VALLETTA: Abigail Mallia’s Limestone Cowboy is set to follow in the footsteps of Rebecca Cremona’s Simshar (produced by Kukumajsa Productions Ltd) and be the next film from Malta to gain international theatrical distribution. Limestone Cowboy is a whimsical film on a political dark horse, who aims for the top job in a small Mediterranean island.

BRATISLAVA: Acclaimed Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko is currently shooting a sequel to his popular Christmas fairy tale The Feather Fairy / Perinbaba (1985) in the Slovak town of Kežmarok. Seven-legged Lucas / Sedmonohý Lukáš will revive Giulietta Masina, who played the Perinbaba, through digital technology.

ZAGREB: Antun Vrdoljak’s anticipated The General, starring Goran Višnjić as the hero of the Croatian War of Independence Ante Gotovina, started shooting in Croatia on 20 February 2017. The project includes a feature film and also an eight-episodes series.

WARSAW: Kinga Dębska, director of box office hit These Daughters of Mine, started shooting her new project The God's Plan on 14 February 2017. This story about love has its premiere already set for Valentine’s Day 2018.

VALLETTA: Maltese-Australian director Peter Sant, known for arthouse shorts, has finished shooting his debut feature, tentatively titled Maneland, with support from the Malta Film Fund.

BUCHAREST: The second season of the HBO Europe series Shadows / Umbre, produced and shot in Romania in autumn-winter 2016, is currently in postproduction with the premiere set for 2017.

BELGRADE: Serbian actress Bojana Novaković is in production with her directorial debut, the documentary The Forbidden Aunt / Zabranjena tetka. The film is a study of the actress-director’s own aunt and was supported by Film Center Serbia.

PRAGUE: Czech Television will begin filming a two-part film about Central Europe’s most significant monarch, the Empress Maria Theresa.

VILNIUS: Lithuanian director Audrius Juzėnas is currently shooting his third feature film, Owl Mountain / Pelėdų kalnas. The release of this historical drama is planned for 16 February 2018, the day when Lithuania celebrates 100th anniversary of its Act of Independence.

BELGRADE: Serbian newcomer Katarina Mutić has completed her first documentary, The Way of the East / Tako mi na Istoku. The film follows a fortune-teller and was supported by Film Center Serbia.

BRATISLAVA: Mátyás Prikler’s second feature film, Power, closed the development stage and will have the principal photography in the winter 2017/2018. The film is a Slovak/Czech/Hungarian coproduction and stars the Hungarian director and actor Kornel Mundruczó, alongisde popular Czech actor Jan Tříska.

SARAJEVO: Frog, the first feature film by well-known Bosnian theatre and TV series director Elmir Jukić, has entered postproduction. The film is a Bosnian/Macedonian/Croatian/Serbian coproduction.

BITOLA: Macedonia’s Sektor Film is in postproduction with The Red Poet, a TV series by Nikolce Popovski about the famous Macedonian poet Kosta Racin. The first episode will be aired in January 2017.

BELGRADE: US helmer Tamar Halpern has wrapped production on Missing in Europe, a thriller about human trafficking entirely shot in Belgrade. The project is currently in postproduction with the premiere due for the second half of 2017.

SOFIA: Acclaimed director, scriptwriter and producer Stephan Komandarev completed the shooting of his low budget feature film Directions aka Compatibility on 5 December 2016. The film is a Bulgarian /German/ Macedonian coproduction, whose financing took less than a year.

VALLETTA: Austrian director Wolfgang Fischer has wrapped a 33 day shoot in Malta for his sophomore film Styx. A coproduction between Berlin’s Schiwago Film and Amour Fou in Vienna, with executive production by Small Island Films in Malta, Styx depicts the transformation of a strong woman on a solo sailing trip.