On Wednesday, 20 March, the shooting of the new live-action feature Deadlock by the writer and director Vinko Möderndorfer began in Seča in the Slovenian Littoral. Most of the film, however, will be shot in Ljubljana and in the Viba Film Studio.   

The story describes an encounter between two married couples from the opposite ends of the social scale, which, at first glance, seem to have nothing in common. However, an accident and a tragic event bring these people together fatefully in a single night and most likely until the rest of their lives.

Möderndorfer had the following to say about his new film: "We live in the times when the absence of any empathy in interpersonal relations is one of the most pressing issues all over the world. The brutal and ruthless capitalism tears people and their relationships apart from day to day, pushing the world into a war of everyone against everybody else. Empathy, compassion, attention towards our nearest and dearest, the capacity to feel the pain of others – all of this seems to be vanishing from the face of the world. I think it is important to tell a story in which human relations can live fully again and where the sympathy and sensitivity for others are once again established as an important value of today's civilisation. The world in which we live is in a deadlock. We are stuck in a sort of a civilisational standstill that will be impossible to get out of without understanding each other and observing the fundamental human and humanist values.«

Starring Mirjam Korbar, Peter Musevski, Uroš Fürst and Barbara Cerar. Co-starring: Ivo Ban, Klemen Kovačič, Mila Fürst, Benjamin Krnetič, Branko Završan, and others.

Producer: Eva Rohrman; director of photography: Mitja Ličen; editor: Andrija Zafranović; production designer: Dušan Milavec; costumes designer: Alenka Korla; makeup designer: Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska; sound recordist: Peter Žerovnik; sound designer: Julij Zornik; production manager: Matija Kozamernik.

The film is produced by Forum Ljubljana, co-produced by Delirium from Serbia, and co-financed by the Slovenian Film Centre and Film Center Serbia. The realisation was made possible by Viba Film Studio.

The producer of the film Eva Rohrman also revealed that she expects additional co-producers and co-financers to take part in the project in the course of the production, but the final decisions regarding this issue have not yet been reached.  

Vinko Möderndorfer wrote and directed three internationally-renowned and award-winning live-action features (Suburbs, 2004; Landscape No. 2, 2008; Inferno, 2014), all of which have premiered and been screened at the most prestigious A-list film festivals: Venice, Montreal, Karlovy Vary, Cannes, Busan, Tallinn, etc., and have won numerous awards at home and abroad.

Vinko Möderndorfer belongs among the most renowned Slovenian artists. His extensive opus includes more than a hundred theatre and opera directions, sixteen TV directions, and a hundred radio plays. He has written more than seventy books and forty dramas. He has received more than forty awards in the fields of literature, drama, theatre, television, and radio, including the Prešeren's Fund Award, the Župančič Award, several Borštnik Awards, the Marjan Rožanc Award, several Grum Awards, the Ježek Award, several awards for best comedy, the Cup of Immortality, the Večernica Award, several Desetnica Awards, and other important acknowledgements.

The film crew dedicated the beginning of the shooting to the recently deceased Slovenian director Polona Sepe.

The 20th edition of the Bratislava International Film Festival will open its doors in less than one month. The days between 29 November and 2 December 2018 will offer a generous selection of quality titles made by the best of young contemporary cinema. The Bratislava city cinemas Lumière and Mladosť will welcome the audience with a pleasant atmosphere and bring innovative perspectives on the world and being in it. After last year's success the festival will present part of its programme in three cinemas outside of the capital as well; Kino Mier in Modra, Kino Záhoran in Malacky and Artkino Metro in Trenčín.

The backbone of the festival is again the Fiction Competition designated for first and second feature films. For example, the audience can look forward to José (2018), the second film by the American director Li Cheng and winner of the Queer Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. José follows the story of a young homosexual man looking for love and emotional fulfilment in the environment of one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, Guatemala, where the director lived for two years. Li Cheng’s name will resound the festival’s screening rooms for the second time already, as in 2014 he personally visited with his film Joshua Tree.

This year’s East of the West and FEDEORA awards of the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary went to the Russian director Elizaveta Stishova and her distinctive debut Suleiman Mountain (Suleimangora, 2017). Set in Kyrgyzstan, the film follows a bizarre story of a man (a gambler, habitual drinker, brute and cheater, but also a father and a husband of two women) living on the fringe of the society. His semi-nomadic way of life in a van with two wives, one rediscovered son and another – yet unborn one, as well as constant frustration, restlessness, uncertainty, mystique and shamanism create a captivating and engaging drama with elements of comedy and encourage the viewer to think about the numerous unanswered questions it poses.

