Cinematographers’ Debuts Competition was initiated in 2010 due to the Festival’s increasing openness to the noteworthy artists and the new film phenomena they create. The idea of creating additional competition section was a natural consequence of our previous activities. For years we have been promoting innovative projects that combine intellectual freedom, remarkable insight into world affairs and a desire to inspire other artists of the screen. 
Cinematographers’ Debuts Competition bring new discoveries: great movies of high artistic value and great filmmakers whose new ventures surprise not only the Jury members but all audiences around the world as well. 

Competition is under the patronage of Polish Filmmakers Association.

All I See Is You

When she was a little girl, Gina lost both her parents and her sight in a car accident. As an adult, she is fully reconciled with her past, sharing the present and the future with her loving husband and caretaker, James. When the man learns that there is a way to restore the sight in one of her eyes, he spares no money for the medical operation. He wants his darling wife to see his face instead of only imagining it, if only for a brief moment. What seems like a miracle quickly turns out to be a nightmare in disguise. It is not that the operation unleashes some sort of supernatural powers, but that afterwards Gina gradually becomes increasingly independent, making him a helpless observer, whereas before he was used to being the person that actively shaped her life. Will they be able to conquer their fears, weaknesses and limitations, and make another attempt at reaching mutual happiness? And if so, how much will they be able to sacrifice for this to happen? 
Director: Marc Forster
Cinematographer: Matthias Koenigswieser
Produced by: 2DUX 2
Polish distributor: The Walt Disney Company
Polska USA, 2016  

Falling

Present-day Ukraine, one year after the Maidan revolution. They meet quite by accident near one of the many night clubs in which young people try to forget about the problems of everyday life. Anton went there following the memories of his former self – he is a brilliant musician who lost himself to alcohol and drugs and is now trying to return to normal life. Katya simply left the party to smoke a cigarette – she is an activist and former art school student who desperately wants to give her actions some kind of meaning. They instantly feel they might be kindred spirits, but they remain cautious, knowing from their own experience that in this world nothing is as it seems. Forever torn between the past of their parents and grandparents which they never understood and the present marked by the tangibility of full-scale war, the young protagonists simply want to live happily and peacefully. Will they be able to truly bond in this seemingly futureless world? 
Original title: Strimholov
Director: Marina Stepanska
Cinematographer: Sebastian Thaler
Produced by: InsightMedia Producing Center LLC, Tato Film
Ukraine, 2017  

Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, The

They say all’s fair in love and war. That seems right in the experience of young Finnish boxer Olli Mäki. You see, fate has smiled upon him – he has a shot at the world featherweight title. It’s just that… he’s fallen in love. Inconvenient as the situation may be, to make matters worse, the whole nation seems to have high hopes for his upcoming bout with the American champion. In other words, everyone expects Olli to win and bring Finland its deserved glory. His coach has big ambitions and even bigger dreams, the sponsors are queuing up for a photo with the future champ, and there’s even a two-person crew shooting a documentary about him. Every day the fervour increases, but the only thing Olli wants to think about is the lovely Raija, dancing through the night, late-night bicycle escapades, and skipping stones at dawn on a nearby lake. How can he forge his body, lose weight, and say smart, national-hero-sounding things when what it means to be a winner suddenly has more than one definition? 
Original title: Hymyilevä mies
Polish title: Olli Mäki. Najszczęśliwszy dzień jego życia 
Director: Juho Kuosmanen
Cinematographer: Jani-Petteri Passi
Produced by: Aamu Film Company Ltd
Polish distributor: Gutek Film Sp. z o. o.
 Finland, Germany, Sweden, 2016  

Isolani

Life has never been kind to 17-year-old Isla, a young Glaswegian mother who is just trying to make ends meet. Pregnant at 13, her beloved son was born deaf. Now she lives on an estate that is marked for demolition in a couple of months’ time, and she’s unable to bury the hatchet with her parents, who will stop at nothing to take their grandson away from her. Yet all of her problems suddenly seem insignificant in the light of recent events: Isla is witness to a brutal murder committed by a local thug the police have been hunting for years. The girl will now have to struggle not only with social services, but also with an ambitious prosecutor who will do anything to get her hands on the notorious criminal. It all gets even more complicated when the killer discovers there is an anonymous witness to his crime. Not knowing whom she can trust and pressured by everyone around her, the young mother starts a risky game where everything is on the line. 
Director: R Paul Wilson
Cinematography: Alan C. McLaughlin
Produced by: Lola Pictures Ltd
UK, 2017  

