As is the case every year, in mid-February passed the deadline for submitting films to the Krakow Film Festival. In spite of the pandemic, the film-makers managed to finish their works on time and to send nearly 2,500 documentary, short and animated films from all over the world to Krakow. The director, Krzysztof Gierat, with a team of selectors, will choose the best of them, which will be shown at the cinemas in Krakow and online during this year’s Festival from the 30th of May to the 6th of June.
E-MEETING POINT – VILNIUS 2021 Call for entries for COMING SOON SESSION, INDUSTRY SCREENINGS and TALENTS NEST INITIATIVE
Press releases 04-02-2021We are pleased to announce the 2021 digital edition of e-Meeting Point – Vilnius (eMPV) that will be held on April 14–16.
eMPV is the international Work-in-Progress pitching forum for debut films and the best platform to discover, develop and support European talents and upcoming debut films. It aims to build a network between different European macro-regions: from the Baltics to the South East, from the Caucasus to West-ern Europe.
The upcoming edition of eMPV will offer a combination of digital initiatives: pitching forum, industry screenings, one-to-one meetings, panels, and inspirational events.
The calls for applications for COMING SOON and INDUSTRY SCREENINGS platforms are finally open!
EU Filmmakers welcome initiative to bring Artistic Freedom in focus at EU-level
Press releases 22-02-2021Today, the event “Media and artistic freedom under attack - Europe has to act” organized by the S&D Group in the EU Parliament brought much-needed focus on a worrisome trend of undemocratic interference in the media and cultural sectors in Europe.
As an organization representing filmmakers at European level and advocating for their cultural, creative and economic interests at national and European level, FERA welcomes this initiative which sheds light on the absolute need to ensure creators’ artistic freedom in 21st century Europe, without which European filmmakers’ unique yet diverse creative voices would cease to exist.
New dates of the 21st IFF New Horizons. Festival passes available from March 10
Festivals 19-02-2021Dear friends,
For many weeks we have been intensively preparing the 21st edition of the New Horizons International Film Festival. In an effort to ensure the highest quality in terms of programming and organization we are planning for this year's event to be a hybrid edition - cinema screenings will of course be the heart of the festival, but some films will be available online.
Due to the still serious pandemic, many international spring festivals are changing their dates. Cannes is one of them, and this year it will be held in July, very close to our festival's originally planned date. Since the Cannes festival significantly influences the New Horizons program and its industry events (including Polish Days), we decided to hold our festival a little later. Therefore, the 21st New Horizons International Film Festival will be held on August 12-22, 2021, in Wrocław, of course.
Tickets for the stationary part of the festival go on sale March 10. The upcoming edition will include, among others, the retrospectives of Chantal Akerman, Angela Schanelec and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. In recent months, our programmers have participated in festivals in Venice, Tallinn, Rotterdam, Gothenburg and Sundance. We already have over 80 confirmed titles and we still have the Berlinale, the aforementioned Cannes, and hundreds of submitted titles to watch. Movies for the 21st New Horizons International Film Festival will certainly be expressive and boldly comment on the complex reality we face every day.
Thank you for your understanding and support. We are convinced that this year's edition will be unforgettable, full of meetings and discussions in cinemas and, what is extremely important to us, safe.
Kind regards,
Roman Gutek, Marcin Pieńkowski and the entire New Horizons International Film Festival team
Special edition of our MIDPOINT Intensive program was tailored for Sofia Meetings (running online, March 17–24, 2021), the international co-production market which takes place online during the Sofia International Film Festival.
MIDPOINT Intensive Sofia Meetings is a one-off online training program open to 1st and 2nd feature film projects in the early stage of development from Central and Eastern Europe.
Film submissions to the 25th Ji.hlava IDFF are now open!
We are now receiving submissions for the 25th Ji.hlava IDFF and look forward to seeing your films. We accept feature-length and short films, animated and interactive documentaries. The films premiered in Jihlava have a chance to be nominated for the European Film Academy Awards and the winners at the Ji.hlava IDFF are also eligible for Oscar® consideration in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature Subject categories. Check out the deadlines now.
60 Years of Manned Space Flight– Homage to Yuri Gagarin // Pop-Up Culture at the Pan-European Picnic // Anti-Oscar Night with Radu Jude and Dan Perjovschi // Accreditation and Press Conference
As Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin set off from Kazakhstan’s Tyuratam spaceport on 12 April 1961, on the first manned spaceflight in human history, he is reported to have shouted a simple "Let's go!" (“Поехали”) right beforelift-off. Today the exclamation still serves as a popular Russian toast for the region's drinkers. goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film has decided to seize the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Gagarin's trip around the Earth to organise an outer space programme of its own this April. Attendees of the festival, hosted by DFF – DeutschesFilminstitut & Filmmuseum, can look forward to films gathered from all co-ordinates throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
COVID-19: EU response
12/02: Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Sassoli and Portuguese Prime Minister Costa on the Recovery and Resilience Facility – European Commission
11/02: EU recovery package: Council adopts Recovery and Resilience Facility – Council of the EU
The Council adopted a regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which lies at the heart of the EU’s recovery plan. It will make €672.5 billion in grants and loans available for public investment and reforms in the 27 member states to help them address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to foster the green and digital transitions and to build resilient and inclusive societies.
