EFP, OMDC and TIFF set up platform for co-productions between Europe and Canada
With the aim of exchanging creative energy, experience and talents and promoting the co-production of international film projects, 12 European and 12 Canadian producers will be meeting for the new initiative entitled PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO. Created by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the programme will be launched this year between September 10 -12, during the Toronto International Film Festival. Regarded as the key gateway to the North American market, TIFF has always been important for European films. The MEDIA International programme of the European Union is supporting the initiative financially.
The line-up of the participants can be found below.
The programme is designed for independent producers who must have a track record of successful project development and production. Besides demonstrating a strong motivation in co-producing with Canada or Europe, they all have to be experienced in international co-productions and should have one project ready to pitch. The EFP network has selected the European participants from the group of EFP's PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE between 2006 - 2009. The participants from Canada have been chosen by OMDC and TIFF.
"Following on from our established PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE programme in Cannes, this new initiative aims to facilitate and increase international co-productions not only between Europeans, but also between European and Canadian producers", says Renate Rose, EFP Managing Director. "We intend to foster the circulation of European films in Canada as well as Canadian films in Europe. Moreover, PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO will provide a first stage for preparing
co-productions from countries which have rarely co-produced with Canada to date."
"OMDC is committed to supporting our clients with new business opportunities on the international stage", states Karen Thorne-Stone, President and CEO of the OMDC. "PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO will build important relationships between Canadian and European producers, which we are confident will lead to creative co-productions and long-lasting partnerships. We are excited by the 24 delegates that have been selected and look forward to supporting their future collaborations."
Besides various networking opportunities, the three-day event will include pitching sessions, one-to-one-meetings and case studies of completed European / Canadian co-productions, analyses and presentations of financing sources and co-production structures.
"We are excited about this initiative. Every year TIFF strives to support the Canadian film industry with innovative career-development and networking programmes. PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO will provide an invaluable and exciting opportunity to open doors and facilitate collaboration for talented producers." Karen Bruce, Director, Canadian Initiatives, Toronto International Film Festival.
European Participants
Iván Angelusz, Katapult Film (Hungary) - associated with Magyar Filmunió
Silje Hopland Eik, Cinenord Spillefilm AS (Norway) - associated with Norwegian Film Institute
Matti Halonen, Fisher King Production Oy (Finland) - associated with Finnish Film Foundation
Janine Jackowski, Komplizen Film GmbH (Germany) - associated with German Films
Andrzej Jakimowski, Zjednoczenie Artystów i Rzemieślników (ZAiR) (Poland) - associated with Polish Film Institute
Ankica Jurić Tilić, Kinorama (Croatia) - associated with Croatian Audiovisual Centre
Monika Kristl, Dawson Production (Czech Republic) - associated with Czech Film Center
Bernard Michaux, lucil s.a r.l. (Luxembourg) - associated with Film Fund Luxembourg
Martina Niland, Samson Films Ltd. & Accomplice TV (Ireland) - associated with Irish Film Board
Luis Angel Ramírez, IMVAL Producciones (Spain) - associated with ICAA, Spain
Marc-Antoine Robert, 2.4.7. Films (France) - associated with Unifrance
Reinier Selen, Rinkel Film BV (The Netherlands) - associated with EYE Film Institute Netherlands
Canadian Participants
Paul Barkin, Alcina Pictures
Andrew Boutilier, Submission Films
Robert Budreau, Lumanity Productions
Damon D'Oliveira, Conquering Lion Pictures
Trish Dolman, Screen Siren Pictures
Liz Jarvis, Buffalo Gal Pictures
Jennifer Jonas, New Real Films
Jennifer Kawaja, Sienna Films
Corey Marr, Corey Marr Productions
Brandi-Ann Milbradt, Philms Pictures
Martin Paul-Hus, Amérique Film
Paul Scherzer, Six Island Productions
Links:
Profiles of the 24 participants of Producers Lab Toronto 2010
Description of the project
www.omdc.on.ca
www.tiff.net
>> download press release
Contact EFP:
Jo Mühlberger
Project Director
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+49 40- 390 6252
Mareen Gerisch
Head of Press
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+49 40- 390 6252
Contact OMDC:
George McNeillie
Manager, Communications OMDC
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+1 416- 642 6619
Contact TIFF:
Karen Bruce
Director of Canadian Initiatives
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Communications Department
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San Sebastian Film Festival and EFP provide forum for European distributors
Press releases 02-09-2010Vilmos ZSIGMOND, ASC
Finally, it is our exquisite pleasure to announce that our life-long wish is coming true! One of the masters of world film art - the Hungarian born naturalized American - cinematographer Vilmos ZSIGMOND, ASC who, according to the 2003 International Cinematographers' Guild, was named among the 11 most influential world cinematographers of all times, is coming to Bitola, to Macedonia. We are exceptionally grateful and privileged to present the "Lifetime Achievement Award Golden Camera 300" of our Manaki Brothers Film Festival to this cinematographic giant. Thus, Vilmos ZSIGMOND, ASC will enrich our laureate club of world masters, affirming the prestigious position of the first and the oldest world festival praising and celebrating art and the exceptional artists who transform the film works, from words on paper into moving pictures, as their cinematographic/photographic creation.