Isolation

The truth is, was, and always will be relative, but Parviz learns this the hard way. The man was released from prison for three days to bury his wife (who died tragically in a car accident) and take care of his children, whom he hardly knows. On top of that, there is proof that the woman took her own life – but if so, why? Was it because of societal pressure? Was she in some kind of trouble? Or maybe someone else was to blame? Some people tell Parviz bluntly that his beloved wife deserved to die because her conduct had become morally dubious during his absence. Others say that she was a warm and welcoming person who would never do such a thing. While trying to understand his estranged wife’s actions and befriend the children he knows almost nothing about, Parviz renews old friendships and meets with his enemies. He will do anything to protect his family from further suffering. Through all this, we learn a lot about him, too. Could his past hold the key to the woman’s untimely death? 
Original title: Enzeva
Director: Morteza Ali Abbas Mirzaei
Cinematographer: Mehdi Ilbeigi
Produced by: AIFILMPRO
Iran, 2017  

Reconciliation, The

Ania, Erwin, Franek: young, beautiful, full of life. Before the war, in 1939, they promised each other lifelong friendship and that nothing would break them apart. They were wrong. They meet again in 1945, just before the surrender of the Third Reich, in a former Nazi concentration camp that has been turned by the new Polish authorities into a place of suffering for all who dare to stand against the country’s glorious future. Poles, Silesians, Germans – the camp consists of everyone who collaborated in any form with the Nazis, or simply those who do not fit into the new order of things. Thus, the meeting is far from joyful, the old promises are meaningless. Ania and Erwin are imprisoned there, while Franek works as a camp guard, one of many Poles who seek revenge for their war suffering. Initially the man has noble intentions – he would like to help Ania escape and marry her – but each subsequent day in the camp changes him into a human beast, not dissimilar to the ones that recently vanished. 
Original title: Zgoda
Director: Maciej Sobieszczański
Cinematographer: Valentyn Vasyanovych
Produced by: Studio Filmowe KALEJDOSKOP
Polish distributor: KINO ŚWIAT Sp. z o. o.
Poland, 2017  

Walking Out

 A 14-year-old boy from Texas leaves his mother and his cosy home to travel to Montana and spend some quality time with his estranged father on a ranch at the base of a majestic mountain range. The boy makes the trip every year, yet this visit will be special. Both men come from completely different worlds, but they set out on a journey which is supposed to end with the son’s rite-of-passage – killing a moose in its natural habitat, just like his father and granddad did years before. Though he’s a city boy who prefers video games to sports, he agrees to endure the rigour imposed by his father, who has lived close to nature for most of his life. Little does the boy know that during this journey not only will he find common ground with his father, but also understand the true nature of this enigmatic, coarse, and recluse man. And this is something that his friends in Texas, disappearing into their beloved virtual worlds day after day, will probably never experience. 
Directors: Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith
Cinematographer: Todd McMullen
Produced by: AMP International
USA, 2017  

Winter Brothers

Two brothers live in a mining community in the middle of a snow-covered forest somewhere on the edge of Western civilisation. Their life is filled with the hard work of a Danish limestone mine. Day after day they go down into the Earth’s rocky bowels with a group of similarly rough men. There in the darkness lit only by their headlamps, they do their tedious labour and provide new material for the nearby limestone plant. They endure the rigours of this lifestyle through their camaraderie, but also the little pleasures of everyday life. For some of them this means hard liquor that sets both the stomach and imagination on fire, for others it is enough to fantasise about being better versions of themselves, whether in bed with a woman or in the woods with a military rifle. One day, when one of the brothers is ostracised by the group, a tragedy begins to unfold, setting in motion events that will put to the test all the relationships in this world at the world’s end. 
Original title: Vinterbrødre
Polish title: Zimowi bracia
Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Cinematographer: Maria von Hausswolff 
Produced by: Masterplan Pictures ApS
Polish distributor: Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty - New Horizons Association
Denmark, Iceland, 2017

 

 

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival sadly informs that festival programmer, film researcher and critic Igor Gouskov passed away on the 8th of October.
 
