In just a month the 7th edition of Visegrad Film Forum will host silver screen art director, editor and cinematographer with many others.

Between 17th and 21st of April the Film and TV Faculty of Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava will become a place for uncovering the secrets of cinematography, networking between young filmmakers and informal entertainment.

Common visions with the director Christopher Nolan

Icelandic production designer, art director and special effects supervisor Eggert Ketilsson made his career breakthrough when Hollywood studios were discovering breath-taking nature of Iceland. After his work on part of Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001) and the first episode of legendary comics series Batman Begins (2005) couple years later, he became a member of Christopher Nolan’s stable team. Ketilsson continued his work on the planet sections of epic space odyssey Interstellar (2014) and became an art director on the Oscar nominated feature film Dunkirk (2017) set during the II World War. Moreover, Ketilsson has also continued collaboration on Hollywood sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters. He was Icelandic Special Effects Supervisor on Prometheus (2011) by Ridley Scott, Thor: The Dark World (2012) or Transformers: The Last Knight (2017). He also cooperated on Icelandic part of shooting on Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) by J.J. Abrahms and Star Wars movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).

Transforming words into pictures

Slawomir Idziak, born in Poland, is a renowned cinematographer of many American and European blockbusters. Being a DOP on an action movie Black Hawk Dawn (2001) directed by Ridley Scott brought him nominations for the Oscar Academy Award and BAFTA. Apart from that he has experience with the Hollywood productions thanks to his work on Gattaca (1997), Proof of life (2000) and King Arthur (2004). In 2007 he became main cinematographer on the fifth episode of the Harry Potter franchise titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Above all he is mainly known by his collaborations on the films of Polish directors Krzystof Zanussi and Krzystof Kieślowski. Three Colours: Blue (1993), which is Kieszlowski’s most famous work from the trilogy inspired by French Revolution, will be screened during the event with personal attendance of Slawomir Idziak.

Fantastic illusion of the film

Thrilling film storytelling is made by British filmmaker Mick Audsley directly in the editing room. Part of our programme is an exclusive screening of the movie Twelve Monkeys (1995) directed by Terry Gilliam with the presence of the editor himself. Audsley presented his skills in a film illusion on titles like Interview with Vampire (1994), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

Thanks to his long and fruitful cooperation with the director Stephen Frears Audsley was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), and won the BAFTA TV Award for the The Snapper (1993). Furthermore, he contributed to the blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) and most recently to the adaptation of the cult classic by Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express (2017).

Visegrad Film Forum 2018

Date: April 17-21, 2018
Place: Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Venue: Film and TV Faculty VŠMU

web: http://www.visegradfilmforum.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisegradFilmForum/?fref=ts

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vffbratislava/

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mpj2r4K88c

 

 

Yesterday the Slovenian Film Centre, a public agency of the Republic of Slovenia (the SFC), organised an international consultation entitled "Women in the Film Sector: a Gender Issue" in the context of the 20th Documentary Film Festival. The event took place in the Lili Novy club at the Cankarjev Dom cultural and congress centre in Ljubljana and was moderated by Boštjan Narat.

The consultation focused on the research into the representation of filmmakers according to their gender, while our guests commented on the research findings and attempted to establish how to balance the scales. The consultation took place in the context of the Our Films At Home project, organised by the Slovenian Film Centre in order to present its current film production and strengthen the wider importance of film in the Slovenian culture.

The fact that we cannot possibly overlook is that during the Yugoslav period the Slovenian film production failed to create even a single female director. Only as late as in 2002, in the independent state of Slovenia, did the first two women finally sign two live-action features: Maja Weiss (Guardian of the Frontier) and Hanna Slak (Blind Spot). Their films with cinematographic distribution were made with the support of what was then the Slovenian Film Fund. To date, the following films by female directors have been realised with the national support: eight live-action feature films by the directresses Maja Weiss (Guardian of the Frontier, 2002; and Installation of Love, 2007), Hanna Slak (Blind Spot, 2002; Teah, 2007; and The Miner, 2017), Janja Glogovac (L ... Like Love, 2007), Dafne Jemeršić (Reality, 2008) and Sonja Prosenc (The Tree, 2014); two full-length experimental films by Ema Kugler (For the End of Time, 2008; and Echoes of Time, 2013); and a single documentary feature by Petra Seliškar (Mother Europe, 2013).

