PRAGUE: French director/producer/distributor Artemio Benki, whose film career spanned thirty years in the Czech Republic, died in Paris on 15 April 2020.
BRATISLAVA: The Slovak art house cinema Kino Lumière began online screenings on 18 April 2020 with its initial film offered free of charge.
CANNES: The Cannes Film Festival will launch Marché du Film in an online format running 22 – 26 June 2020.
WROCLAW: The 20th edition of the New Horizons IFF has been postponed following the 14 April 2020 announcement that all cultural events in Wroclaw are cancelled through the end of August.
Ex Oriente and East Silver Caravan films will have screening slots at the online edition of Visions du Réel.
LIMASSOL: The Three of Us from director Suela Bako and producer Sabina Kodra from Erafilm in Albania won the Best Project award of the first special online edition of Dot.on.the.map Industry Days presented 9 – 11 April 2020 under the framework of the 18th Cyprus Film Days International Festival. The festival itself was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 crisis.
WARSAW: The 4th edition of the Kids Kino Industry (previously known as Warsaw Kids Film Forum), an international pitching forum for films and series aimed at a young audience, is accepting submissions from 20 April until 5 June 2020. The event will take place 30 September - 2 October 2020 in Warsaw during the Kids Kino International Film Festival.
CANNES: The 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival will not take place in late June and early July, the festival announced in a statement on 14 April 2020. The announcement followed a statement by the French President Emmanuel Macron extending restrictions on large gatherings into July.
BUCHAREST: The pilot of the first Romanian sitcom about COVID-19, Discutabil, has had more than 80,000 viewers since it was aired on Facebook and YouTube on 27 March 2020. Director Vlad Zamfirescu, scriptwriter Alexandru Popa and producer Cristina Dobrițoiu are planning a first season with 12 episodes.
BRUSSELS: The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) has issued a comprehensive report on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on cinemas across the 38 countries it represents.