Gouskov died  in Paris where he had lived for the last few years. He was 50 years old.
 
Festival director Tiina Lokk said: ‘Igor was one of those rare indispensable people who helped form the face of the festival’s programme, not only with his recommendations, but also his enormous passion and erudition. He was both kind-hearted and wise, and he lived in the name of film.’
 
Gouskov had worked as a programmer for Black Nights since 2015. His primary mission was to seek films from CIS countries and Eastern Europe.
 
This year’s Official Selection of Black Nights includes two films recommended by Igor. The festival catalogue will contain his last synopsis that he wrote less than a month ago.
 
One of Russia’s leading film critics Andrei Plahhov called Gouskov a film expert who’s passion for cinema is rare and who’s career was on the rise when illness struck. He never stopped working and stayed true to his calling until the end.
 
Igor was born in 1967 in the Far-Eastern town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. He first studied journalism before later moving on to film theory. Between 2010 and 2013 he worked as the programme director for the Vologda International Film Festival Voices and later as a CSI consultant for Cannes’ Film Festival’s side-section „Quinzaine des Réalisateurs”.

The festival's team will hold a mourning ceremony on Friday at 4.30 pm at the office in Telliskivi Creative City and welcomes all who knew and valued him.

 

 

In special recognition of Finland's 100th birthday, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has created a special programme of 23 films celebrating Finnish cinematic history, which will be shown in a 48-hour-long marathon screening. 

The unprecedented screening is set to take place between the 24th and 26th of November at the old cinematheque Kinomaja in Tallinn’s Old Town. The events programme will include a karaoke contest and a live peformance by the band Marko Haavisto & Poutahaukat, who gained fame performing in Aki Kaurismäki’s The Man Without a Past. The screenings will be introduced by various Finnish filmmakers, including director Jörn Donner and actress Kati Outinen.
 
The opening film will be Jörn Donner’s legendary documentary Fuck Off! Images of Finland (1971), a cross-section of Finnish society in 1970, where beauty and ugliness, sad and funny, gentle and obscene co-exist organically. The uncut version only received screening permission at the end of the 1980’s.
 
The selected films have been made between the years 1938 and 2008, genres include drama, thriller, horror, erotic, crime and comedy, all of them having gained a cult status in Finland and most having never been shown in Estonia. All the movies will be screened from 35mm films.
 
The programme has been curated by the reputable Sodankylä Midnight Sun Film Festival, that was founded and is artistically consulted by Aki and Mika Kaurismäki.
 
“The selection represents the diverse mental landscape of Finland. We interpret the word ‘cult’ as broadly as possible, using it to name films that have aroused both admiration and indignation, and have lived longer than one generation. On top of that, this feast will be screened on celluloid, making it a rare one-time pleasure,” said Milja Mikkola, the festival director of Sodankylä festival.
 
Black Nights’ sub-festival PÖFF Shorts will screen a selection of Aki Kaurismäki’s short films.

The programme:
Stolen Death (1938) - Nyrki Tapiovaara
Cross of Love (1946) - Teuvo Tulio
Louisa (1946), Valentin Vaala
The White Reindeer (1952), Erik Blomberg
Gas, Inspector Palmu! (1961), Matti Kassila
Skin, Skin (1966), Mikko Niskanen    
Portraits of Women (1970), Jörn Donner
The Count (1971), Peter von Bagh
Fuck Off! - Images of Finland (1971), Jörn Donner
Sensuela (1973), Teuvo Tulio
The Year of the Hare (1977), Risto Jarva
Life, Here I Come! (1980), Tapio Suominen
The Worthless (1982), Mika Kaurismäki
„Calamari Union” (1985), Aki Kaurismäki
The Last Rat Skins (1985), Anssi Mänttäri
The Moonlight Sonata (1988), Olli Soinio
Dolly and Her Lover (1990), Matti Ijäs
The Prodigal Son (1992), Veikko Aaltonen
The Land of Happiness (1993), Markku Pölönen
Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana (1994), Aki Kaurismäki  
The Collector (1997), Auli Mantila
The Man Without a Past (2002), Aki Kaurismäki  
Sauna (2008), AJ Annila

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will take place between 17th November and the 3rd of December 2017.

