FESTIVALS: 12 Films Compete for Sofia Festival Grand Prix
Twelve films are competing in the main competition of the Sofia International Film Festival which runs 4-13 March 2011. For ninth consecutive year the Grand Prix Award will be handed…
Szyc Poised for Lead in Wajda Film
Polish media have reported that young Polish star Borys Szyc has been tapped to play the lead role in of Lech Walesa in Andrzej Wajda's biographical film about the head…
PRODUCTION: New Shooting Schedule for Puzzle for a Blind Man
BUCHAREST: Romanian director Andrei Zincă is expected to start shooting the adaptation of Argentinian playwright Mario Diament's Blind Datein May-June 2011, Bogdan Moncea, Marketing Manager of Castel Film (www.castelfilm.ro) told…
New Manager at Romania’s Kanal D
BUCHAREST: Haluk Kurcer has replaced Hatice Kolat as the general manager of the channel Kanal D (www.kanald.ro). Kolat had run the channel since February 2007, with a mandate until 2011.…
Romtelecom Buys Boom TV
Romania's Romtelecom has acquired DTH Television Grup at a price of 8 million euro. The purchase, which was finalized in late February, includes the digital satellite station Boom TV.
Bulgarian Cable TV Fined
Bulgarian cable operator Blizoo received a fine from the Commission for Protection of Competition, the Bulgarian office responsible for monopoly oversight. Blizoo is the country's leading cable company.
Tribeca Film picks up Essential Killing
Tribeca Film (www.tribecafilm.com/tribecafilm), the distribution branch of the Tribeca Film Festival, will distribute the Polish co-production Essential Killing in cinemas as well as other multimedia platforms. The company announced it…
Polish Eagles Announce Lifetime Award
Polish film director/screenwriter/producer Tadeusz Chmielewski will recieve the Polish Film Academy Award for Lifetime Achievements at the annual gala ceremony of the Polish Eagles (www.pnf.pl) on 7 March 2011 in…
Hungary Sets Broadband Goal
The Hungarian government laid out a plan for complete broadband coverage for the entire country. Hungary, with broadband access that reaches 80% of internet users, is already ahead of the…
PRODUCTION: September 11 in Preparation
BUCHAREST: Italian director Renzo Martinelli is preparing September 11, his second collaboration with the Romania's Castel Film (www.castelfilm.ro) starring American actor Harvey Keitel. Martinelli previously worked with Castel Film on…
PRODUCTION: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Finishes Shooting in Romania
BUCHAREST: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance wrapped shooting on 23 February 2011 in Romania where it was filmed for all but two weeks of shooting in Turkey. The first big…
Vavra Celebrates Centennial Birthday
Czech director Otakar Vavra marked his 100th birthday on 28 Febrruary 2011. Vavra began working on films as a young university student in 1930, and went on to help establish…
The Christening Wins Mons Love Film Festival
The Christening by Polish director Marcin Wrona won the Grand Prize of the 27th Mons Love Film Festival. The screenwriters for this title Grzegorz Jankowski, Grażyna Trela and Dariusz Glazer…
Slovak Public Broadcaster Faces Deficit
Slovak Radio and Television RTVS, the newly combined public broadcaster, expects debts in excess of €57 million in 2011. The deficit compares to a loss of €24.4 million in 2010.
Kino Polska Launches Music Channel
Kino Polska has announced the upcoming launch of Kino Polska Muzyka, a channel devoted to Polish music. Musical films, documentaries, and animation are among the programmes that the new station…
Czech Multiplexes Have Record Year
PRAGUE: Box office for Czech multiplexes rose by over CZK 200 million in 2010, nearly 20%, to a total of CZK 1.3 billion. Attendance at multiplexes rose by almost 9%,…
Arnost Lustig Dead at 84
Arnost Lustig died of cancer on 26 February 2011 at age 84. Lustig, winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award, wrote screenplays for several Czech…
Budget Cuts Endanger Plans for Hungarian Public Televisions to Play Bigger Role in Film Production
BUDAPEST: Plans for the newly restructured public television in Hungary to play a greater role in film and TV drama production have been endangered by government cuts to the new…
FNE - IDF DocBloc: Some Of Your Energy Needed For One World 2011
The 13th One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival takes place March 8 - 17, 2011, with over 100 documentaries divided into several sections. Several new programmes have…
Lithuania Sees Mixed 2011 Q4 Telecoms Results
Broadband penetration and subscribers rose in Lithuania during the fourth quarter of 2011, but a decrease in fixed and mobile telephone subscribers led to an overall decline in the telecoms…
