TUESDAY, 2Oth of March 2018

WORKS IN PROGRESS
10:00 Lumière Cinema, K2

For the third time, Industry Days at Febiofest 2018 will present a selection of upcoming Slovak film projects in different stages of development to local and international film professionals, sales agents, producers, festival representatives, journalists and interested film fans. The presentation will introduce twelve film projects: nine feature length films (out of which five fiction features and four documentary projects), accompanied by three short films - two independent productions and one student project.

The WiP presentations will be held in two parts. During the introduction to the second part, Massimo Nardulli will introduce LIM - Less Is More: the European platform for project development of limited budget feature films.

*Works in Progress is hosted by Rastislav Steranka, head of National Cinematographic Centre of Slovak Film Institute. 

PANEL DISCUSSION
14:00, Lumière Cinema, K2
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SHORT : WHY DO WE NEED SHORT FILMS?

What is the current status of short-length cinema here and abroad? What does its support system and professional background look like in Slovakia, and why are the majority of short films created by students in universities? Representatives of short film festivals, sales agents and short film makers will discuss the challenges short film is facing in the national and international context. The panel discussion will be followed by a master class of successful short filmmaker, all just to emphasize the idea that short films are just as important as feature-length ones.

Panelists: Massimo Nardulli (Wintherthur Interna-tional Short Film Festival, Torino Short Film Market), Enrico Vanucci (Venice Film Festival - Orizzonti Corti, TorinoShort Film Market), Vratislav Šlajer (short film producer, Bionaut), Diana Mereoiu (Vienna Shorts), Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival), Michal Blaško (successful Slovak short filmmaker, currently developing his first feature film).

*The panel discussion is hosted by Alexandra Gabrižová, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Faculty of Film and Television

MASTER CLASS
16:00, Lumière Cinema, K2
JACQUELINE LENTZOU

Young scriptwriter and director Jacqueline Lentzou is a London Film School graduate. Her graduation coming-of-age piece Thirteen Blue (2013) was awarded at numerous international film festivals (Golden Egg Award in Reykjavik IFF, 1st award in Athens Film & Video FF – Oscar Qualifying, CINEMED IFF, Sapporo SFF a. o.). After winning the screenwriting competition at Patmos IFF in 2014, she shot Luz (Kinofest-Manchester FF, Festival International De Signes de Nuit). She is a 2014 Sarajevo Talents and 2015 Berlinale Talents Alumni, and she also participated in the Berlinale Short Film Station 2015 with her project Fox (69th Locarno IFF, 22nd Sarajevo IFF). Currently she is working on her debut feature film Selini66 and participating at The Pop Up Film Residence in Bratislava.

*The master class is hosted by Soňa Balážová, National Cinematographic Centre of Slovak Film Institute

INDUSTRY PARTY: DIRTY ANIMATION

22:00, Luna Bar, Hotel Kyjev

DJ Karma je zdarma and VJ TooMuchDada are throwing a multimedia and animation-themed party.

The visitors will be able to dance to a pop/film set along with the heroes of Slovak animation.

All industry and festival guests are welcome!

WEDNESDAY, 21st of March 2018 

PANEL DISCUSSION
11:00, Lumière Cinema, K2
SLOVAK FILM LANDSCAPE – RESOURCES AND CHALLANGES

Panel discussion on the current state and challenges of the Slovak film industry from the perspective of financing, infrastructure, services, and promotion. In recent years, film production in Slovakia has grown stronger, which is partly due to systematic funding from public sources (Audio-visual Fund, Radio and Television of Slovakia). AVF’s support program helped Slovak film industry to become more and more accessible abroad. Are there any other options of financing film production? Which areas of the industry need to be reinforced if Slovakia is to become an internationally relevant and competitive film country?

*This panel is organized in collaboration with the Association of Independent Producers.

MASTER CLASS
14:30, Lumière Cinema, K2
CLAUDIA SCHNUGG:
INNOVATION, INSPIRATION, AND FUTURE
TECHNOLOGIES: THE USE OF ARTISTIC FILM
PROJECTS

The raising opportunities generated rapidly in computer science, technologies, and scientific research go along with a need for innovation and creativity in business and in society. Art as a playful approach to new technologies and cutting-edge science provides an opportunity to creatively explore, communicate, and contex-tualize these latest developments. Moreover, it provides a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and public engagement processes tackling stakeholders and social innovation. Therefore, corporations as well as governmental funding bodies like the European Commission push towards projects that include the collaboration between artists and scientists.

