As the press accreditation for the 23rd  Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the affiliated audiovisual industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event is already underway we thought we might offer you some insight into the programme of 2019. Please note that a big part of the programme is still to be confirmed so this is a very early overview. You can follow our Pro newsletter and press releases at the bottom of this letter to stay updated.

We can offer foreign press a limited amount of rooms in our hotels and provide transport, but these will not last forever...

23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 15 Nov - 1 Dec 2019

As one of the leading film festivals in Northern Europe and the only FIAPF-accredited competitive feature film festival in the region, Black Nights aka PÖFF strives to present our audiences and international guests a comprehensive selection of world cinema in its cultural, geographic and genre diversity, with a special emphasis on discoveries from countries that are comparatively lesser highlighted on the global film markets, mixing them with this year’s highlights from the global festival circuit.

FESTIVAL FACTS

• 1200 international filmmakers, industry professionals and journalists from more than 60 different countries;
• 80000 attendances;
• The festival, along with the two sub-festivals screens approximately 250 feature-length films  and over 250 short films and animations;
• over 50 world and international premieres;
• over 150 journalists in 2018;
• potential global media reach of over 1.5 billion people.

WATCH THE FESTIVAL TEASER

The main programme of the festival will be announced throughout October and November, with the full programme being announced at the press conference taking place on the 6th of November. The programme of the main festival includes the following:

• Official Selection - the major international competition of the festival screening films from all over the world having their world, international or European premieres. Runs from the 21st until the 29th of November;
• First Feature Competition - the international competition for up and coming directors presenting the world or international premiere of their first feature film. Runs from the 21st until the 29th of November. 
• Rebels With A Cause, an international competition showcasing the experimental film-making and bold artistic statements from all over the world, pushing the boundaries of the art of film
• Baltic Film Competition screening the year’s finest films made in the three Baltic countries.
• The festival has several non-competitive programmes, combining a selection of recent highlights of world cinema, including thematic sections for documentaries, genre films, sports and fashion/ urban culture, etc.
• Focus region: Arabia. Every year the festival puts a country or a region in a special spotlight. 2019 will see 15 feature films covering the last 10 years from the Arab filmmakers’ production (Inside of the Arab countries and the diaspora), screening films from Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE.

You've probably never heard of a place called Narva or Kohtla-Järve. That's ok, they haven't heard of you either. But these two wonderful towns in Eastern Estonia are the place where we will launch a new side-festival of Black Nights called KinoFF this year! As the majority of the population of this region in Estonia are Russian, the festival will have a focus on Russian-language cinema, screening selected films from the main programme of the festival. We are organising a tour for foreign journalists in the area on the 22nd of November to visit the area and attend the opening of KinoFF in Kohtla-Järve.

Both of the towns have been a source of some controversy in the past years. Narva, literally on the border of Estonia/ the European Union and Russia, was swarmed with the international press a few years ago as it was speculated that this will be the next Donbas (Ukraine), where Russia will test NATO's unity and organise a hybrid war of some kind. Among the places of interest is the massive czarist era factory called Kreenholm, the biggest clothing manufactury back in the czarist empire.

Kohtla-Järve, on the other hand, is the centre of Estonia's oil shale mining - the country's chief source of energy and a dirty energetic secret for Estonia's reputation, allegedly one of the cleanest countries in Europe. The area is covered with enormous areas of artificial landscapes, equally awe-inspiring and scary examples of Anthropocene.

READ MORE

Black Nights film festival has two sub-festivals that are taking place concurrently with the main festival, exploring the many faces of cinema.

PÖFF Shorts | 19-27 Nov, 2019
PÖFF Shorts is the festival section showcasing short films and animations. With four competition programme and exciting specials, a growing number of international guests and a short film market - this is a festival ideal for someone looking for inspiring creative bursts (and has a short attention span). 

Visit HOMEPAGE!

Youth and children's film festival Just Film | 15 Nov - 1 Dec, 2019

A mirror reflection of the main festival with a focus on the younger audiences, Just Film has it all: an international competition programme, juries of all ages and a workshop for youngsters teaching them how to become a future startup founder.

Visit HOMEPAGE!

Audiovisual industry summit Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event - 25-29 Nov 2019

A vital part of any A-category film event, I@T &; BE is an evergrowing platform of the audiovisual industry with a co-production market, project showcase, the European Film Forum conference, TV drama industry, talent labs, young actors showcase, film music mentorship sessions and much more.

One of the highlights is the European Film Forum Tallinn conference on the 27th of November, held for the fourth time in Tallinn in cooperation with the European Commission.

VISIT HOMEPAGE

We would like to invite you to attend the festival and its side-evens this November, offering a limited number of travel and accommodation packages for the journalists and social media content producers. You can find our contacts at the bottom of this newsletter to discuss this further.

If you want to stay in the loop and find out more, we invite you to join our mailing lists for press and for the audiovisual industry professionals. Just click on the button below to subscribe! 

