The call for new film projects for MIDPOINT Feature Launch and MIDPOINT Shorts 2018 is open and we are looking for the region's strongest and most innovative scripts or treatments within narrative storytelling. Deadline October 16, 2017.
Head of Studies at Feature Launch, Danijel Hocevar, says about the workshop format of the 2018 edition,
"The idea is to support emerging talents to integrate their projects and knowledge into the marketplace by facilitating their experience in international collaboration. – There’s still a strong emphasis on script development consultancy, but in broader terms, we’ve also added the reflection on project development as such, including discussions about financing strategies and pitching skills, as well as packaging, marketing, distribution strategies, and the legal aspects of co-productions."
The upcoming edition has been expanded to become a year-long platform with 2 residential workshops, a project showcase at Karlovy Vary IFF and a networking spotlight at When East Meets West – all selected and presented in collaboration with our great partners.
Who can apply
Teams of writers, directors and producers. The training platform is for emerging talents, meaning 1st and 2nd feature filmmakers.
Dates and venues
1. Feature Launch Workshop 1 @ EASTWEEK – Trieste FF, Italy – January 20 – 26, 2018
2. Feature Launch Workshop 2 @ MIDPOINT – in collaboration with Film Center Serbia – April/May 2018
3. Project Showcase with Industry experts @ KVIFF – in collaboration with Karlovy Vary IFF, Czech Republic – July 2018
4. Feature Launch Spotlight @ WEMW – in collaboration with When East Meets West (during Trieste FF) – January 2019
Apply for MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2018 – deadline October 16, 2017
If you have any questions regarding your application you are very welcome to get in touch with Program Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MIDPOINT Shorts 2018
A professional project development program open to creative teams of writers, directors and producers. Within two residential workshops the participants get to develop their script as well as prepare the production and promotional aspects of the projects. The feedback format is based on one-to-one tutoring as well as group feedback.
Dates and venues
WORKSHOP 1 / Feature Launch Workshop 1 @ EASTWEEK / January 20 – 26, 2018 – in collaboration with Trieste FF / Italy
WORKSHOP 2 / Feature Launch Workshop 2 @ MIDPOINT / April/May 2018 – in collaboration with Film Center Serbia
Deadline October 16, 2017 – apply now!
MIDPOINT TV Launch 2018: Extended deadline tomorrow, Sep 22!
The program dedicated to TV drama has postponed its deadline until tomorrow, September 22. If you have any further questions regarding the submission requirements or dates, please contact the Program Coordinator of the program, Katarina Tomkova, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MIDPOINT Intensive SK
SK stands for Slovakia, and here is the open call for the intensive course which runs from November 7 - 10, 2017. In Czech/Slovak only!
Deadline September 30, 2017 Apply now!
TALLINN: Foreign funds of up to 1.67 m EUR were invested in Estonia since 2016, when the Estonian Film Institute initiated the cash rebate project Film Estonia. The pilot year of the project offering foreign film productions a cash rebate of up to 30% has shown twice the expected results.
PRAGUE: Documentaries in any stage of development are welcomed to the 16th East Doc Platform 2018, set to take place in Prague from 3 to 9 March 2018. For the first time, short documentaries can also apply.
GDYNIA: Konrad Łęcki’s war drama The Damn One will premiere in the main competition of the 42nd Gdynia Film Festival (18-23 September 2017). This film set in Poland in the second half of the 40’s is a debut feature.
GDYNIA: Urszula Antoniak’s drama Beyond Words will vie in the main competition of the 42nd Gdynia Film Festival (18-23 September 2017). The film premiered internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.
The Estonian Film Institute initiated the cash rebate project Film Estonia in 2016, offering foreign film productions a cash rebate of up to 30%. Experts deemed the first pilot year to have shown twice the expected result.
The film is a co-production between Russia, Latvia and Czech Republic with the support of Russian Ministry of Culture, National Film Centre of Latvia, Riga Film Fund and Eurimages.
SELECTING THE 2018 SLOVENIAN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACADEMY AWARD CANDIDATE - SELECTION REPORT
Press releases 20-09-2017In accordance with the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Directors Guild of Slovenia has called upon the professional associations in the field of cinematographic production to propose their candidates for the expert jury consisting of eight members.
Continuing a partnership established in 2007, Europa Distribution will host a distribution workshop in the scope of the San Sebastian International Film Festival in collaboration with the Industry Club. More than 30 independent distributors, all members of Europa Distribution, will participate in an open panel and closed Think-Tank session focusing on new approaches to public film funding.