In the introduction, Nataša Bučar, director of the Slovenian Film Centre, stated the following: "With this research, the first of its kind in Slovenia, the Slovenian Film Centre will get more actively involved in the European and national initiatives for the more balanced representation of both genders. This February at the film festival in Berlin, Eurimages, the European film coproduction fund, presented its Gender Equality Strategy in the European film industry for the period 2018–2020, entitled "Aiming for 50/50 by 2020", whose goal is to ensure gender equality in the field of film.

The key information, collected during the study organised by the Slovenian Film Centre in cooperation with the researcher Nika Gričar, indicates that in the period between 1995 and 2017 the films within the national film programme were directed by men in 90 % of cases; the stories were written by male screenwriters in 78 % of cases; while approximately 80 % of films were produced by men. Only one of the nine live-action feature films, screened in the context of the national film programme in this period, was directed by a woman. We can also not ignore the fact that directresses have been less successful at the tenders for feature film projects and script development, while they have been relatively successful at the tenders for the realisation of first films and audio-visual works. Between 2011 and 2017, approximately one third of graduates in film and television directing in Slovenia were women; while the proportion of film directresses, included in the competent ministry's register of those self-employed in culture with the status of film directors, was similar (32 %).

At the consultation, Deputy Executive Director of the European coproduction fund Eurimages Enrico Vannucci emphasised, that "gender equality is an integral part of human rights and a fundamental criterion of democracy". He is convinced of "the decisive role of the audiovisual sector in perpetuating gender-based inequalities on and off-screen but also in positively influencing perceptions and promoting equality". Therefore "the Council of Europe adopted in 2017 a landmark Recommendation on gender equality in the audiovisual sector".

Vannucci's reasoning was expanded on by Susan Newman-Baudais, a project manager at Eurimages, as "Eurimages takes a special interest in the question of gender equality in the film industry. Since 2012 the Fund has collected information on the participation of women in projects submitted, and in 2015 adopted a first strategy to address the gender imbalance that was clearly demonstrated by the data."

The main thesis of Kristine Börjeson, Head of Film Funding at the Swedish Film Institute, was that the said institute was an example of good practice: "The Swedish Film Institute wants to inspire more active work on gender equality issues and show that gender equality is possible with a systematic approach, and also that gender equality can be a tool for raising quality."

Meanwhile, the film critic Maja Bogojević took a look at the history. In her own words, her presentation focused "on the analysis of gender relations and identities as cinematically constructed in some films during the existence of Yugoslav country, which introduced both aesthetic innovations and the socio-political critique of the dominant ideology, but with the cinematic strategies employed still much more patriarchal than anti-communist. This film tradition is compared to post-Yugoslav film, exhibiting backlash of patriarchy as a dominant mode of representation to reflect the new socio-political realities." In conclusion, Maja also discussed "some filmic counter-examples, defying the dominant representation of ideology".

In the further discussion, the directress Hanna Slak commented that "the question of gender equality in the audio-visual sector was of key importance for the social equality in general. Although the number of male and female graduates from film schools is roughly the same and even though the public finances depend on the taxes collected from all citizens regardless of gender, only one fifth of public finances, the main source for the financing of audio-visual contents in Europe, is allocated to the projects proposed by women.  As a result, one half of the talents whose education has been invested in are lost; the competition is not diverse enough; the contents remain monolithic; and the same pattern of interpreting the society keeps being repeated."

Maja Weiss stated the following: "Without men who understood the gender issue and finally opened and held the door for women and projects struggling for equality within the Slovenian film sector, we would still be where we started – in spite of the female persistence, belligerence, diligence, and talent. For me personally, the door to television production was opened by Drago Pečko, while Franci Slak and Filip Robar Dorin introduced me to film production. The first video film marathon of Slovenian female authors, organised in 1997, initiated a public discussion. Koen van Daele and Vlado Škafar were vital for the Slovenian Cinematheque in the time when Silvan Furlan was its director. Thanks to Metod Pevec's initiative, I also became the first elected female President of the Association of Slovenian Filmmakers after more than sixty years of male leadership. To make a long story short: women could not open any doors for me, as at that time, 'during all these beginnings', women were not in the positions of power and could not make any decisions."  

Ida Weiss: "The long years of practice in the field of film production have shown that women negotiate their fees much more rarely than men. Even so, those that may wish to negotiate are quickly seen as problematic and can soon become unwanted. For me personally, this is a major social problem. This is precisely why many women are still unable to ensure an equal economic position for themselves, which is actually the first and most basic precondition for the implementation of all other rights.  

