SAVE THE DATE!  The call for applications for the 4th edition of Kids Film.Pro is approaching.

Kids Film.Pro it's an international development programme for film projects and TV series for young audience. It is dedicated to script writers and producers who are interested in developing their film (live action, animation or documentary) or a TV series from a concept to a highly advanced script stage and initial production assumptions. For submissions we invite filmmakers from Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece and Poland.

New Partners of the Kids Film.Pro

The project started in 2014 and this year’s edition will turn into an international workshop edition including partnership countries. We are happy to announce our new partners:

•  International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino!, Poznań, Poland
•  JE.F Festival, Antwerp, Belgium
•  Zlin Film Festival, Zlin, Czech Republic
•  Athens International Children’s Film Festival supported by Faliro House, Athenes, Greece

Kids Film.Pro/Kino Dzieci.Pro works with 12 teams (scriptwriter and producer) including 4 series and 8 feature films on participants ideas. Our goal is to develop the script form short synopsis (budget, financing and promotion plan).

Schedule

4th edition of Kids Film.Pro will consist of 4 stationary workshop sessions and at least 3 on-line sessions. The workshops will be conducted in English only on the following months:

•  December 2019, Poznań, International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino!
•  March 2020, Antwerp, JE.F Festival
•  May 2020, Zlin, Zlin Film Festival
• August 2020, Athens, Athens International Children’s Film Festival supported by Faliro House

Selected projects will be presented at the Warsaw Kids Film Forum 2020 – an international co-production forum, which is an industry part of Kids Film Festival.

Our experts

 

Kirsten Bonnen Rask – feature films script Tutor.

Kirsten is an experienced script consultant in all formats – shorts, features, TV series, and documentaries for adults as well as for children. 

 Armin Prediger – series script Tutor.

Armin has worked in the film industry for 25 years, 18 of those as a writer, head writer and script editor in live-action and animation.

Ronald Kruschak – producer’s Tutor.

Germany-based producer, writer and tutor/lecturer with a track record of twenty years of filmmaking focusing on Family Entertainment.

Philip LaZebnik – feature films script Tutor.

Philip is a screenwriter, writer of plays and a screenwriting consultant. Originally associated with Disney Studios and Dream Works. His screenwriting credits include Mulan and Pocahontas for Disney, and The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado for DreamWorks, among many others.

Project executed with the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and Polish Film Institute.

Dear colleagues,

Please find attached the press release of the 54th Karlovy Vary IFF.

The press release is available for downloading here. 

You can download videos from the festival here.

Best wishes,

KVIFF Press Department

Dear colleagues and friends,

We are pleased to introduce the line-up of Slovak films at the 54th Karlovy Vary IFF.

>>OFFICIAL SELECTION – MAIN COMPETITION
Let There Be Light
Marko Škop SK-CZ 2019

>>EAST OF THE WEST – COMPETITION
Silent Days
Pavol Pekarčík SK-CZ 2019

>>FUTURE FRAMES
Kid
Gregor Valentovič SK 2019

>>OUT OF THE PAST
The Barnabáš Kos Case
Peter Solan CS 1964

>>LIBERATED
It's Better to Be Wealthy and Healthy Than Poor and Ill
Juraj Jakubisko CS 1992

MEET SLOVAK FILM INSTITUTE
Rastislav Steranka | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | June 30 - July 3
Kristína Aschenbrennerová | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | June 30 - July 3
Tomáš Hudák | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | June 30 - July 3
Miroslav Ulman | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | June 30 - July 5 
We very much look forward to seeing you soon!

Lea
& Rastislav & Kristína & Tomáš & MiroslavNational Cinematographic Centre | SLOVAK FILM INSTITUTE

CineEurope 2019, Barcelona: 19 June 2019 - The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the European cinema trade grouping, today launched the third edition of its Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme, a 12-month mentoring programme for women in cinema exhibition. 

Following the success of the first two rounds of the programme, initially launched at CineEurope 2017, this year’s edition will see eight talented female European cinema professionals receiving one-to-one support and development advice from outstanding women executives from across the cinema landscape, recognised for their leadership and business success. 

