Main Competition and Short Film Competition – in these two categories the latest Polish films will compete for professional and public acclaim at the 44th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
“Main Competition is the most important and comprehensive presentation of new Polish feature films. It is also the most popular category among viewers as proved by the last year study of Festival audience. Prestigious financial awards in the Main Competition, this year considerably higher than in previous editions, are up for grabs for films of various genres, forms and themes. Of increasing importance is the Short Film Competition, a section for films made by independent producers as well as films schools”, says Leszek Kopeć, Director of the Polish Film Festival.
This year, the Visions Apart Competition will not be held.
„Created a few years ago, Visions Apart Competition was supposed to acknowledge experimental films, ones that stand out in form, often fit for galleries of modern art rather than screening rooms. The stress was on singularity and innovation. We somewhat drew on section Un Certain Regard of Festival de Cannes. But experience shows that Polish film is not rich enough to provide a fresh influx of vanguard films each year and hold a separate competition”, explains Wojciech Marczewski, Chairperson of the Programme Council.
The Festival welcomes back the Polish Film Panorama, the out-of-competition section that gathers selected films submitted but not qualified for the Main Competition.
Submissions for the Main Competition and Short Film Competition at the 44th Polish Film Festival opened on Monday, 29th April 2019. Only feature films produced in Poland on the 1st September 2019 – 31st August 2019 are eligible to compete in either section.
Submissions are closed on 31st May 2019.
Link to the submission form: LINK
The 44th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia will take place on the 16th–21st September 2019.
EFP Highlights Ten Outstanding European Women Directors at SFF
EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM at the Sydney Film Festival (5 – 16 June 2019) showcases the works of outstanding European women directors to the Australian audience, film industry and press. In its fourth year, the thriving cooperation between EFP (European Film Promotion) and the festival to promote European cinema provides a thrilling insight into the works of truly new European voices in film in its final selection made by SFF's festival director Nashen Moodley: six directors are presenting their first feature films and three of them their second. Also taking a strong interest in their work is the acclaimed Australian producer Jan Chapman (“The Piano”), the programme’s ambassador from the very beginning. The initiative is made possible with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the respective EFP member organisations.
Six directors will attend the festival this year and take part in special networking events organised by SFF and EFP. They will meet Australian distributors and producers and discuss the state of affairs of gender equality in the business in a panel discussion moderated by Sarah Ward, critic for the programme’s media partner Screen International. As part of a new cooperation Festival Scope also makes the films available for industry players from the region. On hand to discuss their films with the great festival audience are: Carolina Hellsgård (Germany), Marianna Economou (Greece), Asthildur Kjartansdóttir (Iceland), Tonia Mishiali (Cyprus), Esther Rots (The Netherlands), and Elena Tikhonova (Austria).
The directors presenting their feature film debuts are the multi-talented Tonia Mishiali from Cyprus, who served as the screenwriter, director and producer on her drama Pause. She tells the story of a woman trying to escape from an oppressive marriage, as seen only from her protagonist’s point of view. Also struggling is Dorien, who has to rediscover herself when her picture perfect family starts falling apart in the comedy-drama The Best of Dorien B. by the Belgian director Anke Blondé. In The Deposit, the Icelandic writer-director Ásthildur Kjartansdottir follows the journalist Gisella, who tries to give her life more meaning by helping three immigrant women. In the Austrian comedy Caviar by Elena Tikhonova, the interpreter Nadja discovers the upside of working for a Russian oligarch. Together with her best friends, she devises a scheme for making much better use of his money. British writer-director Harry Wootliff shows a very contemporary take on the thrills of falling in love and the difficulties of staying that way in Only You, starring Josh O’Connor and Laia Costa.
Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy collaborates again with Trine Dyrholm for her second feature film, with the actress this time playing a successful lawyer, happily married with twins, who risks everything when she falls for her teenage stepson in Queen of Hearts. The great Danish actress also appears in Endzeit – Ever After, the second feature film of Carolina Hellsgård – born in Sweden and based in Berlin –, who thrills her audience with her new take on zombie films, while Esther Rots explores new, exciting ways of narrative storytelling in the Dutch psychological drama Retrospekt.
The programme also includes two documentaries: the feature debut Scheme Birds by Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin follows Scottish teenager Gemma, a soon-to-be mother, as she tries to stay out of trouble and carve out a life of her own. Completing the very diverse line-up is the award-winning Greek filmmaker Marianna Economou whose When Tomatoes Met Wagner focuses on the incredible story of a small Greek village that cultivates old tomato varieties – with a little help from classical music – and starts selling its jars of organic tomatoes around the globe.
The supporting EFP members are: AFC – Austrian Films, British Council, Danish Film Institute, Eye International (The Netherlands), Flanders Image, German Films, Greek Film Centre, Icelandic Film Centre, Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, Swedish Film Institute.
