The 6th edition of NexT International Film Festival will take place in Bucharest from March 28 to April 1, 2012.

NexT International Film Festival celebrates innovative and creative filmmaking from all around the world. Our goal at NexT IFF is to discover and promote today the major talents of tomorrow's international cinema.

For the first time, the call for entries is open not only for the competition, but also for three special off competition programs: NexT Imaginaria, NexT Dance and NexT Kids.

Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2011

COMPETITION
NexT calls for entries of narrative films (live action and animation) up to 60 minutes completed after January 1st, 2010. Documentaries, non-narrative films or video installations will not be considered for the competition.

Awards for the films selected in the competition:

NexT Trophy - 4000 Euro
"Cristian Nemescu" Best Directing Award - 2000 Euro
"Andrei Toncu" Best Soundtrack Award - 2000 Euro
Best Romanian Film - 1000 Euro

NexT covers accommodation and travel expenses (%) for the director / sound-designer of the films in competition.

NexT Imaginaria
A program to explore parallel universes, fantasy worlds, alternative history, utopias and dystopias, haunting visions and dark fears for a night to remember at NexT 2012. An international off competition program open to sci-fi, fantasy, horror, extreme action or simply fantastic out-of-the-box films to open your mind and dare you to dream!
Maximum duration of submitted films: 60 minutes.
The films must be completed after January 1st 2010.

NexT Dance
From good ol' school musicals to hot pop, from street dance & hip hop to classical ballet & contemporary choreography, we welcome international narrative short films that spice up their story with a splash of music & dance, for a very special night at NexT 2012. Our goal: a 2-hour off competition program to electrify our audience and make them go home humming and swinging.
Maximum duration of submitted films: 60 minutes.
The films must be completed after January 1st 2010.

NexT Kids
A special program for the youngest hearts at NexT 2012, designed to make them experience smart and fascinating short films: an opportunity for 5 to 12 year olds to discover cinema through creative animations and live action short films from all around the world. The screenings will be followed by hands-on special activities related to the films in the program.
Maximum duration: 10 minutes.
For this section only, there is no time limit regarding the completion date of the films.

For further details, read the regulations of NexT International Film Festival 2012.

Download the entry form of NexT International Film Festival 2012.

DVD PAL screeners must be sent to:

NexT Cultural Society
179 Traian Street
024043, Bucharest
Romania

Besides the competition and the off competition programs, NexT also presents a series of seminars on directing, sound-design, production & distribution, script-writing etc. offered free of charge to the participants.

NexT intends to be a meeting point for young filmmakers around the world.

Get-together with local filmmakers & live music every night.

contact:
Yvonne Irimescu / Festival coordinator
Phone: +40 21 252 48 67
Mobile phone: + 40 721 661 756

www.nextfilmfestival.ro
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Taking place December 8 - 10, 2011, during the Tbilisi Film Festival, Pitch.Doc will for the third time provide funding opportunities for several creative documentary projects from the region of South Caucasus. Participants from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will pitch 6 projects to international industry professionals on December 10.

The Austrian filmmaker Ivette Löcker discusses with us her latest film Night Shifts, mysterious nights, the omnipresence of non-stop operationg surveillance cameras, the intimacy of darkness and the contamination of today's life by light.

"Andrzej Wajda - Known and Unknown" (Andrzej Wajda - Bekannt & Unbekannt) - the retrospective of the Polish Master and the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School begin in Berlin on 2 December.

The retrospective "Andrzej Wajda - Known and Unknown" will be feature as many as 28 movies of the Master. They will include : "Generation", "Everything for Sale", "Canal", "Korczak", "Samson", "Promised Land", "Katyn", "Hunting Flies", "Ashes", "Ashes and Diamonds", "Innocent Sorcerers", "Landscape After Battle", "Layer Cake", "The Maids of Wilko", "Man of Marble", "Man of Iron", "Without Anesthesia", "Lotna", "Wedding", "Birch Wood", "Love in Germany", "Holy Week", "Nastasya", "Revenge", "Pan Tadeusz", "Danton", "Sweet Rush" and "Rring With A Crowned Eagle". Apart from these we will also see the documentary by Marcel Łoziński entitled "The Katyn Forest", which was inspired by Andrzej Wajda. The detailed programme can be found here.