The representatives of the younger generation of Slovenian film directresses addressed the female presence in the film industry from another perspective. Urša Menart underlined that "gender equality in the film industry will not exist until the working conditions are more favourable for filmmakers who also happen to be parents. However, better working conditions will remain elusive for as long as the Slovenian budgets do not rise to the level comparable with the other EU countries." Sonja Prosenc added the following: "As far as the presence of black filmmakers was concerned, Spike Lee stated that they should control their image themselves, as films are a very strong medium and black people should therefore not allow others to define their existence. Logically we should ask ourselves how important it is that the image of women in films is shaped by women."

The consultation in the Slovenian Cinematheque was followed by the premiere of Maja Weiss's documentary feature My Way 50 – Between Lost and Found World and Ida Weiss's documentary debut Peter vs. Harry.

 

 

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF), Youth and Children’s Film Festival Just Film and PÖFF Shorts have opened submissions for the 2018 edition.

The 22nd edition of PÖFF, running from November 16th to December 2nd, will see a major change in one of the three competition programmes of the festival. The former Estonian Film Competition that used to be judged by the same jury as the First Feature Competition will be turned into a new programme with its own international jury – the Baltic Film Competition – screening a selection of feature-length films made in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The programme requires Estonian premiere for the Lithuanian and Latvian films (no premiere requirements for Estonian films) and is designed as a showcase of the best Baltic cinematic output from the last year. The programme will have one award - Award for Best Baltic Feature Film with a grant of 3200 Euros, shared by the director and producer.

Festival director Tiina Lokk comments: „The Baltic Competition is actually an old idea of ours that we are excited to return to. It was a programme we had to cancel years back, as the Baltic film output was just not sufficient enough. We are glad that the situation in the three countries has improved significantly and we can embrace the regional aspiration of PÖFF, to introduce the best cinematic output of the three states.“

The festival will also continue its two other competition programmes. The Official Selection Competition will look for films completed after the 15th of September, 2017. With world, international or European premiere as a eligibility criterium.

The First Feature Competition, open for filmmakers presenting their feature debut, will accept films completed after the 15th of September, 2017. That have not had their world or international premiere.

Submissions are also open for all the non-competitive sections of the festival. The programme will include around 200 feature films and documentaries. The final day for submissions is the 17th of August.

The 17th Youth and Children’s film festival Just Film will also see a significant change as the festival will now be run as long as the main festival - 17 days - to meet the growing demand of the audience. The festival broke its audience record for the fourth year in a row, reaching 17500 last year. Just Film is looking for films for its youth and children’s competitions and documentary sections. Submissions will stay open until the 17th of August.

The 2nd PÖFF Shorts, showcasing short films and animations, will run from the 20th to the 25th of November. The festival saw the merging of two separate sub-festivals last year - the animation film festival Animated Dreams and the International Short Film Festival Sleepwalkers. The new festival has retained the identities and most programmes of the former festival. Submissions close on the 25th of August.

---

WHERE TO SUBMIT?
 
Black Nights FF and Just Film - https://filmfreeway.com/BlackNightsFilmFestival
 
PÖFF Shorts - https://filmfreeway.com/poffshorts

 

 

 

What moves people in Europe? What triggers and lies beneath the manifold changes in the political, social and economical landscape? For a better understanding and insight into the rapidly evolving processes affecting Europe today EFP (European Film Promotion) in collaboration with Hot Docs - Canadian International Documentary Festival (April 26 - May 6, 2018) presents THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE. The line-up of 10 outstanding new documentaries - including one world, two international and four North American premieres - selected by the festival out of 36 submissions by EFP member organisations, is co-produced by a total of 14 European countries and is an exciting example of the diversity of European cinema. EFP's new initiative is supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the participating EFP member organisations.

All outstanding creative documentaries, personally introduced by the filmmakers, many of them also accompanied by the respective producers, touch a wide range of topics: BRAGUINO shows the clash of traditional ways with a freewheeling outline of life in the vast loneliness of the Siberian Taiga. The film by Clément Cogitore, a French Finnish co-production, was submitted by EFP member UniFrance. German filmmakers Melanie Andernach and Andreas Köhler follow a family clan scattered around the globe following their flight from war-torn Somalia. Their concept of home, family and future is challenged by the necessity to look after the exiled grandmother in GLOBAL FAMILY, a documentary proposed by German Films. Heike Bachelier and Andy Heathcote show in OF FISH AND FOE how traditional salmon fishermen on the Scottish coast have to fight to make a living, a submission by the British Council. From Estonia comes the documentary RODEO covering the first free election since World War II, that brought to power Europe's youngest Prime Minister Mart Laar and the widening conflict between idealists and a rising economic elite, which was suggested by the Estonian Film Institute. The effects of war especially on children are reflected in THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS by Simon Lereng Wilmont documenting the life of ten-year-old Oleg in the Eastern part of Ukraine. The Danish-Finnish-Swedish co-production was submitted by the Danish Film Institute.