Next in the Fiction Competition is Blind Spot (Blindsone, 2018), a directorial debut of Tuva Novotny, a Swedish actress and daughter of the Czech director Dávid Ján Novotný. The film was screened and awarded at the 66th San Sebastian International Film Festival. The category will also present Cutterhead (2018) by the Danish filmmaker Rasmus Kloster Bro, combining elements of drama and action thriller, as well as Sofia (2018) by the Moroccan director Meryem Benm’ Barek.

Another section of the Bratislava IFF programme will comprise three films nominated for the LUX Prize 2018, which has been awarded by the European Parliament since 2007. Its goal is to popularize original European film production and incite the EU citizens to discuss European values and identity.

This year’s section will present the film Styx (2018) by the Vienna-born director Wolfgang Fischer. Its story begins as a workaday life of a successful paramedic, who embarks on her dream yachting voyage. A violent storm on the sea changes the idyll into cruel reality, as she finds herself in the middle of nowhere with nothing in sight but a sinking vessel filled with dozens of refugees. No assistance is coming and she must decide and act on her own. The Serbian director Mila Turajlid and the story of her family in the documentary film The Other Side of Everything (Druga strana svega, 2017) give us an insight into the turbulent political events taking place in Serbia. The Belgian filmmaker Lucas Dhont deals with the question of transgender identity in his feature debut Girl (2018), telling the story of a 15-year-old Lara, who loves and studies dance at a prestigious Belgian dance academy. However, every day on a path towards becoming a ballet dancer is a fight. Lara

Bratislava International Film Festival, Lovinskeho 18, 811 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, tel.: +421 2 54 410 673 - 74, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.bratislavaiff.sk/en/

seeks the courage to be herself and works relentlessly on her male body, which is the biggest obstacle to the fulfilment of her dream.

The Bratislava International Film Festival acts as a platform where the general viewing public, cinephiles as well as film professionals from Slovakia and abroad meet and interact. Ever since its establishment in 1999, it has been developing its identity of a young cinema festival and event aiming to discover new names and future stars of contemporary film.

For the latest updates on the programme of the 20th Bratislava International Film Festival, please visit our official website at www.bratislavaiff.sk/en or our official Facebook account at www.facebook.com/bratislavaiff/.

20th BRATISLAVA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 29 November - 02 December 2018

Kino Lumière, Kino Mladosť Kino MIER Modra, Kino Záhoran Malacky, Artkino METRO Trenčín

Main Organiser: Partners Production

The Bratislava International Film Festival is held with the generous financial support of: Slovak Audiovisual Fund, The Bratislava Self-Governing Region

Main partners: Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, Transpetrol

COME, SEE, EXPERIENCE!

Between 29 November and 2 December 2018, the Bratislava cinemas Lumière and Mladosť will brim with extraordinary films from all around the globe. The Bratislava International Film Festival is here with its attractive programme sections designated to showcase the finest of world cinema. A special status was given to the topic of women in society and cinema, which is reflected in this year’s section Lexicon, as well as in the festival spot and visual identity.

The curators of the section Lexicon: Female gaze, festival programmer Tomáš Hudák and the director of this year’s festival spot Ivana Hucíková, have focused on the status of women in cinema, their portrayal in film, and the uniqueness of a woman’s experience. The topic also served as inspiration for the festival spot. The half-minute video is a montage of films directed mainly by women filmmakers. Their protagonists are women of different colour, appearance, age, and character in various life situations. In the background, we can hear the voice of the musician Katarzia, who’s asking: “Do you think we can’t change anything, because we’re just women?”, a lyric excerpt from the song Dolls Are Killing Each Other,found on her new album Antigona, on which Katarzia (Katarína Kubošiová) cooperated with Pjoni (Jonatán Pastirčák). “The past year has been - not only in the cinema - the year of #MeToo, and that is part of why we’ve decided to reflect on the status of women in society and cinema. We have chosen the topic of female gaze as opposed to the male gaze, identified by the film theorist Laura Mulvey. In the section we give space to women authors, we try to bring attention to the female experience, which is – in film as well as the society – often overlooked, reflect on how women were and are depicted in film and remind that there is no such thing as male and female genres,” say the curators. “It is, however, not just about this one section. Five out of the eight films in the Fiction Competition have been shot by female directors and even other sections will present films disrupting the male gaze hegemony "