In this retrospective, the Berlin audiences will also have the opportunity to learn more about the activities of Wajda as co-founder (together with Wojciech Marczewski) of the film school in Warsaw which has been supporting new generations of filmmakers for the past 10 years. As part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School, we will have a chance to see a selection of the best feature films, documentaries, and short films that came from the School.

The guests of the retrospective will be actor Jerzy Radziwiłowicz and directors who are graduates of the Wajda School - Piotr Bernaś, Marcin Sauter and Thierry Paladino. The presence of Piotr Bernaś is also related to the nomination of his documentary "Paparazzi" to the European Film Academy Award. This year the awards ceremony will be held on December 3rd in Berlin.

Screenings for the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School:

December 4, at 8pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema / guest Piotr Bernaś:
"Paparazzi", dir. Piotr Bernaś
"Take a Look", dir. Adam Palenta
"Little Bride", dir. Lesław Dobrucki
"The Inner Road", dir. Dorota Lamparska

December 5 at 7.30pm, Arsenal Kino / guest Piotr Bernaś:
"Paparazzi", dir. Piotr Bernaś

December 10, at 7.30pm, Arsenal Kino / guests Marcin Sauter, Thierry Paladino:
"Andrzej Wajda: Let's Shoot!", dir. Maciej Cuske, Thierry Paladino, Marcin Sauter, Piotr Stasik
"Behind the Fence", dir. Marcin Sauter
"Silence I", dir. Maciej Cuske, Robert Gliński, Edyta Wróblewska, Tomasz Wolski, Bartek Konopka, Marcin Bortkiewicz
"Gadjo", dir. Kryspin Pluta

December 11, at 6pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema:
"Three For the Taking", dir. Bartek Konopka
"Glasgow", dir. Piotr Subbotko
"What's It Like to Be My Mother", dir. Norah McGettigan

December 11, at 8pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema:
"At the Datcha", dir. Thierry Paladino
"North From Calabria", dir. Marcin Sauter

December 18, at 7pm, Arsenal Cinema:
"Three For the Taking", dir. Bartek Konopka

“Andrzej Wajda – Known & Unknown” is the project of the Polish Institute in Berlin under the auspices of the European Film Academy, in collaboration with the "Arsenal" Institute of Film and Video Arts (Institut für Film und Videokunst), the Wajda School Foundation and the Wajda Studio, the Zeughauskino cinema (at the German Historical Museum), the Hackesche Höfe cinema, the Film Museum in Potsdam, with the financial support of the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and the National Film Archive

WAJDA SCHOOL | WAJDA STUDIO
more than a film school | more than a film studio

“From script to screen” – this was the main idea when Andrzej Wajda and Wojciech Marczewski founded the film school in 2001 in Warsaw, Poland. Since 2011 they have also started the production company - Wajda Stu­dio, which aims to support projects with strong artistic vision.

We offer a unique combination of production and edu­cation for film professionals at international level.

In our filmography we have more than 50 documenta­ries and short fictions, more than 200 students shorts. We have had screenings and awards at the festivals such as Berli­nale, San Sebastian, Karlovy Vary, Hot Docs, IDFA and DokLeipzig.

The Studio’s mission is to search for new talents among debutants. We are looking for author- driven feature, documentary and short film projects which bring up contemporary issues. We focus on development stage and support our directors with artistic supervision from the best Polish and European filmmakers.

Best regards,

Joanna Skalska

Head of PR & Sales
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Wajda School | Wajda Studio
ul. Chelmska 21, 00 - 724 Warsaw, Poland
tel./fax: + 48 22 851 10 56 / 57 / 67

www.wajdaschool.pl
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{mosimage}Greek Cypriot director/editor/cinematographer/producer/writer Dinos Katsouridis died on 28 November 2011 at age 84. His death in Athens was announced on 29 November. He is credited with directing 17 films, most importantly Ti ekanes ston polemo Thanasi and Thanasi pare to oplo sou, two films notable for their political statements.

Under construction. Full country profile coming soon.