THE RUSSIAN JOB by Petr Hork¤ centers on a run-down automobile factory, once the pride of the former Soviet Union, that takes on an experienced Swedish manager to return to prosperity without wanting to commit to changes. The film is presented by the Czech Film Center, as well as THE WHITE WORLD ACCORDING TO DALIBOREK by Vít Klusák, a stylized portrait of a Czech Neo-Nazi at odds with his life, gives insight into the radical worldview of so-called "ordinary decent people". On a much lighter note the Italian entry THE STRANGE SOUND OF HAPPINESS by Diego Pascal Panarello follows Diego whose dream of becoming a musician turns to dust until an ancient musical instrument, the mouth harp, points him in a new direction. This recollection of old traditions is supported by EFP member Istituto Luce Cinecittà. Two films center around very personal stories to talk about cultural identity and new life concepts. WHEN PIGS COME by Biljana Tutorov follows upbeat Serbian grandmother Dragoslava in her daily life. Over the years she has lived in five countries without ever moving from her flat in a small borderline town - a submission by the Film Center Serbia. In TO WANT, TO NEED, TO LOVE by Ilir Hasanaj, a recently separated couple tries to find a way to still work and live together by joining a performance art project travelling through Europe. The Kosova Cinematography Center recommended the entry.

EFP and its member organisations are delighted that this new cooperation with Hot Docs provides a prominent platform to present the diversity and artistic excellence of European documentaries to North American audiences. In addition to discussing their projects with the audience, the filmmakers will take part in industry events including workshops, pitches and meetings with potential buyers, expanding their professional development on an international scale, and increasing their film's access to North American and international markets.

Since 2017, EFP also provides Film Sales Support for European world sales companies to market films selected for Hot Docs, increasing Europe's presence at the Festival and helping to stimulate distribution of European films to North America and beyond.

>>> visit our website for more information on the films www.efp-online.com

 

Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) invites filmmakers to submit their projects in development for the second edition of the Transilvania Pitch Stop co-production platform, which will be held on 1-2 June 2018 in Cluj-Napoca.

 

Young Juries Across Europe Screen Nominated Films GIRL IN FLIGHT, HOBBYHORSE REVOLUTION and WALLAY – all of which will then be available as VOD for the general public

The European Film Academy (EFA) proudly announces and congratulates the three nominees for the EFA Young Audience Award 2018: 

GIRL IN FLIGHT 
LA FUGA – GIRL IN FLIGHT
DIRECTED BY: Sandra Vannucchi 
WRITTEN BY: Sandra Vannucchi & Michael King
PRODUCED BY: Michael King & Ruedi Gerber
fiction, Italy / Switzerland

A tender, frightening and exciting emotional journey.

HOBBYHORSE REVOLUTION
DIRECTED BY: Selma Vilhunen
WRITTEN BY: Selma Vilhunen & Okku Nuutilainen
PRODUCED BY: Venla Hellstedt & Elli Toivoniemi
documentary, Finland

A funny and moving film about teenagers with growing pains, who discover their own voice and talent through riding and making hobbyhorses.

WALLAY 
DIRECTED BY: Berni Goldblat
WRITTEN BY: David Bouchet
PRODUCED BY: Nicolas Anthomé
fiction, France / Burkina Faso / Qatar

13-year-old Ady is sent to his uncle in Burkina Faso for the summer.

The nominations were chosen by an international committee consisting of Manlio Castagna (Giffoni International Film Festival/Italy), Ana Cerar (International Film Festival Kino Otok - Isola Cinema/ Slovenia), Corinna Downing (London Film Festival - British Film Institute/UK), EFA Board Member Vanessa Henneman (talent agent/The Netherlands) and Holger Twele (film educator/Germany).

