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FAMU, Prague's national film academy and one of Europe's oldest and most famous film schools, has opened the application process for its English-language international programmes. FAMU (www.famu.cz), located in a historic landmark palace in the heart of Prague, offers one-, two- and three-year intensive programmes.

Lithuanian Films at EFM in Berlinale: the gold age era

A modern national Lithuanian Films stand, representing all the factors that led to the substantial recovery of the country‘s film industry, will be giving a warm welcome to the world‘s film industry visiting Berlin at the European Film Market (EFM) Thursday this week already.

Lithuania‘s Minister of Culture Arunas Gelunas, who is also a strong supporter of Lithuania‘s participation in EFM, states that the collaboration of the Lithuanian film industry with other European and worldwide countries is particularly needed.

“I am very glad that Lithuanian films are being represented in such a professional manner and the participation in the EFM is of particular importance to our country this year, especially having in mind that the Lithuanian film centre will be opened very soon and new additional film financing models are being considered“, noted Lithuania‘s Minster of Culture.

Dominykas Sirvinskas, the head of office of “MEDIA Desk Lithuania“, supports the words of Lithuania‘s Minister of Culture by stating that 2011 was a year of a breaking point, when the entire Lithuanian film industry has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. Not only were full length feature films and documentaries created, allowing the cinema halls to be packed with viewers but also the film financing gaps were started to tackle on a political level.

An increased funding for the films in Lithuania, the adoption of the amendment of the film law of the Republic of Lithuania, a newly established Vilnius film office, a planned establishment of the Lithuanian film centre, first time ever a Lithuanian film (“Tadas Blinda. The beginning”, directed by D. Ulvydas) has beaten all records of attendance and revenues and has even left behind the all time record holder in Lithuania “Avatar” (directed by James Cameron).

“We need to share the good news with our colleagues abroad, our country has many hopes in the development of the film industry and we have all the conditions needed for the professional filmmaking in place”, notes D. Sirvinskas.

Dominykas Širvinskas tells that the stand will particularly welcome those, who are interested in Lithuanian films - film festival organizers, film distributors and producers, production company representatives, broadcasters. The stand also welcomes those, for whom the possibilities of filming in Lithuania are relevant.

It is worth mentioning that 8 national documentary and feature film premieres took place in Lithuania in 2011. The Italian director Gabriele Salvatores started shooting his “Siberian Education“ where the leading role is being created by a famous American actor, director and producer John Malkovich in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Vilnius was chosen by the film makers due to its unique landscape, architecture, professional staff and low costs involved.

Despite the fact that the national Lithuanian Films Stand will welcome visitors at the EFM only for the second time this year, the country‘s film industry will be represented by as many as 26 organizations in Berlinale: film makers and producers, the country’s major international film festivals, film production and distribution companies.

Lithuania‘s national film stand is financed and organized by: Lithuania‘s Ministry of Culture, a public institution “Enterprise Lithuania“, “MEDIA Desk Lithuania” office and the Independent Producers Association.

For more information please contact:

Rimante Daugelaite

MEDIA Desk Lithuania

International Cultural Programme centre

Z.Sierakausko g. 15, LT-03105 Vilnius

Mob.phone.: +370 5 212 71 87

Faks. +370 5 2609425

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

ESTONIAN STAND has moved to a slightly NEW LOCATION in Berlin and is now situated at G10 – the same upper floor in Martin Gropius Bau, but slightly larger and roomier place. You are most welcome to check us out! The stand is very simply called "Estonia". The Latvian separate national stand is right beside us.

We have three new films at the market and one in competition – the new full-length animation "Lotte and the Moonstone Secret" competes in the Generation Kplus program.

2012 also brings along the 100th anniversary of Estonian film, so please except some special activities both in Berlin and elsewhere all through the year. Please come and have a chat with us, if you have any interest in showing some all-time best Estonian cinema on that occasion.

Present in Berlin from the Estonian Film Foundation:
● Marge Liiske (Managing Director) / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +3725148134
● Karlo Funk (Head of Production and Development) / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +37256485966
● Eda Koppel (Information Manager) / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +3725203306
● Tristan Priimägi (Head of International Relations) / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +37253402010

Dear Colleagues & Friends,

In Berlin, you can find out more about Slovak cinema at the CENTRAL EUROPEAN CINEMA STAND in Martin-Gropius-Bau, no. 130:

The stand is a joint project of Slovakia, Czech Republic and Slovenia, so you find the THREE of our cinemas on one address!

Meet:

Slovak Film Institute – February 10-17

Katarína Tomková – International Relations, Film Promotion

&

Alexandra Strelková – director of National Cinematographic Centre, Film Promotion

To find out more about Slovak presence in Berlin this year, click the following link: WHAT´S SLOVAK IN BERLIN 2012?

From the same link, Feel free to download the new updated and re-designed catalogue of SLOVAK FILMS 11-12

And see the newsletter attached with more updated information about Slovak cinema.

We look forward to seeing you Berlin!

Katarína

&

Alexandra

The first „script” session of InternationalAcademy of Document – Dragon Forum 2012 is finished!

