BUDAPEST: The scripts submitted to the new Hungarian National Film Fund (MNF, www.filmalap.hu) in its first round have been described as “disappointing” by MNF chief Agnes Havas and Hungary’s Film Commissioner Andy Vajna.

By the end of November, the most successful Hungarian film among the premieres of 2011 reached about 20.000 viewers in the cinemas. The film Vad Magyarország (Wild Hungary) is a 50 minutes long nature film premiered in April, its success is mainly due to the schools that took their pupils to the screenings. It’s unprecedented that a nature film shot for television reaches the top rank at the national box office, but this year almost totally lacked the premieres of commercial Hungarian movies.

The Hungarian National Film Fund (MNF, www.filmalap.hu) discussed its first experiences with film professionals on an open debate in Budapest, on 13th December 2011. The new support body, that took the duties of the Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (www.mmka.hu, being under closure for half a year), made its call for grants at the end of September.

Sofia/London, 19 December 2011 - SPI TV Ltd. UK, an SPI International Group company announced today the closure of a contract with the Bulgarian Direct-To-Home platform, Satellite BG operating from one of the most popular ASTRA orbital positions, namely ASTRA 23.5 East, also used by the Czech and Slovak CS Link, Skylink, the Czech T-Mobile TV and the Dutch Canal Digitaal.

Satellite BG will launch the SPI channel bouquet called Filmbox Package consisting of eight unique HD channels: Filmbox HD, Filmbox Action HD, Fightbox HD, Docubox HD, Fashionbox HD, Erox HD, Eroxx HD and Eroxxx HD. The bouquet will enrich the existing HD offer available to Satellite BG customers in Bulgaria.

"Our cooperation with the SPI International Group will allow us to provide our customers with completely new channels in HD technology and possibly 3D in the future. The Filmbox Package offers a variety of attractive programming bringing our viewers fresh movie channels, documentaries, lifestyle and erotic content. We are also very excited to be the first European operator to launch Fightbox HD, which presents 32 different contact sports including MMA, Muai Thai, Karate and Sumo" - said Stefan Bonev, Satellite BG Chief Operating Officer.

"Bulgaria is the sixth country (after Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania) in Central and Eastern Europe in the SPI International Group's portfolio of key markets in this region. We are proud to become a business partner of such an important and innovative media platform developing its project so rapidly" - stated Loni Farhi, the SPI International Group President. "This contract plays an important role in our dynamic geographical expansion in Europe" - Mr. Farhi added.

About SATELLITE BG AD

Satellite BG AD is a company with its primary business being Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operations. Its package includes more than 60 Standard and 20 High Definition channels. Satellite BG offers exclusive content, value added services, high quality of service and good customer relationships.

About SPI International Group

SPI International Group with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Madrid, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Prague, Bratislava and Budapest is a leading film and television content provider operating in the area of theatrical, DVD and VOD distribution as well as production and distribution of Pay-TV channels. SPI International offers 32 film and thematic channels in Europe only. With more than 2,000 movies, TV series and thousands of hours of other programming presented in the company's extremely diverse portfolio, SPI International owes its success to strong alliances with such respected film and television industry partners as Focus Features, The Weinstein Company, Summit Entertainment, Studio Canal, Pathé, Lakeshore Entertainment, Wild Bunch, Beta Film, Fremantle Media and many others.

For further information please contact:

Lukasz Bulka

SPI Marketing & PR Director

+48 512 097 546

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Documentary and Fiction Feature Projects

Between November 25 - 28, EEFA Training Network has organized the fourth and last workshop of this year, Legal and Distribution Matters Workshop in Tallinn, in partnership with PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival.

The teams of the seven documentary and eight fiction features from European and Non-European countries, have benefited from the teachings of our experts, lead by Head of Studies Catherine Buresi, Co-director of the Berlinale European Film Market: Legal Expert Dirk Poppendieck and Distribution Expert Marta Lamperova, Content Expert Jacques Laurent, co-founder of Télévision Du Monde and Capnetwork Belgium, Production Expert Patrice Vivancos, and Visiting Expert Dorota Roszkowska, from the Dragon Forum - International Academy of Document.

The trainers interacted with the participating producers both in group sessions and in one to one meetings, and discussed key aspects in the domain of legal and distribution matters concerning film: what is a contract, what is a co-production, author rights and copyright, what means to be "owner of rights", where to sell a film, sales agents, MG, territories, all rights, TV channels (what and how they buy films and documentaries). Also, at the request of the participating legal and distribution representatives of the 15 projects, Dr. Dirk Poppendieck held an extra session of Legal Training.

Evenings were dedicated to business activities, networking and viewings at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival.

At the end of the workshop, all participants sustained a two part pitching session: one for documentaries, one for fiction projects, juried by the panel of EEFA Training Network experts.

