PRAGUE: Nine documentaries that cover the breadth of the CEE region will screen in the Between the Seas competition of the online edition of the 24th Ji.hlava IDFF, which runs 27 October – 8 November 2020.
WARSAW: The New Horizons IFF and the American Film Festival have announced that they will be held online 5 – 15 November 2020. The festival will hold a few symbolic screenings in cinemas.
PRAGUE: CEE Animation has opened a call for filmmakers from low capacity film countries for its CEE Animation Workshop, a year-long project to take place online.
Carlo S. Hintermann's film will open the 36th edition of the Polish festival, which will wrap on 18 October, 2020.
The Book of Vision
Counting Terrence Malick among its executive producers, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival. "Terry really understands that when you want to do something new, you really need support. He received this support from Arthur Penn, Irvin Kerschner and then he helped Andrew Dominik, Jeff Nichols and many others. Through the years, I had a chance of establishing a nice relationship with him, I worked on The Tree of Life, and when I decided to make this film he was supportive as well. He is very brave, as a director and as a producer" – Carlo S. Hintermann said in the interview for the festival website.
“Initially, our biggest fear was that there would be no films to screen. They weren’t shot during the lockdown, but surprisingly, we received almost 3,000 submissions from 96 countries,” festival director Stefan Laudyn explained to Cineuropa when talking about the programme, which includes 105 features and 68 shorts from 56 countries.
“I am particularly happy with its geographical and cultural diversity,” he said. “We have a strong programme from Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, and there are a number of interesting debuts, but also some remarkable returns: new films by Alexei Uchitel, Martin Šulík, Petr Zelenka, Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Bogdan George Apetri and Uberto Pasolini. Most of them we expect to come to Warsaw in person.”
The 36th edition of the festival, held in Warsaw while respecting the Covid-19 regulations, will wrap on October 18.
The Riga International Film Festival Invites Industry Professionals to Gather Online for the Upcoming Edition of RIGA IFF FORUM
Festivals 09-10-2020
The seventh Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) will take place from October 15–25. Most festival films will be screened both in theaters and online simultaneously, but in response to the ongoing global health crisis, all RIGA IFF FORUM industry events will be held completely online. This decision has opened up a great opportunity – everyone, regardless of their location, will be able to join in and meet other film professionals.
Dear friends,
As a result of measures introduced by the government of the Czech Republic yesterday – which include complete closure of cinemas in the country – we were forced to move the 24th Ji.hlava IDFF to a fully online edition.
Both the film selection and the rich festival’s industry programme will be presented next week, as planned. Please find our official statement below:
Ji.hlava is moving to digital asylum. We have always preferred the festival to happen physically as we draw our inspiration primarily from screenings in cinema halls, discussions and personal meetings. However, the situation has changed and we respect that. Therefore, we want to see the currently closed cinemas in the Czech Republic as an opportunity and a challenge. This year again, we will treat you to a full-fledged festival programme as well as the tenth edition of the Inspiration Forum, sharing all the events online, in a surprising and engaging form. Join us in this endeavor!
Thank you for your support and trust!
The calling card of the Warsaw Film Festival will present seven World Premieres, seven International Premieres and one European Premiere to the local audience gathered in Warsaw, as well as the international jury.
18 Kilohertz / 18 kiloherców / 18 Kilohertz, dir. Farkhat Sharipov, Kazakhstan 2020, 82 min.
The realities of teenage life in Kazakhstan in the 1990s, during the heroin boom in Almaty. *18 kHz is a sound frequency that adults can’t hear.
The Asadas / Rodzina Asada /浅田家 , dir. Ryota Nakano, Japan 2020, 127 min.
Based on true events, this is a story about a photographer who believed in the power of the photo.
Big Boys Don`t Cry / Duże chłopaki nie płaczą, dir. Steve Crowhurst, UK 2020, 90 min.
A man cannot shake off his traumatic past in a children’s home. A shocking film based on true events, it is the British documentary filmmaker’s feature debut.
By Your Side / Do szaleństwa / À La Folie, dir. Audrey Estrougo, France 2020, 82 min.
Manu returns to her childhood home for her mother's birthday. A psychological drama about a family torn apart by schizophrenia.
Droneman / Modelář, dir. Petr Zelenka, Czechia 2020, 105 min.
A political thriller. Two friends run a prosperous drone rental company. One of them is obsessed with justice and seeks it at all costs, even outside the boundaries of the law. A drone becomes his weapon and a tool of revenge.