Vilmos ZSIGMOND, ASC, was born on 16 June 1930, in Szeged, Hungary, a small town whose main industry was a rope factory. He was barely in his teens when World War II ended, and when the marionette Hungarian government, under the dictatorship of the Soviet army and Moscow, established a communist regime which cut off all contact with the Western world. At that time, young Vilmos developed a keen interest in still photography while reading "The Art of Light," a book filled with photographs taken by Eugene Dulovits. Because of his parents' bourgeois background, the communist authorities initially denied him the privilege of continuing his education. Instead, Zsigmond was put to work in the rope factory. He saved money to purchase a camera and became a self-taught still photographer. Zsigmond organized a camera club at the factory where he taught his fellow workers how to take pictures. He was rewarded by being allowed to study cinematography at the Academy for Theater and Film Art in Budapest. The idea was that he would come back to the factory and teach his fellows how to make home movies. However, the turning point in his young life predestining his late career happened on 23 October, 1956, shortly after Zsigmond graduated from the Academy in 1955, while working in the national film studio, together with his best friend from the Academy, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC they borrowed an Arriflex motion picture camera, and recorded thousands of feet of 35mm black-and-white film documenting the slaughter of brave civilians fighting Russian tanks and soldiers on the streets of Budapest. After the rebellion was crushed, ZSIGMOND and KOVACS secretly carried the film out of the country during a perilous journey across the border into Austria. After developing the negative and selling the film to a producer they made it possible for the world to see what had happened in the rebellious and bloody 1956 invasion of Budapest, the two of them migrated to the United States as political refugees with a dream of becoming Hollywood cinematographers in February, 1957. They didn't speak a word of English, and had no connections in the American film industry. Zsigmond supported himself by working at odd jobs and spending weekends and evenings shooting 16 mm educational and student films. He found a niche in the TV commercial industry, and also began shooting low-budget features aimed at drive-in theaters during the mid-late 1960s.
In 1971, the great director Robert ALTMAN asked ZSIGMOND to shoot his film "McCABE & MRS. MILLER" (BAFTA Award for Zsigmond). This was Zsigmond's entry into mainstream Hollywood, and four decades later Zsigmond has built his career which compiles over 80 narrative film credits, that mark the 54 years from his arrival in the United States, and he has become a legend in his own time.
Zsigmond demonstrated his vitality in his 80s by his proliferate creative energy, signing several new films, among which is his latest collaboration with Woody ALLEN (after the previous two films "MELINDA, MELINDA" in 2004 and "CASSANDRA'S DREAM" in 2007) in the comedy-drama "YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER" (screened in the competition lineup at this year's 63rd Cannes Film Festival). Vilmos had his career triumph in his late forties, i.e. at 47, when in 1977, after his successful collaboration with Steven SPIELBERG in 1974 on "THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS", he shot the Spielberg's sci-fi film "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND" for which he won his first and only Academy Award for Best Cinematography. This si-fi paradigm film will always be remembered by the magical sequences shot by cinematographer ZSIGMOND visually transforming the ideas of the author, screenwriter and director Spielberg to the negative. When he earned the Oscar he dedicated the award to his mentors at the film school in Hungary during a memorable acceptance speech that was seen on television by millions of people around the world. This was followed by three other Academy Award nominations. One year after winning the Oscar, in 1978 he made his second master piece "THE DEER HUNTER" and was nominated again for the Academy Award (the film won five Academy Awards that year; Best Picture, Best Director for Michael CIMINO, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the excellent Christopher WALKEN) for which Zsigmond won the BAFTA Award. The great film director, Milos FORMAN said that he considered "this film to be one of the ten greatest films of all time." Zsigmond in collaboration with Cimino and the actors created dozens of anthological sequences among which is the unforgettable orthodox wedding in the Russian/American working class suburbs of Pennsylvania, De Niro's deer hunting, followed by dramatic sequences of the madness of the Vietnamese battlefield, and further the horror when as captives soldiers were forced to play the deadly game of Russian roulette, De Niro and Walken in their roles as the two character friends portrayed this scene marvelously .
Vilmos ZSIGMOND received his other Academy Award Nominations for his two other anthological films: THE RIVER (1984) directed by Mark RYDELL and THE BLACK DAHLIA (2006) directed by Brian De Palma. Zsigmond started his collaboration with these two directors working on their previous films, with RYDELL on "CINDERELLA LIBERTY" (1973) and "THE ROSE" (1979); with De Palma on "OBSESSION" (1976) and the cult suspense-thriller genre film "BLOW OUT" (1981). The initial collaboration with Altman, which paved the way for his climb to the top of the film world elite continued with the films: "IMAGES" (1972) (BAFTA for Zsigmond) and "THE LONG GOODBYE" (1973). In the fruitful 1972 period, in addition to Altman, Zsigmond gained prominence with John BOORMAN's suspense filled "DELIVERANCE" (winning another BAFTA Award), and repeating his effective collaboration with Cimino in the film "HEAVEN'S GATE" (1980).
