ZAGREB: With Dražen Žarković’s children’s film The Mysterious Boy/Zagonetni dječak, the sequel to Koko and the Ghosts/Koko i duhovi, opening in Croatian theaters on 28 February 2013, production company Kinorama is developing two more movies inspired by the series of books by Ivan Kusan.

Films from Poland, Romania and Slovenia will screen in the 2013 Berlinale Official Competition.

BUDAPEST: The Hungarian Film Fund (www.filmalap.hu) has granted 1.6m EUR to Fehér Isten/White God, thenew project of Kornel Mundruczo and to Utóélet/Afterlife, the directorial debut of Virág Zomborácz, as well as 33,726 EUR for development of three scripts.

LONDON: Ilinca Călugăreanu’s British-Romanian-German coproduction Chuck Norris vs Communism is launching the first crowd funding initiative for a Romanian film on 21 January 2013 hoping to gather 18,800 EUR in order to wrap filming and begin postproduction.

BUCHAREST: Ada Solomon of HiFilm Productions is developing a Romanian-Hungarian coproduction, One Step Behind the Seraphim the first feature film of Daniel Gabriel Sandu. The project has been selected for the Talent Project Market of the Berlinale Talent Campus.

BUDAPEST: Hungarian director György Pálfi (Hukkle, Taxidermia) will participate in the Berlinale Co-production Market with The Voice. The filmmakers are looking for coproducers and a world sales agent.

ZAGREB: Croatian films attracted 326,455 admissions in 2012, compared with 108,386 admissions in 2011.

BUCHAREST: Romanian films saw better domestic results in 2012, with four films topping 20,000 admissions, out of 20 Romanian films which premiered in 2012.

ZAGREB: Robert Orhel's 90 minute drama Shot, filmed in November and December 2012, is in postproduction for completion in June 2013. Kinorama is producing in coproduction with public broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision.

BUCHAREST: Romania’s most popular director Sergiu Nicolaescu died on 3 January 2013 at age 82.