The management of BIAFF film festival’s industry platform “Alternative Wave” finished the selection of projects for its 2019 edition. It was selected 8 projects, from which 6 is from Georgia, 1 from Turkey and 1 from Ukraine. “Alternative Wave” will be held under the framework of BIAFF film festival in Batumi during 18-22 September, 2019.

The selected projects for Alternative Wave 2019 edition.

1. Aquarium – director and producer Tornike Bziava.
2. Tamada – director Temur Tsiklauri, producer Irakli Bagaturia.
3. The Load -director and producer Ana Iosava, co – writer Otar Katamadze.
4. You Look Like Your Father - director Levan Lomjaria, producer Vako Kirkitadze.
5. Orange Sky – director and producer Shalva Shengeli, co-writer Alexander Kurkhuli.
6. Family Drama with The Happy End – director and producer Irina Gachechiladze.
7. Seraphyma – director Marisia Nikituk, producer Igor Savichenko.
8. Affection of The Heart – director Soner Caner, producer Bilal Bagci.

Experts - Nicos Panayotopoulos (Greece), Paul Tayler (UK), Gulin Ustun (Turkey), Aysegul Ekmekcioglu (Turkey)

Invited Expert – Tatiana Detlofson (USA)

The selected participants will have opportunity to develop the feature film projects in following directions:

• Script development 

• Co-production strategies

• Financing strategy 

• Festival strategy 

• Distribution and Marketing Strategy 

At the end of “Alternative Wave 2019”, at the closing ceremony will be revealed the best projects and will be awarded the following prizes:

I place – 10,000 Equivalent Post-Production services (company CETA STUDIO – Wroclaw, Poland)

II Place – Project selection in “Meeting on the Bridge” program (Istanbul Film Festival)

III Place – Attendance to Berlinale Film Festival (accreditation, Air-ticket, Hotel)

 

BIAFF 2019 “Alternative Wave” supporters – Georgian National Film Center, Ministry of Culture of Ajara, British Councils, CETA STUDIO (Poland)

CICAE asks festivals to call for universal rules in theatrical distribution

Festivals take one of the most important roles in the discovery of cinema. They curate the current and future state of film, elevate young talent and showcasing diversity in filmmaking. Within their competition, small independent voices can get the same stage as big-budgeted, established films.

 “The competition of film festivals, especially if funded with public money, should be a fair place for all kinds of film,” says Christian Bräuer, president of CICAE. “It's hard to understand why Big Tech companies aren't asked to comply with the same rules that other studios, producers and cinemas have been following for decades. It is especially concerning to see Venice Film Festival unconditionally embracing a streaming company whose mission is described by its partners as ‘world domination’.”

The unique place film festivals take carries with it a special responsibility to ensure films can continue to thrive once the curtain has fallen on premiere night. It also comes with the responsibility to maintain conditions that allow film culture, film diversity and independent filmmaking to flourish in threatening times.

 The world of film is changing drastically. The past few years have seen an unprecedented concentration of market power. It is in the interest of all of us to maintain diversity in filmmaking. If a few monolithic companies can dominate the way films are made and seen, we all lose as audiences. The "dictatorship of the algorithm", as Alejandro G. Inarritu just put it, is a real threat to cultural diversity and cinema itself.

To maintain diversity in filmmaking and moviegoing, festivals need a clear set of rules and goals that both big and small players have to follow. 

“One of these rules must be demanding an actual, full-scale theatrical release for films who want to take part in competition sections. A theatrical release on the big screen is not just the best kind to experience film. It gives films the opportunity to be discussed, marketed, seen by different perspectives”, says Christian Bräuer.

Cinemas are heart chambers for local communities, allowing people to experience, discuss and talk about a film together. Whether they're a small film club or a prestigious art-house theater, they give films a form of visibility that's unmatched and accessible to everyone, regardless of their subscription status. Without a theatrical release, films might just be hidden away if an algorithm doesn't deem them worthy.

This is not an argument against streaming per se. Streaming is a great way to bring movies and shows into people’s homes, even though it’s of course not a match to the communal experience of the big-screen. “We welcome every streaming company that is excited about giving their films a proper theatrical run”, says Christian Bräuer. “but every new partnership we forge has to live by the same norms on which cinemas have built their successful, close partnerships with major studios as well as independent film makers, producers and distributors over the years.”

Festivals should also set rules and goals for programming themselves to give voices from different backgrounds, countries and genders a chance to thrive. We ask all film festivals not to just sign the 50x50 by 2020 pledge for gender parity, but to constantly ask if they’re doing enough to bring that pledge to life. Words alone aren’t enough. No festival competition should include more films from the same streaming company than films directed by women. 

The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas is a non-profit organization aiming at promoting cultural diversity in cinemas and festivals. It was founded in 1955 by the national arthouse cinema associations of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Today it counts more than 2000 members and 4000 screens across 44 countries, representing 9 national and regional associations, 61 individual cinemas 14 festivals and 4 special members. 

Christian Bräuer is the president of the CICAE, president of AG Kino, the German arthouse cinema association and CEO of the Yorck Kino Gruppe, a chain of 14 arthouse cinemas in Berlin.

The selection of MIDPOINT Shorts 2019-2020 projects is here!