CLICK HERE TO JOINT OUR PRESS LIST

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PRO NEWSLETTER

 

Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) is pleased to invite you to the

Magnetic Latvia Film Conference taking place on 18–19 October 2019, in Riga.

During the first day of the Conference, dedicated to film market development in Northern Europe, speakers will address the challenges and factors, which relatively small countries should consider for international marketing, entering major global markets and highlighting the value of local production on the global arena.

On the second day of the Conference, we invite our guests to make a fabulous experience and enduring memories on locations tour

Program: http://rigafilmforum.lv/program/

Join: https://rigaiff.filmchief.com/request-accreditation/mlfc-2019

 

From   15   to   24   September,   we   will   meet   again   for   the   14th   edition   of   Film   Spring   Open   in   Cracow's     Przegorzały.   As   in   previous   years,   the   workshop   days   will   surely   be   a   very   intense   unexceptional   time,   which   will     probably   result   in   little   sleep.   Among   us,   there   are   no   viewers   -­‐‐   we   are   all   creators.   Our   festival   is   about   making     films   and   projects.   About   learning   from   the   best   and   meeting   future   creative   partners.   This   year   over   60     remarkable   technology   companies   will   support   us   with   equipment   worth   over   PLN   12.5   million.   Film   Spring   Open     2019   will   also   be   attended   by   notable   guests   from   Poland   and   aboard.    

One   of   our   special   guests   is   Andrey   Zvyagintsev,   a   prominent   world-­‐‐famous   director,   two-­‐‐time   Academy     Award   and   BAFTA   nominee,   winner   of   the   Venice   and   Cannes   film   festival   awards,   the   Cesar's   Award   and   many     other   international   festivals.   He   is   best   known   for   his   films   Leviathan,   Loveless   and   The   Return.     

Another   guest   is   Ollie   Rankin   from   Canada,   visual   effects   expert   who   worked   for   legendary   Hollywood     productions   such   as   Matrix,   Transformers,   X-­‐‐Men,   Star   Wars,   Lord   of   the   Rings. He   has   been   a   virtual   reality   pioneer     since   the   1980s.     

We   will   also   be   honoured   to   welcome   Tomasz   Kot,   a   brilliant   actor   who   received   acclaim   in   Poland   and     abroad.   He   was   nominated   for   Best   Actor   by   the   European   Film   Awards   for   his   role   in   the   Oscar-­‐‐nominated   Cold     War.     

Another   foreign   guest   will   be   Sophie   Kyriacou,   a   3D-­‐‐animation   artist   with   over   20   years   of   experience   in     BBC,   member   of   BAFTA,   author   of   animation   for   prize-­‐‐winning   feature   films and   documentaries   which   received     worldwide   acclaim.      

During   the   14th   edition   of   Film   Spring   Open   debuting   filmmakers   will   work   in   21   dedicated   groups,     included   below:    

Writing:     

•   Scriptwriting   group   (Jagoda   Szelc)   

Feature   Films:

•   Kids   and   Family   Film   Group   (Dorota   Kędzierzawska)
•   Sport   Film   Group   (Mateusz   Wajda,   Jarosław   Barzan)
•   Criminal   Film   Group   (Paweł   Dyllus)  
•   Actors   Previs   Group   (Sławomir   Idziak)   

Short   movie   formats:

•   Animation   Film   (Kamil   Polak)
•   Commercial   Film   (Marcin   Zębiński)
•   Music   videos   (Kobas   Laksa)  
•   Documentary   Film   (Wojciech   Staroń)  
  

Innovative   Audiovisual   Narration:

•   Film   Close-­‐‐up   (Artur   Reinhart)  
•   Movement   in   film.   Modern   Storytelling   Language   (Michał   Sobociński)  
•   Visual   Mood   Group   (Martin   Demmer)   

Future   and   new   film   formats:

•   VR   and   AR   Group   (Konrad   i   Gabriel   Ziaja)  
•   Virtual   Reality   HP   (Gabriel   Ziaja)
•   Internet   Filmmakers   (Konrad   Kruczkowski)
•   Selfie   TV   (Tomasz   Saliński   i   Łukasz   Kościółek)   
•   Interactive   Movie   Group   (Florent   Pallares)   

Production   and   Post-­‐‐production:

•   SFX   make-­‐‐up   (Wanda   i   Marcin   Kędzierzawscy)
•   CGI   and   modern   editing   (Kuba   Sobek)
•   CGI   w   programie   Nuke   (Agata   Nawrocka)
•   Off   Master   (Wiktor   Obrok)     

This   year   we   want   to   put   emphasis   on   cooperation   between   workshop   groups:    

The   Previs   Group   is   going   to   stage   a   murder   scene   which   will   be   shot   by   the   Crime   Film   Group and   the   SFX   Group     will   be   responsible   for   SFX   make-­‐‐up.   The   CGI   Editing   and   Nuke   Visual   Effects   Groups   are   going   to   deal   with     postproduction.   The   Children   and   Family   Film   Group   will   cooperate   with   the   Art   of   Close   Up   Group   to   jointly     organise   an   audition   for   child   actors.   The   Selfie   TV   Group   will   try   to   create   a   television   with   automatic   video-­‐‐ streaming   to   the   Cinebus,   with   the   use   of   the   Selfie   TV   app   for   Android   and   iPhone.   The   participants   will   have   the     chance   to   watch   the   edited   films   on   our   website.      