25 directors and producers from 7 countries presented 14 documentary film projects on the first session of The International Academy of Document, which took place in Warsaw on 24th – 27th of January. The session was dedicated to the work on scripts and was the first opportunity for this year Dragon Forum participants to know each other. Further session, which will be concentrated on the realization of the projects from the production side, will take place in the second half of April.

During the first session of Dragon Forum 2012 open to the public documentary film screenings were organized. This screenings attracted wide interest of the audience. Within 3 evening screenings you could watch films, production of witch was connected to Dragon Forum and to meet their authors as well as people from the production crew. „Invisible Strings – Talented Pusker Sisters” was the film which took part in Dragon Forum in 2009, was produced by HBO Poland. Screening’s special guest was Agnieszka Niburska from the HBO Poland promotion department. There was also a screening of “Crulic – The Path to Beyond”, made by Romanian director Anca Damian, which was also Dragon Forum participant in 2009. Arkadiusz Wojnarowski, from Magellan Film Foundation – Polish co-producer and distributor of the film, spoke about the backstage of its production. The last evening the first episode of the documentary series „Farewell Comrades!” was shown as well as presentation of the associated interactive website. The film is devoted to the collapse of the Soviet empire. German producer Georg Tshurtshenthaler from the company Gebrueder Beetz spoke about that unique trans-media project that has been realized in 12 European countries.

Photo gallery is available here

More information on: www.dragonforum.pl

Starting March 7th HBO Poland is introducing new movie channels in HD: HBO2 HD, HBO Comedy HD and Cinemax2 HD on the Polish market.

From now on all HBO and Cinemax channels will be available in HD.

The new channels have the same programming offer and scheduling as the ones in SD.

HBO and Cinemax along with their multiplexes and value-added services bring viewers the biggest blockbusters,

award winning original productions, series, exclusive events, evergreen movies, film festival hits, international and European movies.

The entire movie offer of HBO and Cinemax will be available in HD from March 7th on DTH platforms Cyfra+, Cyfrowy Polsat and n.

HBO is in talks with other operators about introducing these channels to their offer.

Contact -

Agnieszka Niburska
Menedżer ds. Public Relations

HBO Polska, ul. Puławska 17, 02-515 Warszawa
tel.: +48 22 852 88 38, fax: +48 22 852 88 02
gsm: +48 601 24 90 60

"The Golden Beggar" a competition among local European television stations and producers who come from widely varied backgrounds - they work independently, or with local media outlets, or are young producers just starting out.

Festival annually brings a unique program premieres, which you will not see elsewhere. Come and see the original films, which are not in normal distribution.


Festival has three parts: non-competitive festival of films under the title "Europe on the screen", the competitive part "Golden Beggar" and supporting events called "Essence of Kosice". Also included are business meetings, workshops, presentations, exhibitions, concerts and multimedia happenings. In addition, the Festival, in cooperation with foreign
partners, will introduce new trends in media, e.g. media literacy projects or participatory projects in 2012. The Festival is also one of the flagship projects for the year 2013, when the city of Košice becomes a European Capital of Culture.

Contact:

Nadácia City TV, Medzinárodný festival lokálnych televízií

Eva Dekanovska

Hutnícka 1, 040 01 Košice

tel.: +421 905 966 649, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.festival.sk

Prague, February 3, 2012 - Czech cinematography will be represented in several areas at this year’s International Film Festival in Berlin (9 – 19 February 2012). The Czech Film Center will be representing Czech cinematography for the tenth time at the European Film Market. Under the umbrella Central European Cinema the CFC will be representing national cinematography together with the Slovenian Film Center and the Slovak Film Institute. The stand will offer Czech representatives of the film industry, i.e. distributors, producers, festival representatives, etc., facilities for business meetings and negotiations. The stand’s partners this year are the Karlovy Vary IFF and Barrandov Studios.

Altogether eight Czech films or co-productions will appear in this official programme of this year's Berlinale and the European Film Market.

The film A Royal Affair (En kongelig affære/Královská záležitost), selected for this year's international competition, was produced by Zentropa in co-production with, among others, the Czech production company Sirena Film. The filming took place mostly at Czech locations. Around 39% of the total budget was spent in the Czech Republic. This epic period film starring Mads Mikkelsen was made in the Czech Republic from March to May 2011. Zentropa is the renowned company most often connected with its founder, the world-famous director Lars von Trier and the Dogma 95 film movement.

The film A Night Too Young is among the 38 films presented in the Forum programme. It is the graduate work of Slovenian director Olmo Omerzu, who lives in Prague, for the FAMU film school.

Jiří Konečný, the film's producer, thinks highly of the invitation to the distinguished Berlin section. "I am very glad that a graduate film by a starting director was selected for the prestigious festival in Berlin. And I am grateful for the support that the Czech Film Center, who we have been cooperating with since the beginning of its existence, provided to us for the festival. It would definitely be more difficult for Czech films to get into foreign festivals without such an organisation,” stated Jiří Konečný from Endorfilm, which produced the film. Czech Television, Studio FAMU and the Slovenian company Arsmedia are co-producers.