 

 

We announce the line-up of the Student Etudes Competition of the 25th anniversary edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE.

First held in 1997, Student Etudes Competition supports the development of novice filmmakers and provides unique opportunity to confront cinematic achievements of students from various parts of the world. Each year, a growing number of film schools submit their best etudes for consideration of the Camerimage selection committee. The winners are chosen by an international jury of prominent filmmakers and industry professionals.

The author of the best cinematography wins the coveted Laszlo Kovacs Student Award - The Golden Tadpole. Silver and Bronze Tadpoles are awarded for the second and third place respectively. Additionally, Polish Filmmakers Association will award the winner of the Student Etudes Competition a cheque for PLN 10 000. 

Across the Street
Rose spends her entire days spying on her neighbours trying to find a criminal among them. Her husband quietly endures his wife’s insanity until one day her paranoia seems to become reality... 
Original title: En face
Director: Jeanne Privat
Cinematographer: Tom Durand
School: Institut National Superieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion (INSAS)
Belgium, 2016

All of Us
For almost a decade, Kenya has been targeted by Al-Shabaab’s terrorist attacks. An atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust between Muslims and Christians is growing. That is, until December 2015, when Muslim bus passengers show that solidarity can prevail. 
Original title: Watu Wote
Director: Katja Benrath
Cinematographer: Felix Striegel
School: Hamburg Media School (HMS)
Namibia, Germany, 2017  

Benny Got Shot 
When Naomi, a young autopsy assistant at the LA County Coroner’s office, realises her brother has gone missing on the night of a police shooting, she is forced to confront her worst fear – that his body may be in the morgue. 
Director: Malcolm Washington
Cinematographer: Kristen Correll
School: American Film Institute Conservatory
USA, 2016 

Black Hours 
Frank burns himself to death at work in protest against the inhumane working conditions there. Two stories emerge from this tragic incident. Léa, Frank’s wife, who is searching for the truth; and Igor, an employee who finds the dead body and steals the letter of protest for fear of losing his job. 
Original title: Les Heures-Encre
Director: Wendy Pillonel
Cinematographer: Ramón KönigshausenSchool: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste - Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
Switzerland, 2016 

Car Called Victory, A
The late ’40s. A boy ignores his parents´ warnings and talks to a stranger in a brand-new GAZ-M20 ‘Victory’ who promises to teach him to drive. But this promise has severe consequences. 
Original title: Pobeda
Director: Vladislav Mukovnin
Cinematographer: Ermins Baltais
School: Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School (BFM)
Estonia, 2017 

Chocolate Soldier, The
In the twilight of the Second World War, a young refugee girl makes an unlikely connection with an enemy soldier. 
Director: Jackson Smith
Cinematographer: Seannie Bryan
School: Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University
USA, 2017  

Come Out of the Woods
Three brothers living in rural Scotland struggle to find intimacy and stability as they attempt to navigate their survival around a corrupt local police officer and the mysterious appearance of a girl’s body on their land. 
Director: Jonny Blair
Cinematographer: Anna MacDonald
School: National Film and Television School (NFTS)
UK, 2017  

Craftsman, A
Herman’s home has never felt so empty: the things she left behind; the cold side of her bed; the loss of his late wife – his life – seeps through every inch of the space they once shared. Overcome with grief, Herman, a skilled woodworker, begins to build the coffin that will be his final resting place. A neighbour visits.
Director: Sanford Jenkins
Cinematographers: Tanmay Chowdhary, Madeline Leach
School: University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts
USA, 2017  

Dreaming of Warsaw
One day in the life of three people who are on a collision course. A father and a son leave an immigration camp and move to Warsaw. A young thug, following his father’s orders, tries to take over a car park. Their encounter leads to tragedy. 
Original title: Sen o Warszawie
Director: Mateusz Czuchnowski
Cinematographer: Mateusz Czuchnowski
School: Szkoła Filmowa w Łodzi
Poland, 2017  