The   newest   models   of   movie   equipment   and   software   will   be   presented   by:   Arri,   Canon,   Cinema   4D,   Sony,   HP,     Movie   Bird,   Nikon,   Black   Magic,  SYRP,   Ronin,   Avid,   Edelkrone,   Foton,   ColorChecker,   Kauposil.    

Guest   from   various   innovative   companies   will   share   their   experience   from   the   modern   audiovisual     industry:     

•   Bloober   Team,   a   game   dev   studio   -­‐‐   Piotr   Babieno
•   Kissinger   Twins,   a   creative   duo   -­‐‐   Katarzyna   Kifert   i   Dawid   Marcinkowski  
•   Cinema   4D,   a   software   -­‐‐   Sophia   Kyriacou
•   Unit   9,   an   interactive   production   studio   -­‐‐   Jakób   Brzózka,   Jakub   Jakubowski

  In-­‐‐between   the   group   work   sessions   the   participants   can   attend   excellent   lectures...     

•  "How   to   live   a   good   life   as   a   creator   and   producer?   Psychological   tips   for   young   filmmakers"   -­‐‐   dr   Jacek Santorski     
• "Sound   production   in   feature   films   in   its   esthetic   and   technological   aspect.   About   the   sound   from   script   to the   screen"   -­‐‐   dr   hab.   Jacek   Hamela    
• "Crime   in   film   versus   crime   in   real   life"   -­‐‐   Police   staff   ensigns   Krzysztof   Marek   and   Wacław   Serwin   of   the Cracow's   Regional   Criminal   Police   Headquarters     
• "Become   a   stock   creator   and   earn   money!   Practical   tips   on   how   to   make   videos   for   the   Internet,   sign contracts   with   the   actors,   and   prepare   and   sell   stocks"   -­‐‐   Adam          Strzelecki     
• "Green   Film   Open:   ecology   in   film.   Innovation   for   sustainable   film   and   TV   production"   -­‐‐   Benoit   Ruiz,   Jagoda Szelc,   Sławomir   Idziak    

   ...   and   never-­‐‐ending   film   screenings   await   at   night!     

•   Loveless,   Andrey   Zvyagintsev
•   Sid,   Neil   Corbould,   a   film   created   during   last   year's   Film   Spring   Open
•   Dawn,   Laila   Pakalnina,   cinematography   by   Wojciech   Staroń
•   Cold   War,   Paweł   Pawlikowski,   with   remarkable   Tomasz   Kot,   who   will   deliver   a   lecture   on   his   view   on acting      
•   Sword   of   God,   Bartosz   Konopka
•   Volhynia,   Wojciech   Sarzowski,   sound   editing   by   Jacek   Hamela
•   Crows,   Dorota   Kędzierzawska,   cinematography   by   Artur   Reinhart,
•   Dziwor,   Paweł   Dyllus
•   Atlas,   M.   Kawalski,   cinematography   by   P.   Dyllus,   featuring   Tomasz   Kot
•   Pelé:   Birth   of   a   Legend,   Jeff   Zimbalist,   Michael   Zimbalist,   visual   effects   by   Ollie   Rankin
•   Aside   from   the   above-­‐‐mentioned   titles,   I   encourage   our   participants   to   show   their   films   in   the   "Can   Do" section.   Personally,   I   recommend   F   for   Freaks   created   in   the        Babelsberg   film   school   by   one   of   our     participants,   Sabine   Ethrl,   and   Don't   Change   the   Topic,   a   film   by   Hubert   Patynowski   awarded   this   year   at     the   Gdynia   film   festival.”       

See   you   on   15   October   in   Cracow!    

More   information:     https://filmspringopen.eu/en/ | https://www.facebook.com/filmspringopen.eu/    

Dofinansowano   ze   środków   Ministra   Kultury   i   Dziedzictwa   Narodowego   pochodzących   z   Funduszu   Promocji   Kultury,   Polskiego     Instytutu   Sztuki   Filmowej,   Miasta   Krakowa,   Stowarzyszenia   Filmowców   Polskich. Projekt   realizowany   przy   wsparciu   finansowym   Województwa   Małopolskiego.         

The Festival of Slovenian Film traditionally features a series of events targeted at film professionals, which are bound to appeal to a wider audience. In the 22nd festival edition, the industry programme will span five days from Wednesday, 18 September, to Sunday, 22 September 2019. All events will be held in the Green Hall of Avditorij Portorož.