The workshop will begin on Monday 25 September with an open panel entitled The Bigger Picture: A fresh approach to public film funding, taking place from 10.00-11.30 at the San Telmo. Whilst public film funding has been largely focused on production in Europe, there is now a growing consensus that public policy and funding could evolve and assist in negotiating the new challenges that face the industry by dedicating more funds to the marketing, distribution and screening of films. Experts from across the value chain, public funds, policy makers and industry stakeholders will debate the issues at hand and examine the possibilities for the industry to move forward across the board, from creation and production, to distribution and beyond.
Confirmed as panelists are Artemio Benki (Artcam Films/Sirena Film, CZ), Jeanne Brunfaut (Centre du Cinéma, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, BE), Bérénice Honold (FFA, DE), Lucia Recalde (European Commission, EU), Enrico Vannucci (Eurimages, EU) and Ilse Schooneknaep (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BE). The panel will be moderated by Michael Gubbins (SampoMedia/Ffilm Cymru Wales, UK).
Attending Europa Distribution members will then have the opportunity to further the discussion during a closed Think-Tank session on Tuesday 26 September, as well as participate in meetings, screenings and professional activities such as Cine en Construcción and Glocal in Progress.
NOTE FOR THE EDITORS: Europa Distribution is the association of independent film distributors, created in 2006. With more than 120 leading independent distributors representing 29 countries in Europe and beyond, it serves as the voice of the sector and acts as a network and a think tank. Since its creation, Europa Distribution has accompanied and reinforced the integration and collaboration process between its members through information, brainstorming and training sessions. The network’s aim is to strengthen the existing ties to improve the curation, promotion and distribution of independent films.
CONTACT: For more information about the presence of Europa Distribution in San Sebastian, contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Czech cinematography will be represented at the Oscars by the film Ice Mother
Press releases 13-09-2017
The Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA), which organizes the Czech Lion Awards every year, recommended that the film called Ice Mother directed by Bohdan Sláma should be the Czech candidate for the Oscars in the category of the Best Foreign Language Film. The academics were choosing from 13 Czech feature films, documentary features and animated films that had been enrolled by the producers of the individual films themselves. The film Ice Mother will get a chance to represent the Czech cinematography at the jubilee 90th awards of the American Academy of Motion picture Arts and Sciences, which will take place on 4th March 2018 in Los Angeles.
The voting in which the academics chose the film representing the Czech cinematography in the competition for the Oscars took place from 1st to 12th September 2017. The films Barefoot, Filthy, Garden Store: Deserter, The Oddsockeaters were also among the highly valued films.
The film Ice Mother directed by Bohdan Sláma, which the academics have recommended in the category of the Best Foreign Language Film, describes the relationships among three generations of people in a family. It tells the story of a fated meeting of the widow Hana (Zuzana Kronerová) and the cold water swimmer Broňa (Pavel Nový) and thanks to this meeting Hana is able to see her life from a different perspective a change it dramatically. The film Ice Mother was created in a Czech-Slovak-French co-production. “The film was premiered internationally in the competition of the prestigious festival TRIBECA in New York, where it got the award for the best screenplay. The positive reviews and encouraging reactions of the audience make us hopeful that our film could be successful on its further journey on the American continent,” adds Pavel Strnad for the production company Negativ.
The director Bohdan Sláma graduated from the Czech Technical University and in 1997 he also graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague where he studied film directing. His graduate film was called White Acacias (1996). His debut feature film Wild Bees (2001) picked up the threads of the poetics of the so-called Czechoslovak New Wave of the sixties and the film was awarded at many international film festivals (e.g. IFF Rotterdam – the Tiger Award, IFF San Francisco – the SKYY award). Representing the Czech Republic, this film was the candidate for the nomination for the Oscars and the European Film Awards. The film in the same tone called Something like Happiness (2005) was awarded seven Czech Lions and won the festival in San Sebastian. The following films were also successful – The Country Teacher (2008) got two Czech Lions and Four Suns (2012) took part in the competition at Sundance Film Festival. He also created several episodes of The Blaník Bureau series. At present he is the head of the direction department at the Film Academy of Performing Arts.
The awards of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are considered to be the most prestigious awards in the area of film. The nominations for the Oscars will be announced on 23rd January 2018 and the ceremony will take place on 4th March 2018 in Los Angeles.
About the Czech Film and Television Academy:
The Czech Film and Television Academy was founded in 1995 and in 2013 it was transformed into a registered association. Its main aim is to support and promote Czech cinematographic art in the Czech Republic as well as abroad and create conditions for the development of Czech film. It awards the most prestigious Czech film award – the Czech Lion and nominates Czech films or documentary features for the awards of the American Academy of Picture Arts and Sciences. The CFTA consists of 298 members at the moment.
PR and press service:
Nikola Lörinczová, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., phone: +420 605 560 277
Eliška Míkovcová, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., phone: +420 606 774 435