On 6 May, the three nominated films will be screened to audiences of 12 – 14 year-olds in the following 36 countries across Europe and beyond:

AUSTRALIA: Brisbane AUSTRIA: St. Pölten & Vienna BELGIUM: Brussels BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Sarajevo BULGARIA: Sofia CROATIA: Zagreb CZECH REPUBLIC: Prague DENMARK: Aalborg ESTONIA: Tallinn FINLAND: Helsinki FRANCE: Bourg Saint Maurice – Les Arcs GERMANY: Berlin, Chemnitz & Erfurt GREECE: Athens HUNGARY: Budapest IRELAND: Dublin ISRAEL: Tel Aviv ITALY: Florence, Rome & Turin KOSOVO: Prizren

LATVIA: Riga LITHUANIA: Vilnius LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg FYR MACEDONIA: Skopje MALTA:  Valletta MONTENEGRO: Podgorica THE NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam POLAND: Łódź, Warsaw & Wrocław PORTUGAL: Lisbon ROMANIA: Cluj-Napoca SERBIA: Niš SLOVAKIA: Bratislava SLOVENIA: Izola SPAIN: Barcelona, Madrid & Seville SWEDEN: Båstad             SWITZERLAND: Lucerne TURKEY: Istanbul UK: London

 

And it is the young audience that will act as a jury and vote for the winner right after the screenings. In a truly European vote, jury speakers will then transmit the national results live via video conference to Erfurt (Germany) where the winner will be announced in an award ceremony streamed live on yaa.europeanfilmawards.eu, a special website that offers further information about the nominated films and the participating cities.

But the YAA now also includes various platforms for the general public to watch the nominated films: EFA Productions, EFA’s in-house production company, will bring the EFA Young Audience Award films out Europe-wide on Video-on-Demand (T-VoD) platforms, like iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft and Pantaflix, on the regional Balkan-platform Cinesquare, as well as on local platforms like Filmin or Univerciné!

EFA Productions teamed up with Under The Milky Way for this initiative with the support of Creative Europe – Media Programme of the European Union, to make the nominated films available for young viewers all year around. Finally, those who could not participate in the EFA Young Audience Award event will have the possibility to watch the nominated films online. VoD is a great way to reach this age group to promote the EFA Young Audience Award and the films nominated for it.

For the opening of the VoD initiative, the films of the last three editions as well as the three films nominated in 2018 will all go online on 7 May, one day after this year's EFA Young Audience Award. Films nominated in earlier editions will then follow next year.

The EFA Young Audience Award 2018 is realised with the following partners:
AUSTRALIA: Asia Pacific Screen Awards
AUSTRIA: Austrian Film Academy
BELGIUM: Filem’On & Le Palace
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Sarajevo Film Festival & Meeting Point cinema
BULGARIA: Sofia Art Fest
CROATIA: Zagreb Film Festival
CZECH REPUBLIC: Krutón, z.s.
DENMARK: UCN, Centre for Educational Resources
ESTONIA: NGO Kinobuss
FINLAND: Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy
FRANCE: Les Arcs European Film Festival
GERMANY: Intl. Film Festival Schlingel (Chemnitz), German Children’s Media Foundation Golden Sparrow (Erfurt)
GREECE: Hellenic Film Academy
HUNGARY: Hungarian National Film Fund
IRELAND: Irish Film Institute & Creative Europe Desk Ireland
ISRAEL:                Tel Aviv Cinematheque
ITALY: Niels Stensen Cultural Foundation (Florence), Alice nella città, with Fondazione Cinema per Roma (Rome), National Cinema Museum (Turin)
KOSOVO: DokuFest
LATVIA: National Film Centre of Latvia
LITHUANIA: Lithuanian Film Centre
LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg City Film Festival
FYR MACEDONIA: Macedonian Film Agency
MALTA : Creative Europe Desk Malta
MONTENEGRO: Podgorica Film Festival & Montenegrin Cinematheque & Film Center of Montenegro
THE NETHERLANDS: EYE Filmmuseum
POLAND: New Horizons Association
PORTUGAL: Portuguese Academy of Film & ICA
ROMANIA: EducaTIFF
SERBIA: Free Zone Festival
SLOVAKIA: Visegrad Film Forum
SLOVENIA: Otok
SPAIN: Filmoteca de Catalunya (Barcelona), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain (Madrid), Seville European Film Festival (Seville)
SWEDEN: Scala
SWITZERLAND: Zoomz – Film Festival for Children & Youth
TURKEY: Yapimlab
UK: British Film Institute

The EFA Young Audience Award is organised and presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the Creative Europe – Media Programme of the European Union. The national YAA events are organised with the support of the respective national partners.