ABOUT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL
From Wednesday 5 June to Sunday 16 June 2019, the 66th Sydney Film Festival offers Sydneysiders another exciting season of cinema amidst a whirlwind of premieres, red-carpet openings, in-depth discussions, international guests and more. Sydney Film Festival also presents an Official Competition of 12 films that vie for the Sydney Film Prize, a highly respected honour that awards a $60,000 cash prize based on the decision of a jury of international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals. Previous Sydney Film Prize winners: The Heiresses (2018), On Body and Soul (2017); Aquarius (2016); Arabian Nights (2015); Two Days, One Night (2014); Only God Forgives (2013); Alps (2012); A Separation (2011); Heartbeats (2010); Bronson (2009); and Hunger (2008). The Festival is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar and is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. For more information visit: sff.org.au. The 66th Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and Destination NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia and the City of Sydney. The Festival’s Strategic Partner is the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. For more information on EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM, please go to www.efp-online.com
EFP (European Film Promotion) is an international network of film promotion institutes from 37 countries from throughout Europe, each representing their national films and talent abroad. Under the EFP flag, these organisations come together to jointly promote the diversity and spirit of European cinema and talent at key film festivals and markets, in particular outside of Europe. EFP is financially supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by its member organisations. The Hamburg-based office is backed by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and the Ministry of Culture of the City of Hamburg. The EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM programme is in partnership with the Sydney Film Festival and in media partnership with Screen International, Fade to Her and Festival Scope.
We are proud to host this year’s edition of Developing Your Film Festival - Creative Europe funded training for film festival professionals, taking place at New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw from 22-28 July.
If you want the next edition of your film festival to have a bigger audience, stronger international reputation and improved sponsorship and partnerships, this course was designed for you. The course is 100% recommended by all previous participants, which include over 170 film festivals from around the world.
Don’t miss your opportunity to discover the secrets of success from top film festivals and apply now. Deadline 16 May 2019.
Scholarships and bursaries are available.
Eva Tomanova documents the life of a swindler in the Czech documentary Another Chance.
We are happy to announce that industry accreditations for the 19. New Horizons International Film Festival, held in Wrocław on July 25 - 4 August 2019 can now be booked online via the festival's website: www.nowehoryzonty.pl
This year you can purchase an industry accreditation for the whole festival as well as a 6-day pass.
The industry accreditation costs:
→ from May 7 to May 31 - 350 PLN (including tax)
→ from June 1 to June 30 - 390 PLN (incuding tax)
A 6-day pass costs:
→ from May 7 to May 31 - 200 PLN (including tax)
→ from June 1 to June 30 - 215 PLN (incuding tax)
6-day pass' buyer is obliged to choose the date of stay at the festival i.e. indicate 6 consecutive days of their stay.
They will be available for purchase from 7th May, 2019 until all accreditations have been sold, but not later than 30th June, 2019.
Conditions of Industry Pass Use and Purchase
Apply for industry accreditation
The New Horizons International Film Festival is committed to expanding its international presence and building long-term relationships with the world film industry professionals. Festival brings excellent opportunities to meet, discuss and exchange ideas, find co-producers and discover new talent. More than 600 film professionals visit our festival every year.
The industry accreditation allows you to attend all film screenings after prior online booking and enter the festival club.
In case of further questions contact:
Weronika Czołnowska: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The European VoD Meetings is the first European professional training especially conceived for the Video on Demand sector. It is organised by EuroVoD and co-funded by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme.
The European VoD Meetings is the first European professional training especially conceived for the Video on Demand sector.
It is organised by EuroVoD and co-funded by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme.
The goal of the training is to reinforce the competitiveness of the European VoD platforms, preserving the richness of the cultural diversity of their catalogue, through the transmission of know-how and peer-to-peer learning, by fostering the implementation of innovative projects, producing an updated and comprehensive analysis of the needs of the sector and its opportunities, and stimulating a better comprehension of the dynamics that could influence the circulation of European, arthouse and independent films in Europe as elsewhere.
The training is born from the urgency of the European VoD platforms to network and benchmark, fostering the dialogue within the chain of rights and with the service providers, feeding a knowledge economy for the benefit of all the industry and finally to the european creativity. Video on Demand is a young sector the industry based on innovation and gathering different knowledges and backgrounds in tech & film that need a constant up to date: transparency, communication, data analysis, cooperation, confrontation about the hot topics of the business, development of new projects, acquisition of technical, artistic, marketing, trading and management tools.
Some info about the 1st edition of the European VoD Meetings:
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Venice, 3-6 September 2018:Programme and the list of participants
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Berlin, 6-9 February 2019: Programme and the list of participants
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THE 2ND EDITION of the EVODM training is organised in 2 residential workshops, 4 days each of lectures, workshops, public conferences, case studies, debates, business and trading opportunities. You can apply for one workshop or for both.