Finland Funds Six Films

HELSINKI: The Finnish Film Foundation (www.ses.fi) awarded over 1.6 million euros in funding for six feature films in the May 2012 grants round, and an additional 675,000 euros funding for one feature film in the April grants round.

The following films received funding:

ABOVE DARK WATERS (TUMMAN VEDEN PÄÄLLÄ)

The movie, based on the novel with the same title by actor Peter Franzén, is a touching and sensitive story of growin up in Northern Finland. A small boy opens his eyes in the morning, astonished by the sunlight. The family life is as usual; meals together, playing with siblings and other kids. Everything appears to be familiar, almost idyllic. But the boy starts to hear noises during the nights; arguments and crying. The father disappears, the mother takes the kids to the grandparents' house. The child trusts his parents, unconditionally, admiring their wisdom and experience, full of hope and faith in the future. But what happens to the child when this image breaks? When the threats and fear become a daily routine?

Above Dark Waters is a sensitive but simultaneously hilarious story. Franzén captures the view of the world of a child with great detail; the story consists of small observations and eventually evolves to a great drama where childhood is no longer what it was supposed to be.

Director: Peter Franzén
Script: Peter Franzén
Producers: Markus Selin, Jukka Helle
Cinematography: Hena Bolmberg
Shooting schedule: August 2012, January 2013
Distribution in Finland: Oy Nordisk Film AB
Budget: 1 490 000,00 €
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 630 000 EUR
Production company: Solar Films Inc (www.solarfilms.com)

 

THE ONLY ONES (NE AINOAT OIKEAT)

The Only Ones is a romantic comedy about a woman who finally finds her "Only One", but then the man mysteriously disappears. Her next great love appears, but happens to also be the Prime Minister of Finland.

Director: Saara Cantell
Script:  Outi Keskevaari
Producer: Jarkko Hentula
Shooting schedule: 09-10/2012 and 12/2012
Premiere: 25.12.2013
Distribution in Finland: Oy Nordisk Film AB
Financing TV company: MTV 3
Budget: 1 490 000,00 €
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 700 000,00 €
Production company: Yellow Film & TV (www.yellowfilm.fi)

 

CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MEN (MIESTEN VÄLISIÄ KESKUSTELUJA)

After eight successful satiric novels about Finnish politicians and cultural life Kari Mairisaari quit writing his ninth novel about the True Finns party members. Instead he starts writing a book about a bus mechanic. Not just about an average handyman, either. Vlatkosta, a 36-year-old Croat from Espoo, who is one day picked up to answer to war crimes charges.

Mairisaari has been following a Rwanda genocide trial at Porvoo city court and he's concerned about the questions, "Doesn't 15 years deacent life pay anything back?", " What does a young man feel after taking another person's life?"

Writing a novel is a serious challenge to Mairisaari. Could he walk the path where he has to relearn how to navigate through and to put at risk all that he has so far achieved? Does he have courage to create art that has a real meaning - for himself and for the reader?

Director: Jarmo Lampela
Shooting schedule: 10.3.2010-3.3.2011
Premiere: Autumn 2012
Distribution in Finland: Pirkanmaa Film Centre
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 25 900,00 €
Production company: Vegetarian Films

 

PIONEER

The country gains confidence as it fights to secure its riches. Professional diver Peder is obsessed about reaching the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. Along with his brother Knut, he has the discipline, strength and courage necessary for the world's most dangerous job. A test dive to below 500 meters is compared to Norway's moon landing, and is meant to convince sceptics that laying a pipeline to the mainland is possible. For Peder, the question isn't whether it's feasible, but who'll take part. Then a tragic accident changes everything, and sends Peder on a journey, where he gradually loses sight of who's pulling which strings.

