MESTIA: Baptism in the “Jordan” by Georgian director Mikheil Kvirikadze was awarded Best Film at the second edition of the Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival, which took place in person 17 - 21 August 2022. The winner of the Mountain-themed Film Competition was the Slovak film Dhaulagiri Is My Everest by Pavol Barabáš.

PRAGUE: Czech director/producer Matěj Chlupáček is currently in postproduction with his mystery/detective feature film We Have Never Been Modern / Úsvit. The film is a Czech/Slovak coproduction inspired by the true stories of intersex people in the 1930s.

TBILISI: Toronto-based Syndicado has acquired international sales rights to Georgian feature film A Long Break / Didi Shesveneba by award-winning director Davit Pirtskhalava, ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (8 – 18 September 2022).

MESTIA: A total of 16 titles have been selected for the short film competition of the second edition of the Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival, which will take place in person from 17 to 21 August 2022.

BRATISLAVA: FNE spoke to Lukáš ‘neker’ Čulík, the game system designer from the very early start of Pixel Federation, about the company’s current activities, as well as the state of the Slovak game development industry.

TBILISI: Georgian director/writer George Sikharulidze is currently in production with his debut feature Panopticon, a Georgian/French/Romanian/Italian coproduction exploring teenage sexuality and Christian fundamentalism in post-Soviet Georgia.

PRAGUE: Czech director/writer Robert Hloz is currently in postproduction with his debut feature, the sci-fi Restore Point / Bod Obnovy, which is a Czech/Slovak/Polish/Serbian coproduction.

FNE correspondent and film critic Alexander Gabelia spoke to Julia Short, head of studies of the International Screen Institute, about the general goals and activities of the International Screen Institute, as well as their current course - Sustainability Management Course - for which they have already announced the call for applications.