TBILISI: Caucasus School of New Cinema, which opened within the Caucasus University in Tbilisi, is aiming to raise a new generation of film industry professionals by teaching the students not only skills, but also "visions".

ZAGREB: Jure Pavlović is in preparation with his debut feature film Awakenings, a coproduction between Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

ZAGREB: Writer/director Barbara Vekarić is in preproduction with her debut feature Aleksi, a coming-of-age story set for shooting in 2017. The film is a Croatian/Serbian coproduction.

ZAGREB: The BBC One Series McMafia created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, and directed by James Watkins, is shooting at various locations in old Zagreb from 5 November to 2 December 2016.

This month we speak with Bogdan Balicki, founder and vice-president of the Polish nongovernmental organisation Fundacja Wspierania Kultury Filmowej Cyrk Edison and co-programmer of the cinemas Agrafka and KIKA.

ZAGREB: Goran Dukić is in preparation with Do Pigs Go to Heaven?, a rural musical comedy. This is the first feature film shot in Croatia by Dukić and DoP Vanja Černjul, who were born and raised in Croatia but are currently living in the US. Their debut feature Wristcutters: A Love Story received several accolades including two nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2006.

FNE and Europa Distribution are launching a new chapter in our Distributor of the Month section focusing on new trends and challenges of film distribution. In the coming months we will talk with European distributors about the digital single market and VOD, trying to understand how they see the future through these lenses.

ZAGREB: Acclaimed 88-year-old writer/director Veljko Bulajic is in preparation with Escape to the Sea, a coproduction between Croatia, Montenego, Macedonia, Slovenia and Germany.

ZAGREB: Acclaimed director/scriptwriter Nevio Marasović is in preparation with Comic Sans (working title), a feature film produced by Ankica Jurić Tilić through Kinorama.