On May 16th, the EuroVoD members gathered for the General Assembly to discuss achievements from the past year as well as the challenges for the year to come.

The association presented a report on its activity in 2018, which has been an important year with a shift in strategy, with a focus now on training, networking, lobbying and fostering the competitiveness of the European VoD sector. Following this new trajectory, EuroVoD expanded and welcomed 11 new members in 2018, as well as 6 new members since the beginning of 2019, bringing the total number of members to 19 core members and 5 associate members (among which the latest newcomers: Zoo Digital, UK and MinersINC, India), coming from 18 countries and covering all the territories worldwide (34 territories from national and international platforms, and 4 global services), and presenting an average of 76% European films in the common catalogues of the members of the association.

The Board of Directors also reported on the successful first edition of the European VoD Meetings, supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, whose next editions will take place in Venice (2-5 September 2019) and in Sofia (18-21 March 2020). The first edition of the training gathered 89 executive professionals representing 69 companies coming from 24 countries, mainly European, but also from India, Colombia, Greenland, Mexico and US. The deadline for the application to the Venice workshop is June 30th, which is a 4-days residential professional training programme taking place during the Venice Film Festival on the private island of San Servolo.

            The General assembly was also an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation among the members through the development of common projects, sharing of resources, benchmarking and fostering a knowledge economy in the independent VoD sector, facilitating a collaborative management between VoD platforms and pooling resources to increase the competitiveness of the sector.

           The discussion of EuroVoD acting as an inclusive point of reference for the European public institutions' VoD services funding schemes was also addressed, as well as the growing cooperation with the European Audiovisual Observatory for the implementation of LUMIERE VOD, launched April 16th this year.

           During the General Assembly has also been elected the new Board of Directors in charge for one year:

• Jean-Yves Bloch / President -  ContentScope (DE) universcine.de
• José Antonio de Luna / Vice-President - Comunidad Filmin (ES) filmin.es, filmin.pt, filmin.mx
• William Page / Secretary - FilmDoo (UK) filmdoo.com
• Maxime Lacour / Treasurer - UniversCiné Belgium & Luxembourg universcine.be, uncut.be, uncut.lu, vod.lu
• Andreas Wildfang / Administrator - EYZ Media (DE) realeyz.de
• Kiril Gjozev / Administrator - CutAway (MK) cinesquare.net

Estelle Bringer / Administrator - Filmoline (FR) filmotv.fr

MIDPOINT TV Launch 2020 hosted by Baltic Event

MIDPOINT’s leading TV and web series oriented program TV Launch gained a new partner for the 2020 edition. The third workshop of the program, which includes the “Season Finale” industry platform, and showcases the graduating projects, will be held in Tallinn, during the Baltic Event co-production market. 

The whole program will start with the first workshop in April 2020 in the Czech Republic and then continue with the second workshop in August 2020 in Sarajevo within the Sarajevo Film Festival and CineLink Drama market. 

The application process for TV Launch 2020 will be open in October 2019, the deadline for application is set for January 31, 2020.

Click here for more information about the partnership. 

MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2020: Lenka Tyrpakova, Nikolaj Nikitin and Andrei Tanasescu scouting for projects!

MIDPOINT is happy to announce a new artistic collaboration in the frame of MIDPOINT Feature Launch program - a year-long development program for Central and Eastern Europe’s fresh film talents (first and second feature films) and aspiring script consultants. 
Feature Launch has entrusted three experienced experts with scouting for promising projects to apply! 

Welcome on board, Lenka Tyrpakova (Karlovy Vary International Film Festivalprogrammer), Nikolaj Nikitin (SOFA | School of Film Advancement/CEO) and Andrei Tanasescu (Toronto International Film Festival programmer). 

Call for Feature Launch 2020 will be open mid-June! 
The scouting for projects starts right now since we already know when the call for application will be open. 

The deadline for film projects is set for September 13, 2019; 
the deadline for script consultant trainees applications is 
September 27, 2019! 

Click here to get more information about the workshop.

MIDPOINT Shorts: program reshape

MIDPOINT is reshaping its short-film oriented program MIDPOINT Shorts. The first workshop of the program will take place in Prague (Czech Republic) in September 2019. 
The whole program will then conclude with the second workshop in January 2020 in Trieste – with the brand-new project showcase within the prestigious When East Meets West Co-production Market.

The call for applications will be open mid-June, 
the deadline for application is set for July 26, 2019. 
Click here for more info.

MIDPOINT Intensive SK 2019

MIDPOINT announces another Intensive program, this time dedicated to the Slovak film professionals, who are developing their feature film. 
The program is open to creative teams of writers and producers. The workshop is organized in a collaboration with the Slovak Film Institute and will take place in Bratislava in September 2019.

The call for application is open and the deadline is set for August 16, 2019. 

Click here for more information.

Fly away with film to the world of science

Immortality, moon landing, space race or Zeno quantum effect – this year’s edition of the Docs + Science section will showcase the history of great technological achievements and will also take viewers to the fascinating world of undiscovered scientific phenomena. The shows will take place in the Paradox cinema.

– The motto of this year’s Docs + Science section is the Take Off – understood literally as a journey into space or symbolizing an unfulfilled desire to escape; “Take Off” as a metaphor – when it refers to the state of mind associated with communing with a great and incomprehensible – or even a metaphor when it talks about searching for new forms of scientific communication – says Karol Jałochowski, curator of the Docs + Science section, journalist, filmmaker and  physicist.

July 21, 1969 Neil Armstrong, was the first man to stand on the moon. Two months before the 50th anniversary of this event at the Krakow Film Festival will present documentaries devoted to the conquest of space.

More information

Ticket to the Moon dir. Veronika Janatková

Music at the 59th Krakow Film Festival

The Rolling Stones, Kate Nash and Kurt Cobain on the big screen, Bester Quartet, Mikołaj Trzaska, Voo Voo and Maciej Maleńczuk on stage. Although the Krakow Film Festival is a celebration of cinema, there is no lack of music thanks to screenings in the open air, concerts and a show with live music.

Outdoor screenings of the “Sounds of Music” section / KFF in concert / Screening of a documentary about The Rolling Stones – “Crossfire Hurricane” / Silent cinema with live music / Night of video clips /  DocFilmMusic competition... and much more.

Listen to the festival: TIDAL playlist / Spotify playlist

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck dir. Brett Morgen

World Stories and Somewhere in Europe at the 59th Krakow Film Festival

From our neighboring countries to the farthest corners of the globe – documentary films in the sections “Somewhere in Europe” and “World Stories” invite viewers everywhere where unusual stories take place. The program includes nighttime ambulance drives through Mexico, a visit to a hard-to-reach village in Papua New Guinea or discovering the phenomenon of Satan’s worship in the USA.

Family in Transition, dir. Ofir Trainin

Somewhere in Europe

– The Somewhere in Europe section is primarily documentary portraits, sometimes very controversial ones. The protagonists of the films are both well-known people: politicians like Anatoly Sobchak or artists like Mania Akbari or Peter Kalmus, as well as anonymous figures with their equally fascinating biographies – says Patrycja Czarny, coordinator of the “Somewhere in Europe” section.

World Stories

Films in this section will take the viewers to the furthest corners of the globe. The director of the documentary “The Polish Missionaries” travels by kayak into the village of Papua New Guinea, where sister Davida and priest Jan have been working as missionaries for years. Although the heroes of the film are struggling with many problems, faith and good humor help them to survive the most difficult moments.

More informaton

The 59th Krakow Film Festival will take place on May 26 – June 2, 2019

Follow our news on the website and in the social media: Facebook, Twitter i Instagram.