Paris-based company Indie Sales has acquired Gabi Virginia Şarga and Cătălin Rotaru first feature film, “Thou Shalt not Kill”. The director duo is known for their short film 4.15 PM The End of the World which was selected in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. Thou Shalt Not Kill is set for a World Premiere at the upcoming Warsaw Film Festival’s 1st and 2nd competition

On 26^th of September, the Macedonian Film Agency within the framework of the 39th International Cinematographers' Film Festival “Manaki Brothers” in Bitola announced the one-year partnership with Less Is More – a training programme that was created by Le Groupe Ouest (France). The aim of the program is to help film professionals in the integration of the realization of films with a limited budget from the very beginning, that is, the development of the project.

Within this training program, a number of activities will be realized as part of this partnership, and as a particularly important one, is the organization of the workshop for local film professionals entitled "Pre-Writing Workshop". 

The goal of the workshop is to collect the ideas for films from all participants, reinforcing and directing them to make great future film projects even before they enter the process of development. The workshop will introduce the participants to the knowledge of how budget constraints may cause creativity. This is the first workshop of this kind that will be organized in Macedonia and is intended solely for the Macedonian film professionals who will acquire the knowledge of internationally renowned script doctors. 

The young film professionals that were present have expressed interest in the workshop and because of this we expect that a new film wave of more creative, more original and communicative projects will be born, which is our strategic goal.

More about this training program can be found on the following link: https://lim-lessismore.eu/

 

The annual Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) pitching FORUM for children's and youth film projects will take place from October 18-19 in the Latvian capital Riga.

Each year Independent Film Foundation, organizer of ScripTeast, receives a a great number of projects, coming from all of the countries of the region and representing very high quality, spectrum of film genres and interesting subjects.  The organizers would like to thank all the writers for their interest in the program and congratulate authors of 11 selected projects.

CHEMISTRY
Adina Dulcu (Romania)

FLIGHT OF BLACK SWALLOWS
Rusudan Pirveli (Georgia)
Givi Odisharia (Georgia)

FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE
Ivan Marinović (Montenegro)

M
Vardan Tozija (Macedonia)
Darijan Pejovski (Macedonia)

MOTHER
Zornitsa Sophia  Popgantcheva  (Bulgaria)
Miglena Dimova-Kumitsky (Bulgaria)

NIGHTSIREN
Barbora Námerová (Slovakia)
Tereza Nvotová (Slovakia)

SPINNERS
Reinis Ubelis (Latvia)
Ivars Tontegode (Latvia)

STILLBORN
Olga Chajdas (Poland)
Lena Góra (Poland)

THE LAST DAD
Michał Walczak (Poland)
Marija Wojtyszko (Poland)

THE LIBEL
Diana Groó (Hungary)

THE SIBYL
Zuzanna Solakiewicz (Poland)

13 edition will be inaugurated with a stationary session in Poland, conducted between the 30^th of September and the 6^th of October followed by session during Berlinale and Cannes Film Festival  2019 .

ScripTeast is organized by Independent Film Foundation, co-funded by Creative Europe - MEDIA Sub-Programme of the EU, Polish Film Institute, The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage – Fund for the Promotion of Culture, Apple Film Production, in co-operation with the European Film Academy, Producers Network, European Producers Club, Transatlantic Partners, ACE – Atelier du Cinema Europeen and Film New Europe.

In October, digitally restored Slovak films from the National Film Archive collection of Slovak Film Institute (SFI) will be presented at renowned international film festivals! Retrospective of Viktor Kubal will introduce in Spanish premiere the works of Slovak director, animator and artist at 51^stSitges International Fantastic Film Festival(October 4 – 14, 2018) while
The Case of Barnabáš Kos (1964) by Peter Solan will be screened in world premiere at the prestigious 10^th Lumière Festival (October 13 – 21, 2018)
in Lyon.

Retrospective of Viktor Kubal will present digitally restored film The Bloody Lady (1980), inspired by the legend of a countess, whose obsession with eternal youth has cost many young virgins´ lives. The audience of Sitges will further have the chance to see Earth (1966), Tom Thumb at the Magician´s(1973), Cinema (1977), What Happened to Johnny on the Road (1981), 
The Weatherman (1983) and The Idol (1989).

Digitally restored film The Bloody Lady has had its world premiere last year at the 9^th Lumière Festival in France, within the section Archival treasures and curiosities, that brings together unique restored archive films from all over the world. This year´s edition of the section will present in world premiere digitally restored satirical tragicomedy The Case of Barnabáš Kos (1964) by Peter Solan. The story is about Barnabáš Kos, triangle player in a big symphony orchestra who is unexpectedly appointed its director. At first, the modest musician resists, but soon he realizes what kinds of behaviour form the inevitable rules governing people's careers.

The screenings of Slovak films in Sitges and Lyon will be introduced by Rastislav Steranka, director of the National Cinematographic Center of Slovak Film Institute.

More information HERE

September 22, Bitola – Tonight in front of the Center for Culture in Bitola, together with the public from Bitola, the Oscar-winner Roger Deakins and the acting diva Claudia Cardinale walked the red carpet. Bitola was the center of the film world tonight.