After the deliberation, the projects nominated for awards from EEFA were Georgian documentary project "See you in Chechnya" by director/producer Alexander Kvatashidze (founder of Lokokina production studio), Turkish fiction project "Circle" - represented by producer Derya Tarim (founder of Lacivert Film Company), Croatian documentary "Far Encounters" - represented by producer Dijana Mladenovic (founder of Kinematograf production company), Hungarian fiction project "Lemon Juice and Indigo" - represented by producer Judit Stalter (from LAOKOON FILMGROUP production company) and "Seaburners"- another Turkish fiction feature project, represented by producer Yamaç Okur (founder of Bulut Film production company)

The partnership between EU and non-EU countries has been a very successful one during the whole EEFA training network year of 2011, bringing together a diversity of cultural projects and organizers in a collaborative endeavor that will surely prove successful in the next steps of the development of all projects involved.

East European Film Alliance is a consortium of eleven countries coordinated by the Romanian Film Sector and has for 2011 the following partners: HAVC (Croatian Audiovisual Center)- Croatia, IFF Molodist (Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist) - Ukraine, ALTFilm (ALTFilm) - Moldova, ASA (Ankara Cinema Association) - Turkey, BNFC (Bulgarian National Film Center ) and GEOPOLY (Geopoly Film) - Bulgaria, IFF Moscow (Moscow International Film Festival) - Russia, PÖFF Tallinn (PÖFF - Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival ) - Estonia, LNFC - National Film Centre of Latvia, Georgian National Film Center - Georgia and State Film Fund from Ministry of Culture and Tourism Azerbaijan.

Alongside our partners, the initiative is supported this year by Media Mundus.

For all other information, please access http://eefa-eu.org/

or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


CONTACT

Project Coordinator

CATALIN LEESCU

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Mobile +40 753 125 237

EEFA Legal Representative and Financial Coordinator

DANIEL BADEA

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Mobile: +4 0722 601 753

Project Manager

RUXANDRA CERNAT

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Mobile: +40 722 628 012

Online Manager

SORINA DIACONU

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Mobile: +4 0722 84 48 87

Project Assistant

C.OANA A. VENAT-DUMITRIU

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Tel/fax: +40 21 320 60 72

The 6th edition of NexT International Film Festival will take place in Bucharest from March 28 to April 1, 2012.

NexT International Film Festival celebrates innovative and creative filmmaking from all around the world. Our goal at NexT IFF is to discover and promote today the major talents of tomorrow's international cinema.

For the first time, the call for entries is open not only for the competition, but also for three special off competition programs: NexT Imaginaria, NexT Dance and NexT Kids.

Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2011


COMPETITION
NexT calls for entries of narrative films (live action and animation) up to 60 minutes completed after January 1st, 2010. Documentaries, non-narrative films or video installations will not be considered for the competition.

Awards for the films selected in the competition:

NexT Trophy - 4000 Euro
"Cristian Nemescu" Best Directing Award - 2000 Euro
"Andrei Toncu" Best Soundtrack Award - 2000 Euro
Best Romanian Film - 1000 Euro

NexT covers accommodation and travel expenses (%) for the director / sound-designer of the films in competition.


NexT Imaginaria
A program to explore parallel universes, fantasy worlds, alternative history, utopias and dystopias, haunting visions and dark fears for a night to remember at NexT 2012. An international off competition program open to sci-fi, fantasy, horror, extreme action or simply fantastic out-of-the-box films to open your mind and dare you to dream!
Maximum duration of submitted films: 60 minutes.
The films must be completed after January 1st 2010.

NexT Dance
From good ol' school musicals to hot pop, from street dance & hip hop to classical ballet & contemporary choreography, we welcome international narrative short films that spice up their story with a splash of music & dance, for a very special night at NexT 2012. Our goal: a 2-hour off competition program to electrify our audience and make them go home humming and swinging.
Maximum duration of submitted films: 60 minutes.
The films must be completed after January 1st 2010.

NexT Kids
A special program for the youngest hearts at NexT 2012, designed to make them experience smart and fascinating short films: an opportunity for 5 to 12 year olds to discover cinema through creative animations and live action short films from all around the world. The screenings will be followed by hands-on special activities related to the films in the program.
Maximum duration: 10 minutes.
For this section only, there is no time limit regarding the completion date of the films.


For further details, read the regulations of NexT International Film Festival 2012.

Download the entry form of NexT International Film Festival 2012.

DVD PAL screeners must be sent to:

NexT Cultural Society
179 Traian Street
024043, Bucharest
Romania


Besides the competition and the off competition programs, NexT also presents a series of seminars on directing, sound-design, production & distribution, script-writing etc. offered free of charge to the participants.

NexT intends to be a meeting point for young filmmakers around the world.

Get-together with local filmmakers & live music every night.

contact:
Yvonne Irimescu / Festival coordinator
Phone: +40 21 252 48 67
Mobile phone: + 40 721 661 756

www.nextfilmfestival.ro
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Taking place December 8 - 10, 2011, during the Tbilisi Film Festival, Pitch.Doc will for the third time provide funding opportunities for several creative documentary projects from the region of South Caucasus. Participants from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will pitch 6 projects to international industry professionals on December 10.