For his rich creative artistic opus Vilmos ZSIGMOND has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Polish Film Festival CAMERIMAGE in 1997 and the American Society of Cinematographers in 1990.
In 2005, Zsigmond and Kovacs were among the first laureates of The Legends Award from the Hungarian Society of Cinematographers. The award is a tribute to cinematographers whose lives and film are an inspiration to other filmmakers around the world. Zsigmond just recently returned from his alma mater in Budapest where he mentored film students in a master class. He and Kovacs helped to create the concept for the semi-annual summer master class in 1994.
In 2008, inspired by the great friendship/brotherhood among these two famous Hungarian born naturalized Americans, the master cinematographers Vilmos ZSIGMOND and Laszlo KOVASC, screenwriter and director James CHRESSANTHIS made the now famous documentary feature "NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO&VILMOS", where numerous American film makers such as directors: Peter BOGDANOVICH, Richard DONNER, Dennis HOPPER, Mark RYDELL, Bob RAFELSON and many leading American actors, such as: Karen BLACK, Sandra BULLOCK, Barbra STREISAND, and their fellow cinematographers: Vittorio STORARO, Haskell WEXLER, composer John WILLIAMS, producer and director Irwin WINKLER - all participate in the documentary and talk about Laszlo and Vilmos as artists and about their collaborations with them as film makers.
This step-by-step portrait is only the introduction of what we are anxiously awaiting in Bitola, where we will have the opportunity of learning more from him in person, at the traditional meeting with the Laureate Vilmos ZSIGMOND, during his Master Class and through Q&A helping us to enrich the image we have of this master of the world of film art.
Blagoja KUNOVSKI-DORE
Art Director
(Reference: Bob Fisher and The Mack Agency; IMDB;
Wikipedia; www.cinematographers.nl)
Vilmos Zsigmond is the winner of the lifetime achievement award “Gold Camera 300”
Press releases 31-08-2010For the 31st edition of the IFFC "Manaki Brothers"
31st August 2010, Bitola - ICFF Manaki Brothers and Vip operator are pleased to announce the winner of the lifetime achievement award for 2010.
Mister Vilmos Zsigmond, American Society of Cinematographers is this year's winner of the Golden Camera 300 of the oldest festival in the world dedicated to Directors of Photography (Cinematographers).
Zigmond is an exceptional person and a living legend who has signed over eighty films with the most eminent American and world directors.
He was born in 1930 in Hungary, as the son of a famous football player. He studied film in Budapest, where he completed a master's degree in cinematography. In 1962 he becomes an American citizen. He worked on the filming of many low-budget independent and educational films prior to his active engagement in the film industry.
Besides working with R. Altman (McCABE & MRS. MILLER), W. Allen (Melinda and Melinda), Brian De Palma (The Black Dahlia), M. Chimino (The Dear Hunter), S. Spielberg (The Sugarland Express), he has worked on films directed by actors S. Penn and J. Nicholson.
He has been nominated four times for the Academy Award, winning the golden statuette in 1977 for S. Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The eighty-year-old Director of Photography will be our guest at the 31st edition of the ICFF Manaki Brothers in Bitola.
More information for IFFC "Manaki Brothers" can be found on http://www.manaki.com.mk/ and all information for Vip operator can be found on Vip's web page http://www.vip.mk/
Contact "Brothers Manaki"
Žarko Kujundžiski
Festival "Brothers Manaki" Bitola
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This year's face of the Golden Orange: Ebru Akel
Ebru Akel has become the face of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, of which the 47th will be staged this year, between 9 - 14 October. Ebru Akel has posed in the posters which have been visualised by the world famous graphic designer Emrah Yücel.
THE SPIRIT OF THE MEDITERRENEAN IS REFLECTED WITH EBRU AKEL
Ebru Akel has become the face of this year's International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which is to be staged for the 47th time, with the support of the Antalya Metropolitan Council, and is being organised by the Antalya Kültür Sanat Vakfı (AKSAV). The meeting held at the Antalya Kültür Merkezi was attended by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın, Mayor of Antalya and also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Antalya Kültür Sanat Vakfı, Göksel Kumsal, the General Coordinator of the Golden Orange Festival, and by members of the Board of Directors of AKSAV. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın explained the reason for choosing Ebru Akel as follows: "Ebru Akel has a very Mediterrenean face. As her career is on the up, and she has experience presenting awards ceremonies, she is a star we have wanted to work with for a long time. Emrah Yücel also chose to work with her in respect of the design of the poster. Ebru Akel also has a face which is well suited to the concept of the poster."
THE BLUENESS OF THE MEDITERRENEAN, THE BEAUTY OF VENUS
Akaydın also explained the concept of this year's poster as follows: "We see Akel as a mermaid in this year's poster. She is presenting the magical orange which she has in her hand, to us, with a smiling face. It is a fantastic, magical and almost extraordinary world, with the identity of a figure which is rising up out of the Antalya sea. Yücel has also proposed that the concept of the stage setting for the awards ceremony be the same."
Brussels, 15 September 2010, 12 p.m.
