Two Polish features: Essential Killing by Jerzy Skolimowski and Sala Samobójców (Suicide Room) by Jan Komasa, both co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, are in official selection for the European Film Awards.

Essential Killing and Suicide Room are among 45 feature films from 32 countries recommended for this year's European Film Awards. Other films in this year's EFA selection include Melancholia by Lars von Trier, In a Better World by Suzanne Bier, and The Skin I Live In by Pedro Almodóvar.

The 2,500 members of the European Film Academy will vote for nominations in 17 categories. The list of nominated films will be announced on November 5 at the Seville International Film Festival.

Two Polish films have already been nominated for this year's European Film Awards in the Short Film category: the documentary Paparazzi by Piotr Bernaś (at the 51^st Krakow International Film Festival) and the feature Opowieści z chłodni (Frozen Stories) by Grzegorz Jaroszuk (at the 64^th Locarno International Film Festival). Both films were co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

The European Film Awards are among Europe's most prestigious forms of recognition in the world of filmmaking. In 2010, Katarzyna Klimkiewicz received the European Film Award for Best Short Film for her feature Hanoi-Warszawa (Hanoi-Warsaw), also co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

The European Film Awards ceremony will be held on December 3 in Berlin.

The complete list of films recommended for this year's awards is available at: www.europeanfilmawards.eu.

Olga Domżała

Film Sales Support & PR Manager

Polish Film Institute

Krakowskie Przedmieście 21/23

00-071 Warsaw PL

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mobile: +48 695 363 335

As the Black Nights Film Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary, Tallinn will once again play host to some of the very best films from across the globe alongside a number of special events that will have both film fans and those in the industry bound for Estonia in November and December.

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PARIS, FRANCE (16 September 2011) - ÉCU- The European Independent Film Festival continues its world tour when it travels to Tbilisi, Georgia to present the award winners from the 2011 festival. This special edition of ÉCU will take place at Cinema Amirani from 7th to the 9th October, bringing to Georgia the cinematic independent spirit that has kept filmmakers and audiences returning to the European Independent Film Festival year after year.

"We saw some incredible film talent from Georgia with the film April Chill which won the Europe's Best Independent Dramatic Short Film award at ÉCU 2011. We are tremendously excited to be showing our films in Tblisi and we look forward to meeting more filmmakers from a country with such an upcoming cinema culture", says ÉCU Film Festival president Scott Hillier.

Audiences will be treated to 19 of Europe's Best Independent Films made up of features, shorts, documentaries, music videos, animations and experimentals from 14 countries. Festival president and award-winning director Scott Hillier, will also hold a directing master class during the weekend.

ÉCU's showcase in Georgia has been made possible by the generosity of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, the Georgian National Film Center, TBC Bank, Nikora, Metro, Mozaika, and www.rus-press.ge.

To see the action as it unfolds in Georgia, visit www.ecufilmfestival.com

Today at the press conference held at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel the programme of the 27^th Warsaw Film Festival was announced. The festival will run for ten days – October 7-16, 2011, on nine screens at two locations in the heart of Warsaw: Multikino Zlote Tarasy and Kinoteka.

Call for entries for 2012

You can submit your film into the international competition

from 20th September untill 20th December 2011.
The 11th edition of AniFest, which will take place from 26th April till 1st May 2012, is now accepting films into international competition. You can submit your film into one of the following categories:

• International Competition of Short Animated Films up to 5 Minutes in Length
• International Competition of Short Animated Films from 5 to 15 Minutes in Length
• International Competition of Short Animated Films from 15 to 60 Minutes in Length
• International Competition of Feature-length Animated Films
• International Competition of Student Animated Films
• International Competition of Animated Television Films and Series
• International Competition of Animated Commercials and Jingles
• International Competition of Animated Music Videos
• International Competition of Non-narative and Experimental Animated Films
• International Competition of Animated Films Made by Children up to 12 years of age
• International Competition of Animated Films Made by Children from 12 to 15 years of age

Online submission form HERE. There's no entry fee.
Festival statute and regulations HERE, some answers regarding technical specifications of the films HERE.
Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +420 257 324 507

www.anifest.cz

BUDAPEST: Most of the Hungarian film professionals spent the last year waiting for the government to restructure funding for the Hungarian film industry. The Hungarian Film Fund (www.filmalap.hu) has just announced its first call for grants for film production after more than a year during which most film production in Hungary ground to a halt due to lack of funding. The Film Fund has 1.6 billion forints for 2011 but it has not been announced how much of it will be distributed for support of film production this year.

The 10th film market Baltic Event, held annually in Tallin, Estonia, invites European filmmakers who seek financing and presenting. If you are interested in your project entering the co-production market, there are only three days to go - the deadline is September 15th. This year the expanded event accepts also projects from CIS countries.

