Three filmmakers from the Baltic region complete three week script
development residency

The third edition of the Baltic Shorts Residency,  an intensive workshop lasting three weeks held in the small Lithuanian town of Kintai, has concluded for 2021.  Between 1st and 20th June 2021, three selected filmmakers from the Baltics undertook an intense writing process whilst receiving professional consultation with a view to producing a fully finished script of their short film.

The participants were Lithuanian film director Akvilė Gelažiūtė with the project 2.2 Atmospheres or Medium Pressure, Estonian director and scriptwriter Juri Krutii with Side Hesitation and Latvian filmmaker Žanete Skarule with the project Big Loop – Small Loop. 

On 19 July, Kids Kino Industry invites industry professionals to join the conversation with the creators of “Journey to Yourland”. The release of the film is planned for 2022. The webinar will shed the light on the most important aspects regarding the production process and 360° approach which creators follow to reach the wider audience. 

KKI Talks in July: SMART ANIMATION & 360° CLEVER WORLDBUILDING
– a preview of “Journey to Yourland”
19 July, 3:00 - 4:00 PM CEST, online (ZOOM)

Arthouse cinema is more important today than ever before!

The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas, the CICAE had its new board elected during the annual general assembly on June 23, shifting towards a younger, increasingly international and more gender balanced representation of its members.

Christian Bräuer re-elected as President, new Board of Directors

Christian Bräuer, managing director of the Berlin Yorck Kinogruppe and chairman of the German Arthouse Association, was re-elected as president.

“Never has cinema been so challenged as it is now in the wake of the pandemic-related closures. At the same time, however, it is also true in view of the monopolisation of market power and the rapid development of business models in the media sector: Community-based mission-driven Arthouse cinema is more important today than ever before," says Christian Bräuer. "It is just as much about defending the diversity of films as it is about satisfying people's need for public storytelling, also in terms of social self-assurance and negotiating conflicts."

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has revealed selection of three key sections of its 55th edition – Crystal Globe Competition, East of the West Competition and Special Screenings – which include 15 Czech films and minority co-productions. Films by Olmo Omerzu, Václav Kadrnka, Erika Hníková and Miro Remo will celebrate world premiere in the main competition.

Read more about Czech films selected for competition sections HERE.

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15 consecutive years “Festival of tolerance” from Zagreb, Croatia founded by Branko Lustig, a two time Oscar winner and survivor of Holocaust, is keeping the memory of Holocaust and teaching empathy through films, discussions and art

The popularno Festival of Tolerance will take place this summer from 1 to 10 July at Zagreb's Bundek lake. Visitors can expect successful and intriguing films, interesting and provocative exhibitions that encourage contemplation, and socially important lectures and educational programmes. Attractive gigs under the open sky of Zagreb will wrap up the Festival’s programme.

In June, the Czech Film Fund granted the support for development of fiction features and for development of documentary films for the second time this year. In fiction category, the Council divided altogether EUR 346 000 (CZK 9 million) among 12 projects by talented young guns as well as experienced authors and supported mainly coming-of-age stories and family dramas. In case of documentary films, the Fund supported 9 projects with EUR 172 000 (CZK 4,5 million), mostly focused on current topics, portraits and Czechoslovak history.

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This summer, Fest Anča International Animation Festival will bring a selection of the best and most compelling Slovak and international animation, but with a twist: Fest Anča’s 14th festival edition will be primarily online. Although the festival will open its gates to a limited number of live viewers in Žilina, it will offer its full film programme primarily online. So viewers can watch it via their computers for the first time in the festival’s history. Fest Anča 2021 will take place from 1 to 4 July, and the films will be available for streaming up until Sunday 11 June. This year’s edition features a solid programme combining animation with other art forms, quality dramaturgy, and stellar jury members.

Let’s Be Series, vol 2. is a two-day international event organized by Creative Europe Desk Poland in  partnership with the Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA), dedicated to the topic of new trends in the  production and distribution of European feature series. 

The event will be held online on 22-23 June 2021.

The official selection of the 55th KVIFF, which takes place from 20 to 28 August, 2021, features 32 premieres. The films will make their bow in the fest’s two competitions and Special Screenings section. Karlovy Vary will also celebrate the work of The Film Foundation via an extensive tribute.

TV Beats Co-Finance Market and Script Pool Tallinn plan to welcome the finalists in Tallinn, Estonia at the end of November and present to the final pitches live on stage. Photo: Johan Huimerind

For the first time, Black Nights Film Festival and its summit and trade fair for audiovisual industry professionals, Industry@Tallinn &; Baltic Event have announced a call for projects for TV Beats Co-Financing Market, an initiative involving high-quality drama series projects with international sales and distribution potential. In addition, the event also published the call for Script Pool Tallinn, an international film competition for projects with high distribution value in the final stage of development.