Two days and more than 45 speakers to debate future challenges and present EU funding opportunities for film and audiovisual schools and universities in Europe - Brussels March 21/22.

Registration is still open for the MEDIA Programme Initial Training Conference in Brussels on March 21/22, but time is running out to take part in a unique event. For the latest on the programme, list of particpants and to register by Friday, March 18, go to: http://www.media-itc.eu/.

The conference will provide participants with a complete overview on EU funding opportunities for higher education institutions in Europe and the world, including a presentation of the new MEDIA initial Training call. The conference will also be an exchange platform to present new approaches in film education and innovative collaboration breaking barriers down between disciplines (arts, film, business, games, animation..), countries and industries.

The will be four panels on 3D, Series development, New and Cross-media, Management and integration of graduates to the professional world.

Panelists include:

- From the industry:

  • Klaus Zimmerman, General Manager of Atlantique Production (Lagardere Group) and producer of Canal+ series, The Borgias;

  • Erwin M. Schmidt - 3D Producer of Wim Wenders' PINA;

  • Sebastien Delloye- producer Entre Chiens et loup and Programme director of European post Production Connection;

  • Jean des Foret - Petit Film and Head of Studies, EAVE/BAL Puentes Workshop;

  • Dennis Eick - Professor of Serial writing - former commissioning editor for RTL;

  • Peter de Maegt, Caviar production, and Erik Taelman (VRT) for the Artist;

  • Ian Ginn -Producer Hubub film and mentor at Power to the Pixel.

- Representatives and students from schools and universities in Europe:

  • La Femis, NFTS, COFAC, TAIEK, FAMU, Lodz, HEC-ulg, ESCAC, Salford University, Ludwigsburg, ESCAC, IAD, Baltic school....

Registration is free of charge at: http://www.media-itc.eu/. Travel and accommodation is at participants' expense.

The MEDIA Training team

MEDIA Programme of the European Union

Education, Audivisual, Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)

http://ec.europa.eu/media

"The Golden Beggar" a competition among local European television stations and producers who come from widely varied backgrounds - they work independently, or with local media outlets, or are young producers just starting out.

Croatian producer/director Helena Bulaja explores the life and world of inventor Nikola Tesla in the interactive and animated documentary Mechanical Figures, pitched at the 2010 East European Forum.

In its sixth year, the Meetings on the Bridge (MoB), aims at creating a platform, a meeting point for the film industry within the frame of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival. The programme continues to bring together Turkish and European producers, directors, scriptwriters and representatives of institutions to provide the opportunity for Turkish filmmakers to make the first international presentations of their feature film projects, and build a platform for co-productions.


Meetings on the Bridge is introducing the Turkish-German Co-Production Film Development Fund in collaboration with Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg and Hamburg Schleswig Holstein Funds and the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism,with a budget of 150.000 Euro .
In addition, for the first time, Turkish-French Co-production Meetings and meetings with Italian Filmmakers Meetings will take place.


The guests of this year's platform include Eric Garandeau, President of CNC; Marit van den Elshout, Head of Cinemart / Rotterdam Film Festival; Marten Rabarts, Artistic Director of Binger Lab; Claire Launay from ARTE; Mira Staleva from Sofia Film Lab; Roberto Olla, Executive Director - Eurimages; Savina Neirotti, Head of Torino Film Lab; Sonja Heinen, Head of Berlinale Co-production Market; Thibaut Bracq, Head of Paris Project; Katriel Schory, Head of Israel Film Fund; and award winning producers such as Cedomir Kolar (No Man's Land), Ilann Girard (Lebanon, Goodbye Bafana, March of the Penguins); and Stéphane Parthenay (Pyramid and co-producer of Three Monkeys).


Film Development Workshop, 13-14 April

The fourth Film Development Workshop, which receive great attention from cinema professionals, organised as part of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival will take place on April 13 and 14 this year.


