Emerging Producers 2017: Bianca Oana, Romania
Born in 1986, Bianca Oana is a young Romanian screenwriter and producer. Since 2009, she has worked on the development, production and promotion of multi-awarded art house films, including Alexander Nanau’s Toto and His Sisters and Ivana Mladenovic’s Turn off the Lights. Her work has been selected for international film festivals like Berlin, Cannes, Angers, Sarajevo, Zürich, Busan, Tribeca, San Sebastian, etc. She is dedicated to discovering filmmakers with a particular artistic view regardless of the medium they choose to explore.
She is currently producing the long documentary The Other Side of the Medal by Denisa Morariu (in coproduction with HBO Europe and Edmont Romania), for which she is looking for partners and funding. She is also developing Adina Pintilie’s multi-platform project Touch Me Not, consisting of a series of short documentaries, video installations and a long documentary.
She likes her Yashica t5 film camera, the combination of white and yellow, Stranger by the Lake by Alain Guiraudie, the white stag and the works by Louise Bourgeois.
Her word: Inevitable.
FNE: What are your hopes and expectations from Emerging Producers?
Emerging Producers seems to be a good way to meet other producers and to have a deeper connection than with other networking industry events. Because we have to introduce ourselves and create a personalised profile, it’s easier to express who you are and what your interests are. I hope I meet kindred spirits here, and I expect a good network for the projects I am running.
FNE: What is the position of documentary film in your country?
For the past couple of years there have been more and more documentaries coming from emerging directors, thanks to the support that they receive from HBO Europe, particularly from commissioning editor Hanka Kastelicova, who has a keen eye for good stories. I’ve been lucky to work with a couple of them, to mention here Ivana Mladenovic and Alexander Nanau, and currently Adina Pintilie. Documentary film does not benefit from the same focus as fiction film, although there has been some great international acclaim these past years. I hope I’ll be able to take part in changing that.
FNE: How do you define yourself?
I try not to define myself in only one way. I’m in a constant learning process and I hope to keep it that way.
FNE: What is your biggest challenge as a documentary film producer?
To find and help the director’s vision to come through intact on the screen.
Filmography
Touch Me Not directed by Adina Pintilie, Romania/Germany/France/ Bulgaria, 2017, feature film; executive producer
A Country of Two directed by Neritan Zinxhiria, 10 min, Albania, 2016, short experimental documentary; producer
Toto and His Sisters directed by Alexander Nanau, 94 min, Romania, 2014, long documentary; executive producer
Turn off the Lights directed by Ivana Mladenović, 71 min, Romania, 2012, long documentary; executive producer
Production Company
Monogram Film
Luigi Cazzavillan 5, Bucharest, Romania
Phone: +407 33 947 910
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.monogramfilm.com
Emerging Producers 2017: Tibor Keser, Croatia
Born in 1981, Tibor Keser is a producer living and working in Zagreb, Croatia. He works with Restart, producing short films and documentaries. Tibor Keser graduated in Economics from the University of Zagreb and subsequently enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, where he graduated in Film and Theatre Production. He is a guest lecturer for Palunko, a scriptwriting programme run by the Croatian Film Association. He is a member of Cinema Club Split.
He is currently developing Nebojša Slijepšević’s debut feature and also has a documentary TV series in the works.
His favorite book is The Call of the Wild by Jack London, his favorite artist is Umberto Eco and his favorite song is Golden Brown by The Stranglers. He admires Im Keller by Ulrich Seidl.
His word: Precise-ish.
FNE: What are your hopes and expectations from Emerging Producers?
I'm hoping that everyone in the group will have fun and will relax (while learning a bit). Most producers I know are so energetic and highly focused on their projects that there is never a chance just to share ideas and hang out. The fact that the programme is surrounded by serious industry is great, I'm sure everyone will benefit from the exposure.
FNE: What is the position of documentary film in your country?
The big audience loves TV documentaries, but they have yet to discover the "creative" documentary. There is room for a couple of hit films every year in cinemas, but for the rest, the market and the attention are scattered. I'm sure great films have a big future in Croatia.
FNE: How do you define yourself?
I try to not define anything for it always ends up a mistake. Ego is fuel for directors, but a serious threat for producers :) If you twist my arm, I would define myself as a level-headed-up-and-coming producer from Eastern Europe with an attention span problem. Nice guy.
FNE: What is your biggest challenge as a documentary film producer?
Overcoming the fact that budget-wise the European market is not really compatible when you start moving between the territories. Croatia is a new player and although we're moving fast, the gap is noticeable. For now, it's nice being able to do what I love.
Filmography
Half a man directed by Kristina Kumrić, 19 min, Croatia/France, 2016; producer
Tourism! directed by Tonći Gaćina, 52 min, Croatia, 2016; producer
Islands of Forgotten Cinemas directed by Ivan Ramljak, 35 min, Croatia, 2016; executive producer
Wall of Death and All That directed by Mladen Kovačević, 60 min, Serbia/Croatia, 2016; coproducer
Something About Life directed by Nebojša Slijepčević, 30 min, Croatia, 2016; executive producer
Little Bear directed by Igor Jelinović, short fiction film, 20 min, Croatia, 2015; producer
Hands directed by Jasna Nanut, short fiction film, 30 min, Croatia, 2014; producer
Production Company
Restart
Prilaz Gjure Deželića 74, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
Phone: +38 598 808 988
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.restarted.hr