European Parliament
Room ASP 3E2
Conference will be accompanied by a presentation of the
‘Małopolska Investment and Innovation Tree’
in front of the European Parliament,
ASP Building, Place du Luxembourg Entrance
Registration online before 6 September 2010:
www.malopolskie.pl/digitalcinema
For additional information please call: +32 22 86 85 24
or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MARKET ANALYSIS 2020
TBILISI: Georgia was strongly affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, which shut down cinemas and film production for most of 2020, but Georgian films received new awards at international festivals. Georgian cinema days and retrospectives were held in Brussels, Tallinn, Split and Lisbon, and Georgia was the Focus Country at the 2020 Trento Film Festival.
Hundreds of films made from 1921 to 1991 are to be returned to Georgia under a deal signed with the film archives of the Russian Federation in 2016. The Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) declared 2020 the year of the 1920s cinema. Despite the epidemic situation, eight films from the 1920s brought from the Russian film archives "Gosfilmofond" were restored, in cooperation with the National Archives.
At the same time, work was completed on the book Georgian Cinema of the 1920s, which reflects the work of directors in this significant decade of the development of Georgian cinema.
Dea Kolumbegashvili's Beginning was selected as Georgia’s entry for the 93nd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ award in the best international feature film category in 2020.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, no films or TV series were shot in Georgia under the Film in Georgia programme in 2020.
PRODUCTION
Five Georgian feature films were produced and only one of them was finished in 2020, according to the Georgian National Film Center. The domestic film finished in 2020 is Beginning, directed by Dea Kolumbegashvili and produced by First Picture / O.F.A with support from the Georgian National Film Center.
Six short films were shot in 2020 and all of them were already completed at the beginning of 2021: Hotel Mirage directed by Guram Bakradze and produced by Panik Films, Crossing directed by Sandro Naveriani and produced by Film Asylum, Thunderstruck directed by Giorgi Kobalia and produced by Film Asylum, Black Sea directed by Tinatin Emiridze and produced by Funder Ninuki Koiava, 26 directed by Gvantca Meparishvili and produced by Millimeter Film, and Heatwave directed by Tornike Gogrichiani and produced by Nushi Film. All of them are supported by the Georgian National Film Center.
Eight documentaries were completed in 2020: MSHT-15 directed by Vakhtang Kuntsev-Gabashvili and produced by Akrobat Studio (Tbilisi), Aux-Trois-Mailletz directed by Tamar Bartaia and produced by Studio 99 Ltd, Lana, Anuka and the Whole Football Team directed by Ketevan Kapanadze and produced by Microcosmos, Taming the Garden directed by Salome Jashi and produced by Mira Film Basel in coproduction with Corso Film and Sakdoc Film (which was selected for the Sundance IFF 2021), Stories from Family Album directed by Anna Dziapshipa and produced by Sakdoc Film, Glory to the Queen directed by Tatia Skhirtladze and Anna Khazaradze, and produced by 1991 Productions, and Artisan or Artist directed by Giorgi Tskhvediani and produced by Funder Nikoloz Abramashvili. All of them are supported by the Georgian National Film Center.
Three animated films were produced in 2020: Abandoned Village directed by Mariam Kapanadze and produced by "Kvali XXI" and Filmcenter “Georgian Film-Abkhazeti", The Father directed by Archil Kukhianidze and produced by Animation Development Fund, and Raven directed by Alexander Katamashvili and produced by 20 Steps Productions.
Although, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, no films or TV series were shot in Georgia under the Film in Georgia programme in 2020, three filming location scouts from Universal Pictures visited Georgia in September 2020. Their visit was part of the partnership between Enterprise Georgia, USAID’s Economic Security Programme, the Georgian National Film Center, and the Georgian Film Cluster.
"Developing the local creative industry is one of Enterprise Georgia’s top priorities. The success of this sector plays a considerable role in the economic advancement of the country”, said Mikheil Khidureli, Enterprise Georgia CEO.
Enterprise Georgia has been implementing the Film in Georgia programme since 2016. As a consequence, several production companies from Europe, Asia and the USA have already worked in the country.
From 2016 to 2020, 30 project implementation contracts were signed as part of the programme and 22 of them have been completed. The qualified expenses of all the agreements amount to more than 23.5 m EUR / 94 m GEL. It is also important to note that 15,795 employment opportunities were created during the implementation process of the mentioned projects.
The Film in Georgia team plans to continue active promotion of Georgia abroad, including the participation in major industry events (AFCI, AFM Location Expo, Focus Expo, Winston Baker Film Finance Forum), meetings with major studios, location managers and independent producers, as well as organising tours in order to introduce filming locations and existing relevant infrastructure in Georgia.
“The Film in Georgia programme is the main motivator for attracting international projects to Georgia. Our country has all the major advantages in order to be competitive in the world, such as various locations, flexible and simplified processes, lack of licenses for filming, competitive prices, film friendly society and more. However, the fact that the state supports the film industry and offers a 20% cash rebate to companies, makes them more interested”, Tatia Bidzinashvili, Head of the Film in Georgia Cash Rebate Programme, told FNE.