Earthly People
Twelve-year-old Ábel has to face the fact that his parents are living in two completely different galaxies in the universe. Now he has to decide which one he belongs to. 
Original title: Földiek
Director: Ádám Freund
Cinematographer: Mátyás GyuriczaSchool: Színház- és Filmművészeti Egyetem - University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest (SZFE)
Hungary, 2017  

From Mars and Venus
Gijs (17) sails together with his father on an internship from the Netherlands to Wallonia. It has been a long time since the father and son were dependent on each other. On the deck, their communication flows naturally, but words are not as easily found in their personal conversations. Sometimes Gijs feels the need to dress as a woman. He hides this part of himself, afraid of what others might think. 
Original title: Van Mars en Venus
Director: Kevin Kok
Cinematographer: Olaf Van Dam
School: Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht - University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU)
Netherlands, 2017  

Harevan
Constrained by her shyness, Clemence struggles to build relationships with others. To help, she spends time with her Armenian neighbour, in whom she finds a confidant. 
Director: Marilou Caravecchia-Pelletier
Cinematographer: Marianne Fortier
School: École des médias l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Canada, 2017  

Heimat
A short story about five members of a very specific family. They meet at the police station. Three grown up children have to testify against the man who assaulted their father. 
Director: Emi Buchwald
Cinematographer: Tomasz Gajewski
School: Szkoła Filmowa w Łodzi
Poland, 2017  

Léo
Desperate to make money, Léo accepts a job smuggling a refugee couple through France. However, Léo and the couple have separate expectations concerning their destination. He’s forced to confront the couple, his boss, and himself to understand how far he’s really willing to go for these people he never intended to help. 
Director: Julian Alexander
Cinematographer: Luis Zarzo Escabias
School: Northern Film School, Leeds Beckett University
France, UK, 2017  

Like Father, Like Son
On the eve of his child’s birth, James returns to his childhood home and is overwhelmed by the memories of his workaholic father, Matt, who he finally walked out on when he was 20. James lived, worked, and became successful without much contact with his father. One night he receives a call from a doctor telling him that his father is sick. James visits him one last time and finds that he doesn’t have anyone to help him. 
Director: Kristen Correll
Cinematographer: Han-Seok Yoon
School: American Film Institute Conservatory
USA, 2016  

Lucha: Fight, Wrestle, Struggle
After the death of his father, Mexican luchador (pro wrestler) Jorge returns to the gym where he grew up, facing the violence and memories he long tried to forget. 
Original title: LUCHA
Director: Eddie Rubio
Cinematographer: Emiliano Alcazar
School: Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC)
Mexico, 2017  

Manners of Dying
Harry Parlington, the warden of a death row facility, has supervised many executions. He separated himself from the emotions the prisoners evoked by hiding behind a wall of procedures and lies repeated so often that he has started to believe them. It is young convict Kevin Barlow who holds the keys to his humanity. 
Polish title: Rodzaje umierania
Director: Bo-You Niou
Cinematographer: Jessica Pantoja
School: American Film Institute Conservatory
USA, 2016  

Origin
A young boy in rural Yugoslavia is raised to fear the world outside by his war-weary father. As their living conditions deteriorate, the boy begins to doubt his father's sanity and resist his rigid authority. 
Polish title: Geneza
Director: Jordan Nikolic
Cinematographer: Lasse Tolbøll
School: New York University (NYU) - Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film and TV
USA, 2016  

Rocco
Carlos’ crisis seems to get worse when he gets home and finds out that his dog, Rocco, bit the neighbours’ son. Although his son, Luis, tries to prove his dog is innocent, Carlos’ neighbours threaten him with the possibility of removing the dog from the building. It seems that Luis is the only one who can save Rocco by telling the truth... 
Director: Gerard Nogueira
Cinematographer: Martín Urrea
School: Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC)
Spain, 2017  

Säde
Tristan is a single father in his 30s who has spent the past few years in prison for causing a house fire that seriously injured his little daughter. On the day of his release and return home, he aims to meet his 8-year-old daughter, whom he hasn't seen since the accident, and ask for her forgiveness. 
Director: Rebeka Rummel
Cinematographer: Peter Kollanyi
School: Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School (BFM)
Estonia, 2017  