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg
Script: Hans Gunnarsson, Cathinka Nicolaysen, Kathrine Valen Zeiner
Shooting schedule: 1.9.-15.12.2012
Premiere: 10/2013
Distribution in Finland: Oy Nordisk Film AB
Financing TV companies: NRK, SVT, ZDF
World sales: TrustNordisk
Budget: 5 555 559,00 €
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 150 000,00 €
Production company: Friland Produksjon AS (Norway)
Co-production company: Matila Röhr Nordisk Oy (Finland)

 

DETECTIVE OFFICE LASSEMAJA - THE SEVEN WONDERS (LASSEMAJAS DETEKTIVBYRÅ - DE SJU UNDERVERKEN)

Lasse and Maija have decided to take some time off from their detective duties and go on a holiday. Nevertheless they end up in the middle of strange events. The lady Lilly Sparvén arrives in Valleby and has her seven diamonds with her. After many incidents Lasse and Maija are accused for beeing responsible of the diamond's disappearance. Now the holiday has to wait, as Lasse and Maija have to find who the real diamond thief is.

Director: Valter Söderlund
Script:  Peter Arrhenius
Shooting schedule: September-October 2012
Premiere: Autumn 2013
Distribution in Finland: FS Film Oy
Financing TV company: SVT, MTV3
Budget: 1 387 000,00 €
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 100 000,00 €
Production company: AB Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden)
Co-production company: Kinoproduction Oy (Finland) 
 

KEKKONEN

Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, the long-time president of the Republic of Finland, is scheduled to visit Alli's Bar on his way to northern Finland. He is blindly worshiped and the nearer the visit draws, the more envy, competition and dirty tricks we see in a small town. 

Director: Marja Pyykkö
Script: Elias Koskimies (based on a novel by Pia Pesonen)
Shooting schedule: August-September 2012
Premiere: Autumn 2013
Distribution in Finland: Oy Nordisk Film Ab
Total support of the Finnish Film Foundation: 675 000,00 €
Production company: Solar Films Inc.

 

 

Report after The Finnish Film Foundation (www.ses.fi).

 

Between November 25 - 28, EEFA Training Network is organizing the fourth and last workshop of this year, Legal and Distribution Matters Workshop in Tallinn, in partnership with PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival.

The teams of the seven documentary and eight fiction features from European and Non-European countries, will benefit from the teachings of our experts, lead by Head of Studies Catherine Buresi, Co-director of the Berlinale European Film Market: Legal Expert Dirk Poppendieck and Distribution Expert Marta Lamperova, Content Expert Jacques Laurent, co-founder of Télévision Du Monde and Capnetwork Belgium, Production Expert Patrice Vivancos, and Visiting Expert Dorota Roszkowska, from the Dragon Forum International Academy of Document.

The trainers will interact with the participating producers both in group sessions and in one to one meetings, and will discuss key aspects in the domain of legal and distribution matters concerning film: what is a contract, what is a co-production, author rights and copyright, what means to be "owner of rights", where to sell a film, sales agents, MG, territories, all rights, TV channels (what and how they buy films and documentaries). Also there will be a session of resume for the whole one-year workshop, along with Q&A on the previous training topics, mainly concerning film production.

Evenings will be dedicated to business activities, networking and viewings at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival.

At the end of the workshop, all the participants will sustain a two part pitching session: one for documentaries, one for fiction projects, juried by a panel of EEFA Training Network experts and other guest experts attending PÖFF. After the deliberation, the best three projects will be awarded with scholarships to our partners' training networks: When East Meets West co-production event and Dragon Forum International Academy of Document.

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 is supported this year by Media Mundus.

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

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

CONTACT

Coordinator

CATALIN LEESCU

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Mobile +40 753 125 237

Project Executive

C.OANA A. VENAT-DUMITRIU

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Mobile: +40 753 125 247

Tel/fax: +40 21 320 60 72

Project Manager

RUXANDRA CERNAT

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Mobile: +40 753 166 046

Financial Coordinator

DANIEL BADEA

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Mobile: +4 0722 601 753

Online Manager

SORINA DIACONU

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Mobile: +4 0722 84 48 87

HBO Central Europe to produce second season of top rating show În derivă / In Treatment in Romania
Bucharest, November 22nd, 2011 -
HBO Central Europe will start production of the second season of În derivă / In Treatment early next year.