DISTRIBUTION
Giga Liklikadze's debut feature Pig was released in Georgian cinemas on 16 January 2020. Pig is the only Georgian film released in cinemas in 2020. This film, produced by Sarke Studio, had its world premiere at the Cottbus IFF.
In February and June 2020, the Georgian National Film Center presented the Georgian Pavilion at the Berlin IFF and Cannes FF markets, the second of them being held online due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Georgian actor Levan Gelbakhiani was among the top ten European Shooting Stars at the 70th Berlin Film Festival. He was selected for his lead role in Levan Akin's And Then We Danced, produced by French Quarter Film and Takes Film, in coproduction with AMA Productions, RMV Film, Inland Film, in cooperation with Sveriges Television.
The 18th DocLisboa International Documentary FF, which was held online in 2020, screened a large retrospective: "An Exciting Retrospective of Georgian Cinema" with 40 films from different periods of time.
Georgian films received several awards in 2020.
Dea Kulumbegashvili's feature film Beginning received The Golden Shell at the San Sebastian FF, where Kulumbegashvili also received The Silver Shell for best director and together with Rati Oneli the jury prize for best screenplay. Ia Sukhitashvili was also awarded best actress. Beginning has also been selected for the 73rd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in the Official Selection of Cannes International Film Festival.
Nino Orjonikidze and Vano Arsenishvili's documentary Tunnel had its world premiere at the IDFA Amsterdam and it was also selected for the International Human Rights Documentary FF in Prague. The film won Best Film at the Underhill Fest in Podgorica in June 2020, as well as the main prize at the Trento IFF and best long documentary prize at the DokuBaku 2020 IFF.
Abandoned Village directed by Mariam Kapanadze, produced by "Kvali XXI" and Filmcenter “Georgian Film-Abkhazeti", won an award from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan at the NEW CHITOSE International Animated FF in Hokkaido in November 2020. The European premiere of the film took place at the International Animation Festival "ANIMATEKA" in Ljubljana later in November 2020.
Ekaterine (Keko) Chelidze's long documentary Dead Souls’ Vacation produced by Parachute Films had its online world premiere in The Changing Face of Europe section of the Hot Docs IFF in Toronto.
The BIAFF, organised by the Batumi Art-house ARGANI, which had originally been scheduled for 13-20 September 2020, was postponed for a digital edition 15-25 November 2020. The BIAFF director Giorgi Gogiberidze and manager Zviad Eliziani each were awarded a special prize by the Georgian Film Academy for their contribution to the Georgian Cinema.
The 8th edition of CinéDOC-Tbilisi, which started on 30 August 2020, wrapped with the announcement of the winning films on 30 September 2020. The festival is organised by the Noosfera Foundation.
Zako by Susana Khachatryan and The Living Book by Mindia Arabuli won the Annecy-Tbilisi Animation Pitching Workshop, which took place from 28 September to 2 October 2020.
The workshop for documentary filmmakers ESoDoc was held 26 November - 4 December 2020 with the support of the GNFC. The workshop included lectures, masterclasses, film screenings and discussions, and it is an initiative of ZeLIG School for Documentary, Television and New Media, in Bolzano (Italy). Guardians of Heritage by Keti Machavariani and Aleksandre Kviria was declared the best Georgian project of ESoDoc Impact Strategy Workshop.
The first edition of the Kutaisi International Short Film Festival, organised in partnership with the Georgian National Film Center and the Kutaisi Municipality, was postponed from 3–7 November 2020 to 3-7 May 2021 due to the pandemic situation.
The 21st edition of the Tbilisi International Film Festival ran online from 30 November through 20 December 2020 and combined industry days, masterclasses and film screenings. The first place in the Georgian-Baltic Bridge competition went to Ia directed by Keti 
Machavariani and produced by Sunny Films in coproduction with Terra Incognita Films.
The Georgian animated film project Igi directed by Natia Nikolashvili and produced by Vladimer Katcharava through 20 Steps Productions, became the winner of the Central and Eastern European Animation Forum, held online from 6 to 8 October 2020.
The debut film project Holy Electricity by Tato Kotetishvili was awarded three prizes – the Camalot / Filmmore Emerging Cinema Award, NFF Script Development Award and HFM Market Potential Award at the Holland Film Meeting. The film is produced by Zango Studio and coproduced by Nushi Film.
The documentary project Smiling Georgia, directed by Luka Beradze and produced by 1991 Productions, was selected to participate among 28 projects in the European Work in Progress Cologne.
COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
No funding or financial support to industry representatives affected by the Coronavirus pandemic was approved by the state in 2020, Gaga Chkheidze, Head of the Georgian National Film Center, told FNE.
A group of producers took the initiative to create production regulations and general recommendations together with various agencies in April 2020. The regulation document discusses the main recommendations to be followed during the film production process, the activities to be carried out on the set, and additional services. FNE spoke to the producers about the crisis and their proposals.