The producers and directors of the 12 film projects selected from among the 99 projects submitted this year will be having one-to-one meetings with producers, distributors and the representatives of international institutions including Rotterdam Film Festival, Eurimages, ARTE, Cinemart, Binger Lab, Torino Film Lab, and Fortissimo Films. Through these meetings, directors and producers of the elected projects find the opportunity to make the preliminary preparations and spadework for international co-production workshops and markets they will be taking part in. They also get the chance to realize the initial contact with producers and distributors who are interested in their projects and perform their international presentations without leaving the country.


At the end of the meetings, two projects will receive the $10.000 Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism Development support, the 25.000 TL worth Melodika Post-Production Support, and 10.000 Euro CNC Support. For the first time this year, Dutch film institution Binger Lab will award a project with 2.500 Euro worth of Script Development Scholarship.


The award winning project of 2008, Zefir (Zephyr) by Belma Baş was completed in 2010 and it received the Artistic Achievement Award at the 51st Thessaloniki Film Festival and the Rajata Chakoram Award (Silver Crow Pheasant) in the 'Best Debut Film' category at the 15th Kerala International Film Festival. Zephyr continues the festival tour.


The shooting of Sesime Gel (Come to My Voice) by Hüseyin Karabey, that received the 2009 award, will start in October 2011 and the shooting of Babamın Sesi (Voice of My Father) by Orhan Eskiköy - Zeynel Doğan, one of the award winning projects of 2010, will start in May 2011. Another award winning project, Üst Kattaki Terörist (Terrorist Upstairs) by Emre Yeksan, is currently in script writing stage. Ebedi Uykusuz (Last Sleepless) by İlke Yeşilay, which was considered praiseworthy by the jury, received the 10,000 Euro support award of the Balkan Fund at the 51st Thessaloniki Film Festival.


The Film Development Workshop is frequented especially by European producers and distributors who wish to get informed on film projects and meet the filmmakers . This year, 14 film professionals will conduct meetings with the producers and directors of the projects .

Turkish-German Co-Production Film Development Fund
The Istanbul Film Festival - Meetings on the Bridge, in collaboration with Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg and Hamburg Schleswig Holstein Funds with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is proud to set up for the first time this year, the Turkish and German Co-production Development Fund. The foundations of the fund had been laid during the Turkish-German Co-Productions Panel conducted within the scope of the Meetings On The Bridge Platform of the 29th Istanbul Film Festival.

Set up for encouraging new co-productions and cultural interaction between the two countries, the fund was formed by these three institutions with a total budget of 150,000 Euro. The fund is open to applications of Turkish-German co-productions, which haven't started shooting yet. The projects receiving funds will be announced on 14 April, following the evaluation by the jury consisting of representatives of the three institutions.

Turkish-French Co-production Meetings and Panel
This year, again for the first time, Turkey-France Co-production Meetings will be organized in cooperation with CNC, Unifrance and the French Embassy, bringing together film professionals from the two countries with the purpose of building a platform for co-productions. Filmmakers from Turkey whose projects were selected will be making their presentations to producers, distributors and representatives of funds and institutions from France.

Apart from project presentations, Turkey-France co-productions will be discussed over case studies at a panel. Open to all film professionals and film buffs, the panel will be held at the French Cultural Center on 12 April. (advance accreditation TL 75 / at the entrance TL 100)
Turkish-Italian Cooperation Meetings

Within the scope of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival, the Italian Trade Commission / Centre and Rome MedFilm Festival / MedFilm Festival from Rome are organizing bilateral / B2B meetings between Italian film producers and Turkish TV channels, film buyers and distributors on 14 April at Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center. The aim of these meetings is to initialize possible cooperation between the film industries of these two countries. (For more info: Zeynep Özbaşaran, E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., T: +90 212 373 0300)

Meetings On The Bridge continues to offer new opportunities to all filmmakers and support them in all stages of their films.

For further information, please contact:
onthebridge@iksvorg
T: +90 212 334 07 91

For media enquiries:
Elif Obdan
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
T: +90 212 334 07 13

BUDAPEST: The embattled Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (www.mmka.hu) has been fined 2 million HUF for avoiding procurement on several activities where it should have asked for a tender. The MMK has been under investigation for nearly a year. The MMK's own board ordered audits soon after taking over nearly a year ago to assess the organisation's financial position.