11/02: Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni at the press conference on the Winter 2021 Economic Forecast – European Commission
10/02: MEPs call on ECB to prepare for looming economic difficulties – European Parliament
MEPs urge the European Central Bank to consider different policy measures to those currently in place to stimulate the EU economy, which faces darkening prospects.
10/02: Questions and answers: The Recovery and Resilience Facility – European Commission
04/02: Covid-19 recovery: how the main EU instrument will work – European Parliament
The €672.5 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility is the key tool in the EU's Covid-19 recovery plan to support reforms in response to the crisis.
Copyright enforcement
11/02: Participants in the virtual conference on "The Intellectual Property Metamorphosis in the Age of Digital Transition" – 2021 Portugal EU
With four panels and numerous participants, the aim of the encounter was to debate the topics directly related to industrial property.
EU Digital Services Act (DSA) & Digital Markets Act (DMA)
10/02: Regulate social media platforms to defend democracy, MEPs say – European Parliament
In a debate with Secretary of State for European Affairs Ana Paula Zacarias from the Portuguese Presidency of the Council, and Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová, almost all speakers criticised the vast power of social media platforms and their worrying impact on politics and freedom of speech.
/02: Proposal for a Regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act) – EAO Newsletter
The European Commission published the eagerly-awaited Proposal for a Regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act) (DMA). The DMA builds upon the Platform-to-Business Regulation 2019 and its purpose is to target very large online platforms which act as gatekeepers between business users and end users, and which have a major impact and substantial control on the access to certain digital markets.
/02: Proposal for a Regulation on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act, DSA) – EAO Newsletter
The European Commission published the much-anticipated Proposal for a Regulation on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act, DSA). The proposed DSA introduces a harmonised set of new rules for digital services, including social media, online market places, and other online platforms that operate in the European Union.
Streaming Platforms
15/02: EU Filmmakers Call on Global Streamers to Commit to Fair Negotiating Conditions On Remuneration – FERA
As global streamers are on the rise in the European audiovisual online distribution and production markets, European filmmakers look forward to new opportunities for creative endeavors. The ongoing implementation of key European Directives touching to media regulation (AVMS Directive 2018/1808) and authors’ rights (Copyright Directive 2019/790) should ensure that these collaborations develop in fair and sustainable conditions for European audiovisual creation.
Bulgaria
/02: Local media law harmonised with the Audiovisual Media Services Directive - EAO Newsletter
On 22 December 2020, a new Act for amendment and supplement to Закон за радиото и телевизията (the Radio and Television Act - RTA) was promulgated in Държавен вестник (State Gazette) and entered into force on the same day. By way of this Act, Bulgaria has transposed Directive (EU) 2018/1808 (AVMSD/Directive) shortly after the infringement procedure opened by the Commission against Bulgaria and other countries.
Romania
01/02: EIB Group and Deutsche Leasing Romania strengthen support for business impacted by COVID-19 – European Commission
The first cooperation between the EIB Group and Deutsche Leasing Romania will help to strengthen investment by Romanian companies active in sectors affected by COVID-19.
Recent studies
The European Authors’ Society - Launch of Rebuilding Europe – EYxGESAC study – February 2021
Events:
19 February: G7 leaders' videoconference
24 – 25 February: CULT Meeting
25 February: Video conference of the members of the European Council
8 – 11 March: European Parliament Plenary
The 3rd session of the Ex Oriente Film workshop 2020/21 will take place during the East Doc Platform (March 6-17, 2021, online). Find all about the tutors who will help filmmakers develop their documentary projects!
The lead tutors of the 3rd Ex Oriente Film workshop are documentary expert Mikael Opstrup, producer and consultant Iikka Vehkalahti, director and script editor Ivana Pauerová Miloševič and director and producer Filip Remunda. We are happy to announce guest tutors of the 3rd workshop:
Director and producer, mostly known for his latest film Collective, premiered out of competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival 2019. It was also screened at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and in the Spotlight section of the 2020 Sundace Film Festival. It got European Film Award for the Best Documentary among many other accolades. Shortlisted for both Best International Feature and Best Documentary Feature.