Using the example of film and artistic film production, this master class approaches the topic asking questions like: How does such a project work? What are the important processes triggered by the interaction? How do storytelling, narration, and (science) fiction as important aspects of film support communication and creativity? And how can ideas, innovative processes and changes emerge?

• This panel is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic - Department of Culture & Creativity Development and is part of project CREADIS3, the European initiative in the area of cultural and creative industry.

 

 

We are thrilled to announce the selection of projects for this year's MIDPOINT Intensive Iceland. The 4 projects will participate in a 2-day workshop in Reykjavik starting this weekend, on Saturday-Sunday March 10-11.

Thanks to a new collaboration with the Icelandic Film Centre, we have once again been able to invite the Icelandic film industry and emerging filmmakers to participate in this script focused workshop. The workshop takes place at Bio Paradis in collaboration with Stockfish Film Festival who is celebrating its 4th edition this March.

The participants are teams of writers, directors and producers who are working on their 1st or 2nd feature film – and they are:

/ Angel Dust – writer Bergthora Snaebjornsdottir, director Marteinn Thorsson & producer Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir

/ Exit – writer Nina Petersen & producer Lilja Osk Snorradottir

/ Happy Crappy '95 – writer Thorey Mjallhvit & writer/director Dogg Mosesdottir

/ Quake – writer/director Tinna Hrafnsdottir

The workshop will for the first time be run by Gyula Gazdag. Apart from being an acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker in his own right, Gazdag is the Artistic Director of Sundance Directors Lab since 1997, and advisor at Script Station of the Berlinale Talents since 2006. Variety in 2010 named named him one of the ten best film teachers in the US.

 

 

The 25th Czech Lion Awards were handed out on 10th March 2018. Ice Mother directed by Bohdan Sláma and produced by Petr Oukropec and Pavel Strnad (Negativ) was awarded in 6 categories, including best film, best director, and best screenplay.

Awards for Ice Mother include: best film (producers Petr Oukropec and Pavel Strnad from Negativ), best director (Bohdan Sláma), best screenplay (Bohdan Sláma), best actress in a leading role (Zuzana Krónerová), best actor in a leading role (Pavel Nový), and best actress in a supporting role (Petra Špalková). 

Barefoot by Jan Svěrák received 4 awards, including best cinematography – Vladimír Smutný, best actor in a supporting – Oldřich Kaiser.

Filthy by Tereza Nvotová was honoured in the best editing category, and Milada by David Mrnka got the best costume design (Simona Rybáková) and best makeup and hairstyling (Andrea McDonaldová).

The best documentary feature award went to Cervena by Olga Sommerová, produced by Pavel Berčík (Evolution Films).

Magnesia Award for the Best Student Film was awarded to Michal Blaško for Atlantis, 2003.

The complete list of winners

Congratulations to all winners!

 

 

Symposium “Hybrid Identities – Baltic Cinema” // Prague 1968

In 2018, seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe are celebrating 100 years of independence. “I picked a very special year to make my start as the head of festival,” says Heleen Gerritsen, the new director of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film. “That’s a cause for celebration, but also invites us to take stock of current circumstances. Especially in the Baltic States the history of independence is a very complicated one and the search for identity is far from resolved”, according to Gerritsen, who is looking forward to vivid discussions with a number of renowned film scholars during the 18th edition of the festival. Under the title “Hybrid Identities – Baltic Cinema” the goEast Symposium also provides ample space for lectures and discussion. The special program Prague 1968, which is devoted to the cinematic reappraisal of the events of the Prague Spring, represents a further historical focus at the festival.

goEast Symposium “Hybrid Identities – Baltic Cinema”
One hundred years of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia: The declarations of independence of 1918 and then once again in 1990 serve as mile markers for this year’s Symposium, which is scheduled to take place from 19 to 22 April at goEast. As in previous years, a host of high-calibre guests are expected to attend the event. “We are especially looking forward to welcoming Ābrams Kleckins, one of the central figures of the ‘Riga School’, to Wiesbaden,” enthuses Barbara Wurm, curator of the Symposium. The lectures will be accompanied by a curated film program, which will include a classic of documentary cinema realised by one of Kleckins’ fellow travellers: Uldis Brauns’ 235,000,000 (1967), which will be screened in a 35mm Director’s Cut version. The program spans the entire range of cinematic art, from fiction features to documentaries all the way to animated films, with gems such as Vytautas Žalakevičius’ NOBODY WANTED TO DIE (1965), Kaljo Kiisk’s MADNESS (1968), Grigorij Kromanov’s THE LAST RELIC (1969) and two animation programs featuring works from Priit Pärn and Nukufilm Studio.

