Open Call for the Film Spring Workshop started on the 12^th of June 2018.

The Film Spring Workshop is a 10-day international, interdisciplinary training focused on comprehensive and future-oriented audiovisual education (ca. 350 participants in 2017). The workshop  will take place in Krakow, Poland, 17-26 October 2018.

Building on proven educational strategy of learning by doing, the newest film equipment and a highly experienced expert team that have been the cornerstone of the workshop's success for 13 years, the Film Spring Workshop is perfect for filmmakers wishing to experiment and improve their visual storytelling ability, try new formats and learn new technologies.

The Programme

The innovative programme, developed carefully every year, reflects the hands-on approach and venturing into the future of AV industry.

Participants, with the support of mentors, can develop their film projects using the latest technology in a specialized group of their choice: VR & AR, interactive narration, script writing, animation, feature film previses, new production model, CGI and modern editing, commercials, music videos, documentaries, Selfie TV, keeping control in extreme filming conditions, web filmmakers group. In 2017, the workshop provided is participants with 2,2 million Euro of equipment delivered by the: Arri, Barco, Blackmagic, JBD, HP, Canon, Eizo, Sony, Panasonic and 37 others. Participanst have at their disposal a unique mobile film studio built by the Film Spring Open Foundation – Cinebus – aimed  at lowering film production costs and allowing more films to be made by emerging artists.

The training offers workshops and lectures from award-winning top professionals, including Oscar winners such as previous editions' speakers: Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche, Allan Starski, Neil Corbould, Ewa Puszczyńska, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Mia Bays and more.  Also, there are screenings of the selected, awarded films and discussions with their makers, meetings with well-known filmmakers, one-to-one tutorials, and testing new technologies.

Key Facts

Duration: 10 days (Oct 17 – Oct 26, 2018)

Venue: Kraków, Poland. 

Participants will have at their disposal a film equipment warehouse, a lighting warehouse, an editing room with high-tech workstations, a screening  room. There is a limited number of accommodation at the venue. Food will be also available.

Costs: Thanks to the various insitutional funding there is only about 80 Euro (350 PLN) participation fee. Food, accommodation and  travel costs are not covered by the fee.

Language: English

Who can apply?

Workshop is open to representatives of all professions from the industry from across the globe: directors, cinematographers, actors, writers, editors, specialists in digital effects and post-production, programmers, animators, graphic designers, game developers, producers, composers, musicians, artists, sound engineers, body painting specialists, MUA, YouTubers. We welcome young debutants, film and art students and graduates, young entrepreneurs as well as experienced professionals working in the audiovisual sector. The workshop is suitable for teams wanting to work on their films or individuals wanting to find collaborators for their projects.

Requirements and deadline for application:

Online application: https://filmspringopen.eu/en/register/

Call for applications started on the 12^th of June.

Application deadline: 5^th of October

More information:

Website: www.filmspringopen.eu

Facebook: www.facebook.com/filmspringopen.eu

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/837599979748507/

Piotr and Julia  have been planning their holidays for months. They have even made sure that their only protégé - a turtle - could travel with them safely. Unfortunately, their plans are ruined by Piotr's mother: she wants Piotr to bring home his father, a refugee, who has been staying for months at one of the camps in Greece. Despite his strong doubts Piotr agrees to take the challenge. And so instead of an all-inclusive holiday, the married couple starts on a tiring journey to the South, during which they will have to answer some fundamental questions ...

UNIC

12/06: UNIC Annual Report  -   Access the report in full here 

UNIC is delighted to announce the publication of its 2018 Annual Report, examining key cinema trends across the 37 territories represented by the association.

18/06: UNIC launched the second edition of Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme – UNIC

The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the European Cinema trade grouping, launched the second edition of its Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme, a 12-month mentoring programme for women in cinema exhibition.

Global Cinema Federation

11/06: Global Cinema Federation releases position papers - GCF

The Global Cinema Federation (GCF) today released five position papers on key areas of concern and interest to cinema operators worldwide.

EU Copyright Directive

11/06: Publishers back controversial EU copyright proposals – The Parliament Magazine

Publishers strongly support the directive, saying it is an attempt to reshape copyright for the internet, in particular rebalancing the relationship between copyright holders and online platforms.