 

 

Fresh ideas, new technologies, forward-looking formats: the talent program of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is once again in its 18th edition offering young film talents the opportunity to develop new projects, forge connections with peers and representatives from the film industry and draw attention to their film ideas, as festival director Heleen Gerritsen emphasised recently: “The development and support of young talent has long been a top priority at goEast. We are very pleased to see that former participants have been able to realise their projects and gain recognition on an international level. This year there are two exciting added challenges: we have extended the spectrum of the projects to include virtual reality and in 2018 we are not only working with filmmakers but also with other film professionals in the beginning of their careers. goEast is actively promoting diversity in the film industry with this step, not only in Central and Eastern Europe, but in Germany as well,” according to Gerritsen. The East-West Talent Lab, the Open Frame Award and OPPOSE OTHERING! bundle their energies and traditionally provide promising looks at the cinema of tomorrow.

East-West Talent Lab
goEast supports and connects young filmmakers and artists from Central and Eastern Europe, the Rhine-Main region and all across Germany. The thirty participants of the East-West Talent Lab can expect to partake in a multifaceted educational program from 19 to 24 April, featuring presentations on the ins and outs of film funding, panel discussions on broadcast and funding opportunities from the major television networks as well as a master class by the Oscar® nominated president of this year’s goEast jury Ildikó Enyedi. “We are thrilled about this year’s record number of submissions”, emphasised Lab director Andrea Wink: “110 applications from 25 countries – that’s an increase of 20 percent and it reconfirms the great interest our program enjoys in Central and Eastern Europe.” In the scope of a workshop, the young talents will receive guidance in preparing their five-minute project pitches – 14 selected project ideas will be presented at the pitching session, from short fiction film to documentary, animated and experimental film, or even virtual reality. A jury composed of Stefan Arsenijević (director, screenwriter and program manager of FIRST FILMS FIRST from Belgrade, Serbia), Anna Berthollet (sales and festival manager at Taskovski Films from London, Great Britain) and Holger Stern (commissioning editor for fiction feature co-productions at ZDF/ARTE) will ultimately select the winner of the goEast Development Award, presented by Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain. The winning project will receive prize money in the amount of 3,500 euros.

Open Frame Award for Virtual Reality
In 2018, the Open Frame Award is reinventing itself: for the first time eight experimental virtual reality and 360̊ projects from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Rhine-Main region will be competing for the Open Frame Award, presented by the BHF BANK Foundation. The competition is also sponsored by the Adolf und Luisa Haeuser Stiftung für Kunst und Kulturpflege.
“With the inclusion of virtual reality we are embarking on totally new approaches to storytelling”, comments Georgy Molodtsov, the curator of this year’s Open Frame Award exhibition. “The beautiful thing is: We’re all starting from square one! So the projects are not only being developed in the big film studios, they’re also being made on shoestring budgets, in countries with tiny film industries. In a nutshell: virtual reality is a fresh start!” According to Molodtsov, it is especially significant in this regard that the Open Frame Award provides international visibility for artists from Central and Eastern Europe through exhibitions in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

A three-member jury, consisting of Julia Leeb (filmmaker, VR expert and photographer from Munich), Dmitri Vrubel (artist and gallerist) and Simon Ofenloch (film editor ARTE/ARTE fiction on ZDF) will determine the winner of the award, which is endowed with 5,000 euros in prize money. The exhibition is scheduled to run from 10 to 16 April at Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt am Main, and from 19 to 25 April at Museum Wiesbaden.

OPPOSE OTHERING!
A further goEast talent development project is entering its third round in 2018: OPPOSE OTHERING! The section, made possible with the support of Foundation EVZ, focuses on ethical filmmaking and the inclusion of minorities in the audio-visual industry, according to section head Rebecca Podlech: “We have made it our mission to develop a cinema environment in Germany and Eastern Europe in which minorities enjoy equal rights and diversity is respected, by providing concrete guidelines for action. Acceptance, solidarity and creative subversion are crucial elements in this undertaking.” To this end, the program invites not only directors to attend, but is also open to young professionals with a background in film distribution, festivals, education and film production who wish to exchange information and experiences in workshops and discussions on diversity and the European film industry of tomorrow. In addition, two case studies will be presented. In the accompanying film program, OPPOSE OTHERING! is showing four tandem films co-produced by goEast, all four of which will be celebrating their world premieres in Wiesbaden: DOMASHNEE VIDEO (DE, 2018), BOND (DE, UA, 2018), IN THE FRAME (DE, FR, MD, RO, 2018) and ANTIGONNA BOND (DE, UA, 2018). Expanded horizons are guaranteed here!

