EFP Producers on the Move Screenings at Cannes
Bulgaria's Kamen Kalev and Hungary's Attila Csaky are among this year's European Film Promotion (http://www.efp-online.com/) Producers on the Move who will have films and project presentations at the Cannes film festival. Kalev's The Island screens in the Directors' Fortnight, and Csaky presents his upcoming project Hier from director Balint Kenyeres at Cannes' L'Atelier. In addition, 2007 Hungarian Producer on the Move and 2010 FNE/Visegrad Prix winner Ferenc Pusztai presents The Other Side of Sleep, an Irish-Dutch-Hungarian coproduction, in Directors' Fortnight, while Romanian director Bogdan Mustata presents his project Wolf at L'Atelier.
EFP Producer on the Move: Attila Csaky
Hungarian Producer on the Move Attila Csaky's production experience dates back to 1989, when he served as a production assistant on Before the Bat's Flight is Done directed by Peter Timar, building his credentials as a location manager and crew member, before taking up a position as production manager and overseeing such films as the Hapsburg historical epic The Bridgeman (2002), the Bulgarian-Dutch-Hungarian coproduction Pismo do Amerika (2001) directed by Iglika Triffonova, and Marta Meszaros' Polish-Hungarian coproduction A magzat (1994).
By 2002, Csaky had moved on to producing, starting with a pair of Hungarian comedies that year. He founded the production company Cameofilm (www.cameofilm.hu) in 2003, producing Meszaros' The Unburied Man, a coproduction between Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The next two years, he produced TV movies, including one directed by Geza Beremenyi for Hungary's Duna TV. He served a coproducer on Pater Sprrow's 2009 thriller 1. Csaky recently produced the 2010 Hungarian-UK romantic drama Kolorado Kid directed by Andras Bagvolgyi B., and Ticket by the aging enfant terrible of Hungarian animation, Oscar winner Ferenc Rofusz.
EFP Producer on the Move: Linda Krukle
Latvian 34-year old Linda Krukle, European Film Promotion Producer on the Move, produced the first Latvian-Hong Kong coproduction Amaya aka Hong Kong Confidential with a cast of famous actors from Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Hong Kong, and the U.K. She'll be coming to Cannes with her comedy road movie (in development) Tempura, a contemporary story and multicultural film project that crosses national borders and cultures.
Directed by her husband Maris Martinsons (who also did Amaya) the story begins with a Japanese woman's well-planned trip to her daughter's wedding which collapses after turbulence on the way to Madrid. Middle-aged hotheaded Keiko refuses her next flight to Lisbon and, knowing nobody, accepts a ride from a young American man traveling through Spain exploring the landscape, architecture, and women. When they get lost on their way, both are forced to overcome their prejudices and antipathy toward each other's lifestyle and habits, emerging more tolerant to those closest to them. Tempura was selected for the Tokyo Project Gathering (October 2010), where it was pitched to selected Japanese production and distribution companies.
Krukle began her carrier by establishing the marketing and international relations department in the Baltic's biggest TV studio complex "ARTeta" in Lithuania in 2004. Two years later she founded her own film production and distribution company ART&A (Lithuania), moving, as she says, "step by step to the production side, starting from TV series, and then feature films." While in Lithuania, she produced Anastasia (2006) and Loss (2008), both directed by Martinson. In 2009 Krukle returned to her homeland Latvia and established a new filmmakers' partnership, Krukfilms.
EFP Producer on the Move: Borislav Chouchkov
Chouchkov Brothers (www.ch-bros.com), producer of the feature debut Tilt, is the second company that European Film Promotion Producer on the Move Borislav Chouchkov (35) and director Viktor Chouchkov Jr (40) developed and own together. The Bulgarian brothers first made their name recording original scores through their company SIF309 (www.sif309.com) established in 1992, working on over 500 projects including César winner and Oscar nominee Les Choristes, Golden Globe nominee Nomad and European Film Award winner and Oscar nominee Hotel Rwanda. The achievements were aided by the active participation of their father, renowned Bulgarian pianist and composer Professor Victor Chouchkov, Bulgaria's "musician of the year" in 2000.
With 12 years of experience in the audiovisual sector already under their belt, the pair founded Chouchkov Brothers in 2003 to create and produce features and documentaries, TV shows, and music clips. Victor directed while Borislav produced video clips performed by famous Bulgarian pop singers such as Maria Ilieva and Beloslava. Their work for leading broadcasters Bulgarian National Television (www.btv.bg), bTV (www.btv.bg) and Nova TV (www.novatv.bg) included the weekly show Kings of Comedy for Nova. The full-length documentary Homo Ludens dedicated to renowned Bulgarian theater director Dimiter Gotscheff, co-produced with the Bulgarian National Television won the special jury "Golden Umbrella" award at the MEDIAMIXX '08 Festival (http://2008.mediamixx.info) and the best documentary debut of 2009 at the Bulgarian annual cinema awards.
EFP Producer on the Move: Ada Solomon
BUCHAREST: For Romania's European Film Promotion Producer on the Move Ada Solomon, the tips for being a good producer are "diplomacy, acting skills, being good in budgeting sudoku, keeping your feet on the floor and your head out of the clouds."