One of these is a debut by the Cypriot director, screenwriter and producer Tonie Mishiali Pause (Pafsi, 2018). The story draws us into the monotonous life of a not so happily married Elpida (Greek for hope), a middle-aged woman living in a patriarchal, conservative-oriented society with a despotic husband. Beau travail (1999) is a work of the French director Claire Denis, inspired by Herman Melville’s novel Billy Budd. The story centres around Sergeant Galoup, who is trying to destroy his subordinate Gilles Sentain. Through the main storyline, the director reveals her idea about the life of soldiers. The female gaze is amplified by Denis’ long-time director of photography Agnès Godard, presenting the images of male strength and beauty, but also their weakness. A sexist view of women and their depiction in film is reflected in Diego Galán’s documentary film Barefoot in the Kitchen (Con la pata quebrada, 2013). The Spanish director captures the often funny, but also tearfully stereotypical scenes from selected Spanish films made from 1930s up to now.

The popular section Cinema Now brings an overview of the most remarkable films of the season. Its curators, Nenad Dukid and Tomáš Hudák, have assembled the most interesting movies that have stirred the waters of world’s major festivals. For 20 years, the Bratislava IFF has been supplying the Slovak film public with names, which often become stars of the screen.

Forbidden love in Kenya is a subject-matter developed by the director Wanuri Kahiu and her film Rafiki (2018). Homophobia, coming-out, misunderstanding and refusing love from the people of the same sex, but also joy is what we explore through the story of two daughters of competing politicians. Kena is a smart student whose ambition is to become a nurse, although she could very well aspire to be a doctor. Her best friend Blacksta, a pal from street soccer, games and life in

Bratislava International Film Festival, Lovinskeho 18, 811 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic tel.: +421 2 54 410 673, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.bratislavaiff.sk

general, secretly awaits the day when Kena will become his wife. However, she’s only got eyes for the extravagant Ziki and her dreadlocks. The film was banned in Kenya, but the spectator community of Cannes festival received it warmly.

Fans of Vanessa Paradis can look forward to Knife + Heart (Un couteau dans la coeur, 2018). She portrays the main protagonist Anne, a lesbian producer of gay porn at the end of 1970s in Paris, going through a breakup with her long-time partner. The French director Yann Gonzalez makes her existential crisis even deeper, when a serial killer appears and starts murdering the actors from Anne's films. Sombreness taking turn with relieving humour, dark atmosphere and shots, a mix of genres, neon lights and captivating soundtrack by M83 give the film strength and a sense of mystique.

The daring documentary Putin’s Witnesses (Svideteli Putin, 2018) clarifies the situation which arose at the turn of 1999 and 2000. The new Russian President is Vladimir Putin. One of the members in his closest team is the documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, whose task is to record the President during his office hours. In his outraged film the director offers the viewer first-hand information – his archive footage, authentic images, testimonies and statements shedding light on one of the world's most central policymakers and the early stages of his tyrannical government. The film had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary IFF, where it won the Best Documentary award.

The Bratislava IFF will also present the awaited biographical film by the director and scriptwriter David Lowery. The Old Man &The Gun (2018) is the last film ever to star Robert Redford. After 60 years of acting, the 82-year-oldstar of the screen decided to round offhis career with the role of a 70-year-old bank robber Forrest Trucker, who has managed to escape from prison 17 times. Now he could finally enjoy retirement, but he cannot seem to resist the temptation and organize another bank robbery.

The Bratislava International Film Festival acts as a platform where the general viewing public, cinephiles as well as film professionals from Slovakia and abroad meet and interact. Ever since its establishment in 1999, it has been developing its identity of a young cinema festival and event aiming to discover new names and future stars of contemporary film.

For the latest updates on the programme of the 20th Bratislava International Film Festival, please visit our official website at www.bratislavaiff.sk/en or our official Facebook account at www.facebook.com/bratislavaiff/.

20th BRATISLAVA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 29 November - 02 December 2018

Kino Lumière, Kino Mladosť Kino MIER Modra, Kino Záhoran Malacky, Artkino METRO Trenčín

Main Organiser: Partners Production

The Bratislava International Film Festival is held with the generous financial support of: Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Bratislava Self-Governing region

Main partners: Slovenskáelektrizačnáprenosovásústava, Transpetrol

COME, SEE, EXPERIENCE!

