VILNUS: The Vilnius IFF, moving to boost its focus on local work, has announced a new competition program for 2014, Baltic Gaze, which will screen films created in the Baltic Sea region, organizers said Wednesday.

FNE asked Jakub Duszynski about the most important issues backing European sales agents and European distributors today and how the are working together to find new ways of reaching bigger audiences for European cinema.  Click HERE to watch the video.

BATUMI: The eighth edition of the Batumi art-house fest (BIAFF), running 15-22 September, will host talks by key players for its industry panel on paving the way for more Georgian-Turkish co-productions.

The B’EST (Baltic Bridge East by West) has just announced its project slate for its second edition to be held in St Petersburg from 11-15 September.

FNE asked Riina Sildos, Managing Director of the Baltic Event and organizer of B’EST (Baltic Bridge East by West) about the event and why it’s important for European film. Click HERE to see the Video

FNE asked PhDr Michal Bregant, the Director of the Czech National Film Archives about the recent re-organisation of the NFA and the new and more important role it will be taking on.  Click HERE to see the video

More collaboration with public TV resources would mean a blossoming of Romanian docu production and distribution, according to study session by Aradocs, a joint project of the Romanian documentary filmmakers and producers association DocuMentor and the European Documentary Network.

Cinema exhibition professionals meeting at the Sarajevo IFF predicted Saturday that public-private partnerships are likely the best way forward in digitizing the aging screening facilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.

Czechoslovakia - The Destiny of a Canadian, by award-winning filmmaker Lukáš Přibyl, is slated for release in October, according to the Institute of Documentary Film.

Austria, Lithuania and Slovakia have won leading roles in the St Petersburg- and Tallinn-based Baltic Bridge East by West (B'EST‎)  feature workshop series kicking off 11 September. Gangster comedy Kaviar, the debut of Elena Tikhonova, a Russian filmmaker based in Vienna, represents Austria, while A Miracle by Lithuanian writer/director Egle Vertelyte and producer Lukas Trimonis, both UK National Film and Television School graduates, represents the Baltics.

This year for the first time FNE together with FIPRESCI will offer the ratings of features films in all sections of the official Venice IFF programme by international critics attending the Festival.  If you are attending Venice and are a member of FIPRESCI go to the FNE FIPRESCI Venice Critics 2013 sign up on FNE and register.