MIDPOINT´s leading short-film oriented program has selected 4 short film projects from Estonia, Greece, Poland and Serbia for the upcoming edition. 

In September, MIDPOINT's special program will take off in Prague, Czech Republic with its first workshop and 4 teams of writers, directors, and producers who are in the process of developing their short fiction films. 
The second workshop will be organized in January 2020 in Trieste withinWhen East Meets West Co-production Forum. The leading industry event for both East and West Europe will offer a brand-new platform for project showcase and further network. 

The group leader of four selected projects is experienced Czech script consultant and acclaimed director Pavel Marek. Lithuanian producer and short film expert Marija Razgute will enrich the program as a producer tutor, guiding the producers and overall production development of the projects. 

And who are the selected talents of the 2019-2020 edition of the program? 

Best wishes for the best boss / POLAND 
Mateusz Pacewicz (Writer/Director) 
Ludka Kierczak (Producer)

Jungle. Law / ESTONIA 
Madli Laane (Writer/Director) 
Anneli Ahven (Producer)

Soul Food / GREECE 
Nikos Tseberopoulos (Writer/Director) 
Eleni Kossyfidou (Producer) 

Tell No One / SERBIA 
Svetislav Dragomirovic (Writer/Director) 
Nevena Savic (Producer) 

Click here to find out more about the selected participants and projects. 

MIDPOINT Shorts 2019-2020 is realized with the support of Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and Czech Film Fund. It is presented in cooperation with When East Meets West.

Feature films funded Polish Film Institute in the 2nd session of 2019

After great success of previous editions, we have significantly extended this year’s offer. It involved prolonging the list of attending guests as well as expanding on the programme. 

Apart from a compelling pitching offer, thanks to added value in the form of workshops, script and legal consultations, co-pro breakfast, trip around Warsaw and a script master class, this year’s schedule will be quite ambitious.  While creating this year’s programme we were focusing on recognizing the needs of all attendees of the Forum. 

Warsaw Kids Film Forum is the first and only international forum in Poland devoted entirely to the topic of co-productions of films and TV series for young audience. We believe that the 3rd edition of WKFF will provide you with a great opportunity to explore new and inspiring projects, meet the people behind them and increase your knowledge on a constantly developing market of productions for kids and young audience. 

Forum will be held from 25–27 September in Muranow Cinema at Andersa St. 5, Warsaw.

INSPIRATION DAY supported by FNE CEI

Day one (Inspiration Day) will be devoted to conferences and workshops. David Kleeman (Dubit,USA) will open the conference by giving an introduction on the latest trends in kids production, both in films and TV. David will elaborate on creating content for children based on modern media user habits of young adults and expand on the most recent market research devoted to creating and making use of video content for young spectators. 

The introduction will be followed by a discussion panel on todays and coming future of children’s productions by the panellists: Richard Rowe (DHX), Luca MIlano (RAI Ragazzi), Claire Tavernier (digital media adviser) and Maria Kosareva (Viacom). 

Next part of Inspiration Day will be devoted to kid’s productions that have been successful on a local and international scale. Among the presented projects we will look into:

• "The Butterfly Effect”, educational & historical TV series produced by ARTE Junior.  
• „Jams”, Italian TV series for young audience tackling sexual harassment, produced by RAI Ragazzi.
• „Overgrep”, Norwegian TV series by NRK Super initially produced for „awareness week” in order to educate young audience on dealing with sexual harassment.
  
  After the presentations, we will continue with the second part of the lectures: 
• LEARNING FROM MISTAKES – Do’s and don’ts in theatrical distribution” and „Developing an IP 360° - from the idea to licensing and immersive experience”.
  The first lecture will be given by Stine Bomholt-Hansen (Level K), who will elaborate on mistakes and achievements while creating a marketing campaign with distribution in mind.
  Marie-Claude Beauchamp from Canadian CarpeDiem Film&TV will share her knowledge on 360° brand development strategy based on projects: „SNOWTIME - SNOWSNAPS - RACETIME” 

The third and last part of the Inspiration Day consists of an intense workshop: „The Art of Finding & Making a Deal” by Silke Wilfinger from SilkWay Films and Carlos Hertel from Bavaria Media GmbH. The workshop goals are to explain: how to position a film internationally, where & how to pitch a project and do’s and don’ts for negotiating a sales contract. To attend the workshop, please register HERE. 

Simultaneously and for the first time at the Forum, we will host a market presentation of „The Black Mill” (last year’s pitching project at Works in Progress section).

Moreover, the participants interested in script writing are welcome to take part in a lecture combined with a practical component run by Philip LaZebnik devoted to script writing and story building. 

All the guests who didn’t have the time to go sightseeing during previous editions are invited for a tour around Warsaw organized by Mazovia Film Fund.

The eventful first day will end with a networking cocktail in Kino Muranow. 

Next two days will be devoted to pitching sessions of films and TV series for young audience. This year’s selection comprises of 27 titles from 16 countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Canada, Germany, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Italy and Ukraine. The projects are both at an early production stage as well as in late development (Works in Progress). 

Filmmakers will be able to present their projects in front of a group of experts from Poland and abroad – distributors, TV representatives, sales agents, financial institutions and private investors. Pitching sessions will be completed by One on one meetings with producers of presented projects.

More information on WKFF programme can be found at: https://warsawkidsff.pl/program-2/