The 17th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival announced its winners on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at its Closing Gala in the Cluj National Theater.

The 15,000 Euro Transilvania Trophy offered by Staropramen went to The Heiresses and was presented by international opera star Angela Gheorghiu. Director Marcelo Martinessi thus adds another award to the Silver Bear he received this winter at the Berlinale. Marcelo Martinessi impressed the jury with his rigor in direction and the captivating rhythm of the narrative, in a 12-film competition that did not make the jury’s decision easy. This is the first Paraguayan film in competition at TIFF.

Director Dagur Kari, casting director and director Stephane Foenkinos, writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz, actor Vlad Ivanov, and director Agnes Kocsis also decided the 5,000 Euro Best Directing Award, which went to Hlynur Pálmason, the director of Winter Brothers, who impressed the jury with his “passionate, beautiful and energetic film.” Three of the actors in Carlos Marques Marcet’s Anchor And Hope, Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin, and David Verdaguer shared the 1,500 Euro Best Performance Award for “the way in which they complement each other with intelligence and charm, creating moving and humor-filled roles.” The award, offered by Conceptual Lab, was presented by actor Jean-Marc Barr, special guest at TFF and the lead of the festival’s closing film, Luc Besson’s The Big Blue, which is screened Sun evening.

Two courageous films received by the 1,500 Euro Special Jury Award offered by HBO. The jury appreciated Asghar Yousefinejad’s The Home for being “profoundly anchored in reality, with complex morality,” while Anna Kruglova’s Scythe Hitting Stone was considered a revelation, a graduation film that is extremely well structured.

The FIPRESCI Prize, offered by the International Federation of Film Critics for a title in To Be or Not to Be Politically Correct?section went to the dystopian Life Guidance by Ruth Mader.

Gustav Moller’s minimalist The Guilty was appreciated by TIFF film lovers and received the Audience Award offered by Mastercard. Starting November, the film will be distributed in Romanian theaters by Bad Unicorn.

“I would love it if every year we could have Romanian films like Touch Me Not and Charleston in the competition,” declared TIFF Artistic Director Mihai Chirilov, before thanking directors from around the world for coming to TIFF. Over 800 guests, filmmakers, film lovers, journalists, etc., were at the Closing Gala hosted by TIFF President Tudor Giurgiu. Another few tens of thousands followed the ceremony live, through Facebook and YouTube, as well as the red carpet arrivals of stars Fanny Ardant, Jean-Marc Barr, Vlad Ivanov, Florin Piersic, Dorian Boguță, Ana Ularu; directors Cristi Puiu, Adina Pintilie, Andrei Crețulescu, and Tedy Necula; and television personalities Andreea Esca and Amalia Enache.

A guest of honor for this edition, Fanny Ardant shone on the stage of the National Theater as she received the standing ovation of everyone present. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from TIFF’s President and responded with an emotional speech: “When I was a little girl I thought that being an actress meant just the pleasure of being on stage. Only later I understood that the life of an actress means going from dark to light, from cold to warmth, from a turned back to an outstretched hand. So I thank you tonight for giving me light and warmth with this award, for stretching out your arms.’’

The charming Anna Széles’s 50 years of stage and film presence were also honored at TIFF. Actor Florin Piersic, her former partner and co-star, handed her the Lifetime Achievement Award in front of an audience fascinated by their stories and by the abiding love they still have for each other. “I was lucky to have had wonderful directors and partners who stayed in my heart,” declared the actress.

Introduced by Cătălin Ștefănescu as an “extremely delicate character” and “one of the iconic actors of Romanian film,” Dan Nuțu, the founder of Aristoteles Workshop, received the Excellence Award offered by Mercedes-Benz.

Pororoca won the Romanian Days: Best Feature Film Award, consisting of 10,000 de Euro  worth of post-production services offered by Cinelabs Romania. Actress Mădălina Ghenea handed the award to director Constantin Popescu. Ivana Mladenovic’s controversial Soldiers. Story From Ferentari received the 1,000 Euro Romanian Days: Best Debut Feature Award offered by Banca Transilvania “for the courage and dignity exhibited both by the director and by the characters she constructed.” Berlinale winner Touch Me Not received a Special Mention from the Romanian Days jury. “It is very complicated to place a film like this one on the market. Your warmth proves that the market underestimates the emotional intelligence of the audience,” said director Adina Pintilie.

