Young Polish producer taps Internet to finance film
The hunt for funding is one of the biggest issues in the film industries of Central Europe. But an ambitious young Polish director-producer has found a unique way to raise…
TVN net revenues up 38 percent in 3Q
Poland's TVN Group, part of the ITI media holding, reports third-quarter net revenues increased by 38% over the same period in 2006 to 297 million zloty (€81.9 million). The company…
Bulgarian film wins international documentary award
A Bulgarian film, A Movie Buff at the Turn of the Century by director Petar Odadjiev, was named best international documentary at the New York Independent Film and Video festival,…
Czech cinemas headed for record year
Czech cinemas and Czech distributors expect record cinema attendance this year after more than 10 million people visited Czech cinemas through October - already a 1.4 million increase from 2006.
Estonia plans cinema reopenings and digitalisation
The Estonian draft state budget for 2008 includes 5 million kroons (€320,000) for reopening and equipping the long-derelict cinema network outside the capital city of Tallinn. The appropriation, now under…
Latvian landmark film Defenders of Riga to be screened Nov. 11
The long-awaited national film Defenders of Riga will appear on screens throughout Latvia on Nov. 11. A film of this scale is without precedent in Latvia, not only because it…
Launch of new Polish TV channel aimed at Belarus set for Dec. 10
Public broadcaster TVP (www.tvp.pl) is completing preparations for the launch Dec. 10 of its first foreign channel, TV Belarus. TV Belarus will beam by satellite 15 hours of daily independent…
Five ITI entities considered Superbrands in Poland
Five entities in the ITI media group -- Multikino, TVN, TVN24, TVN Style and Onet.pl -- are among Poland's top brands, according to an independent Brand Council consisting of marketing,…
CME reports 3Q revenues rise 55 percent
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. reports net revenues for the third quarter were up 55% over the same period last yearto $174.8 million (€120.5 million), paced by strong performances in…
Bulgaria sets aside funds to preserve film archive
Bulgaria's government is earmarking an additional 440,000 leva (€226,000) to finance restoration of films in the Bulgarian National Film Archive. The money will be used to restore and transfer the…
49M-plus euro Nutcracker musical wraps in Hungary
After 15 weeks of shooting at Hungary's Stern Studios in Pomaz (www.sternstudios.com), Nutcrakcer - The Untold Story has completed both principal and second-unit photography.
Seville Film Festival to screen 17 Czech productions
Czech cinema is the focus at the Seville Film Festival this week with no less than 17 Czech films to be featured in seven programme sections. Three sections will be…
Romanian film, two regional co-productions vie for European Film Award
The Romanian film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days directed by Cristian Mungiu and two co-productions from the New Europe are among the six nominees for best film in…
Hungarian co-producer drops Julie Delphy project The Countess
Julie Delphy's long-gestating historical drama The Countess is on shaky ground again after the Hungarian co-producer, Tivoli Films International (www.tivolifilms.com), backed out when its American producers slashed the budget in…
Hungarian MTV fined for violating ad code
Hungary's National Radio and Television Commission, or ORTT, has ordered Magyar Televizio to pay an 800,000 forint (€3,190) fine for "implied advertising," a violation of the 1995 media law.
Doc filmmakers band together to promote their genre
Documentary filmmakers, whose works often take a back seat to the greater attention paid to feature films, are banding together in several initiatives to better promote their genre. At the…
Ljubljana IFF to screen over 100 films
The 18th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe), the biggest event of its kind in Slovenia, will feature over 100 films during its two-week run Nov. 7-21. The festival will open…
Slovene filmmakers continue protest against Film Fund, Culture Ministry (update)
Slovene filmmakers, some of whom boycotted the 10th Festival of Slovenian film in Portoroz earlier this month, are continuing their protests against the Slovene Film Fund and the Ministry of…
Jihlava awards Sergey Lotnitza for his film Artel
Documentary director Sergey Lotnitza won the best Central and East European documentary award for his film Artel at the 11th Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival which closed Sunday.
Kusturica and Fatih Akin to produce 1.5 million euro Mamarosh
The €1.5 million German-Serbian-Hungarian production Mamarosh has set a shooting date of March 2008 after Eurimages (www.coe.int/eurimages), a Film Fund of the Council of Europe, agreed to extend the validity…