If the film programme showcases the Slovenian cinema, the industry programme is increasingly looking across the national borders: after focusing on Austrian and Serbian cinema in the previous two editions, this edition is highlighting Italy as the country ‘In Focus’ for the main event in the industry programme, the Coproduction Meeting (CPRM). The event will feature a rundown of Italian institutions making up the funding network for film production and cultural exchange (MIBAC, ANICA, regional funds, the Italian Cultural Institute in Ljubljana, the Italian Trade Agency in Slovenia) and pitching sessions for selected projects in development and postproduction to facilitate co-productions between the two countries. 

The tradition of working with Italy in film co-productions goes back to the late 1950s and 1960s, but was long limited mostly to technical input and supporting roles by Slovenian actors. In the last ten years, there has finally been a shift towards cross-cultural co-productions. Nine majority and nine minority co-productions with Italy, including Feed Me with Your Words, Stories from Chestnut Woods, A Comedy of Tears, Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot, indicate an organic cross-cultural exchange that is rooted in the cultural environment. This year’s festival line-up is clear evidence that after collapsing on the border, the increasingly draughty iron curtain has finally fallen in the minds of people. The Competition Programme features films that attest to the wealth of thematic, historical and cultural connections: the previously mentioned Stories from Chestnut Woods, as well as Identity Dilemma, Daughter of Camorra, Rosa and the short film Stoj! To these, we have added Menocchio the Heretic by Alberto Fasulo who is joining us as a guest of honour to speak about his minimalist drama set in the time of counter-reformation, when a simple miller is persecuted by the Inquisition for his unorthodox religious views. The film premiered at the 2018 Locarno festival. The screening in Portorož will be followed by a Q&A with the director about his universal tale of timeless commitment to human values.

But to set the industry programme in motion, FSF will start by building bridges between cinema and literature on Wednesday, 18 September, with Shoot a Book! Connecting literature and film, a set of two events aimed at linking the film and book industries for a more creative exchange. Devised by the Slovenian Film Centre and the Slovenian Book Agency, the set includes a round table on book adaptations with guests from the book and film industries, chaired by the renowned film critic Marcel Štefančič Jr. After a short break, this will be followed by a pitching event in which editors and publishers will have 10 minutes to pitch, for an audience of film producers, notable literary works that lend themselves perfectly to adaptation for the screen. Inspired by Cannes’ Shoot the Book! and Berlin’s Books at Berlinale, our aim is to encourage adaptations of books by Slovenian authors for the screen. As Slovenia was selected to be the 2022 guest of honour at the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair, who is also a partner to the two programmes in Cannes and Berlin, there will be ample opportunity for Slovenian authors to showcase their books with filmic potential. This is a chance for Slovenia to establish a platform that can create a market for adaptations of Slovenian literary works and motivate Slovenian and international filmmakers.

Both events on Wednesday will be in English.

On Thursday, 19 September, the main industry event of the 22nd FSF, the Coproduction Meeting (CPRM) – In Focus: Italy, will start with a brief introduction to the festival and the main Italian and Slovenian film financing institutions. The Festival of Slovenian Film will be presented as the event that provides an overview and critical evaluation of the latest Slovenian cinema, and awards the most prominent achievements and artists with national film awards. The Slovenian Film Centre will be presented as a public agency that encourages creativity in the film and audiovisual fields by creating suitable conditions, and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities as the main audiovisual public funding institution in Italy.

This introduction will be followed by pitches by Italian and Slovenian projects in development. Selected Slovenian and Italian projects in development and pre-production, seeking potential partners in one of the countries, will have a chance for a public presentation. In cooperation with the Motovila Institute (Creative Europe Desk Slovenia), an organisation promoting international and cross-sector cooperation in the cultural and creative sectors, projects will also be given an opportunity to better prepare their presentation strategies with the help of the experienced international AV consultant and scriptwriter, Alejandro de la Fuente.

On Thursday afternoon, the programme will continue with REACT Masterclass about the possibility of saying “maybe”. In times of unprecedented environmental crises and constant abuses of the most essential rights, of limitless precariousness and extremism, creation seems to be assuming the role of forceful denunciation and decisive action. But how can this responsibility be taken without renouncing the reflexive and poetic approach to reality? How can this ethical commitment be elaborated without neglecting the fertile and lucid space extended between doubt and contradiction? Marta Andreu, a documentary producer and workshop specialist, will be there to provide answers.

Wrapping up the busy Thursday schedule is an XR Workshop hosted by Marko Cafnik. Cafnik will discuss the virtual world brought about by VR glasses and other so-called immersive technologies which serve to expand the experience of cinema, adding new dimensions to the actualities of life. The expanded reality (XR) workshop will provide an insight into the technology as well as other dimensions and potentials of the virtual, augmented and mixed reality.

The working language of all events on Thursday except the XR Workshop is English.

On Friday, 20 September, the day will start with the Work in Progress Market, an event showcasing Slovenian and Italian projects in postproduction for sales agents and distributors with the screenings of selected scenes, mood images and short excerpts. 