The Romanian Days: Best Short Award, consisting of 1,500 Euro offered by Campari  and 5,000 Euro worth of camera, electric, and grip equipment offered by CutareFilm, went to Bogdan Mureșanu’s The Christmas Gift. Two Special Mentions went to Dorian Boguță’s Sunday “for its sensitive portrayal of men in a group home, in whose stories the jury could glimpse their own” and to Anghel Damian’s Michelangelo “for the moving story about the importance of truth, even when truth hurts.”

The most popular film of this section, Daniel Sandu’s One Step Behind The Seraphim received the 1,500 Euro Romanian Days Audience Award offered by Dacin Sara. This is the first award received by the film; director Iura Luncașu handed it to young actor Ștefan Iancu.

The 500 Euro Shadow Shorts Competition Award offered by PMA went to Fran Casanova’s Something in the Darkness.

Eliza Zdru won the Alex. Leo Șerban Fellowship worth 2,500 Euro, offered in partnership with Conceptual Lab, for the development of her feature-length documentary Learning Teaching. The board reviewing the applications also granted a Special Mention worth 500 Euro Tamás Chirodea-Ambrus (vlogger on the Tomtastic Movie Reviews YouTube channel) for the development of a website for podcasts, shorts, new, reviews, and live streams. Another Special Mention worth 1,000 Euro was awarded for the first time to a young Romanian actor who stood out in a 2017 production: Mircea Postelnicu, for his lead role in  Călin Peter Netzer’s Ana, Mon Amour.

 

The 20,000 Euro Eurimages Co-production Development Award of the Transilvania Pitch Stop went to Pavle Vučković’s project Frost. Post-production services worth 25,000 Euro, offered by Chainsaw Europe went to TheLast Bus by Nándor Lőrincz and Bálint Nagy. In the Transilvania Pitch Stop Workshop, the CoCo Award  went to Cristian Pascariu’s project October, which is invited to the Connecting Cottbus East West Co-production Market in Germany. The Villa kult Cultural Residency, a five-day residency for script development in Berlin, went to the winner of the To the North by Mihai Mincan. Finally, the Young Francophone Jury Prize, offered by TV5 Monde, Institute Français, and RFI Romania went to The Prayer by Cédric Kahn “for its harmonious visual discourse and absorbing soundtrack and characters.”

“In our road to death we need to support each other a little more,” cautioned the voice of late director Lucian Pintilie during a moving homage screened in the National Theater. TIFF President Tudor Giurgiu dedicated the evening to him.

 

Follow us on:

Web www.tiff.ro | Facebook TransilvaniaIFF | Twitter TIFFRomania | Instagram TIFFRomania

The Transilvania International Film Festival is organized by the Association for the Promotion of Romanian Film and the Association for the Transilvania Film Festival.

Support from: Ministry of Culture and National Identity, National Center for Cinematography, Cluj City Hall and Local Council, Romanian Cultural Institute, Cluj County Council, Creative Europe-MEDIA program of the European Union

Presented by: Staropramen

Principal sponsor: Banca Transilvania

Principal partner: Mastercard

Official car: Mercedes-Benz

Sponsors: Orange, HBO, MOL România, Lidl, Nespresso, Tenaris Silcotub,  Avon

Official coffee: Nespresso

Official logistical partner: DHL

Media partners: TV5, Europa FM, Adevărul, Dilema Veche, OK! Magazine, Historia, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Business Review, Zile și Nopți, Cinemap, Radio România Cultural, Observator Cultural, Scena 9, Life.ro, Cinemagia, BIZ, News.ro, A List Magazine, LiterNet, Urban.ro, AaRC.ro, Sinteza.

Local media partners: Erdèly Naplò, Făclia, Filmtett, Krónika, Monitorul de Cluj, Radio Cluj, Transilvania Reporter

Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST

Winners of the 58th Krakow Film Festival

Krakow, 2nd June 2018 - The winners of the 58th Krakow Film Festival were announced. The international jury awarded the best documentary, short and animated films, which during the whole festival week were trying to woo the experts and the audience in 7 cinemas in Krakow.

The outright winner of this year's edition of the Krakow Film Festival is an acclaimed film “Over the Limit”, directed by Marta Prus. The film received the Silver Horn for the best feature film in the International Documentary Film Competition and the Silver Hobby-Horse for the director of the best documentary film in the National Competition. The film about the remarkable Russian gymnast Margarita Mamun and the emotional costs of professional sports, received also the award for the best producer of Polish short and documentary films, the Best Cinematography Award and People’s Choice Award.

