BRUSSELS, NEW YORK – 23 April 2019: The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) and the Film Expo Group are delighted to announce the 2019 recipients of the CineEurope Gold Awards, given to cinema professionals for their outstanding dedication and service to the sector. The Awards will be presented as part of the CineEurope Awards Ceremony on Thursday 20 June at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain.

The Gold Awards, introduced at CineEurope 2018, recognise those individuals who have made an exceptional contribution both to the ongoing success of their company or organisation and also to the wider European cinema industry.

The recipients of the 2019 Gold Awards are as follows: 

Simon Brown - Director, Film Content Protection Agency (FCPA)

Marcin Czubak - CTO, Helios

Kam Dosanjh - Director of Operations, Vue International

Rolv Gjestland - Adviser in Cinema Design and Technology, Film & Kino

Jaime Gerbolés - Growth Director, Yelmo Cines

Valeria Kurohtina - Duty Manager, Cinamon

Duncan Reynolds - Group Development Director, Odeon Cinemas Group

Carola Schmid - Head of Booking/Exhibition, Cineplexx

Welcoming the announcement of the Awards, President of UNIC Phil Clapp said:

“On behalf of UNIC members, I would like warmly to congratulate each of the awardees and thank them for their exceptional service to the European cinema industry. The Gold Awards recognise that the success of our industry is dependent on the skills and expertise of the people who work within it, whose devotion and passion exemplify precisely what makes the sector so special. We are delighted to see their hard work and dedication being celebrated at CineEurope.”

Andrew Sunshine, President of The Film Expo Group, added:

“On behalf of our entire team at the Film Expo Group, we would like to congratulate all of those being recognized with a Gold Award this year for their continued support and dedication to our great industry.  We are excited to be able to continue with this tradition not only again this year, but for years to come.”  

About CineEurope

CineEurope 2019 will take place from 17-20 June at the Centre Convencions Internacional Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain. CineEurope is the longest-running and most successful European convention and trade show for Major, Regional, and Independent cinema professionals. CineEurope will feature exclusive screenings and product presentations of upcoming films, sponsored events, timely and informative seminars and the CineEurope Trade Show. CineEurope is the Official Convention of the Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC).

About UNIC

The Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) represents the interests of cinema trade associations and cinema operators covering 37 countries in Europe and neighbouring regions.

About Film Expo Group

The Film Expo Group is the premier organizer of events in the motion picture industry. The Film Expo Group produces CineEurope, held in Barcelona; ShowEast, held in Miami; and CineAsia, held in Hong Kong.

Further enquiries

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +32 2 880 99 39 | #CineEurope &@CineEuropeBCN

MIDPOINT is launching a new program to boost up the TV production practice in the region of Central and East Europe to a greater extent. 

MIDPOINT Writer´s Room is a sidebar module of the project-based 9-months long MIDPOINT TV Launch and is designed to support the training of specialized skills and offer practical knowledge about the organization of a writers’ room. 
The workshop will be organized in Prague, Czech Republic from November 2 – 7, 2019 and it spans over four working days, which will consist of lectures, plotting and writing training, and simulations of writers’ room. 

The submissions will open mid-June 2019, the deadline for application is September 13, 2019. Click here for more information about the program.

MIDPOINT Writer´s Room is supported by the Czech Film Fund and Ministry of Culture Czech Republic. MIDPOINT operates under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

EFP Announces PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival

Celebrating the 20th Edition of PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE

For 20 years, the most enterprising, up-and-coming producers from throughout Europe have been selected for EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on their already acclaimed work and first international co-productions, EFP (European Film Promotion), the unique network of 38 European film promotion institutions, has been picking 20 producers each year for its high-profile networking platform as well as promoting them to the international film industry. The programme is made possible thanks to the unwavering financial support of the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the EFP member organisations.

EFP congratulates three former PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE, who will have their films premiering in the Competition: Janine Jackowski (Germany 2009) co-produced The Whistler by Corneliu Porumboiu. The family drama Frankie by Ira Sachs was co-produced by Diana Elbaum (Belgium 2001) and Luis Urbano (Portugal 2007). Screening 'Out of Competition' is La Belle Époque by Nicolas Bedos. The film was executive produced by Francois Kraus (France 2004), while Donato Rotunno (Luxembourg 2001) was the co-producer of O Que Arde by Oliver Laxe, which is premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival.

Roberto Olla, Executive Director of Eurimages Fund and long-term partner of EFP’s initiative: “We have been working with European Film Promotion as part of their initiatives in Cannes and Toronto for several years now. We both share the same ambition for increased co-operation amongst film professionals in Europe and beyond. Although we walk different paths, our collaboration has come about as a means of achieving this. Happy Birthday and long live the EFP!”