Later that day, the Actors Guild of Slovenia (DSI) is organising a round-table discussion in collaboration with AIPA. Entitled Actor and their right, the event aims to start a public debate about the issue of copyright protection for actors in Slovenia. Compared to other countries, Slovenian actors are distinctly discriminated in terms of copyright and related rights. Under the applicable law from 1995, actors have the right to remuneration for private copying only. But is an actor today really just a “performer” as stated in the 25-year-old law? Joining the debate to critically address the issue are the President of DSI, Sebastian Cavazza, and members Katarina Čas, Branko Završan, Jurij Drevenšek, Ludvik Bagari, and Maja Sever, and a guest from the Belgian organization PlayRight, Ioan Kaes. Chaired by actor Matej Zemljič.

Friday afternoon will be dedicated to guests from Italy. Meet the Italians will bring an overview of the available funding opportunities for film in Italy, from national funds like MIBAC (Ministry of Culture) to regional funds like FVG (Friuli Venezia Giulia), Trentino or Apulia Film Commission, and examples of successful co-productions between Slovenia and Italy, as well as presentations of the Italian national film association, the Torino Film Lab training programme, the Ljubljana-based Italian Cultural Institute, and the Italian Trade Agency in Slovenia. The event will also inaugurate the new Audiovisual Co-production Agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

Later that afternoon, this year’s Coproduction Meeting with partners from Italy will wrap up with one-to-one meetings between representatives of the presented projects and their potential co-production partners.

All events on Friday will be in English, except the Actors Guild of Slovenia round-table discussion, which will be in English and Slovene.

On Saturday, 21 September, visitors can attend the Emerging Producers lecture by Marcin Łuczaj. In its meeting in November 2016, the Producers Guild of Slovenia (DSP) established a division called ‘Emerging producers’. Its main purpose is to bring together up-and-coming Slovenian audiovisual producers, as well as provide a platform for an exchange of knowledge and experience in film and audiovisual production and for professional training and growth of its members.

The second event on Saturday morning is a round table to mark three years of the Scenarnica screenwriting workshop. Scenarnica is an intensive screenwriting workshop focusing on what could possibly be the most difficult stage of the creative process – turning an idea into the first version of the screenplay. Organised by the Directors Guild of Slovenia (DSR) and the Slovenian Film Centre (SFC), the fourth edition of Scenarnica started in Ljubljana and will continue in Portorož. Its artistic head Matevž Luzar will start by shortly outlining the method of the workshop and the opportunities provided by participation in the workshop. This will be followed by project pitches by some of the participants from previous editions.

After lunch, the day will continue with a round-table discussion by the Association of Postproduction Artists (DPPU) with a lecture by Miloš Kalusek. Entitled The power of film editing, the event will bring together Miloš Kalusek, Robert Černelč and Janez Dovč, who will share their thoughts on how elements of film editing, art and music come together in making a film. Chaired by Olga Toni.

The last event on Saturday is a lecture by Gregor Skender, a senior consultant at Deloitte, on Fiscal and Economic Impacts of Audiovisual Industry in Slovenia. In collaboration with the Producers Guild of Slovenia and AIPA, with financial input from AIPA and professional input from SFC, Deloitte has conducted an analysis of the economic and fiscal impacts of the audiovisual industry on the Slovenian economy, and the effect state grants have on the development of the industry. Results show that the importance of the audiovisual industry for economy is growing both at global and national levels, while indicating the need for further dialogue between the industry and competent public institutions. The presentation will be followed by a discussion.

The Emerging Producers lecture will be in English. The working language of all other Saturday events will be Slovene.

On Sunday, 22 September, the industry programme of the 22nd Festival of Slovenian Film will come to a close with a meeting of representatives of the main public film institutions in the region: HAVC, Montenegro FC, FC Serbia, and Kosovo Cinematography Center. The event will be in English.

Later that day, the Directors Guild of Slovenia (DSR) will hold its 5th annual Kosobrin Awards Ceremony to award below-the-line workers in filmmaking. This way, the Guild aims to honour less visible trades without whom directors cannot imagine either a good working process or a good end result. Previous award winners include grip Janez Petretič, colourist Emil Svetlik, documentation specialist/researcher Jožica Hafner, and script supervisor Petra Trampuž. 

The festival will also play host to aspiring film critics as part of ‘Sharpening the gaze with Slovenian cinema’, a film critics workshop for high school and college students as well as others with a keen interest in cinema.  In a relaxed creative atmosphere, a group of participants will meet for daily sessions to watch films, reflect on them, share their views, analyse the use and purpose of expressive means, and write short reviews under the guidance of the mentors: Dr Maja Kranjc, Editor-in-Chief of KINO! magazine, and film critic and writer Robert Kuret. The final products will be posted on ostrenjepogleda.wordpress.com, and a best-of will be published in the KINO! Magazine. The participants of the workshop run by the KINO! Society for Expanding Film Culture will also present their award for best student film of the festival.

The industry events are coordinated by Luka Venturin: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Festival of Slovenian Film traditionally features the presentation of the Metod Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s winner is the independent filmmaker and sound composer Andrej Zdravič.