- Latest generation of animated series presented in Poland sparks broadcaster and investor interest across Europe

- Quality and creativity set apart European animated series as they gain TV slots

- Series for children aged 6-9 and preschoolers still prevail in Europe but interest for projects targeting young adults is growing

European animation for television has a promising future ahead, with strong quality projects sparking the interest of broadcasters and investors as well as audiences. Such was the conclusion from the 22nd Cartoon Forum, the European co-production forum which closed its doors on 16th September in Sopot, Poland.

The positive sector trend was helped by a significant rise in investments and production volume, which grew about 30% year on year according to information from the event's organisers, CARTOON - the European Association of Animation Film. Creativity and a large diversity of concept and design stand out as characteristics of European animation.

The latest edition of Cartoon Forum served as a showcase for 66 new projects for animated series which sought wider distribution and financing at the event. Studios from 19 countries are involved in the production of the projects, which have a total budget of 215 million Euros and represent some 468 hours of content.

Series for children aged 6-9 and preschoolers remain the most popular in Europe, representing 33 and 29% respectively of the total. The event also detected a growing interest in projects for young adults, a trend which could eventually lead to new slots for animation in channel programming.

With a third of the projects selected, France was the main protagonist of the event with eight of the 10 most-attended projects (list below). Meanwhile, Britain and Spain doubled their participation from last year with 14 and 11 projects respectively while Polish animation showed its potential with five projects.

Irish animation took the Cartoon Tributes 2011 - the annual awards to outstanding companies that have had a dynamic influence on the European animation industry - winning Broadcaster and Producer of the Year (RTÉ and Monster Animation, respectively). As for Investor/Distributor of the Year, the award went to awol animation, a Paris-based company headed by Ireland's Julie Fox.

The future promise of animation also had a place at Cartoon Forum Polska with the Cartoon d'Or award for the best European animated short film of the year, which this year went to "The Little Boy and the Beast" directed by Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschötter (Germany) and produced by Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg.

The next edition of Cartoon Forum will take place from 11 to 14 September 2012, in Toulouse, one of France's most dynamic cities and home to some of French animation's best studios.


Top ten projects in terms of attendance at the pitching session

- "Oscar and Hoo" - Frog Box (FR) - eOne (UK)
- "Burny the Little Dragon - LuxAnimation (LU) - Gaumont - Alphanim (FR) - Cromosoma (ES)
- "Dimitri" - Vivement Lundi! (FR) - Beast Animation (BE) - Nadasdy Film (CH)
- "Roger" - Je Suis Bien Content (FR)
- "Hubert & Takako" - Xilam Animation (FR)
- "The Crumpets" - 4.21 Productions (FR) - Redcastle Mediaconsulting (FR)
- "Secret Ranch" - Tele Images Productions (FR)
- "Crazy Cavemen!" - Silver Fox Animation (UK) - Evergreen Entertainment (UK) - Cine Cartoon (AU)
- "The Cookie and Crime Club" - Neomis Animation (FR)
- "Ori & Gami" - Jus de Prod (FR) - 2 Minutes (FR)

Cartoon Forum Organisation: Annick Maes - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Tel: (32) (2) 242 93 43

International Press: Gerardo Michelin - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Tel: (34) 630 57 22 68
Poster of the event and high-resolution stills of the projects: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/FORUM/press.php (password: baltic2011)

Pictures of the event: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/FORUM/gallery.php
All pictures © Valerie de Halleux / CARTOON

About CARTOON FORUM
Created in 1990 to boost the co-production and distribution of European animation for television and new media platforms, Cartoon Forum has helped 470 animation series obtain financing to the tune of over 1.6 billion EUR.

Cartoon Forum Polska was organised by CARTOON with the support of MEDIA - a Programme of the European Union, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, the Polish Film Institute (PISF) and the City of Sopot, in collaboration with Studio Miniatur Filmowych (SMF). Cartoon Forum Polska was one of the events under the patronage of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.

About CARTOON
CARTOON is an international non-profit association based in Brussels that organises Cartoon Forum, together with Cartoon Movie, a co-production forum for feature-length animation, Cartoon Master training seminars and Cartoon Connection, a new programme intended to explore ways of reinforcing cooperation between EU and non EU animation professionals.

Link to press release in PDF: http://www.cartoon-media.be/MASTERS/digital/uploads/pdf_report/84_PRFinal_CF2011.pdf

The 8th edition of the training CICAE “Art Cinema = Action + Management “organized by the International Confederation of Art Cinemas ended up on September 11th, at the Island of San Servolo, Venice.

The main goals of the training are:

- To hand-on on to the new generation the specific know-how (methods, tools, ideas, contacts) for programming, animating and managing an art cinema.

- To give to the present managers, a place for discussing the challenges independent exhibitors have to face in the age of new business models and for making recommendation useful for the all profession on how to strengthen the competitiveness of independent exhibition

- Promote the networking of European and international professionals.