His film Toto and His Sisters (2014) premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival in the 'New Directors' section. The film won major awards at the international film festivals in Angers, Zurich, Warsaw, Jihlava, Leipzig and Sarajevo. It was nominated as 'Best Documentary' at the European Film Awards 2015 and won the international Cinema Eye Honors' Spotlight Award 2016.
Film editor, creator of the social media video novels: Currency of Despair (2014); Box of Birds (2016); and Unfated Yet (2020) presented by Sundance DFP and LACMA. She is the co-director of Little Ethiopia, a live documentary, performed at the Sundance FF, Museum of the Moving Image in NYC, and in London at ICA Frames of Representation (2017-19). As well as Little Ethiopia: Chez Nous, performed online at IDFA (2020). Maya has edited two films with Werner Herzog including "Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (she and partner Joe Bini were nominated for an ACE Eddie Award). Before that she was assistant editor on eight of Herzog's films including Grizzly Man. She edited the feature doc Freedom Fields (2018), which premiered at TIFF.
Trailer editor and marketing expert. Fraser began his career as a trailer editor fifteen years ago, rapidly becoming one of the most successful and respected in the field, winning a Golden Trailer Award for his international trailer for Billy Elliot. More, he has extended his career by becoming a highly regarded trailer producer, specialising particularly in the independent sector. He has overseen successful and creatively original campaigns for a wide range of acclaimed films, including Slumdog Millionaire, Searching for Suger Man, Hunger and They Call Me Babu.
Producer with projects selected for over a hundred film festivals globally and pitched internationally at high profile markets including IDFA, Visions du Reel and Nordisk Panorama; received multiple nominations, including BAFTA and EFA shortlisted, and winning awards including Tribeca Best Documentary. Titles include: Merry Christmas Yiwu (2020 dir. Mladen Kovacevic); Scheme Birds (2019 dirs. Ellen Fiske & Ellinor Hallin); Workers! (2018, dir. Petra Bauer). Most recently at Warner Bros ITVP, Reid has produced the first ever documentary series for HBO Nordic, slated for release in Spring 2021, entitled: Pray Obey Kill (dir. Henrik Georgsson).
Sales agent who joined Catherine Le Clef in 2009 to set up CAT&Docs. dedicated to the promotion & distribution of handpicked documentaries, in all media around the world: pertinent and impertinent docs on topical questions and timeless subjects; docs that are carefully researched, audacious, question the world and propose new ways of looking at it. Successful titles include: The New Gospel, The Earth is Blue as an Orange, Overseas, The Good Postman, Communion, Stranger in Paradise, Houston, We Have a Problem!, Cameraperson, Sonita, A Syrian Love Story, CITIZENFOUR, My Love Don‘t Cross That River, Of Men and War, 5 Broken Cameras, Planet of Snail, Last Tain Home…
Debra Zimmerman has been the Executive Director of Women Make Movies (WMM) since 1983. For over 45 years Women Make Movies has been championing women filmmakers and their stories. Many WMM films have won or been nominated for Oscars. She is in great demand around the world as a speaker on independent film distribution, marketing and financing. She is a member of numerous Advisory Boards for many media organizations, a jury member for many international film festivals, and regularly sits on foundation and government funding panels. She is the recipient of New York Women in Film and Television’s Loreen Arbus Award and the Hot Doc’s Doc Mogul Award.
Director and producer. His first fiction film For a Moment Freedom was Austria’s candidate for the Academy Awards in 2010. Since 2010, he also works as a dramatic advisor for the Creative Europe script-development programmes SOURCES 2, Nipkow and Berlinale Talents. He teaches at the Vienna film school and the filmacademy, and has held lectures at the Scottish Documentary Institute, Goethe Institute Dublin, ZKM Karlsruhe, etc. Recent works include the documentary Born in Evin, co-produced with Tondowski Film and awarded the Compass Perspektive award at the Berlinale 2019 as well as Solo, a co-production with Artcam & Petit a Petit which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2019.
Director, editor and script writer. Anja Salomonowitz developed a film language for her films that combines documentary film, feature film and thesis. In the process, real human experiences are condensed through artistic alienation. Her films have received international acclaim, numerous film awards and have been included in relevant documentary film literature. She holds masterclasses on artistic documentary film at universities and film festivals. All her films are explicitly political and always question the border and possibilities of documentary film making. Her latest film is This Movie Is a Gift (2019) about the artist Daniel Spoerri.
The 3rd session of the Ex Oriente Film workshop is organized by the Institute of Documentary Film with kind support of Creative Europe MEDIA, American Film Showcase, U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic, American Film Showcase, Creative Europe MEDIA, The Czech Film Fund, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, and Visegrad Fund. In cooperation with FAMU.