WHEN & WHERE
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2-5 September 2019 / Italy, Venice (San Servolo Island) - during the Venice Film Festival & Venice Production Bridge
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18-21 March 2020 / Bulgaria, Sofia - during the Sofia Film Festival & Sofia Meetings
TRAINEES
35 European and 5 Non-European executives and intermediate professionals per workshop:
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VoD platforms (marketing, technical, editorial, trading, management departments)
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Aggregators, distributors, producers, cinemas, festivals, authors, rights holders and other audio-visual professionals willing to work and collaborate with VoD platforms or set up new services
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Service and technical providers working with or interested to work with VoD platforms
PROGRAMME OF WORKSHOP 1
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2nd SEPT: Arrival & Opening session, Networking cocktail and dinner
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3rd SEPT: EUROVOD Public Conference & VoD Market Day
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4th SEPT: Marketing, Design Thinking, Audience Development and Technical workshops
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5th SEPT: Fundraising, AV Business Planning, Content licencing, Closing party
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6th SEPT: Departures
The full programme, with the list of the experts and speakers, will be published in the upcomong weeks.
PARTICIPATION FEE
1.050€, including: tuition fees, pedagogical tools (on-line and off-line), business facilities, 4 nights' accommodation on San Servolo island campus, full board (breakfast, lunch, dinners, cocktails), some public transports, the participation to the VoD Market Day (public conference, market and B2B meetings).
REBATES
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No accommodation on San Servolo island, where the training takes place = rebate of 390€
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Accommodation in a shared bedroom with another training participant = rebate of 100€
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Members of our partner EAVE = rebates of 200€
SCHOLARSHIPS
A limited number of scholarships is available thanks to the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Commission, given in priority to participants from European countries at low audiovisual production capacity. Other scholarships are accorded by EuroVoD to its members as a rebate on the training fees. If you want to benefit from a scholarship, kindly mention it on the application form below.
Participants attending both workshops in Venice and Sofia can’t benefit from a scholarship twice.
Applicants are encouraged to apply for financial support with their national funding bodies first, like eg. national film funds.
Submissions for the 21st edition of connecting cottbus,Submissions for the 21st edition of connecting cottbus,the East-West co-production market at the FilmFestivalCottbus on 6—8 November 2019, are now open.
The longest-running networking event for film professionals active in East-West European co-production, connecting cottbus (coco) continues its success rate of completed films, with every fourth project pitched premiering at an A-level festival. Last year, these coco alumni included CRYSTAL SWAN (Belarus/USA/Germany/RussianFederation), THE WILD FIELDS (Ukraine/Switzerland) and PAUSE (Cyprus/Greece), while THE LOAD (Serbia/France/Croatia/Iran/Qatar) has so far screened at over 30 festivals worldwide since its premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2018.
Director Sergey Dvorstevoy (AYKA) will pitch his new project at coco this year, as recipient of the Special Pitch Award for the winner of the main prize at the FilmFestival Cottbus. This was announced at the traditional Eastern European Brunch during the Berlinale, together with the D-Facto Motion color-grading award for the Georgian project BRIGHTONd4, directed by Levan Koguashvilli, presented at the previous cocoWIP. This year’s edition of coco also sees a new collaboration with Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival to boost the presence of genre projects.
In total, thirteen pitch projects and six works in progresswill be selected and presented at connecting cottbus on 6—8 November 2019. All projects compete for a variety ofsponsored awards, further details will be announced inthe coming months, along with news on the framework programme exploring latest industry topics.
Producers can submit feature film projects indevelopment (fiction only) for the coco PITCH section until 17 July 2019, projects in production or post-productionfor coco WIP until 22 August 2019. For both sections,projects have to originate in or relate to broader Eastern Europe, or be suited for East-West co-production. Selections will be announced in early September.
Producers, sales agents, commission ingeditors and other industry representatives can apply without a project until 7 October 2019.
We look forward to receiving your submissions! Your coco team
GET IN TOUCH
for more information about coco and projecteligibility, meeting requests for Cannes, etc.:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./connecting.cottbus
COTTBUS: The 21st edition of connecting cottbus, the longest-running East-West coproduction market, has opened its call for submissions to the event which runs 6-8 November 2019.
ZILINA: The Slovak animation festival Fest Anca, running 27-30 June 2019, has announced its complete lineup of films, with a new section devoted to a panorama of Slovak films added this year.
ALMOST THERE! SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT TO
KVIFF EASTERN PROMISES 2019!
We would like to remind you that the submission deadlines for Film Industry projects at Karlovy Vary IFF are approaching!
WORKS IN PROGRESS 2019
The presentation of the new quality films in post-production or recently finished films from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa. This year, Works in Progress will be held for the 15th time.
The last year’s WiP winner ALL THIS VICTORY (dir. Ahmad Ghossein – Lebanon, France, Germany) was awarded 90 000 EUR in services from our festival partners UPP, Soundsquare and 10 000 EUR cash award from Barrandov Studio.
The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2019.
Find out more and submit your project at our official WiP website.
EURIMAGES LAB PROJECT AWARD 2019
For the fourth time, Karlovy Vary IFF will select a recipient of the Eurimages Lab Project Award.
The award is intended for the most promising cutting-edge film project which is made outside traditional rules of filmmaking both in terms of dramaturgy and production.
The last year’s ELP winner NORMAL (dir. Adele Tulli – Italy, Sweden) received 50 000 EUR cash award from Eurimages. The finished film had its world premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.
The deadline for submissions is May 8, 2019.