The jurors for the 2019 Metod Badjura Award, who gave an extensive commentary honouring the life and work of the laureate, were Karpo Godina, Dušan Moravec, Aleš Pavlin, Olga Toni, and Varja Močnik as the chair of the jury. The award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the 22nd Festival of Slovenian Film in the Main Hall of Avditorij Portorož on Tuesday, 17 September.

During the festival, the Tribute strand will screen a selection of Andrej Zdravič's works.

 Harald Fuhr/EFP

EFP (European Film Promotion) is delighted to announce that the cooperation with the Berlin International Film Festival for EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS has been confirmed by Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian and Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek.

"It's a pleasure for us to continue providing a prominent platform for these outstanding talents and to support them in getting the international attention their work deserves. Eight out of ten European Shooting Stars are invited to international castings following the event at the Berlinale and so many have seized the opportunity successfully. We are looking forward to welcoming European Shooting Stars with their new films in the years ahead," says Mariette Rissenbeek.

For more than 20 years EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS, one of EFP's flagship programmes supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union, highlights the most talented up-and-coming actors throughout Europe during the Berlin International Film Festival with the aim to jumpstart their international career. For many former participants it proved to be an essential stepping stone. Among the most prominent ones in recent years are Carey Mulligan (Mudbound), Alba Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazarro), Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), George MacKay (Captain Fantastic), and Marwan Kenzari (Instinct).

Each year the Europe's national film promotion institutes nominate their most promising emerging actresses and actors to take part in the prestigious programme. A jury of industry professionals selects the ten most interesting and internationally versatile talents to be introduced to the press, film industry and public at the Berlin International Film Festival. As a EUROPEAN SHOOTING STAR, the participants attend a tailor-made programme, including meetings with casting directors, talent agents and producers, which broadens and strengthens their international industry alliances and networks. The activities culminate in a glamorous presentation of the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS Awards at the Berlinale Palast.

To qualify for EUROPEAN SHOOTING STAR 2020, the talent - between 16 and 32 years of age - has to have a successful professional career in his or her native country (including first awards), a leading role in at least one feature-length film released after October 2017, the potential to work internationally, and must be fluent in English.

The 22nd Festival of Slovenian Film opened last night in Portorož, where it will close with the awards ceremony on Sunday, 22 September. During the ceremony, the Badjura Award was presented to the 2019 laureate Andrej Zdravič, whose short film Sand’s Journey was screened before the opening film of the festival, Metod Pevec’ new feature I Am Frank featuring Janez Škof, Valter Dragan and Katarina Čas. The host of the opening, which also featured an appearance by the popular local singer-songwriter Rudi Bučar, was Jure Longyka. The ceremony was followed by a reception in the Avditorij foyer. 

In her opening address, the Director of the Slovenian Film Centre, Nataša Bučar, drew attention to the important progress achieved after years of efforts for adequate funding of the Slovenian cinema: “In November 2018, members of the Slovenian Parliament’s Committee on Culture unanimously voted in favour of the decision to raise the funding for Slovenian cinema to 11 million euros by 2022.” As a result, in 2019 the Slovenian Film Centre “can work with a budget that is bigger than any time in the last decade, although still at just over half of the envisaged 11 million.” At the same time, the creative potential of filmmakers thrives: “The latest call for feature films yielded a very high number of projects of very high quality; however, due to the lack of funds as many as 11 feature films had to be placed on a reserve list and only six projects could receive support. This proves that the creative potential of Slovenian cinema is growing. I expect that so will the budget for cinema, as it was agreed,” added Nataša Bučar in the hope of a brighter future for Slovenian cinema.

As previously announced, the main Slovenian film event will provide, over a little less than a week, a curated overview of the latest Slovenian cinema, which includes fiction, documentary and animated films of all lengths. A total of 157 films were submitted to the festival for consideration by the Programming Board, with 106 films making it into the official selection. Of this, the Official Competition includes 57 films: 11 feature-length films, 10 minority co-productions (8 feature-length and 2 short), 5 medium-length films, 19 short films, and 13 student films.

The screenings take place in two venues, Avditorij and Monfort Cinema, the latter also being the venue for daily post-screening socialising with a varied DJ and live music line-up. For films in the Official Competition, Q&As with filmmakers take place the day after their screening and are broadcast by the AKTV film academy TV live on its website or available from its archive with a one-day delay.

The main new feature of this year’s festival is a live broadcast of the awards ceremony on TV Slovenia on Sunday, 22 September. After the festival, between Tuesday, 24 September, and Saturday, 28 September, the award-winning films will also be screened in the Komuna Cinema, Ljubljana. The line-up will be announced on the festival website after the awards ceremony.

The industry programme is focused on facilitating and promoting co-productions with Italy. The diverse range of events also encompasses round table discussions, workshops, and lectures, including a round table on book adaptations chaired by the film critic Marcel Štefančič Jr., and an event in which editors and publishers will pitch Slovenian literary works to an audience of film producers.