Time to Go
Marta works at her father’s auto repair shop. After her boyfriend is arrested, Marta is faced with a difficult choice: to stay loyal to her father, or to do what it takes to get her boyfriend released. Marta’s situation is complicated by a secret that she needs to reveal to both of the men in her life. 
Original title: Koniec widzenia
Director: Grzegorz Mołda
Cinematographer: Maciej MillerSchool: Gdyńska Szkoła Filmowa
Poland, 2017  

We Take You
Aminah, a Syrian woman, flees from her human traffickers in South Tyrol. A young couple in a camper van take her with them. However, the young tourist is pregnant, so the attempt to smuggle Aminah across the border is particularly risky. 
Director: David Wagner
Cinematographer: Johannes Kaczmarczyk
School: Hamburg Media School (HMS)
Austria, Germany, 2017

 

19 writers, directors and producers are meeting again on October 16th to participate in the second and last residential workshop of this year's MIDPOINT Feature Launch.

Since June's workshop in Macedonia, the teams have been working on their scripts and project development, and are now at the second workshop taking further steps in order to get ready to present their scripts to the national funding bodies as well as to international film industry decision makers. They will work in groups as well as with their tutors individually. 

The Tutors

International experts will give their individual feedback to all projects, as well as cover the wide range of film development – from European film financing and co-production, sales and festival strategies, the art of collaboration and sustainability, to project pitching and marketing strategies. The team of experts are Head of Studies Danijel Hocevar, Core Tutors Anne Gensior, Pavel Jech and Ivo Trajkov; as well as Pitching Trainer Gabriele Brunnenmeyer. We are pleased to also welcome this year's Guest Lecturers, Alessandro Gropplero (When East Meets West), Jan Naszewski (New Europe Film Sales), Christina Pelekani (Feelgood Entertainment, Start Where You Are), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund) and Pavel Strnad (Negativ Film Productions). Please see the full program below.

The Awards

The participants compete about various awards. We are delighted to hand out the MIDPOINT Development Award of 8.000 EURO to the best project.

4 projects will get selected to pitch at Connecting Cottbus under the banner MIDPOINT Selection 2017 this coming November.

1 producer will be handpicked to participate in Rotterdam Lab including CineMart access during International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2018.

The 9 projects

19 – writer/director Kosara Mitic, producer Kornelija Ristovska (Macedonia)

Alive in Moscow – writer/director Grigore Becket, producer Elie Aufseesser (Switzerland/Moldova)

Asunden – writer/director Petter Ringbom, producer Eliza Jones (Sweden)

Images of Love – writer Tomasz Winski, producer Radovan Sibrt (Czech Republic)

Inventory – writer/director Darko Sinko, producer Vlado Bulajic (Slovenia)

Mnk Boy – writer Sibel Altinbas, director Mete Gümürhan, producer Bas Broertjes (Netherlands/Turkey)

Night of the Whale – writer/director Kaveh Daneshmand, producer Jordi Niubo (Czech Republic)

Waterwolf – writer/director Ann-Julie Vervaeke, producer Anastassia Oudovitchenko (Belgium)

Zana – writer/director Antoneta Kastrati, producer Casey Johnson (Kosovo)

Workshop program - open lectures

Tuesday Oct 17

9.00 – 10.30: Marketing is Your Friend – by Christina Pelekani

14.00 – 15.30: Film Financing Possibilities in Europe – by Danijel Hocevar

Thursday Oct 19

9.00 – 10.30: Sales and Festival Strategies – by Jan Naszewski

Friday Oct 20

9.00 – 10.30: How to Survive in the Big Jungle of Co-Production Markets – Alessandro Gropplero

11.00 – 12.30: Filmmaking – A Collaborative Art Form – by Katriel Schory

15.00 – 16.00: Building a Sustainable Production Company – by Pavel Strnad

17.15 – 19.15: Final Pitching of Projects & Feedback of Panelists

19.30 – 20.00: Workshop Conclusions

Find out more about all the lectures here.

MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2017 is realized in collaboration with Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, Czech Film Fund, International Visegrad Fund, Macedonian Film Agency, Creative Europe MEDIA Desk CZ, APA – Audiovisual Producers' Association, COCO – Connecting Cottbus and CineMart.