A Night Too Young will have its world premiere in Berlin on 13 February 2012 at 10 p.m. It should be released to Czech distribution on 22 March 2012

“Czech films are already a traditional part of the Forum programme. They have the courage to tell sensitive stories and, as this case has shown, they touch on the essential ethical themes of our time. We want to provide room for such films in the Forum programme and thus to offer the director and producer of A Night Too Young the public space they deserve at Berlinale,” remarked Christoph Terhechte, the Director of the FORUM section at Berlinale.

Screenings of Czech films will also be taking place at the European Film Market. This year 6 titles are heading to Berlin – Gypsy by director Martin Šulík, Perfect Days by director Alice Nellis, Sláma’s Four Suns, Vorlíček’s fairy tale Saxana, Innocence by Jan Hřebejk and Tomáš Luňák’s Alois Nebel.

“Five of the six films being shown already have international sales, which goes to show that foreign sales companies see commercial potential for Czech films. Plus most of the films shown at the film market originated in international co-production and that also indicates a path that leads to the international market,” stated Jana Černík from the Czech Film Center.

Contact:

Tel: +420 221 105 398

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

www.filmcenter.cz

Lenka Sindelarova

Czech Film Center - Film Promotion

{mosimage}WARSAW: Filmbox channel in Poland has recorded impressive growth of over 90% (0,17% SHR) in November 2011 and 58,4% in December 2011, according to data produced by Nielsen Audience Measurement for the Polish web portal wirtualnemedia.pl.

Between January 19 - 21, EEFA Training Network was present at WHEN EAST MEETS WEST Co-production event during Trieste Film Festival through four film projects whose representatives benefitted from specialized training at the East European Film Alliance workshops throughout 2011, along with other 11 promising film projects from European and non-European countries: Script Development for Documentaries (Zagreb, March 3-7, with Croatian Audiovisual Center support), Script Development for Fiction Projects (Sofia, June 9-13, with Bulgarian National Film Center support), Management of Film Production (Kyiv, October 27-31, in partnership with Molodist International Film Festival), Legal and Distribution Matters (Tallinn, November 25 – 28, in partnership with PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival).

The status of EEFA Training Network at WHEN EAST MEETS WEST was one of partnership, as the four projects invited at the Co-production event were awarded after the final pitching session, at the end of EEFA TN 2011, by our partners at WHEN EAST MEETS WEST.

In the final line up section, CIRCLE fiction feature project from Turkey was represented by director-writer-producer Atil Inac, from Lacivert Film, an experienced Turkish film production company emerging today with new projects, prestigious film awards and international collaboration initiatives.

In the freshly launched “warm-up” section, the other three EEFA TN 2011 graduate projects participated: two documentaries FAR ENCOUNTERS from Croatia, represented by producer Dijana Mladenovic and SEE YOU IN CHECHNYA from Georgia, represented by producer-writer-director-D.O.P. Alexander Kvatashidze and one fiction project LEMON JUICE AND INDIGO from Hungary, represented by producer Judit Stalter.

Producer Dijana Mladenovic is the founder of Kinematograf production company which was established in 1999 first as a cinema exhibitor. For almost a decade, it was a leading cinema exhibitor in Istra, Croatia. Nowadays, the main company activity is film production.

Producer Judit Stalter represented the project through Laokoon Filmgroup, a young generation production company founded by Gabor Sipos and Gabor Rajna, which focuses on the development and production of high-quality auteur feature films, creative documentaries and shorts.

Producer-writer-director-D.O.P. Alexander Kvatashidze founded Lokokina production studio in 2009, together with his filmmaking and business partner Nikoloz Tarielashvili in Tbilisi, Georgia. The studio's main activity is to produce and/or take part in different stages of documentary, fiction or video advertisement productions. As a result of his good work at EEFA TN 2011, Alexander Kvatashidze was also invited by our partner and visiting expert producer Dorota Roszkowska to participate with SEE YOU IN CHECHNYA at the final pitching session of Dragon Forum International Academy of Document to be held in Krakow in summer 2012.

EEFA is looking forward to contributing to the further development of the above mentioned film projects in 2012.

East European Film Alliance is a consortium of eleven countries coordinated by the Romanian Film Sector and has for 2011 the following partners: HAVC (Croatian Audiovisual Center)– Croatia, IFF Molodist (Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist) – Ukraine, ALTFilm (ALTFilm) – Moldova, ASA (Ankara Cinema Association) – Turkey, BNFC (Bulgarian National Film Center ) and GEOPOLY (Geopoly Film) – Bulgaria, IFF Moscow (Moscow International Film Festival) – Russia, PÖFF Tallinn (PÖFF – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival ) – Estonia, LNFC – National Film Centre of Latvia, Georgian National Film Center – Georgia and State Film Fund from Ministry of Culture and Tourism Azerbaijan.

Alongside our partners, the initiative has been supported in 2011 by

Media Mundus

For all other information, please access http://eefa-eu.org/

or contact: Ruxandra Cernat (Project Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Sorina Diaconu (Online manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)