In the scope of an enduring and fruitful partnership with San Sebastian International Film Festival, Europa Distribution will host a workshop on the presence and prominence of European films on VoD in the Basque town.  Europa Distribution will gather experts and professionals to discuss over a public talk and then during a private workshop the extremely sensitive topic of the availability and visibility of European films on online platforms.  Video on Demand has become a prominent element of the film sector but it is not easy for independent distributors to have their independent and European films defended at best on VoD platforms.  While DVDs were important in the life of a film, it is unfortunately not yet the case with VoD releases.  This is of course a concern and a key topic for independent distributors as their long-term revenues may face a significant decrease.

At an institutional level, the Audiovisual Media Service directive (AVMS) and more specifically the quotas and the prominence tools to be implemented at European level will hopefully help independent European  films to gain more visibility.  To discuss this topic, a public panel will take place on Monday 23^rd between 10:00 and 11:30 am. Anna Herold (European Commission - Chief of Unit AVMS, BE), Martin Kanzler (European Audiovisual Observatory - Film Analyst, FR), Julie-Jeanne Régnault (EFADs - Secretary General, BE), Vit Schmarc (Artcam - European independent distributor, CZ) and Silvia Cibien (EUROVOD, Secretary General, FR) will share their views and experiences with the audience.

This public panel will be moderated by Michael Gubbins, British, founder of SampoMedia, journalist and former chair of fFilm Cymru Wales.

The public panel will be followed by a closed workshop on Tuesday 24^th where Europa Distribution members will have the opportunity to have an in-depth discussion with the invited speakers to the open panel. On Wednesday 25^th, Aistė Račaitytė (Kino Pavasaris, LT), Monica Felea (Bad Unicorn, RO), Ulysse Kelbert (Curzon, UK), Jakub Mróz (Tongariro Releasing, PL), Kahloon Loke (Peccadillo Pictures, UK), and Carola Stern (Filmcoopi, CH) will share their experience and stories during a session dedicated to the strategies behind the releases of recent European titles.

Europa Distribution will continue discussing with its members and other professionals and experts about the specific challenges of releasing and promoting independent films in Europe with its next events in Rome and Amsterdam. Articles on all our events will be published on Europa Distribution’s socials and blog: http://www.europa-distribution.org/blog/
Stay tuned! 

East-West co-production market connecting cottbus, taking place during FilmFestival Cottbus in November, presents its selection of 13 projects in development and 6 works in progress for its upcoming edition. 

From 6-8 November 2019, the 21st edition of connecting cottbus (coco) presents fresh feature film projects to a select audience of co-producers, sales agents and other potential partners. In total, 13 cocoPITCH and 6 cocoWIP projects from 14 countries in broader Eastern Europe will be pitched. In alignment with the FilmFestival Cottbus section Spotlight: Montenegro, coco is pleased to present its first Montenegrin project. All projects compete for a variety of awards. Their producers and directors also take part in in-depth feedback sessions with industry experts in the cocoLAB, while all industry participants can join networking events and a framework programme focusing on current production trends. 

This year saw the completion of a number of coco alumni projects: CAT IN THE WALL (Bulgaria/UK/ France) by Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova, winner of the coco Best Pitch Award 2017, had its world premiere in competition at the Locarno Film Festival, Ines Tanović’s THE SON (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Romania/Slovenia/Montenegro) opened this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. Alumni projects of the cocoWIP section include Antonio Lukich’s MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT (Ukraine), winner of the Special Jury Prize in Karlovy Vary's East of the West competition as well as the Audience Award and Fipresci Prize for Best Ukrainian Film at Odessa International Film Festival, and ZANA (Kosovo/Albania) by Antoneta Kastrati, which just premiered in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival. 

The cocoPITCH selection for this year comprises a large range of filmic styles and genres, from political thriller and road movie to dramas about war trauma or modern slavery, next to apocalyptic sci-fi and a romantic comedy set in outer space. The majority of the projects again have a strong female protagonist. Stories about immigration and exile are set alongside personal quests for moral integrity and struggles for autonomy or a sense of one’s own history. Seven exciting debut feature projects join new work by award-winning filmmakers like Ruxandra Zenide, Ivan Marinović and Sergey Dvortsevoy, who received the Special Pitch Award FilmFestival Cottbus 2018 to present his new project THREE, SEVEN, ACE. Pre-selected by coco at partnering events were Ion Borș’ CARBON, winner of the Transilvania Pitch Stop - coco Award at TIFF 2019, and RATTLESNAKES by Nikola Ljuca, which took the Midpoint - coco Award (Midpoint Feature Launch) at Karlovy Vary 2019. 

The 2019 line-up of cocoWIP also has a variety in tone, including a slacker dramedy and a darkly comic revenge story, as well as psychological family dramas set against the backdrop of pressing socio-political realities. Impressive feature debuts dominate the roster in 2019, among them those by acclaimed Romanian theatre director Eugen Jebeleanu and Serbian director Milica Tomović, whose short film work screened in Toronto, Locarno and Sarajevo. 