"Considering the nature of the current reality, there are many more practical details that need to be taken into consideration in a systemic form, with legally enforced documents, which will allow for safe, flexible and uninterrupted productions. Considering the recent experiences of working with various state institutions, the working group is hopeful that further measures will be taken to address the needs of the sector. While our non-formal working group remains open to further collaborations, we call for more proactive and systemic action from the government, which concerns not only the film industry, but the creative industry in general ", Nino Jincharadze, Working Group Member and Takes Film Producer, told FNE in September 2020.
VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
Production studios and the Georgian National Film Center responded to the COVID-19 crisis with the launch of the initiative “Stay Home, Watch Georgian Films!”, under which 27 short and long films were screened online for free starting 25 March 2020. Among them were Georgia's 2019 Academy Award bid Namme directed by Zaza Khalvashi and produced by Georgia’s Batumi Art-House Film Studio in coproduction with Lithuania’s Tremora, the award-winning Moira directed and produced by Levan Tutberidze, I Am Beso directed by Lasha Tskvitinidze and produced by Pansionati, and Listen to the Silence directed by Mariam Chachia and produced by OpyoDoc in coproduction with France’s In the mood.
In November 2020 the GNFC launched an online film club, providing Georgian films as well as production news.
EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE
The first Dolby Atmos system cinema in Georgia opened in Tbilisi on 30 November 2017. The six-screen Cavea Galleria Tbilisi with 700 seats is the fifth cinema in the Georgian capital.
There is also one chain of multiplexes, the privately owned Rustaveli/Amirani Movie Theaters consisting of Cinema Amirani LTD (four screening halls, 679 seats) and Cinema Rustaveli LTD (five screening halls, 858 seats) in Tbilisi, and also Cinema Apollo LTD (one screening hall, 154 seats) in Batumi. Cinema Rustaveli LTD closed in July 2018 and its future destiny is unclear.
Rustaveli/Amirani Movie Theaters also runs Film Distribution LTD and Light Bank LTD, two divisions dealing with film production.
The new multiplex Cavea City Mall with 886 seats opened in 2019. CAVEA also runs CAVEA IMAX, with 10 screens including an IMAX screen, and CAVEA MOLI, with five screens. No new cinema opened in 2020.
There are currently six cinemas in Georgia with 35 screens (including one IMAX). All except one screen are digitalised.
A total of 67 titles were theatrically released in 2020, compared to 163 in 2019.
The 2020 admissions top ten is topped by Bad Boys For Life with 34,776 admissions, followed by Jumanji (33,559 admissions), Frozen II (25,171 admissions), Spy in Disguise (17,384 admissions), The Gentlemen (13,815 admissions), Sonic (10,932 admissions), Red Shoes and Seven Dwarfs (7,695 admissions), Playing with Fire (6,623 admissions), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (6,595 admissions) and Harley Quin (6,511admissions).
Pig by Giga Liklikadze is the only Georgian film released in cinemas in 2020. It was released by Rustaveli/Amirani Movie Theaters.
Additionally, screenings of Golden Thread directed by Lana Ghoghoberidze and produced by Film Production in coproduction with France's Manuel Cam Studio continued in 2020. Golden Thread premiered on 12 December 2019. It was released by Rustaveli/Amirani Movie Theaters.
"Attendance-wise, the share of Pig and Golden Thread is very small. The films had approximately 2,000 admissions in all", Salome Kuprashvili, Cavea’s Marketing Manager, told FNE.
Cinemas closed on 16 March 2020 due to the pandemic situation. Prior to that, the Georgian cinemas were visited by an average of 100,000 viewers every month till the closing.
The premiere of Uta Beria's Negative Numbers, a Georgian/French/Italian coproduction between Magnet films, Alief, Wide Management and 39Films, had been scheduled for March 2020, but it was postponed for 9 July 2020, at the Cavea Drive-In Cinema. The film screened until 7 August 2020. In the first week of August, the screening of Shindisi Heroes directed by Dito Tsintsadze, produced by Vladimer Katcharava for 20 Steps Production and Edmond Minashvili for Free Movie Studio, was held again at the Cavea Drive-In Cinema.
"After almost a year of closure, cinemas are facing existential challenges and at this stage we do not know the estimated date of the resumption of screenings," Salome Kuprashvili also told FNE in January 2021.
Total admissions decreased by 83 percent from 1,359,365 in 2019 to 230,160 in 2020, according to the cinemas.
Total gross decreased by 86 percent from 4,145,123 EUR / 13,264,395 GEL in 2019 to 564,637 EUR / 2,258,549 GEL in 2020.
Admissions to domestic films decreased from 37,865 in 2019 to 2,000 in 2020.
Domestic box office decreased significantly. It was 119,979 EUR / 383,934 GEL in 2019, but the final statistics for 2020 were not ready at the beginning of 2021.
GRANTS AND LEGISLATION
The Georgian National Film Centre handles cinema strategy and allots state funding.
The total amount of funding in 2020 was 1,262,376 EUR / 5.1 m GEL. The GNFC gave out 1,660,043 EUR / 5,017,359 GEL in 2019.
In February 2020 the GNFC gave out 250,000 EUR / 800,000 GEL for the production of two first feature films.
In April 2020 the GNFC gave out 434,750 EUR / 1,499,888 GEL for the production of three feature films.