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Feature Launch 2018 – deadline extended!

We have extended the deadline for next year's Feature Launch till Monday October 26rd giving you 10 more days to apply! The expanded development platform runs for a whole year, from January to January with workshops and presentations in Trieste/Italy, Serbia and Karlovy Vary/Czech Republic. We welcome 1st and 2nd feature filmmakers to apply, and we are very much looking forward to reading your script.

APPLY NOW – deadline Oct 26!

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Shorts 2018 – deadline extended!

A professional project development program open to creative teams of writers, directors and producers. Within two residential workshops the participants get to develop their script as well as prepare the production and promotional aspects of the projects. The feedback format is based on one-to-one tutoring as well as group feedback.

APPLY NOW – deadline Oct 26! 

 

 

One of the biggest and most important projects presenting Lithuanian cinema to Europe will open the series of events in France dedicated to the centenary of the restoration of the state of Lithuania. Three years of negotiations were finalised this week with an agreement between the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in France, and the Paris-based Cinémathèque Française, one of the largest cinematheques in the world. The film programme will begin in January next year and will run for almost a month.

The retrospective of Lithuanian films that were selected by Caroline Maleville, the Programmer at the Cinémathèque Française, will consist of over 30 works. According to the famous French film critic Arnaud Hée, the programme would be exciting, diverse and worth discovering. It will highlight the films of acclaimed Lithuanian filmmakers Jonas Mekas and Šarūnas Bartas. The viewers will also have an opportunity to watch selected documentaries from 1990 to present, the latest shorts, animation films, Lithuanian classics, and feature films created during the years of the country’s independence.

“The presentation of the film programme to the French film society is a huge achievement and acknowledgement of Lithuania,” said Rolandas Kvietkauskas, director of the Lithuanian Film Centre. “The work with the programmers of the cinematheque enabled us to take a look at the national cinematography from a different angle. The retrospective spans several generations of filmmakers as well as a range of genres and styles. We are very happy to make such contribution to the year dedicated to the centenary of Lithuania.”

“I am certain that this collaboration between the Lithuanian Film Centre and the French cinematheque will grow into a long-term relationship and will open channels for most of the Lithuanian filmmakers to present their works to this globally recognised cultural institution,” said Vida Gražienė, the Cultural Attaché of the Republic of Lithuania in France, who has spearheaded the project. “The most important thing is that it’s the cinema that will open the series of events dedicated to the centenary of Lithuania bridging all art disciplines. The events will highlight the achievements of Lithuanian artists to the French cultural society, while Lithuania will be first of all introduced as a country fostering exceptional art traditions, creativity, and dynamic cultural life.”

The retrospective of Lithuanian cinema will be launched in Paris on 15 January 2018. The programme is organised by the Lithuanian Film Centre in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in France.

 In one of the pictures: Meeting with the representatives of the French cinematheque. From the left: Vida Gražienė, Cultural Attaché of the Republic of Lithuania in France; Jean-Francois Rauger, Programming Director at the Cinémathèque Française; Caroline Maleville, Programmer at the Cinémathèque Française; and Dovilė Butnoriūtė, Head of Department of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage at the Lithuanian Film Centre.

 

 

Warsaw Film Festival, one of the top cultural events in Poland, will open today with the world premiere of Andrzej Jakimowski’s Once Upon a Time in November.

The festival, with a regular audience of around 100,000 viewers, will show 119 features and 76 short films hailing from 63 different countries.

Apart from the 28 world premieres, 27 international ones and 13 European ones, the viewers will see such festival favourites as Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer, already lauded in Cannes, Sergey Loznitsa’s A Gentle Creature or John Cameron Mitchell's How to Talk to Girls at Parties. The programme is divided into five competitive sections (International Competition, Competition 1-2, Free Spirit, Documentary Film Competition and Short Film Competition) and four non-competitive sections. The International Competition will consist of 15 films: A Balkan Noir by Dražen Kuljanin, 2557 by Roderick Warich, Boarding Pass by Mehdi Rahmani, Of Skin and Men by Mehdi Ben Attia, If You Saw His Heart by Joan Chemla, Sella Turcica by Yusup Razykov, Sideway by Tayfun Pirselimoğlu, The Bomb by Ralston Gonzales, The Confession by Zaza Urushadze, The Anniversary by Dan Chisu, The Miner by Hanna Slak, To Kill a Watermelon by Zehao Gao and such films by acclaimed Polish filmmakers as Be Prepared by Robert Gliński, Beyond Words by Urszula Antoniak and Once Upon a Time in November. The winner will be chosen by a jury consisting of film professionals and will be presented with the Warsaw Grand Prix.