This year’s edition of connecting cottbus takes place on 6-8 November 2019. 

Producers, sales agents, commissioning editors and other industry representatives active in East- West European co-production can apply to attend without a project by 7 October 2019. 

Selected cocoPITCH Projects 2019 

ABOUT A GIRL | Switzerland / Romania | dir: Ruxandra Zenide | prod: Alexander Iordachescu | Elefant Films 

ATHLETE | Turkey | dir: Semih Gülen & Mustafa Emin Büyükcoşkun | prod: Arda Çiltepe | Vigo Film 

Transilvania Pitch Stop - coco Award CARBON | Moldova | dir: Ion Borș | prod: Ion Borș, Sergiu Cumatrenco Jr. | Kantora Film Production, YOUBESC 

CONVENIENCE STORE | Russia | dir: Mikhail Borodin | prod: Artem Vassiliev | Metrafilms 

FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE | Montenegro, Serbia | dir: Ivan Marinović | prod: Marija Stojanović, Ivan Marinović | Adriatic Western, SENSE Production 

NO LAND FOR ME | Israel | dir: Ram Nehari | prod: Yifat Prestelnik | Yifat Prestelnik Films 

Midpoint - coco Award (Midpoint Feature Launch) RATTLESNAKES | Serbia | dir: Nikola Ljuca | prod: Nikolina Vučetić-Zečević, Maja Ilić | Biberche 

SPAS | Ukraine | dir: Maksym Nakonechnyi | prod: Yelizaveta Smith, Darya Bassel | Tabor Production 

Special Pitch Award FilmFestival Cottbus THREE, SEVEN, ACE | Russia | dir: Sergey Dvortsevoy | prod: Sergey Dvortsevoy | Kinodvor 

TRACES | Croatia | dir: Dubravka Turić | prod: Ira Cecić | Kinorama 

VESPER SEEDS | Lithuania | dir: Kristina Buožytė & Bruno Samper | prod: Asta Liukaityte, Daiva Jovaišiene, Kristina Buožytė | Natrix Natrix 

WET MONDAY | Poland | dir: Justyna Mytnik | prod: Marta Gmosińska | Lava Films 

YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE | Ukraine | dir: Pavlo Ostrikov | prod: Vladimir Yatsenko, Anna Sobolevska | LimeLite 

Selected cocoWIP Projects 2019 

BETWEEN TWO DAWNS | Turkey / Romania | dir: Selman Nacar | prod: Burak Çevik, Diloy Gülün, Oana Giurgiu | Kuyu Film, Karma Film, Hai Hui Entertainment 

BLINDFOLD | Ukraine | dir: Taras Dron | prod: Valeria Sochyvets | Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema 

CELTS | Serbia | dir: Milica Tomović | prod: Vladimir Vasiljevic | EED Productions 

MIA MISSES HER REVENGE | Romania | dir: Bogdan Theodor Olteanu | prod: Anamaria Antoci, Anda Ionescu | Tangaj Production 

POPPY FIELD | Romania | dir: Eugen Jebeleanu | prod: Velvet Moraru | Icon Production 

THE THRILLSEEKERS | Belarus | dir: Vlada Senkova | prod: Larisa Oleinik, Viktar Labkovich | DOKA, Pervaja Kinovideo Company 

connecting cottbus is supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Creative Europe/MEDIA and MDM Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Ministerium der Justiz und für Europa und Verbraucherschutz Brandenburg (MdJEV) 

Thanks to our partners: Avanpost, D-Facto Motion, Producers Network, eave, Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival, Filmarket Hub, Midpoint, Stadt Cottbus and Transilvania Pitch Stop 

More information: http://www.connecting-cottbus.de | https://www.facebook.com/connecting.cottbus | https://www.instagram.com/connectingcottbus/

(19 September) Lefteris Eleftheriou, Head of the Filming Unit at Invest Cyprus and Chairman of the Cyprus Film Commission, will be visiting several filming studios in London next week. The visit follows the launch of Cyprus’s first film scheme, Film in Cyprus, last year. Mr Eleftheriou will meet with potential investors to discuss new opportunities and promote the growing sector on the island.

The scheme is a collaboration between the government and Invest Cyprus, the country’s investment promotion agency.

Cyprus has already attracted international interest with several feature films shot entirely on location in the country. Two of those films include Jiu Jitsu, starring Nicolas Cage, and S.O.S Survive or Sacrifice with William Baldwin.

An increased interest in TV show productions has been evident as well, with the filming of Love Island (Hungary) starting 1 October in Paphos, Cyprus. A popular Swedish TV show, Superstars, will also begin filming on the island over the coming months.

The Filming Scheme offers tax relaxations and credit, with the most attractive incentive being a maximum 35% reimbursement for nearly all expenses made in Cyprus, according to the size of the investment. It covers hiring local filming crews to rent portable toilets and recruiting animal actors.