The Austrian filmmaker Ivette Löcker discusses with us her latest film Night Shifts, mysterious nights, the omnipresence of non-stop operationg surveillance cameras, the intimacy of darkness and the contamination of today's life by light.

"Andrzej Wajda - Known and Unknown" (Andrzej Wajda - Bekannt & Unbekannt) - the retrospective of the Polish Master and the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School begin in Berlin on 2 December.

The retrospective "Andrzej Wajda - Known and Unknown" will be feature as many as 28 movies of the Master. They will include : "Generation", "Everything for Sale", "Canal", "Korczak", "Samson", "Promised Land", "Katyn", "Hunting Flies", "Ashes", "Ashes and Diamonds", "Innocent Sorcerers", "Landscape After Battle", "Layer Cake", "The Maids of Wilko", "Man of Marble", "Man of Iron", "Without Anesthesia", "Lotna", "Wedding", "Birch Wood", "Love in Germany", "Holy Week", "Nastasya", "Revenge", "Pan Tadeusz", "Danton", "Sweet Rush" and "Rring With A Crowned Eagle". Apart from these we will also see the documentary by Marcel Łoziński entitled "The Katyn Forest", which was inspired by Andrzej Wajda. The detailed programme can be found here.

In this retrospective, the Berlin audiences will also have the opportunity to learn more about the activities of Wajda as co-founder (together with Wojciech Marczewski) of the film school in Warsaw which has been supporting new generations of filmmakers for the past 10 years. As part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School, we will have a chance to see a selection of the best feature films, documentaries, and short films that came from the School.

The guests of the retrospective will be actor Jerzy Radziwiłowicz and directors who are graduates of the Wajda School - Piotr Bernaś, Marcin Sauter and Thierry Paladino. The presence of Piotr Bernaś is also related to the nomination of his documentary "Paparazzi" to the European Film Academy Award. This year the awards ceremony will be held on December 3rd in Berlin.

Screenings for the 10th anniversary of the Wajda School:

December 4, at 8pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema / guest Piotr Bernaś:
"Paparazzi", dir. Piotr Bernaś
"Take a Look", dir. Adam Palenta
"Little Bride", dir. Lesław Dobrucki
"The Inner Road", dir. Dorota Lamparska

December 5 at 7.30pm, Arsenal Kino / guest Piotr Bernaś:
"Paparazzi", dir. Piotr Bernaś

December 10, at 7.30pm, Arsenal Kino / guests Marcin Sauter, Thierry Paladino:
"Andrzej Wajda: Let's Shoot!", dir. Maciej Cuske, Thierry Paladino, Marcin Sauter, Piotr Stasik

"Behind the Fence", dir. Marcin Sauter
"Silence I", dir. Maciej Cuske, Robert Gliński, Edyta Wróblewska, Tomasz Wolski, Bartek Konopka, Marcin Bortkiewicz
"Gadjo", dir. Kryspin Pluta

December 11, at 6pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema:
"Three For the Taking", dir. Bartek Konopka
"Glasgow", dir. Piotr Subbotko
"What's It Like to Be My Mother", dir. Norah McGettigan

December 11, at 8pm, Hackesche Höfe Cinema:
"At the Datcha", dir. Thierry Paladino
"North From Calabria", dir. Marcin Sauter

December 18, at 7pm, Arsenal Cinema:
"Three For the Taking", dir. Bartek Konopka

“Andrzej Wajda – Known & Unknown” is the project of the Polish Institute in Berlin under the auspices of the European Film Academy, in collaboration with the "Arsenal" Institute of Film and Video Arts (Institut für Film und Videokunst), the Wajda School Foundation and the Wajda Studio, the Zeughauskino cinema (at the German Historical Museum), the Hackesche Höfe cinema, the Film Museum in Potsdam, with the financial support of the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and the National Film Archive

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WAJDA SCHOOL | WAJDA STUDIO
more than a film school | more than a film studio

“From script to screen” – this was the main idea when Andrzej Wajda and Wojciech Marczewski founded the film school in 2001 in Warsaw, Poland. Since 2011 they have also started the production company - Wajda Stu­dio, which aims to support projects with strong artistic vision.

We offer a unique combination of production and edu­cation for film professionals at international level.

In our filmography we have more than 50 documenta­ries and short fictions, more than 200 students shorts. We have had screenings and awards at the festivals such as Berli­nale, San Sebastian, Karlovy Vary, Hot Docs, IDFA and DokLeipzig.

The Studio’s mission is to search for new talents among debutants. We are looking for author- driven feature, documentary and short film projects which bring up contemporary issues. We focus on development stage and support our directors with artistic supervision from the best Polish and European filmmakers.

Best regards,

Joanna Skalska

Head of PR & Sales
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mobile: + 48 501 102 878

mobile: + 48 501 024 563

Wajda School | Wajda Studio
ul. Chelmska 21, 00 - 724 Warsaw, Poland
tel./fax: + 48 22 851 10 56 / 57 / 67

www.wajdaschool.pl
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