The new industry event, Warsaw Industry Days, will include Pitch&Meet Warsaw Coproduction Meetings, First Cut Lab and Doc Lab Poland, a workshop for young filmmakers (Warsaw Next) and film critics (FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project), Warsaw Screenings (the presentation of new Polish films), Warsaw Works-In-Progress presentations and “The Art of Film Editing” workshop. The first edition of the event will take place from 19-21 October.

 Contact: Marta Bałaga, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Warsaw Film Foundation /33nd Warsaw Film Festival, October 13-22, 2017

 

 

Held within the 21st Ji.hlava IDFF, the Institute of Documentary Film launches the second session of the yearlong international workshop Ex Oriente Film devoted to developing and supporting creative documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe. This year's 15th edition will welcome fifteen leading experts that will share their experiences and expertise with filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe within the Ex Oriente Film workshop, as well as in the open programme for Ji.hlava guests. The diverse open programme is full of masterclasses, lectures, and case studies devoted to all aspects of documentary production, co-production and distribution.

In cooperation with the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Ex Oriente Film will present two masterclasses by intriguing and inspiring directors. The award-winning Austrian director Andreas Horvath will present his latest controversial documentary Helmut Berger, Actor on October 25th at 17:00. The film centres on the relationship between the director and past celebrity Helmut Berger, and is an insightful commentary on the documentary medium. The screening of the film will be followed by a moderated discussion with the director.

The second masterclass will be presented by Dmitrii Kalashnikov on October 26th at 18:30 and will focus on his found-footage film The Road Movie. This feature documentary paints a portrait of Russia from a unique and unlikely perspective and is composed exclusively of footage from dashboard cameras filmed while on the road. The screening of The Road Movie will precede the discussion with the director.

Another highlight of the Ex Oriente Film open programme is a case study presented by Diana El Jeiroudi and Orwa Nyrabia. Berlin-based Syrian producers/directors will discuss their experiences managing the independent production company No Nation Films and the non-profit DOX BOX, aimed at supporting and empowering the documentary film scene from the Arab World.

Visitors of Ji.hlava IDFF with press and industry passes can also look forward to other parts of the Ex Oriente Film open programme including a lecture on sound design by Danish sound designer Peter Albrechtsen; a lecture on form & structure in documentary film by experienced film editor Yael Bitton; a talk on creating a project identity and branding by marketing specialist Daniel Saltzwedel; a “Production Tour of Europe” devoted to funding, TV slots, and sales companies; an introduction to budgeting by French producer Christine Camdessus; a lecture on understanding international sales by Maëlle Guenegues (CAT&Docs), and a 2 part talk on the legal aspects of co-production by German attorney-at-law Stefan Rüll.

The open programme closes with a lecture by Czech investigative journalist Saša Uhlová. In her latest work, she goes undercover to reveal working conditions in minimum wage jobs around the Czech Republic. This became the basis for the documentary Limits of Work that is part of the docu-series Czech Journal and will be screening during the festival. During her lecture she will reveal some of her methodological approaches to investigative journalism.

In addition to participating in the Ex Oriente Film open programme, the above experts will be providing guidance and support to the 12 Ex Oriente Film projects during the weeklong workshop. Joining them will be the workshop lead tutors for the 2nd session - Norwegian producer Kristine Ann Skaret, Head of Studies at the European Documentary Network Mikael Opstrup, director/producer Filip Remunda, and director/script developer Ivana Pauerová Miloševićová.

All events within the Ex Oriente Film programme except for the masterclasses will take place in Gustav Mahler Hotel (Křížová 4) in Jihlava.

Find the detailed times & location for the open programme here.