The winner of the International Documentary Film Competition is Talal Derki's film “Of Fathers and Sons”. The 2014 winner of the Silver Horn once again confronted Krakow audience with the sheer terror of the Syrian war. Four years after the horrifying, successful and widely discussed “Return to Homs” – the opening film of the 54th KFF – the director visited a family of a radicalized ISIS member and followed the process of forming of jihadist fighters. In “Of Fathers and Sons” the camera focuses on little boys who are being prepared the join the ranks of ISIS by their beloved fathers, for whom family is especially important. The film received this year an award for best documentary at Sundance. Jury led by Péter Forgács (Hungary) handed out the prestigious Golden Horn award for “the director's courageous penetration into the world of extremism”. Moreover, the film was also awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics Jury (FIPRESCI).

The Silver Horn for the director of the best medium-length documentary went to Pablo Aparo and Martin Benchimol for their film “The Dread” (Argentina).

The winner of the oldest festival competition - International Short Film Competition - is

Armelle Mercat for her film “Keep Your Hair On, Oliver” (France).

The jury, whose chairman was Iranian director and screenwriter Merhard Oskouei, gave the French director the Golden Dragon award emphasizing that the story presented in the film was only possible to tell through animation.

Silver Dragons are the awards given to the best short films representing all three competition genres. The Silver Dragon for the best documentary film went to Michał Hytroś for his film “The Sisters” (Poland). The film received also the special mention in the National Competition. The best animated film is “Obon” [dir. André Hörmann, Samo (Anna Bergmann)]. Silver Dragon for the best short fiction went to Emmanuelle Fleytoux for her film “Release the Dogs” (France/Belgium). The Krakow Film Festival also gave this film the nomination for the European Film Award in the short film category (PRIX EFA KRAKOW 2018 for the best European film).

The best music documentary and the winner of the Golden Heynal award, chosen by the Jury led by Marcin Borchardt (Polska), is an American-Japanese documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” (dir. Stephen Nomura Schible). In this moving documentary a story about the roots of music turns into a film meditation, which talks about the human fight with inhibitions. The protagonist, an Academy Award winner for his original score for the film “The Last Emperor”, this time shows his other faces: as a music experimenter, an activist fighting against environmental degradation and a man struggling with serious illness. The film received also the Student Jury award.

The Golden Hobby-Horse in the National Competition went to “Unconditional Love” by Rafał Łysak (Poland). The Jury appreciated the film “for a story about an intimate reality of people from different generations, which escapes a stereotypical judgment. If we watch the world so closely it can actually be tolerant as love is unconditional”.

The best Polish animation is “III” by Marta Pajek (Poland). It is the second Silver Hobby-Horse in the artist's career. After two years Pajek came back to the idea of an impossible figure, which this time in a sensual and full of eroticism way portrays relations between men and women.

The award for the best Polish short fiction was handed out "for an accurate, comedic attempt to encapsulate the madness of the contemporary world" to Maciej Kawalski for his film “Atlas” (Poland).

The special mention went to the last year's winner Damian Kocur for his film “1410”.

For the fourth time the Krakow Film Festival, being among Europe's most important film festivals, recommends feature documentary films for the European Film Award. This year the official recommendation was given to “White Mama” (Zosya Rodkevich, Evgeniya Ostanina).

For the third time an important part of the Krakow Film Festival was DOC LAB POLAND section, which belonged to the KFF Industry - a programme of events devoted to the film industry. Awards for documentaries in development and in postproduction were handed out.

The 59th Krakow Film Festival will take place May 26th - June 2nd, 2019.

Transilvania Pitch Stop: last chance to submit projects 

One week left to submit your project for the third edition of the Transilvania Pitch Stop co-production platform, which will be held on 7 - 8 June 2019, in Cluj-Napoca. The program is open to feature-length fiction film projects of 1st and 2nd time filmmakers coming from Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Greece, Turkey and Georgia. The projects can be in different stages of development with preferably 15% of the budget secured. (please check regulation here)

A jury of international professionals will hand the Eurimages Co-production Development Award valued at 20.000 euro. Another 5.000 euro award in cash will be offered by Transilvania International Film Festival.

Deadline: 31st of March, 2019.

Selected projects will be announced no later then May 1st, 2019 and the director and producer will be invited to join the industry event in Cluj on the 7th and 8th of June 2019.