The lectures will examine the interplay between cinema and socio-political developments. Further attention will be given to the founding of the respective national film studios, which were established over the course of Sovietisation following World War Two. In the scope of discussions open to the general public, award-winning directors such as Latvia’s Laila Pakalniņa, Lithuanian filmmaker Audrius Stonys and Estonian animation artists Priit Pärn and Mait Laas will give their own insightful takes on Baltic cinema.

Prague 1968
50 years after the Prague Spring, goEast is dedicating itself to a cinematic reappraisal of the events of the summer of 1968. In the framework of a retrospective rich in contrasts, goEast will undertake an extensive juxtaposition of perspectives: the program is to include fiction features from the Czech New Wave as well as documentary works, from Soviet propaganda films to Jan Němec’s ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE (1968). It was only after the fall of the Soviet Union that it became possible to truly process the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the wave of repression that followed in its wake. In the 1990s, a number of films appeared, both documentaries and comedies of manners, which took a look back at the days of the Prague Spring. Among other guests, goEast eagerly awaits a visit from Czech director Iva Švarcova, who herself fled Czechoslovakia for West Germany as a child in 1968 and subsequently processed her own experiences in her comedy WHEN GRANDPA LOVED RITA HAYWORTH (2000). 

In accompanying panel discussions, goEast will attempt to trace events and their representation on screen. The highlight of the special program is sure to be the world premiere of OCCUPATION 1968 (2018). This highly symbolic international co-production shows the occupation of Czechoslovakia from the perspective of the occupiers. The project was realised by five directors hailing from five different countries of the former Warsaw Pact, all of whom will be present at the festival, as will be the project’s Slovak initiator and producer, Peter Kerekes.

 

 

Today, Syrian director Feras Fayyad, author of acclaimed documentary “Last Men in Aleppo” which depicts the stories of humanitarian aid workers and activists from the White Helmets movement and which has become the first Syrian film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award, confirmed he would be coming to Prague. Fayyad is coming on invitation from the One World festival and will personally introduce two screenings of his film in Prague.

The “Last Men in Aleppo” documentary made headlines around the world not only thanks to its cinematic qualities, the cruel everyday reality of the war it shows and the awards it received (apart from an Oscar nomination, it also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance festival) but also because of the disinformation campaign launched against the film and its director on social networks. After the announcement of the Oscar nominations, the director was targeted by numerous attacks intended to discredit his work - the film was labeled “Al-Qaeda propaganda” among other things and its director a terror sympathizer.

“Russia wants to hack the Oscars the same way they hacked the US election” was the director's comment on the disinformation campaign for British The Guardian. Also, his trip to the Academy Awards ceremony wasn't an easy one. Due to the ban on travel of citizens of selected Muslim-majority countries to the USA, it wasn't clear until the very last moment if Kareem Abeed, producer of the film, could make it to the ceremony. The Academy eventually published a joint statement in his support and Abeed received his US visa at the very last moment. Nevertheless, one of the film's protagonists – Mahmoud Al-Hattar – wasn't allowed to enter the USA.

The film takes place in Aleppo, one of the cities most devastated by the Syrian war, where some of its citizens decided to stay nevertheless. Fayyad allows us to witness the everyday work of thousands of White Helmets volunteers whose tireless activities saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The main protagonists of the film are Khaled, a worker, and Mahmoud, a former philosophy student. It took Fayyad several months to gain their trust and convince them his goal was to show them as human beings who have their own dreams, desires and ideas about their lives rather than as victims or superheroes. Both protagonists agree that to young people, working for the White Helmets is an opportunity to change the society and help in the most affected areas without having to enlist in the army or leave the country.

Fayyad himself had to flee Syria after he was jailed twice. He was sent to prison because of his previous film “On the Other Side” which he made in 2015 and which focuses on a Syrian poet who currently lives in Prague. The film was made with participation of Czech crew members. Fayyad and his family currently live in Denmark.

The One World festival will screen “Last Men in Aleppo” on Saturday, March 10 at 8:30 pm at the large hall Lucerna Cinema and on Sunday, March 11 at 8:45 pm at the small hall of the Světozor Cinema. The director is expected to be present at both screenings for questions and answers after the film. Feras Fayyad is staying in Prague until Tuesday morning.

 

 

For the eighth year in a row, Europa Distribution is organizing a workshop dedicated to its members in the scope of the Sofia Meetings of the Sofia International Film Festival. About 20 independent distributors members of the association will participate in this workshop on “Effective Communication in Professional Interactions and in the Negotiation Process” and in the Sofia Meetings’ activities.

