAGREB: At the first meeting of MEDIA held in the Balkans, marking the 25th anniversary of the MEDIA Sub-programme on 17 November 2016, MEDIA Desk representatives and film fund directors expressed their concerns about continued access to MEDIA funding and the creation of the EU single digital market.

ZAGREB: Documentary filmmaker Katarina Zrinka Matijevic’s feature debut Trampoline screens in the main competition of the 14th Zagreb Film Festival, which runs through 20 November 2016.

ZAGREB: HBO Europe executive producer Steve Matthew made a stop at the 14th Zagreb Film Festival industry programme to give a final push for the first ever call for scripts by HBO Adria, which has a 1 December 2016 deadline.

ZAGREB: Two new Balkan initiatives are in the works, courtesy of the Albanian National Center of Cinematography. The initiatives could result in a Balkan coproduction fund and a Balkan forum in the near future.

ZAGREB: After two lawsuits and two Ministers of Culture, the Croatian Audiovisual Center is back to normal operations, HAVC director Hrvoje Hribar told FNE.

ZAGREB: Zagreb Film Festival's director Boris Matic opened the 14th edition of the festival, running through 20 November 2016 in Kino Europa, the art house cinema he also operates, with the announcement that the cinema had won the Europa Cinemas award for best programming just days earlier.

COTTBUS: German-based Serbian director/writer Tanja Brzakovic is preparing a post-WWI drama White Widows, which was pitched at the 18th edition of connecting cottbus.