Described as "an engineer dreaming of becoming an actress," she never worked as an engineer (or as an actress), but in 1993 began working for Domino Film (www.dominofilm.ro). In 2004 she started her own company, HiFilm (www.hifilm.ro), which soon established itself as one of the most important Romanian film production companies. Solomon produced Cristian Nemescu's Marilena from P7, Radu Jude's The Tube with a Hat and The Happiest Girl in the World, Melissa de Raaf and Răzvan Rădulescu's First of All, Felicia, Constantin Popescu's Principles of Life and Alexandru Solomon's documentaries Cold Waves and Kapitalism - Our Improved Formula. She also initiated the NexT Film Fest (www.nextfilmfestival.ro) in Bucharest five years ago, co-owns two multiplex cinemas with fellow producer Tudor Giurgiu, and is the Romanian coordinator for EAVE (www.eave.org).
When asked how difficult it is in Romania to build a local production, Ada Solomon says, "Almost impossible! The support from the CNC is usually around 40% of the budget, TV stations are not co-producing or pre-buying local products - except for HBO Romania, but the amount is very low." As a result, Solomon relies heavily on foreign partners. "It's not easy to find the right person for the right project, but at the same time it's a pleasure to discover people that share the passion and the vision with you. I do have favorites - all the people I've already worked with," she told FNE.
EFP Producer on the Move: Radim Procházka
Almost every production from Radim Procházka has received both critical acclaim and prestigious film awards, including The Greatest Czechs by director Robert Sedláček, nominated for seven awards at the 2010 Czech Lions (http://www.ceskylev.cz/). Now Procházka, one of the most promising filmmmakers in the Czech Republic, heads to Cannes as a European Film Promotion Producer on the Move.
"I‘m very happy for the honor to be part of this prestigious event," Procházka said. "I looking forward meeting my foreign colleagues, with whom I could possibly collaborate in the future."
Born in 1975 in Vyškov and graduated from FAMU film academy (http://www.famu.cz/) in 2006, Procházka has always prefered to create original films which usually receive positive critics reception, but never become as smash hits in Czech cinemas, usually described as "incomprehensible to the mass audience."
"I prefer ambitious, yet individual, character-driven, path-breaking projects. It‘s a great challenge which I love," Procházka said.
Although he studied documentary film directing, he soon became a producer for his teacher, the classic Czech director Karel Vachek. With his new company, Produkce Radim Procházka, he produced Vachek´s full length movie Záviš, the Prince of Pornfolk (2006).
EFP Producer on the Move: Michal Kollár
Slovakia's Michal Kollár, taking part in the 2011 European Film Promotion's Producer on the Move presentation in Cannes, describes himself as "quasi-schizophrenic" as he alternately acts as producer, director and editor.
Born in 1978, Kollár (previously known to the public as Michal Krajňák before changing his name in order to pay a tribute to his grandfather) started directing TV commercials and music videos at the age of 18. While still a student of business management in Bratislava, he met Czech director Viktor Tauš, with whom he later co-founded the Fog'n'Desire Films production company (http://www.fogndesirefilms.com/) based in Prague. Fascinated by cinema, he decided to pursue his studies and enrolled in the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava to study film editing.
After graduation in 2007, Kollár co-wrote and directed his first feature, Catfish Summer. Independently financed and self-distributed, the comedy attracted a respectable 130,000 admissions in the Czech Republic. A year later, he co-produced Viktor Tauš's top-grossing romantic comedy, The Big Thaw. The producer is currently based in both Prague and Bratislava, and also runs his own production company, Sokol Kollár (http://www.kollarfilm.com/).
Kollár, recommended for the EFP honor by the Slovak Film Institute (http://www.sfu.sk/), will present his most recent co-production, Zuzana Liová's feature debut The House, which became the first Slovak movie to screen at the Berlinale in 20 years.
EFP Producer On The Move: Lukasz Dzieciol
European Film Promotion's (EFP) Polish Producer on the Move Łukasz Dzięcioł is one of the youngest and most successful film professionals in Poland. Thanks to his experience in the American film industry, he develops projects that modernize the Polish film market.
Educated both in Poland and the USA, Dzieciol admits that his passion for cinema was handed down to him by his father Piotr Dzięcioł, the Polish founder of Opus Film (http://www.opusfilm.com/). After graduating with a master's degree in Film Studies from the University of Lodz, Łukasz enroled in the Producing Program at the Los Angeles Film School.
"I left for the States to see how the production industry works from the inside. I felt that in L.A. I would learn things that were not readily available at the schools in Poland. Apart from the theoretical part of the program, the studies were based mainly on practical classes, which were focused on organizing productions on all levels. We had access to working professionals, excellent equipment, and fully equipped post-production facilities. It was as much an academic experience as it was a real life experience," he said.
After graduation, Lukasz decided to use his American experience to boost the Polish film industry. He is now an essential co-creator of the vision for Opus Film, a film and television production company that has emerged as one of the leading players on the Polish market. Founded in 1991, Opus Film is a major production house managing international projects in every stage of development.
"One of our priorities is international distribution. We want our productions to be visible abroad as well on as the domestic market in Poland. We are engaged in international networking on a large scale. The effect is that currently the films from the Opus Film catalog are broadcast by television stations all over the world, screened at international film festivals, and distributed in cinemas," he said.