Save the date: On 12 April at 11 a.m., the goEast press conference will take place at Caligari FilmBühne in Wiesbaden.

Please find more fotos in our download section: http://www.filmfestival-goeast.de/en/press/downloads.php

The full program for the 18th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be announced in early April.

 

 

23 film projects will be presented at the ninth edition of Meeting Point – Vilnius, an international industry event taking place on March 27-29, during VIFF Kino Pavasaris.

On March 29th, during special Coming Soon Session in-development film projects will be presented to festival curators, film producers, agents and distributors. This year 23 projects were selected from the whole Europe.

Coming Soon Session serves as a platform for debuting filmmakers to evolve or successfully finalise their projects. Consequently, launch their careers in the global film festival circuit.

Three of the participating projects of debut filmmakers will be picked for the industry screening at Cannes Marche du Film. The excerpts of selected winners will be shown in "Vilnius IFF Goes to Cannes" session at this year’s Cannes film festival. Two separate projects will be awarded sound and video post-production prize established by Vilnius Film Cluster and its members as well as receive a special digital storage and promotion prize from Baltic View and Noir Lumiere.

The winners will be selected by competent international Jury consisting of professionals with affluent careers such as Chilean film critic and journalist Pamela Bienzobas, film producer Jean-Baptiste Bailly Maitre and Vilnius Film Cluster executive director Romanas Matulis.

Selected Coming Soon Session projects

Coming from Kosovo, Lendita Zeqiraj with producer Bujar Kabashi will present emotionally charged drama AVA. Joost Vandebrug from the Netherlands together with producers Raymond Van der Kaaij and Andrea Cornwell will present feature documentary Bruce Lee and the Outlaw shot over 6 years in Bucharest.

Other entries include political drama By a Sharp Knife by Teodor Kuhn and producer Jakub Viktorin (Slovakia, Czech Republic). Darya Zhuk’s Crystal Swan, depicting a colourful story of an eager DJ from Belarus is also one of the participating in-development films co-produced in Belarus, Germany, and United States. Promising debut filmmaker Adam Sedlak working with producer Jakub Jíra comes to present his first feature project drama Domestique. Another selected project is Japan by director and producer Pavel Ruzyak from the Czech Republic. Annegret Sachse will present a political documentary essay about Kaliningrad Russia today, in co-production with Germany and Russia. Young Georgian director Ketevan Nozadze will pitch her first feature Stalin Today, scrutinizing the ambivalence of this historical figure.

Polish director Jarosław Wszędybył in co-production with Romania will present a project The End of Valley of Tears. This film documents the unforgettable and unhinged story of a remote village where people diagnosed with leprosy were sent from all over the country. Another polish director Wojciech Solarz with a producer Dominika Stecyk will present their film project Wood Grouse and the Mystery of Vanishing Windows.

Another promising entry to this year’s Coming Soon Session is a bold story about various limits of humanity, Unforgettable Spring in Forgotten Village, directed by Kushtrim Bekteshi, co-produced in Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo together with producer Sasho Pavlovski. Having experience in directing Ukrainian TV series, this time Sergey Lysenko and producer Andrii Granytsia come to pitch an action film The Raid. The project focuses on the period of 1932 when an underground Ukrainian organization conducted a revolutionary action against the government.

Two emerging young filmmakers from Latvia are among Coming Soon Session participants.  Kristians Riekstins presents his first feature project EVA produced by Gints Grube and Kārlis Lesiņš together with Dominiks Jarmakovičs will pitch a creative film Under the Upturned Moon.

Belorussian documentary by Liubou Ziamtsova Artyom's Upbringing, tackling social and individual issues of the orphanage, will be a guest project of the pitching session as it was selected during the Bel:Cinema Industry days of Minsk International Film Festival.

Lithuanian projects 

This year, eight projects, developed in Lithuania are selected for Coming Soon Session. The latter include Marija Stonytė’s a coming-of-age story Gentle Warriors produced by Giedrė Žickytė. Aistė Juraitė together with Skaistė Jauraitė will pitch their first full-length feature documentary In Praise of Action. The project invites the audience to have a better look at stunt-people, sometimes referred to as the unknown heroes of the film industry.