The performance at the opening ceremony, directed by Srgjan Janikijevikj, this year passed in a light of the magic of film and was devoted to the festival’s motto “Hats Off”. The actress Jelena Jovanova then took on the presenter’s role and introduced the awards.

The full hall at the Center for Culture greeted this year’s laureates with standing ovations, amongst who was the Macedonian actress Milica Stojanova who was awarded the Big Star of Macedonian Film, awarded by the Macedonian Film Professionals Association.

Gena Teodosievska, ICFF Manaki Brothers director, was the first one to greet the attending film art lovers.

-It is not at all easy to stand here tonight before you, the ones who work on film, it is not easy to be a director of this Festival because I have behind me the ones who traced the path of this festival. Certainly, the result that comes this year are 95 films in 14 programs, a result created for 39 years, Teodosievska said.

She gave her gratitude to the Macedonian Film Professionals Association, the Macedonian Film Agency and all the filmmakers who let their films be part of our program.

-They say the film should belong to everyone. And that is also what I want. But they also say that knowledge will save the world. I don’t say that meaninglessly because I think that someone’s knowledge has brought us up until now to this 39^th edition and I think that we will make that knowledge even greater from the 40^th edition on, the director Teodosievska pointed out.

The mayor Natasha Petrovska welcomed the attendees in Bitola on behalf of the host city Bitola and its residents.

-The festival is significant for the people of Bitola, but also significant for the whole world because it affirms the way you can defy time and affirms that even the fourth dimension has relativity. A good picture can quite skillfully capture the moment, brake the transience, spatter through eternity, as nothing else could. Therefrom comes my deepest bow to all cinematographers, but also to our award recipients tonight who confirm that these values are ones to which we should not only bow, but send them to eternity. Enjoy the seven festival nights because life is too short, Petrovska addressed.

The recipient of the Golden Camera 300 for Lifetime Achievement, the modest camera wizard Roger Deakins received the award from the festival director Gena Teodosievska. She pointed out that the cinematographers are like real stars during shooting and it is hard to get to them, and thanked for the opportunity given to the festival to host Roger this evening in Bitola.

-Standing here in front of you I feel as though I am on the wrong side of the camera. I would rather be behind it. I think that the Festival lasts as many years as I shoot films. I am very happy that I am part of this history because I know so many people who were here before, but I didn’t have the possibility to come so far. I am overjoyed to become part of this history, Deakins said.

The award Special Golden Camera 300 for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Art was given to Claudia Cardinale by the Minister for Culture Asaf Ademi.

She gave a short addressing where she gave her gratitude for the award, said it is beautiful and thanked the Festival for awarding her.

The Macedonian actress Milica Stojanova, who is this year’s laureate of the award Big Star of Macedonian Film, awarded by the Macedonian Film Professionals Association, received her award from Igor Ivanov Izi, president of the MFPA.

-In less than 2 years from now, the Macedonian Film Professionals Association will have its 70-year jubilee of existence, and in just a year from now we will celebrate 40 years of our top priority and our biggest project, the Manaki Brothers Film Festival.

Big Star of Macedonian Film was so far a privilege of the ones shining behind the silver screen. We have made an exception this year. We present the award to an actress, one who managed to shine on the silver screen besides all the stigmatization of the woman in the Balkan, especially in the Macedonian cinematography, Igor Ivanov, director of the MFPA, said at the presenting of the award.

Giving her gratitude for the given recognition, Stojanova pointed out that the MFPA have succeeded in acknowledging her efforts in front of the camera, having her become a laureate of this prestigious award.

-This award means a lot to me because the acting in front of the camera differs from the one in the theater, but it is the equal artistic challenge. I give my gratitude to all the film and TV directors who gave the opportunity to come together with the lives of various people in front of the cameras, Stojanova said.

President Gjorgje Ivanov, the patron of the festival, wasn’t able to attend the Festival, so he sent his greetings and congratulations to all the award recipients from the film world via telegram, and gave his best wishes to the film lovers to have a fulfilling stay in Bitola and unforgettable moments in front of the silver screen.

-The festival days ahead are a festivity for Bitola and for our whole country. I believe that this year as well we will present ourselves with upmost dignity and promote the Macedonian cinematography and Macedonian culture in general. We are honored that we have great masters of the world cinematography at the Manaki Brothers festival this year as well, which is certainly another sign of the significance and the greatness of the festival.

After the award ceremony, the attendees had the opportunity to see the world and the Macedonian premiere of the short film The Lover, directed by Igor Ivanov Izi, followed by the greeting of the film crew: Tomi Salkovski, Dejan Dimeski, Natalija Teodosieva, Sasho Petrovski, Marija Apchevska.

In honor of the Golden Camera 300 laureate, the cinematographer Roger Deakins, the opening ceremony film was the Blade Runner 2049, which landed him the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Roger Deakins wore his festival shirt. At the red carpet and opening ceremony, Roger Deakins wore an elegant suit with the festival logo shirt underneath, having the people of Bitola notice that and have pictures taken with him, whereas he posed in the Manaki Brothers shirt with pleasure and with great patience.