The half-hour drama series, which airs five nights a week, follows the continuing story of psychotherapist Andrei Penauru and the weekly sessions with four patients, ending every Friday with the visit to his own therapist.
Season 2 of În derivă / In Treatment comprises 35 episodes and continues the theme of how a successful therapist both benefits from and is handicapped by his own life experience when he confronts the problems of his patients and his own turbulent life.
The first season of the series, shot entirely in Romanian, premiered on December 6th, 2010 on HBO Romania to critical acclaim from press and audiences.
The highly successful In Treatment format, created by Israeli writer Hagai Levi, has created loyal audiences in Israel, the US and Romania, and is now receiving enthusiastic press reviews for the HBO productions of the format made in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In Season Two, Marcel Iures continues his highly acclamed rôle as psychotherapist Andrei Poenaru, on the surface a serious and reserved professional, hiding a deeply emotional, vulnerable human being. How he strives to continue to help his patients and take care of his own life unfolds in the new season of In Deriva
After falling in love with a vulnerable female patient, everything that he holds dear falls apart and his life is thrown into complete havoc: his world descends into disarray, affecting his self-esteem, family and friends, professional reputation - and his patients.

Contacts
HBO Romania - Irina Catachin
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +40 723 545 093

HBO Central Europe Gerry Buckland
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +44 7774 860011

ABOUT HBO CENTRAL EUROPE

Home Box Office, America's leading premium television network, provides basic and premium pay television entertainment channels for cable TV, Direct-to-Home and MMDS platforms. HBO Central Europe - owned by Home Box Office Inc. - currently provides basic and premium channels to 14 countries in the region, including: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia.

HBO CE offers five high quality movie channels (HBO, HBO2, HBO Comedy, Cinemax and Cinemax2) and a digital package (HBO HD, HBO2 HD, HBO Comedy HD, Cinemax HD, Cinemax2 HD, broadcasting HBO and Cinemax programming in high definition, HBO ON DEMAND, HBO's subscription video on demand service and HBO GO, HBO's broadband SVOD service) with unique programming and broad audience appeal.
HBO and Cinemax along with their multiplexes and value-added services bring the biggest blockbusters, award winning original productions, series, exclusive events, evergreen movies, film festival hits, international and European movies and the biggest stars into viewers' homes.

HBO Central Europe is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary.

THE FESTIVAL ON WHEELS IS GEARING UP TO MEET CINEMA FANS ONCE MORE WITH SEVERAL NEW SECTIONS COMPLEMENTING THE TRADITIONAL CORE OF THE PROGRAMME. THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL ON WHEELS LINE-UP FEATURES AWARD-WINNING FILMS FROM WORLD CINEMA, THE LATEST WORK TO COME OUT OF TURKISH CINEMA, A DARDENNE BROTHERS RETROSPECTIVE, ZEKI DEMIRKUBUZ'S 'AMERICAN FILMS I ENVY,' PRODUCTIONS TAKING UP THE ARAB SPRING, AND SHORT FILMS FROM FINLAND, INCLUDING THE WORK OF FINNISH CINEMA MASTER, AKI KAURISMÄKI.

As the Festival on Wheels prepares to set out for the 17th year, a packed programme of award-winning films from World and Turkish cinema, classics and shorts, workshops and panel discussions awaits film fans, along with the latest publication of the Bookstand on Wheels. Organized by the Ankara Cinema Association, in association with the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the Festival on Wheels will begin its travels, as every year, in Ankara. Following screenings in the capital on 2-8 December, the Festival will be visiting Sinop on 9-12 December, and Izmir on 14-18 December.

WORLD CINEMA
The World Cinema section presents a selection of award-winning films fresh from the world's leading festivals. The section line-up includes Las Acacias (Pablo Giorgelli), The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius), Atmen (Karl Markovics), Courage (Greg Zglinski), The Day He Arrives (Hong Sangsoo), Le Havre (Aki Kaurismäki), Melancholia (Lars von Trier), Nana (Valérie Massadian), The Prize (Paula Markovitch) and Volcano (Runar Runarsson).