The Man with Hare Ears
Fox in a Hole / Lis w norze / Fuchs im Bau, dir. Arman T. Riahi, Austria 2020, 100 min.
A touching story about a prison school for minors, told from the point of view of the newly arrived teacher who is well outside his comfort zone.
Hot Soup / Gorące źródła / Re Tang, dir. Ming Zhang, China 2020, 102 min.
Contemporary Shanghai. The stories of four women in pursuit of happiness.
Magnezja / Magnesium, dir. Maciej Bochniak, Poland 2020, 120 min.
A gangster tragicomedy, an auteur version of the “Eastern”, in which a patch of land cut off from the rest of the country is ruled by women and the main currency is a revolver bullet. A film with a choice cast.
The Man with Hare Ears / Człowiek z zajęczymi uszami / Muž se zaječíma ušima, dir. Martin Šulík, Czechia, Slovakia 2020, 104 min.
The latest comedy from master filmmaker Šulík, in which an evening phone call triggers a series of events that turn the protagonist’s world upside down.
My Blood & Bones in a flowing Galaxy / Moja krew i kości w płynącej galaktyce / 砕け散るところを見せてあげる, dir. Sabu, Japan 2020, 127 min.
Kiyozumi Hamada is a third-form secondary school student. He possesses a strong sense of justice. One day, he sees first-former Hari Kuramoto being bullied… An adaptation of Yuyuko Takemiya’s bestselling novel. A story about unlikely love that brings hope.
Magnesium
Post Mortem, dir. Péter Bergendy, Hungary 2020, 116 min.
It’s the freezing winter of 1918. The country has been ravaged by World War I and the Spanish flu. Many are dead, and countless spirits have become stranded in our world. A post-mortem photographer and a little girl confront ghosts in a haunted village.
Tsoi / Coj / Цой, dir. Alexei Uchitel, Russia, Latvia 2020, 91 min.
Viktor Tsoi, the Soviet Union’s most famous rock star, leader of the band Kino, a symbol of freedom and change, dies in an accident on a Latvian highway.
Unidentified / Niezidentyfikowany / Neidentificat, dir. Bogdan George Apetri, Romania 2020, 123 min.
A film combining and subverting several successful popular cinema archetypes: the police or detective movie, the action film, film noir and the anti-hero character type.
We are here. We are close / Jesteśmy. Jesteśmy blisko / My ye. My poruch, dir. Roman Balayan, Ukraine 2020, 90 min.
A riveting story about how misdiagnosis, not necessarily in medical terms, complicates and corrupts lives, but can also bring the grace of enlightenment.
The Year Of Fury / Rok furii / El Año de la Furia, dir. Rafa Russo, Spain, Uruguay 2020, 101 min.
Uruguay, 1972. A drama in which, day by day, the lives of all the characters are deeply impacted by the yoke of dictatorship.
To find out more about the programme click here.
“The Day Vladimir Died” is the biggest winner of this year's ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum. The project, directed by Fadi Syriani, won four awards in ANIMARKT Pitching. Apart from it, seven more films were awarded. The awards gala ended this year's ANIMARKT edition, which gathered online over half a thousand participants from 34 countries and made it possible to conduct over 260 business talks.
15 projects at the stage of the first script and the outline of the visual concept took part in Pitching.
- I was very impressed with the variety of themes and the dynamic poetics of the final projects - says Markéta Šantrochová, a member of the jury and emphasizes that the online event was organized not only professionally, but also with a great understanding of the participants' needs.
Ultimately, due to the high level of presentations, as many as 8 films were awarded. "The Day Vladimir Died" won 4 awards: a voucher worth PLN 40,000 to be used at CeTA Studio in Wrocław, purchase of a license by Ale kino +, RADIATOR IP SALES distribution award and expert consultation with Marcin Zalewski. This project, directed by Fadi Syriani, tells the story of an inhabitant of Beirut, a regular at funerals looking for his own obituary.
The feature film "Toni & Friends", a Numa Film production directed by Ion Indolean, will have its world premiere at the prestigious Warsaw Film Festival, in the Free Spirit competition section.
The event, at its 36th edition, will take place between October 9-18. A Category A festival, according to the FIAPF classification, the WFF is the most important film event in Poland.
Second edition of this unique MIDPOINT program focused on TV writing is announcing its participants. The program, which runs online through October 14-23, 2020, will be led by two tutors, Ben Harris (UK) and Gabor Krigler (HU). They will help the participants to get acquainted with the structure, hierarchy and processes running in a writers' room.
