BUCHAREST: Mickey Rourke is currently shooting in Oradea, in Northwest Romania, the independent drama 21 Rubies / 21 rubini, directed by Romanian film director and Orthodox priest Ciprian Mega. The cast includes Anthony Delon and Elisabetta Pellini alongside popular Romanian actors.

PRAGUE: Czech Viktor Prášil received the award for best sound, together with Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte, for All Quiet on the Western Front at the 76th edition of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).

BERLIN: FNE has teamed up with FIPRESCI critics attending the Berlin Film Festival to rate the films in the Main Competition, Panorama and Forum giving the films 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars. 5 is the best and 1 is the worst. The ratings give an overview of critics opinions from a large number of countries and provide insights to what critics in many different countries think about the programme.

WARSAW: VOD.pl was re-launched as an AVOD service by a strategic partnership between TVN Warner Bros. Discovery and Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP) on 14 February 2023.

VALLETTA: The period drama War Sailor / Krigsseileren directed by Gunnar Vikene, which was partly shot in Malta as a Maltese minority coproduction, will be released as a miniseries on Netflix on 5 April 2023.

BUDAPEST: Hungexpo Budapest, originally an exhibition and event site, now also serves the film industry with its studios and locations for international productions. Since 2020 it has been dedicating its three large halls for film production due to rising interest and demand.

BRUSSELS: Admissions in European cinemas increased at least by 36.5% and total box office will exceed 5.6 billion EUR in 2022, a rise of 55.6% in Europe compared with 2021, according to the estimates of The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC).

PODGORICA: Danijela Radulović from the Film Centre of Montenegro has published the study Virtual Production: New Technologies in the Context of the Film Industry's Development, which is a step forward in the understanding of the impact of new technologies on the film industry.

LIMASSOL: Applications are still open for the 4th edition of the coproduction, training and networking platform Dot.on.the.Map Industry Days. The event will be held 27 - 29 April 2023 in Limassol, in the framework of the 21st Cyprus Film Days International Festival (21 - 29 April 2023).

EUROPEAN CINEMAS HIT 55.6% BOX OFFICE GROWTH IN 2022: Brussels: 15 February 2023 - The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), representing European cinema trade associations and operators, has today released preliminary estimates for 2022 box office and admissions across the territories it covers.