Submit your project

The 2019 industry program of Transilvania IFF also includes 

Transilvania Talent Lab (TTL), a workshop dedicated to professionals involved in the management of cinemas, organized in partnership with Europa Cinemas; 
LIM - Less is More, the European platform for project development of limited budget feature films initiated by Le Groupe Ouest;
First Films First, an intensive professional training program aimed at supporting young Southeast European film directors to develop their first feature-length fiction film, initiated by Goethe-Institut Young Directors´ Academy South-Eastern Europe;
Closed Screenings program dedicated to industry representatives and special screenings of the newest Romanian films, debates and masterclasses, lining-up experts in audience development, and script writing, film directors.
This year Transilvania IFF will also host the prestigiouse European Film Forum on June 7th. 

More details on www.tiff.ro.
For inquiries, please contact us: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Sound Team
confirmed for FEST 2019 industry program

FEST 2019, from June 24th to July 1st, in Espinho, Portugal

John Warhurst, Tim Cavagin and Nina Hartstone are the new confirmations on FEST’s 2019’s Training Ground. Specialized in the field of sound, together they compose the Academy Award-winning sound team for “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

During FEST they will be presenting a Masterclass using the case study of “Bohemian Rhapsody” strategies and work process, focusing, mainly, on the solutions they’ve created to overcome the challenges created by the production. How to make Freddie Mercury's voice sound genuine, the brain-surgery editing precision required or the custom sounds they had to record (concert crowds, people clapping, piano keys thumping) will be some of the main topics reviewed and dissected by the experts.

Hosting this very special session we will have Eddy Joseph, Sound editor of films such as"Quantum of Solace" , "United 93", "Cold Mountain", "Corpse Bride" and many more

John Warhurst was the supervising music director in the film that earned him the first Oscar win of his career. Warhurst also received a BAFTA for his work on the 2018 film but he was no stranger to this award, having won another in 2013 for his work on “Les Misérables”. Some of his major works also include “Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007) and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017). 

Nina Hartstone is a supervising dialogue/ADR editor that has worked previously with Warhurst in films such as “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” (2003), “Bidget Jone’s Baby” (2016).

Tim Cavagin is a re-recording mixer that tops off the trio. Some of his previous works include “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (2015), “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” (2017) and “Baby Driver” (2017), the latter one resulting in an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing. 

Join us at FEST 2019, from June 24th to July 1st, in Espinho, Portugal.

The 6-day lineup of FEST industry events features: 
Directors’ Hub (debates, case-studies, roundtables focusing around the director’s role),
Industry Meetings (one-on-one meetings between attending industry professionals), 
Networking Dinners (informal networking between event participants at the dinner table).
Training Ground (30+ masterclasses & workshops by the top film industry professionals), 
Pitching Forum (competition with development support and co-production opportunities),
Filmmakers’ Corner (an open stage for filmmakers to showcase and promote their work).

Secure your accreditation for 6 days of films, industry and networking events with our FEST Pro Badge for 100€

FEST - PRO Accreditation »

Already confirmed at this year’s talent-packed Industry Program are Toni Grisoni, Paul Miller, Gareth Willey, Jonathan Morris and Scandar Copti.

FEST is a film forum that offers a wide variety of industry activities, while also promoting and encouraging a strong networking possibilities.

The Industry Meetings, are a platform for one-to-one meetings between industry experts.

Following the same core principle, FEST organizes Networking Dinners, that create an opportunity for networking between film professionals and guest speakers while savouring a delicious meal of Portuguese food and wine, with an ocean sunset view. The Networking Dinners require separate registration and are limited to the first 150 festival participants.

Both the Industry Meetings and the Networking Dinners offer a chance to build the basis for collaborations, partnerships, or new relationships, between film professionals. 

FEST is focused on industry activities - with 800+ accredited attendees coming from over 40 countries, FEST is a unique networking platform for leading film professionals to gather and create meaningful exchange of knowledge and contacts in the presence of internationally renowned industry members. 

Some of our Previous Speakers:

Ashgar Farhadi Director The Salesman, A Separation - I feel at home here, I met people who really like film. Thank you so much for inviting me. Melissa Leo Actress The Fighter, Frozen River - This festival is doing what is needed to help independent filmmakers gain entry to the world of film.

Attend FEST to discover the most promising voices in world cinema, as well as connect and collaborate with leading film professionals from around the globe.

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