This edition will also for the first time see the initiative expand its reach, welcoming mentees from UNIC’s Partnership Programme - itself composed of key players from across the cinema sector and beyond - to include participants from 14 different companies across 10 territories. 

The programme remains UNIC’s flagship initiative to address the need to encourage and empower female professionals in order for the industry to realise its full potential. The 2019/20 edition welcomes the following key female leaders and rising female professionals from across the cinema exhibition landscape: 

Mentors 

Sofie Braet (Cinionic, Belgium), Nathalie Cieutat (Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, France), Helena Eklund (Filmstaden, Sweden), Cathy Huis in ‘t Veld-Esser (Gofilex B.V., The Netherlands), Petra Rockenfeller (AG Kino & Lichtburg Filmpalast, Germany), Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen (Novo Cinemas, UAE), Eva Maria Valles Novel (Cinesa, Spain), Olga Zinyakova (KARO Cinema Chain, Russia). 

Mentees 

Angeliki Angelidou (Cineplexx, Greece), Sévrine Breil (Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, France), Susanne Fläxl (Cineplex Neufahrn, Germany), Anna Grunert (Helios, Poland), Louise McKenzie (Webedia Movies Pro, UK), Alessandra Pavan Bernacchi (IMAX, UK), Rochelle Shanthakumar (Odeon Cinemas Group, UK), Hanna Szczepkowska (Arsenal Cinema, Germany). 

Welcoming this latest edition of the programme, UNIC CEO Laura Houlgatte commented: 

“It’s with great pride that we at UNIC are continuing our committed efforts towards promoting more gender-balanced leadership within the industry. 

The success of the first two editions of the UNIC Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme reflects not only the dedication of our inspiring mentors and mentees but also the continued need for discussions surrounding equal opportunities across the sector. 

We set out with the key long-term objective of broadening the talent pool for leadership in cinema exhibition, in the hope that the mentees of today would become the mentors of tomorrow. 

We’re delighted to be joined by such a fantastic group of industry professionals for this year’s edition and very much look forward to what the next 12 months have in store.” 

Notes for editors 

The UNIC Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme is a 12-month cross-sector, international mentoring scheme for women in cinema exhibition. 

Launched in 2017, the Programme is rooted in the belief that gender-balanced leadership in cinema exhibition is imperative for business success, better governance and more equity in the industry. 

More information can be found on the UNIC website here. 

The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) 

The Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) represents the interests of cinema trade associations and cinema operators covering 38 countries in Europe and neighbouring regions. 

CineEurope 

CineEurope 2019 will take place from 17-20 June at the Centre Convencions Internacional Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain. CineEurope is the longest- running and most successful European convention and trade show for Major, Regional, and Independent cinema professionals. CineEurope will feature exclusive screenings and product presentations of upcoming films, sponsored events, timely and informative seminars and the CineEurope Trade Show. CineEurope is the Official Convention of the Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC). 

Open call for MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2020 

MIDPOINT Feature Launch is a unique training and networking platform for emerging talents from Central and Eastern Europe. 

Feature Launch / Project Development Training 
The project development training focuses on teams of writers, directors, and producers who are developing their first or second feature films. 
Nine selected feature film projects go through an intensive 
4-module program that enables them to work closely on the script and project development and provides them with financing and co-production opportunities. 
The program consists of 2 residential workshops; project showcase takes place within Karlovy Vary International Film Festival with the KVIFF & MIDPOINT Development Award of 10.000 EUR for the best project and follow-up module for participating producers is organized within 
When East Meets West Co-production Market. 

Feature Launch / Script Consultant Training 
The development process that the Feature Launch projects go through is used as a platform to train three attending script consultant trainees, who are studying for their future careers as professional script consultants. 

Dates and venues 
Workshop 1 / January 15-22, 2020 / Trieste, Italy 
Workshop 2 / April 2020 / Slovakia 
Workshop 3 / June 2020 / Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic 
Feature Launch Spotlight (follow-up module) / January 2021 / Trieste, Italy 

Program accepts 
PROJECTS – first or second feature films (teams of writers, and/or directors and producers) 
SCRIPT CONSULTANT TRAINEES – script consultants, writers, editors, creative producers and other film professionals (with some experience in story-editing) with the ambition of becoming script consultants 

Deadlines 
Project Development Training / September 13, 2019 
Script Consultant Training / September 27, 2019 

You can find more information about MIDPOINT Feature Launch here. 
You can access the application form here. 