Another entry from Lithuania is historical psychological drama Isaac by Jurgis Matulevičius, produced by experienced producer Stasys Baltakis. Martynas Starkus, a well-known journalist and traveller together with producer Juliana Miliut will present their project The Mules. Promising director and scriptwriter Marija Kavtaradzė is partaking in Coming Soon Session with her debut feature Summer Survivors, an ironic road movie combining themes of light summer adventure and stark individual experiences. Director Ernestas Jankauskas who has won a Silver Crane for best short film, together with producer Gabija Siurbytė will pitch their full-length feature Sasha Was Here. Tomas Vengris working with well-known producer Uljana Kim will present feature Motherland, co-produced with Germany. Italian director Sandro Bozzolo together with Lithuanian producer Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė will present a documentary feature Nijole. The project chronicles the story of a legendary Columbian philosopher and politician of Lithuanian decent Antanas Mockus and his mother Nijolė Šivickas.

Meeting Point-Vilnius will also have a special programme showcasing only Lithuanian film projects. Among fourteen film projects, the upcoming films of established Lithuanian film directors will be presented. Mantas  Kvedaravičius, Lina Lužytė, Giedrė Žickytė, Ignas Jonynas, as well as new films by Russian director Ivan Tverdovsky and Latvian Laila Pakalnina, which are co-produced in Lithuania.

7 films will be also shown in the industry screenings during the three days of the event.

Many projects presented at Meeting Point – Vilnius continue to thrive in international film festivals and the distribution circuit. For instance, Arūnas Matelis documentary Wonderful Losers: A Different World has won awards for best documentary at both Warsaw and Minsk festivals. Likewise, Falling by Marina Stepanska was nominated at Karlovy Vary and Stockholm; Miracle by Eglė Vertelytė was screened at Toronto International Film Festival.

More information about Meeting Point – Vilnius: http://kinopavasaris.lt/en/industry

MPV is organised together with Lithuanian Film Center, Lithuanian  Council for Culture, Creative Europe Media Desk Lithuania, Audiovisual Authors Producers Rights Association AVAKA, Danish Cultural Institute, Baltic View, Noir Lumiere and Vilnius Film Cluster.

The line-up of Coming Soon Session projects:

• Artyom's Upbringing, director Liubou Ziamtsova (Belarus)
• AGA, director Lendita Zeqiraj, producer Bujar Kabashi (Kosovo)
• Bruce Lee and the Outlaw, director Joost Vandebrug, producers Raymond Van der Kaaij, Andrea Cornwell (Romania, Netherlands)
• By a Sharp Knife, directorTeodor Kuhn, producer Jakub Viktorin (Slovakia, Chech Republic)
• Crystal Swan, director Darya Zhuk (Belarus, Germany, USA)
• Domestique, director Adam Sedlák, producer Jakub Jíra (Chech Republic, Slovakia)
• EVA, director Kristians Riekstins, producer Gints Grube (Latvia)
• Gentle Warriors, director Marija Stonytė, producer Giedrė Žickyte (Lithuania)
• In Praise of Action, directors Aistė Jauraitė and Skaistė Jauraitė (Lithuania)
• Isaac, director Jurgis Matulevičius, producer Stasys Baltakis (Lithuania)
• Japan, director Pavel Ruzyak (Czech Republic)
• Motherland, director Tomas Vengris, producer Uljana Kim (Lithuania)
• Nijole, director Sandro Bozzolo, producer Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė (Lithuania)
• Russia today, director Annegret Sachse ( Germany, Russia)
• Sasha Was Here, director Ernestas Jankauskas, producer Gabija Siurbytė (Lithuania)
• Stalin Today, director Ketevan Nozadze (Georgia)
• Summer Survivors, director Marija Kavtaradzė, producer Marija Razgutė (Lithuania)
• The End of the Valley of Tears, director Jarosław Wszędybył, producer Przemysław Miękinia (Poland, Romania)
• The Mules, director Martynas Starkus, producer Juliana Miliut (Lithuania)
• The Raid, director Sergei Lysenko producer Andrii Granytsia (Ukraine)
• Under the Upturned Moon, director Kārlis Lesiņš, producer Dominiks Jarmakovičs (Latvia)
• Unforgettable Spring in Forgotten Village, director Kushtrim Bekteshi, producer Sasho Pavlovski (Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo)
• Wood Grouse and the Mystery of Vanishing Windows, director Wojciech Solarz, producer Dominika Stecyk (Poland)