Negotiation and communication are key aspects in the daily work of distributors. Thanks to this specific workshop, attending distributors will learn how to improve their skills to acquire, sell and promote films at best through theory, exercises, experience sharing and situation analysis. Aimed especially at people for whom negotiation is a key aspect of their daily work, the workshop will take place during two days and a half, from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 and will be given by Hélène Gallez and Joseph Drese, two coaches experts in transactional analysis, interpersonal communication and negotiation.

Attending distributors will also participate to the Sofia Meetings activities: screenings of Bulgarian and Balkan films, meetings and networking events.

The workshop on Professional Interactions and Negotiation is part of a series of trainings that Europa Distribution offers to its members during the course of the whole year, in partnership with several international film festivals in Europe. The next appointment will be at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at the beginning of July.

 

 

Within the 20th Documentary Film Festival
Tuesday, 20th of March 2018 at 15:00
Klub Lily Novy at Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana

PROGRAMME
Part I

15.00 Introductory speech - Nataša Bučar, Director of the Slovenian Film Centre

15.05 Presentation of the Council of Europe Recommendations on gender equality in the AV sector - Enrico Vannucci, Deputy Executive Director of Eurimages 

15.15 Presentation of the EURIMAGES Strategy for Gender Equality in the European Film Sector 2018-2020 - Susan Newman-Baudais, Eurimages 

15.25 Activities of the Swedish Film Institute in the field of gender equality - Kristina Börjeson, Head of Film Funding, Swedish Film Institute 

15.50 Film gaze and representation of gender in Yugoslav film: some examples - Maja Bogojević, film critic, Camera Lucida, Montenegro

16.10 Presentation on "The Place of Women in Slovenian Film Sector: Gender Equality (2011-2017)" - Nika Gričar, researcher, Slovenian Film Center 

16.30 Discussion with questions and answers in the presence of Slovenian film Directors, among others: Urša Menart, Sonja Prosenc, Hanna Slak, Maja Weiss, Ida Weiss

Moderated by: Boštjan Narat

17.30 – 18.00
Reception and informal socializing

Part II

9.00 Film screening of the documentary film My Way 50 (2018) directed by Maja Weiss at the Slovenian Cinematheque

21.00 Film screening of the documentary film Peter vs. Harry (2017) directed by Ida Weiss at the Slovenian Cinematheque

 

 

Submissions are now being accepted for Polish films and projects as part of Polish Days 2018, to be held July 30 – August 1, 2018, during the 18th New Horizons International Film Festival (July 26 – August 5, 2018).

Polish Days

Polish Days, the most important industry event at the New Horizons International Film Festival, is organized jointly with the Polish Film Institute. At special closed screenings, it offers members of the international film industry opportunities to view the latest Polish projects in all stages of production, including completed films and fragments of films in postproduction as well as taking part in presentations for projects in development. As each year, organizers expect about 200 guests including sales agents, distributors, festival programmers and producers to be in attendance. Polish Days offers an unparalleled opportunity for Polish producers and filmmakers to promote their projects and plan festival strategy network with international partners.

Submission deadline: May 25

Organizers of Polish Days encourage submissions of new Polish films as well as works-in-progress (i.e. fragments of films in production) for viewing during closed screenings, as well as for projects in development to take part in a pitching session. Submission deadline: May 25, 2018.

Submission form

Post-production services as prizes

During the event, partners from postproduction companies will award selected projects prizes in the form of postproduction sound and image services on preferential terms.

EAVE partners with Polish Days

For the third year in a row, EAVE and the Polish Film Institute will award a grant for a Polish producer and Polish film project in development, which will cover costs of participation in the prestigious EAVE production program in 2019.

Successful previous editions of Polish Days

Polish Days is an industry event with an excellent track record. In previous years, films presented at Polish Days have included  The Last Family, Loving Vincent, Wild Roses, Nina, Tower. A Bright Day, Silent Night, Spoor, The Erlprince,  I'm a Killer, All These Sleepless Nights, Warsaw 44, Papusza, Gods, Floating Skyscrapers, The Congress, You Are a God, Life Feels Good, and The Fastest among others.