In May 2020 the GNFC allotted 135,402 EUR / 473,908 GEL for the production of six long documentaries.
In June 2020 the GNFC gave out 116,759 EUR / 396,982 GEL for the production of seven short films.
In July 2020 the GNFC allotted 202,898 EUR / 700,000 GEL for the production of two international coproductions.
The new Feature Film Script Grants were announced by the GNFC on 24 July 2020. A total of 41,449 EUR / 167,453 GEL was distributed to 17 projects.
The total amount of grants for short animated films, announced on 5 October 2020, was 17,082 EUR / 64,061 GEL.
In November 2020 the GNFC gave out 47,259 EUR / 189,036 GEL for the development of 13 documentaries.
The Georgian Feature Film Development Grants were announced by the GNFC in December 2020. The total amount of grants was 45,000 EUR / 180,000 GEL.
Georgia launched its coproduction scheme for feature films in 2010 and a new call for documentary coproductions in March 2014.
The tax incentives programme, which went into operation in 2016, offers a 20% cash rebate on qualified expenditure with an additional rebate of 2-5% based on the promotional value of the production.
The minimum limit of qualified expenses is approximately 190,000 EUR / 500,000 GEL for feature films, TV films, TV series/mini-series or animated films, and approximately 114,000 EUR / 300,000 GEL for documentaries, commercials, reality shows and music videos.
The programme has two stages. After shooting wraps in Georgia, 20% of qualified expenditure is automatically returned to the production company. When the film is finished and released, it is assessed according to pre-defined criteria (Georgia is mentioned as an acting place on the script level, well-known locations are used, etc.) for the additional 2-5% rebate. Both Georgian and foreign projects may participate.
No cultural test is required in order to apply for the initial 20% rebate, and the rebate also applies to key non-resident salaries paid in Georgia. The online application is valid for two years.
The Regional Film Fund of Adjara, on the Black Sea coast, launched in 2012, is also expected to boost the film initiative.
On 24 February 2015 Georgia joined the Creative Europe Programme.
The project Film at School started in 2014. According to data from 2018, a total of 800 schools from all regions of Georgia participated and 9,800 screenings took place since 2014. The project covered 90 schools and held a total of 1,024 film screenings in 2019. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the project conducted the 2020 season in a different format. A new online film education platform has been set up with the support from Creative Europe. Children watch films, discuss them and learn to make short films with the help of professionals.
The project won the Cinema Education contest (EACEA-14-2017 FILMEDU) in the framework of the Creative Europe Programme and became part of the project The Film Corner Reloaded - A Cultural Approach Together with Foreign Partners, organised by Fondazione Cineteca Italiana (Italy), The Film Space, (UK), The Nerve Center (Northern Ireland), the National Cinèmatheque of Serbia (Belgrade, Serbia), Kino Otok (Slovenia) and the University of Milano Bicocca, Dipartimento di Scienze Umane per la Formazione Riccardo Massa (Italy).
The "Summer Film School" was held for the sixth time during two weeks in the villages near the occupation line of Georgia in 2020. Due to the pandemic, the film screenings were held outdoors. The project partners are the GNFC, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia and Creative Europe.
The GNFC film educational project - History-Film-History won a 205,295 EUR grant from the Creative Europe 2020 MEDIA sub-programme. This is the first time in the history of several years of cooperation with Creative Europe that Georgia has won as a lead country. The project partners are: Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, The Film Space Ltd., and the National Cinèmatheque of Serbia. History-Cinema-History will produce materials in two directions - teaching the history of 20th century Europe using films and teaching the history of cinema.
TV
Leading TV companies continued to produce new TV series in 2020. The most popular TV series in Georgia are: Friends of My Wife / Chemi Tsolis Dakalebi (Formula TV, formula.ge), In the City / Shua Kalakshi (Imedi) and Around Us / Chven Gverdit (Maestro). Two new Georgian TV series started broadcasting in 2020 - Tesea (Formula TV) and Seance (Public Broadcasting – First Channel ).
The first Georgian children's animated TV series Rescuers also started broadcasting on the First Channel in 2020.
Private channels, Broadcasting Company Rustavi 2 and TV Imedi, are usually the producers of TV series. Public Broadcasting – First Channel also produces documentaries. TV channels do not fund independent film production as a rule, that depends on individual cases, according to sources from the GNFC.
One new TV channel opened in 2020, Lider TV.
The most popular domestic online platform is Myvideo.ge, a video sharing platform providing live streaming for dozens of TV channels.