MIDPOINT Feature Launch is realized with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Czech Film Fund. It is presented in cooperation with Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, When East Meets West, Trieste Film Festival, the connecting cottbus, CineMart, Art Department Masterclass and Audiovisual Producers' Association. MIDPOINT operates under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Showcasing your project before an international jury, big prizes – including the production of two winning projects at the CeTA studio – and a unique chance to present your ideas to producers, distributors, or broadcasters from all over the world – all these opportunities will be offered to the participants of the Animarkt Stop Motion Forum 2019 pitching section. Registration deadline is 4 August.

Projects eligible to enter the pitching are short animations and short special TV episodes using the puppet technique and meeting a number of criteria: they are in a developmental phase (at least a first draft of the script required), their running time is no more than 30 minutes, and they are a puppet animation for at least 80% of that time. Also welcome is an input (as in directing the animation, creating the storyboard or artistic design, writing the score, or creating a substantial part of the animation) of artists whose country of origin is one of the following: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia. Just like during the previous edition, 15 projects will be chosen by a special Selection Committee. The projects will be presented on 11 October 2019 during the ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum, held in Łódź for the fourth time.

The artists will receive two special accolades from CeTA (Center for Audiovisual Technology in Wrocław), namely vouchers worth PLN 60,000 and PLN 40,000, which will entitle the winners to using the studio for producing their films. Other prizes include a license for the Dragonframe animation software, distributing the finished movie (sponsored by Radiator IP Sales), and expert tips on puppet animation by Marcin Zalewski.

The Animarkt Pitching will be preceded by a two-day training session devoted to refining the presentation of the project and the art of public performance. Nancy Denney-Phelps – a journalist cooperating with the prestigious AWN.com media group and a well-known figure in the animation circles – will advise the participants on what to focus on during the pitching, while composer and musician Nik Phelps will talk about such aspects as the presenter’s body language and their handling of the microphone. Additionally, each participant will have an opportunity to speak to Marcin Zalewski about the project of their puppet.

One of those to have already experienced the unique opportunity and proper support offered by the Animarkt Pitching is Martin Smatana, director of “The Kite” and winner of the top prize in 2017. The movie, produced by the CeTA studio, keeps winning plaudits and has been successful at numerous festivals – it premiered at Berlinale 2019, and a few days ago it won the Young Audience Award at the Annecy Festival. Smatana says, ‘It all started with the Animarkt. The guides and feedback I received from Nancy Denney-Phelps during one of the training sessions helped me a lot. Winning the prize gave me a huge boost and let me and my project spread the wings.”

The pitching’s terms and conditions are available at www.animarkt.pl/pitching. Projects should be submitted through an electronic form available atbit.ly/ANIMARKT_Pitching19. The deadline for submissions is 4 August 2019. The list of projects accepted for the pitching segment will be published at en.animarkt.pl and at the Animarkt Stop Motion Forum FB profile.

Animarkt Stop Motion Forum is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Polish Film Institute.

ANIMARKT STOP MOTION FORUM is Poland’s first and Central and Eastern Europe’s prime international event devoted exclusively to stop motion and puppet animation. It is a unique meeting venue of the field’s top artists, craftsmen, producers, distributors, broadcasters, and investors. Its diversified program offers a unique combination of workshop and vocation-oriented elements on the one hand with networking and business-to-business meetings on the other, while the pitching of short puppet animations is a unique opportunity for artists. The forthcoming 4^th edition of the Animarkt will be held in Łódź between 8 and 12 October 2019. Entry to all ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum events is free of charge, but registration is necessary due to a limited number of places.

MOMAKIN, the organizer of the ANIMARKT STOP MOTION FORUM, is a business partner for animation. It offers professional support to animation projects at every stage of their development. It brings together artists, producers, and distributors. It boasts an immense portfolio of talents from all over the world and numerous successful ventures home and abroad.