TURKEY 2011
Once again this year, Festival on Wheels audiences will be presented with a pick of the latest productions to emerge from Turkish cinema. In addition to film screenings, cinephiles will have the chance to speak with cast and crew at gala performances and during Q&A sessions. The section line-up includes: Onur Ünlü's The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family (Celal Tan ve Ailesinin Aşırı Acıklı Hikayesi), which won three awards, among them Best Film, at this year's Adana Golden Boll Festival; Future Lasts Forever (Gelecek Uzun Sürer), the second film by Özcan Alper, in which he reflects on the recent history of southeast Anatolia; Nuri Bilge Ceylan actor Muzaffer Özdemir's directorial debut, Home (Yurt); What Remains (Geriye Kalan), the film that won first-time director Çiğdem Vitrinel Best Director award at Antalya; Yüksel Aksu's second feature Ecotopia (Entelköy Efeköy'e Karşı); and the Murat Saraçoğlu directed In Flame! (Yangın Var).

DARDENNE BROTHERS: CONSCIENCE AND FATE
Belgian filmmaking duo, the Dardenne Brothers, fabled for their signature documentary-style realism in portraying the 'other' Europe and the struggles of the man on the street, will be guests of the Festival on Wheels this year with a retrospective of five of their films: Rosetta, The Son, The Promise, Lorna's Silence and The Kid with a Bike.

ZEKİ DEMİRKUBUZ: AMERICAN FILMS I ENVY
This section brings audiences four American films described by prominent Turkish director Zeki Demirkubuz as "films I envy." The compilation combines Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, one of the most powerful portrayals of violence on celluloid, with the John Huston directed title The Misfits, in which both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable made their last screen appearances, Sydney Pollack's The Yakuza, and the John Schlesinger film Midnight Cowboy.

SPRING IS REVOLUTIONARY
The Spring is Revolutionary section offers an on-the-ground perspective of the transition sparked in the Arab world in 2011 by the demand for democracy, as depicted on screen by local filmmakers. Alongside film screenings, the Festival on Wheels will be opening up the Arab Spring to debate in a panel discussion.

CLASS - CLOSE-UP
This year's addition to the now annual Bookstand on Wheels comes in the form of Class Relations: A Timeworn Representation? which explores various dimensions of the class concept in film, literature, culture and economy. Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini's La Rabbia, a previously obscure documentary made up entirely of archive footage, will also be screened as a spin-off of the 'class' theme.

TUNCEL KURTİZ'S ÉMIGRÉS
Festival on Wheels audiences this year will have the opportunity to catch Hasan the Rose (Gül Hasan), the 1979 film directed in Sweden by Tuncel Kurtiz and starring himself in the lead role. In its time, this unconventional 'guest worker' film won three awards at the Antalya Film Festival, as well as the Best Director award of the Swedish Film Institute.

CHECK OUT THESE FREE SCREENINGS!
The now classic Festival on Wheels short film screenings fall this year into three categories: Short is Sweet, a selection of innovative films from around the world; Finland in Short, a sample of Finnish work from the past 30 years; and Cowboys of the North: Aki Kaurismäki, which covers the short films of Finland's most prominent director.

Films from Belgium and France make up the Children's Films section and promise to appeal as much to adults as to the young.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS and WORKSHOPS
As well as film screenings, the 17th Festival on Wheels continues to offer workshops on cinema. Workshops will be held in parallel to panel discussions on the Festival with themes of 'The Arab Spring' and 'Class and Cinema.' Additionally, the Script Workshop: Characters, Dialogue and Acting will focus on character portrayal, dialogue and the relationship between director and screenwriter. Distinguished academic and critic Mieke Bal will come together with audiences in a master class on the theme of What Culture Silences after the screening of his latest film, A Long History of Madness, co-directed with Michelle Williams Gamaker.

For the younger generation, and specifically 8-12 year-olds, Mieke Driessen and Jenny van den Broeke will be leading an Animation with Kids Workshop in Ankara sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy. Here, young participants will produce their first stop motion animation films. Again in Ankara, Ceylan Özçelik, presenter of the SkyTürk film programme 'The Most Thrilling Place', will give a workshop entitled Warning: Shooting in Progress! The Most Thrilling Place in Television, in which the finer details of making a film programme for television will be discussed.

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PRESS RELEASE

November 2011

15th EDITION OF THE BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL (PÖFF) ANNOUNCES IT WILL OPEN WITH ICELANDIC TRAGICOMEDY EITHER WAY AND CLOSE WITH THE TREE OF LIFE AS FULL PROGAMME IS ANNOUNCED AND TICKETS GO ON SALE

The Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), which runs from 18th to 30th November 2011, will begin its celebration of Icelandic cinema on its Opening Night by launching the festival with a screening of Either Way.

Directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson the film centres on Alfred and Finnbog who work for the Icelandic public roads department with a job painting dividing lines and hammering kilometre posts into road shoulders. This odd couple spend their time debating with each other whilst being isolated from civilisation and their loved ones. Their relationship forms the basis of a warm and moving comedy drama that will provide a perfect curtain raiser to the biggest film festival in North East Europe.

Either Way will be one of many Icelandic films in the festival as the festival will present a focus on cinema from the country in recognition of the fact that Iceland was the first country to recognise Estonia’s independence in 1991. Films such as the concert film Inni: Sigur Rós (Dir: Vincent Morisset) and the lauded Volcano (Dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson) will sit alongside a retrospective of the work of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson who will also be on hand to collect the PÖFF Lifetime Achievement award.

The festival competitions – including the Official Competition Eurasia, Tridens Baltic Film Competition, Heave(i)en Estonian Film Award and Competition for North American Indies – will include many delights from established films such as The Artist (Dir. Michel Hazanavicius) and Elena (Dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev) to the world premiere of the Kazakh film Akkyz (Dir: Zhanabek Zhetiru). Other competition premieres will include the international premieres of Uzbek film Late Life (Dir. Ayub Shaxobiddinov) and Doppelgänger Paul (Dir: Kris Elgstrand, Dylan Akio Smith) and a European premiere for The Last Nights of Joe May (Dir. Joe Maggio)

The Panorama section will focus upon those films that have already delighted festival audiences, amongst them Buta (Dir. Dir: Ilgar Najaf) [which will recieve it's international premiere], Gypsy (Dir: Martin Šulík) and We Have a Pope (Dir: Nanni Moretti) whilst the Forum contains some esoteric works ripe for adventurous audiences to discover including UK feature Wild Bill (Dir. Dexter Fletcher) and the stunning Blue Bird (Dir: Gust Van den Berghe). There’ll also be a chance to see films from directors who have screened at PÖFF over the years with The Trip (Dir. Michael Winterbottom) and Faust (Dir: Aleksander Sokurov) sure to entrance the numerous visitors to the festival. The festival will close with a screening of the Palme D’or winning The Tree of Life (Dir. Terence Malick)

The Screen International Critics Choice encompasses those films that those at the renowned industry magazine have made waves over the past year including the mesmerising The Turin Horse (Dir: Béla Tarr) and the tough but brilliant Tyrannosaur (Dir. Paddy Cosindine). PÖFF’s Vitamin Boost will include the funny, strange and weird with Karlovy Vary Independent Camera Award winner Sunflower Hour (Dir. Aaron Houston) and China based sex comedy Red Light Revolution (Dir. Sam Voutas) guaranteed to chase the blues of the dark nights away.

Documentaries will also be represented with Docs@PÖFF and will include screenings of the beautiful Argentinean Lesson (Dir: Wojciech Staroń) and moving Mama Africa (Dir: Mika Kaurismäki) whilst there will be a special focus on Human Rights, with Diversity Enriches a programme which aims to show how similar we all are in spite of our differences. There’ll also be a chance to see some of the best haute couture with Monton Presents: Fashion on Film, a selection of short films in Sleepwalkers Presents and some extra special screenings to celebrate the 15th birthday of PÖFF

The director of the Black Nights Film Festival Tiina Lokk said:

“As always we have an absolutely full programme and we urge everyone to check out the wealth of films we have on show. From the biggest names to those beginning to make names for themselves, the 15th anniversary of PÖFF is definitely one of our best programmes yet.”

The full programme and schedule for Black Nights and information on how to buy tickets is available www.poff.ee

PÖFF is part of the programme of the European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011.

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Notes for Editors

For further information contact the International Press Officer Laurence Boyce at laurence.boyce@poff .ee

The Black Nights Film Festival has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/festivalpoff. The POFF English twitter feed is available at @POFFWolf whilst the Estonian feed is available at @POFFIHunt

For more information about Tallinn – 2011 European Capital of Culture go to http://www.tallinn2011.ee/eng