Previous years' industry guests have included sales agents such as Films Boutique, Memento, LevelK, Wild Bunch, MK2, Luxbox, Alpha Violet, Intramovies, Wide, Urban Distribution, Stray Dogs, New Europe Film Sales, distributors like Aero Films, MFA+ Filmdistribution, Just, Imagine Film Distribution, Kino Świat, Forum Film, Gutek Film, Soda Pictures, Metrodome, as well as HBO, Canal+, Polsat and TVP. Additionally, the New Horizons International Film Festival has hosted festival programmers from Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Rotterdam, Karlove Vary, Busan, Tribeca, SXSW,  Transylvania IFF, Hamburg, Göteborg, Hong Kong, Cottbus, Tallinn, Istanbul, Munich, Seattle, and Stockholm.

More information at:

• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• www.nowehoryzonty.pl

 

 

Copyright Enfoncement

01/03: A Europe that protects: Commission reinforces EU response to illegal content online – European Commission

The Commission has recommended a set of operational measures – accompanied by the necessary safeguards – to be taken by companies and Member States to further step up into tackling illegal content online before it determines whether it will be necessary to propose legislation. 

01/03: Frequently asked questions: Commission Recommendation on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online – European Commission

The European Commission has presented a set of concrete and operational measures to take down illegal content spreading online, from terrorist content, incitement to hatred and violence, child pornography, counterfeit products and intellectual property infringement.

23/02: Liability of Online Service Providers for Copyright Protected Content – Regulatory Action Needed? – European Parliament Think Tank

The paper looks at liability of online providers for copyright infringements. The liability privileges in Articles 12 to 15 E-Commerce Directive can remain unchanged; they seem to be sufficiently flexible to adopt to new business models, which also make them in general future proof. 

European Institutions

01/03: European Parliament to launch probe into Martin Selmayr promotion – The Parliament Magazine

German official’s appointment as European Commission Secretary-General branded a ‘cloak-and-dagger operation’ that needs parliamentary examination. 

EU Funding

05/03: Proposed List of Instruments for the next Multiannual Financial Framework - European Commission 

The document compares the instruments under the current Multiannual Financial Framework with the next generation of financial instruments.

Recent studies

European Audiovisual Observatory - How do deposit systems safeguard Europe's film and video content? - February 2018European Parliament Think Tank – Liability of Online Service Providers for Copyrighted Content – Regulatory Action Needed? – December 2017

Events

27-28 March: Digitising European Industry Stakeholder Forum 201828 March: Informal meeting of education, youth, culture and sport ministers on culture (EYCS): Media Advisory 

 

 

Vilnius Film Festival Kino Pavasaris not only presents film fans with a meticulously prepared programme but also invites film professionals to its industry conference Meeting Point – Vilnius (MPV) held on March 27–29.

In its 9th edition, Meeting Point – Vilnius will focus on how to find alternative ways to distribute films and create marketing strategies for independent cinema. More than 300 international guests are expected to attend.

One of this year’s MPV speakers is Danish marketing guru Cristian Have, the creative director and founder of Have Communications. Their client list includes Disney, Universal and 20th Century Fox. Mr. Have will share his knowledge on how to present debut European films in the global market.

Wendy Bernfeld, the founder and managing director of Rights Stuff consultancy, will present an updated overview of the evolving opportunities for indie filmmakers in the digital sector. Ms. Bernfield argues that this topic is timely for indie producers across various formats and regions. The essence of her talk is to become aware of what else is ‘out there’ for indie filmmakers.

Film finance expert Linda Beath will address challenges of a comprehensive digital market and new business models. The founder of Ideal Filmworks will draw on her longstanding career as an executive producer, supervisor of marketing and promotional campaigns, as well as a distributor in Canada and the United States.

MPV will also host festival strategist Kathleen McInnis who helps emerging world-cinema filmmakers cultivate new audiences and launch careers from the platform of the global film festival circuit. She worked with a film that participated in this year’s Berlinale competition programme. Kathleen will talk in detail about organizing a film’s festival release, planning an international festival premiere and the creator’s personal strategy. A sales agent from Film Republic, Xavier Henry-Rashid, will provide with an insider’s knowledge of rapidly changing film sales agents work methods.  

See the full list of speakers and the programme: http://kinopavasaris.lt/en/programme-2018 

Film industry professionals are able to buy festival accreditations allowing them the access to all festival screenings as well as the industry conference Meeting Point – Vilnius. Accreditations are available for purchase until March 27 here: https://vp.eventival.eu/viff/2018/accreditation

More information about Meeting Point – Vilnius: http://kinopavasaris.lt/en/industry

MPV is organised together with Lithuanian Film Center, Lithuanian  Council for Culture, Creative Europe Media Desk Lithuania, Audiovisual Authors Producers Rights Association AVAKA, Danish Cultural Institute, Baltic View, Noir Lumiere and Vilnius Film Cluster.