18/06: Getting closer to the finishing line? – SAA Blog

MEPs have been exceptionally and forcefully lobbied from all directions on this file. We therefore appreciate the time and effort MEPs, from across the political spectrum, have taken to listen to us and support our call. We trust them to vote this week for the best option for directors and screenwriters to obtain fair and proportionate remuneration for the exploitation of their works online.

19/06: Copyright: Realities & Myths - ACT

An overview of Article 13 - what's it about?

Digital Single Market

05/06: Mariya Gabriel: The future of Europe and of the world is inevitably digital – The Parliament Magazine

This Commission is entering the final year of its mandate. Where do you believe progress needs to be made to achieve a genuine digital single market? Three years after its launch, the digital single market is becoming a reality. In total, 29 legislative proposals have been presented by the Commission.

07/06: Digital Single Market: Updated audiovisual rules – European Commission

The media landscape has shifted dramatically in less than a decade. Instead of sitting in front of the family TV, millions of Europeans, especially young people, watch content online, on demand and on different mobile devices.

Celebrating a new initiative between MIDPOINT and Karlovy Vary IFF, the 2018 edition will present 9 exciting projects being developed within the current Feature Launch program.  
The 9 projects have been carefully refined and further developed during the previous 2 workshops of the program, visiting the Trieste FF in Italy in January 2018 and Belgrade, Serbia in May 2018. 
 
The Works in Development - Feature Launch presentation, which brings together projects from Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, will take place on Monday, July 2, 2018 at 11 am, at theČas Cinema.  
 
The presented projects are: 
/ Brazil - Director/Writer Thelyia Petraki, Producer Kostas Tagalakis
/ Balaur – Director/Writer Octav Chelaru, Producer Livia Radulescu  
/ Clouds On Leashes – Director/Writer Gunel Eva, Producer Maria Ibrahimova
/ Erasing Frank – Director/Writer Gabor Fabricius, Producer Miklos Havas
/ Homeward – Director/Writer Nariman Aliev, Writer Marysia Nikitiuk, Producer Vladimir Yatsenko
/ Leave No Traces - Writer Kaja Krawczyk-Wnuk, Director Jan P. Matuszynski, Producer Leszek Bodzak
/ Sirin - Writer Claudia Bottino, Director/Writer Senad Sahmanovic, Producer Velisa Popovic
/ The Myth of a Real Man – Director/Writer Lee Filipovski, Producer Adi Dizdarevic  
/ The Ugly Mandarine – Director/Writer Piaoyu Xie, Producer Veronika Kuhrova    

Read more about the projects here. 

The tutors that have been conducting the training sessions for these projects were: 
/ Danijel Hocevar (SI) - Head of Studies and Producer Tutor
/ Anne Gensior (DE) - Core Tutor
/ Pavel Jech (US) - Core Tutor
/ Ivo Trajkov (CZ/MK) - Core Tutor
/ Gabriele Brunnenmeyer (DE) - Pitching Tutor
/ Alessandro Gropplero (IT) - Guest Tutor
/ Christina Liapi (GR) - Guest Tutor
/ Olimpia Pont Chafer (ES) - Guest Tutor
/ Inke Van Loocke (NL) - Guest Tutor  
/ Oceane Portal (FR) - Guest Tutor
/ Stefan Arsenijevic (RS) - Guest Tutor
/ Manfred Schmidt (DE) - Guest Tutor 
/ Stefano Tealdi (IT) - Pitching Tutor
/ Thanos Anastopoulos (GR) - Guest Tutor
/ Cedomir Kolar (HR) - Guest Tutor
/ Elma Tataragic (BA) - Guest Tutor 

Read more about these tutors here. 

Thanks to our partners, selected MIDPOINT Feature Launch projects will receive the following awards on July 3, 2018 in Karlovy Vary: 

connecting cottbus Award  
A selected project from MIDPOINT Feature Launch will be granted the opportunity to pitch itself at connecting cottbus, the East-West co-production market during the Cottbus Film Festival.  

Rotterdam Lab Award
One producer will be selected to participate in the professional training program for producers, Rotterdam Lab, which takes place during IFFR/International Film Festival Rotterdam. 

Art Department Masterclass Award 
The Art Department Masterclass Award will enable the participants from one Feature Launch project to work on the production design of their project with up-and-coming European art directors within the framework of a practical assignment workshop during this fall. 

To complete the cycle of the one-year platform, the When East Meets West co-production market invites selected Feature Launch 2018 producers to offer them a chance to follow up with their potential artistic and financing partners during the Feature Launch Spotlight in January 2019.