CONTACTS:
GEORGIA NATIONAL FILM CENTER
4 Zviad Gamsakhurdia Named Right Bank
Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
Phone: (+995 322) 2 999 200
Fax: (+995 322) 2 999 102
www.gnfc.ge
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND MONUMENT PROTECTION GEORGIA
4, Sanapiro str., Tbilisi, Georgia, 0105
Media and Communications Division: (+995 322) 2 996 377
Office: (+995 322) 2 987 430
http://mcs.gov.ge/
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GEORGIA FILM ACADEMY
0108, Tbilisi, Kaabadze Brothers N2
(+ 995 32) 299 60 13, 293 50 97
http://geofa.org.ge/
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SHOTA RUSTAVELI THEATRE AND FILM GEORGIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Building 1 – 19 Rustaveli Ave., Tbilisi 0108, Georgia
Building 2 – 40 David Agmashenebeli Ave., Tbilisi 0102, Georgia
Tel: (+995 32) 999 411
Fax: (+995 32) 983 075
http://www.tafu.edu.ge/
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Report by Alexander Gabelia (2021)
Sources: the Georgian National Film Centre, “Film in Georgia”, Cinemas: Rustaveli, Amirani, Cavea Tbilisi Mall, Cavea East Point
Winner of Film New Europe Visegrad Prix for Best Documentary Co-Production
WARSAW: Film New Europe together with the International Visegrad Fund has announced the winner of the first-ever prize to for best documentary co-production from a Visegrad country. Slovak director Martina Sakova, the co-director of The Housemaid, a German Slovak documentary was awarded the Prix at the closing ceremony of the International Bratislava Film Festival (www.iffbratislava.sk/) on 11 November. The Prix was handed over by the Vsiegrad Fund Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Linda Kapustova Helbichova The film was directed by Anna Hoffman and the two young directors collaborated closely on the project about a young Slovak housemaid working abroad. The prize recognizes the artistic achievements of filmmakers in the Visegrad countries and encourages cultural cooperation between partners within Visegrad and partners of other EU countries.
The Housemaid Wins First FNE Visegrad Documentary Prix
The Housemaid, a documentary about a young Slovak woman working for a elderly couple abroad, received the first FNE Visegrad Prix for a documentary film at the IFF Bratislava (http://www.iffbratislava.sk/) closing ceremony on 11 November 2010. The FNE Visegrad Prix was awarded to Martina Sakova, co-director of the German documentary The Housemaid (Die Haushaltshilfe) along Anna Hoffmann. The film was produced by Sommerhaus Filmproduktion.
FNE Visegrad Prix nominations for best documentary announced
WARSAW: Nominations for the first-ever FNE Visegrad Prix for best documentary coproduction from a Visegard country have been announced. The films are all screening in the International Bratislava Film Festival 2010 (5-11 November) official programme and the final selection will be made by the festival's main jury and announced at the festival's closing ceremony. The Prix is an initiative of Film New Europe together and backed by the International Visegrad Fund.
FESTIVALS: Adrienn Pál wins first FNE/Visegrad Coproduction Prize
{mosimage}PECS: Hungarian production company KMH Film Productions and producer Ferenc Pusztai received the first Film New Europe Visegrad Prix at the closing ceremony of CinePécs IFF in Pecs on 10 October 2010 for the feature film Adrienn Pál, a Hungarian - Dutch - French - Austrian co-production. The prize recognizes the artistic achievements of filmmakers in the Visegrad countries and encourages cultural cooperation between partners within Visegrad and partners of other EU countries.
This is the first-ever edition of the prize which is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund (www.visegradfund.org/) and Film New Europe as well as participating festivals
FNE Visegrad Prix nominations announced
WARSAW: Nominations for the first-ever FNE Visegrad Prix for best feature coproduction from a Visegard country have been announced. The films are all screening in the CinePecs 2010 (4-10 October) feature film competition programme and the final selection will be made by the festival's main jury headed by Jiri Menzel and announced at the festival's closing ceremony.
The Prix is an initiative of Film New Europe together and backed by the International Visegrad Fund. The prize is being awarded to recognize the artistic achievements of filmmakers in the Visegrad countries and to encourage cultural co-operation between partners within Visegrad countries and partners in other European countries of the European Union. The competitive prize is organized together with the support of CinePecs International Film Festival in Hungary, International Bratislava Film Festival in Slovakia, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic and Era New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland and Film Europe. The winner will receive 1000 Euros cash prize along with 5000 Euros of publicity on FNE throughout the year and promotion at other participating film festivals. A further Prix for best doc will be awarded this year at the International Bratislava Film Festival (5-11 November).
Launch of Film New Europe Visegrad Prix for Best Co-Production
WARSAW: Film New Europe together with the International Visegrad Fund has announced a new prize to for best feature and best documentary co-production from a Visegrad country. The prize is being awarded to recognize the artistic achievements of filmmakers in the Visegrad countries and to encourage cultural co-operation between partners within Visegrad countries and partners in other Euroepan countries of the European Union. The competitive prize is organized together with the support of CinePecs International Film Festival (www.cinepecs.hu) in Hungary, International Film Festival Bratislava (www.iffbratislava.sk) in Slovakia, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (www.dokument-festival.cz) in the Czech Republic and Era New Horizons International Film Festival (www.enh.pl) in Poland and Film Europe (www.kinocz.cz).
Apply for the East European Forum and find funding and support for your documentary film!
Press releases 23-08-2010To fill out the application form, please go to: http://www.dokweb.net/en/east-european-forum/entry-form/
A distribution agreement has been concluded between the film channel operator SPI International and the television channel distribution company Tematik Kábel Kft as of July 1st, 2010.