Dear colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well.

I would like to ask you to support our call for submissions 2011 by kindly posting the news on your website or, if possible, distributing the call among the documentary film professionals in your database. Please find the call in the attachment together with basic info about East Silver. Please, feel free to use any part of it.

In return, we can offer you listings in our Partner web section or place a small banner within the www.eastsilver.net.

Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation and support!

With kind regards,

Anna Kaslova
East Silver Coordinator

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +420 223 018 694
GSM: +420 775 602 555

EAST SILVER Market, Oct 25 - 30, 2011
Institute of Documentary Film
Skolska 12
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
www.eastsilver.net

EAST SILVER Call for entries 2011

The 8th edition of East Silver, a documentary market specialized in Eastern and Central European documentary is now open for submissions, organized by the Institute of Documentary Film in Jihlava, Czech Republic, East Silvere will také place October 25 – 30, 2011.

East Silver Market 2011 - Call for completed documentaries produced 2010 – 2011, English subtitled or with English voiceover, with trailer.

Submission is also valid for 15th Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival programme preselection and Doc Alliance Films preselection.

Films are to be submitted via ENTRYFORM at
http://www.eastsilver.net/en/east-silver/entry-form/

2 DVD screeners and any additional press and promo materials are to be sent to:
East Silver, Skolska 12, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Submissions deadline is June 30, 2011.

IDFA's Jan Vrijman Fund is now looking for proposals for creative documentaries and events that offer a platform for documentaries and filmmakers in and from developing countries. Application deadline: May 15, 2011.

The movie returns to Prague crowned with prizes

Prague, April 20, 2011 - Top Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko's Bathory was given WorldFest REMI Special Jury Award at Worldfest, the Houston-based international film festival that took place in April 8 - 17, 2011. This award is the highest prize awarded by the festival and is above Gold and Platinum awards. On top of this remarkable award, Bathory also won Gold REMI Award for Best Art Direction. An official festival press release called the movie one of the "Best of Show" in all features.

Despite the fact the movie had been completed three years ago, it keeps being highly awarded at internetional films festivals, keeps filling movie theatres and winning the hearts of audiences, be it a wide general public or professional jurors. This huge success is driven mainly by the artistic vision of world filmmaker Juraj Jakubisko and his ability to transform his visions on the screen in his special poetic way. Bathory's success also proves that a good movie is able to address viewers anywhere in the world, regardless of their culture, beliefs and living conditions.

WorldFest is one of the oldest festivals of the independent film in the world. It is radically different from the other film festivals by its monumental extent - it has had ten major categories and more than 3.500 movies took part in the competition this year. This makes an award to Bathory even more remarkable; the movie has already been over the main period of nominations but has still been one of the most successful movies of the Czech and Slovak cinema. Juraj Jakubisko, its director, whose movie language never gets old, has thus joined the group of important movie gurus awarded at this film festival, like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, Brian de Palma, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, David Lynch, The Coen Brothers and others.

Currently, Juraj Jakubisko has started to work on a new project - The Slav Epic, the two-part mega-movie. Again, therefore, he turns to history, this time on a larger scale though. The movie will map the history and significance of hitherto relatively neglected group of nations - the Slavs, and the importance of the Slavonic ideas, Christianity and other history factors. Those who love historical films and the art of Juraj Jakubisko, founder of magical realism, Fellini of the East or, as his American admirers call him, Marquez of the Silver Screen can again start looking forward to a new piece of Jakubisko's art.

Further information: Robert Nerpas, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +420 602 289 752

The most respected filmmaker in the history of Romanian cinema, director Lucian Pintilie, will be one of the guests of honour of the 10th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival.

The festival audience & guests will be able to watch the Romanian master's complete film works – consisting in 10 features and a medium length film – in an unprecedented & extensive retrospective. It is also the first and only time that Lucian Pintilie accepts to attend the screenings & meet the audience of a Romanian film festival.

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