The training was designed around lectures and workshops and lasted more than a week. At its end 56 participants have graduated from this course, unique in the world and highlight the profession of the independent exhibitors and programmers committed to promoting cultural diversity through the quality films.

Nearly 120 professionals from 26 countries, lectors and trainees came to share their experiences, to network and debate around the issues relating to Arthouse cinema.

For the first time since it began in 2004, the training was divided into two stages: Junior-exhibitors who took courses on programming: Classic films by Marie-Jeanne Gomet (FR) and films for young audiences by Kamila Tomkiel (PL), on the development of the audience by Raymond Walravens (NL), the fundraising by Paula Astorga (MX), the management of a project by Dörte Nimz (DE), digital cinema by Jean-Pierre Villa (FR).

The second part of the training was dedicated to the experienced Executives- exhibitors, whose involvement also affects the distribution and festivals. The round table moderated by Laurent Creton, Professor of Economics at the Paris Sorbonne University, was central for the general presentation of the totality of Chain of rights involving among others the producer Alfred Hürmer (DE), the sales agent Loïc Magneron (FR) and the distributor / broadcaster Ivan Hronec (SK). The last session opened an international forum on current issues and the future of the entire industry.

CICAE training is mainly financed by the European Union's MEDIA Programme, whose representatives Patrice Vivancos (EACEA / Media) and Emmanuel Joly from the European Commission came to greet and encourage the reflections of the participants.

The CICAE thank all partners and sponsors for their support, including: CNC (France), FFA - Filmförderungsanstalt, Filmförderung MFG Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany), Direzione Generale per il Cinema (Italy), Venice Province, Veneto Region, San Servolo Servizi, the association Mercato di Rialto, the AFOMAV, Union of French cinema theaters, ANEC Sicilia, AGIS TRE Venezie and many others.

At the same time the CICAE jury awarded the film O THE CINEMA TULAFALE (The Orator) by Tusi Tamasese

(Samoa 110 ') the ART CINEMA PRIX at 68. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica Venezia Orizzonti.

History >> Since 1955, the CICAE has been working to promote cultural diversity in cinemas

In the 50's, non-commercial films (“ avant-garde”, “auteur cinema” “art cinema”) were mainly screened in festivals and often only seen by the movie-going elite, or more infrequently shown in specialized theatres in Europe's major capital cities.

In 1955, the national Arthouse cinema associations of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland decided to gather and to found the CICAE in order to bring quality films out of the shadows by offering them to a larger audience and to develop an art market for the cinema industry where filmmakers could find the resources they needed to pursue their creative endeavours.

The collective and concerted action of these pioneers led to the emergence in each of their country of a real market for quality films, as well as national schemes aimed at supporting theatres that took a stand in favor of this «high-risk» cinematographic art form.

Today, the CICAE brings together 3,000 screens via 9 national structures , independent cinemas in approximately 24 countries , 15 or so festivals as well as a number of Arthouse film distributors or organizations (Europa Cinemas).

AFCAE in France, FICE and AIACE in Italy, AGKINO GILDE in Germany, SSV-ASCA in Switzerland, Art Mozi and Art Mozi Budapest in Hungary, Diagonale and VAC in Belgium, Circuito Gran Cine in Venezuela

Algeria, England, Austria, Chile, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, The Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, USA

including Berlin, Festroia, Directors' Fortnight, Locarno, Sarajevo, Venice, Annecy, Hamburg, Mons

THE EUROPEAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL TO SHOWCASE ITS 2011 WINNING FILMS IN TBILISI, GEORGIA

PARIS, FRANCE (16 September 2011) - ÉCU- The European Independent Film Festival continues its world tour when it travels to Tbilisi, Georgia to present the award winners from the 2011 festival. This special edition of ÉCU will take place at Cinema Amirani from 7th to the 9th October, bringing to Georgia the cinematic independent spirit that has kept filmmakers and audiences returning to the European Independent Film Festival year after year.

"We saw some incredible film talent from Georgia with the film April Chill which won the Europe's Best Independent Dramatic Short Film award at ÉCU 2011. We are tremendously excited to be showing our films in Tblisi and we look forward to meeting more filmmakers from a country with such an upcoming cinema culture", says ÉCU Film Festival president Scott Hillier.

Audiences will be treated to 19 of Europe's Best Independent Films made up of features, shorts, documentaries, music videos, animations and experimentals from 14 countries. Festival president and award-winning director Scott Hillier, will also hold a directing master class during the weekend.

ÉCU's showcase in Georgia has been made possible by the generosity of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, the Georgian National Film Center, TBC Bank, Nikora, Metro, Mozaika, and www.rus-press.ge.

To see the action as it unfolds in Georgia, visit www.ecufilmfestival.com