In two decades, 400 producers have taken part in the tailor-made event in order to foster international co-productions, intensify the exchange of experiences, and create new professional networks. Many of them have become long-standing production partners like Labina Mitevska (North Macedonia) and Zdenka Gold (Croatia), who met at EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE in 2013, returned to the Cannes Film Festival with Sieranevada along with fellow participant Anca Puiu in 2016, and celebrated the premiere of God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

The EFP members supporting this year's edition of EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE are: Flanders Images, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Danish Film Institute, UniFrance, German Films, Hungarian National Film Fund, Icelandic Film Centre, Screen Ireland, Istituto Luce Cinecittá, National Film Centre of Latvia, Eye International (The Netherlands), Norwegian Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P. / ICA (Portugal), Film Center Serbia, Slovenian Film Center, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA (Spain), Swedish Film Institute, Swiss Films, and the British Council.

The PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE 2019 are:

Detailed information about PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE 2019 at www.efp-online.com

Interviews with this year's PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will be published on EFP's mediaInterviews with this year's PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will be published on EFP's mediapartners' websites: www.cineuropa.org, www.filmneweurope.com and in the Cannes edition of"World of Young Cinema".

Invitation to submit your tv drama series project to EastSeries

EastSeries is a platform for the best drama series proposals from Central and Eastern Europe. It is organized by the Odesa International Film Festival powered by ScripTeast, a master training programme for the best Eastern European scriptwriters organized by Independent Film Foundation, in partnership with Series Mania, a unique event, entirely dedicated to series, to those who make them and those who watch them held in Lille, and with the support of Star Media, the biggest international film company in Ukraine. In 2019, a presentation will take place for the third time during Odesa International Film Festival.

4 to 6 best drama series projects with international potential that have been created by the best writers of Eastern and Central European origin, and/or owned by the production companies registered in one of the Eastern and Central European countries, will be selected.

Further details how to apply to EastSeries can be found on the official website of OIFF in the section “Film Industry Office”: Applications for the EastSeries program . Deadline for submissions is May 31st. Selection is made by the Committee appointed by the Odesa International Film Festival, ScripTeast and Star Media. The Public Pitching to broadcasters, streaming platforms, distributors and possible co-producers will be held in July in the framework of the Film Industry Office of the Odesa International Film Festival.

The awards of EastSeries are: a post-production service package in the amount of 20 000 USD from Star Media company and an invitation to the SERIES MANIA Writers' Campus (a week-long writing workshop open to only20 European writers taking place in  Lille were  they are  trained and mentored by experienced A-List  writers and the key industry decision-makers)

In 2018, 6 projects took part in Public Pitching. Star Media postproduction prize went to “Family Archives” by Marjan Alcevski, Andamion Murataj (Croatia).  Małgorzata Pilacińska (Poland) the scriptwriter of  “Smokey Eyes” was awarded with the invitation  to take part in the Series Mania Writers’ Campus 2019.

We look forward to welcoming your submission!

Thanks to the collaboration between the Polish Film Institute and the New Horizons Association, the New Horizons International Film Festival is one of the 6 international film festivals to present selected films in the prestigious The Goes to Cannes at the biggest film market, Marché du Film, during the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival.

The Goes to Cannes is a program that invites the largest festivals to present selected films to the international film industry, films that do not yet have agents, distributors or set premiere dates.

The New Horizons International Film Festival and the Polish Film Institute will present a selection of five Polish films in various stages of production (works-in-progress) in New Horizons’ Polish Days Goes to Cannes programme:

• #toomanykicks directed by Maciej Ślęzak, produced by DayDream Production,

• Broad Peak directed by Leszek Dawid, produced by East Studio,

• I Never Cry directed by Piotr Domalewski, produced by Akson Studio,

• Antarctic Syndrome directed by Piotr Jaworski, produced by Kalejdoskop Film,

• Tony Halik. Born for Adventure directed by Marcin Borchardt, produced by Furia Film.

New Horizons' Polish Days Goes to Cannes screening will be held on May 19 at 10 AM - 12 noon at Palais K- level 4 in the Festival Palace during the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival. Entrance for market badge holders.

More information

Polish Days will be held on July 30 - August 1, 2019, during the 19th New Horizons International Film Festival (July 25 - August 4, 2019).

Polish Days, the most important industry event at the New Horizons International Film Festival, is organised jointly with the Polish Film Institute. During closed screenings, film industry representatives from around the world watch the latest Polish films at various stages of production, including completed works as well as fragments of films in postproduction; they also participate in pitching sessions of projects in development. As each year, organizers expect about 200 guests, including sales agents, distributors, film festival programmers as well as producers. Polish Days is an excellent opportunity for Polish film producers and filmmakers to promote their projects, plan festival strategies and network with international partners.