Prague 20 January 2011 – Several Czech films will be appearing at respected international film festivals and presentations in January. The Czech Film Center, which has continuously been supporting and presenting Czech cinematography abroad for ten years now, contributed to the participation of domestic films and filmmakers at foreign festivals at the beginning of 2012.
The acceptance of director Bohdan Sláma’s Four Suns to the international Sundance Film Festival competition, which will take place from 19 – 29 January 2012, met with the greatest response. The Festival previously featured Sláma’s work back in 2009, when he was included in the selection of interesting directorial personalities that the editors of the prestigious Variety magazine put together. Four Suns will have its world premiere here on 21 January and will then be shown in five festival projections. The film is represented by the international vendor Films Boutique, the company that also represents the films of Alexander Sokurov and Béla Tarr, among others.
The 24th Premiers Plans Film Festival, which will be running from 20 - 29 January 2012 in Angers, France, will be presenting FAMU student Jakub Šmíd’s film Non-Swimmers in the European Student Films competition section. The Czech Film Center is supporting Jakub Šmíd’s participation in the festival. The animated film Life is a Bitch by Michaela Hoffová from FAMU will also be presented in the European Animated Films competition section.
The International Festival of Short Films in Clermont-Ferrand (France), whose 34th year will take place from 27 January – 4 February 2012, chose Libor Pixa’s film Graffitiger to compete in the International Competition section. The eleven minute long inventive combined film about a tiger that remains at the mercy of an urban jungle already has a number of awards to its credit, including a nomination for a "student" Oscar. The Czech Film Centre will be representing Czech short films at this festival and at the local film market and is also supporting Libor Pixa's participation.
The International Film Festival in Rotterdam is one of the places where Czech films are welcome and where they have prospered. Director Bohdan Sláma actually launched his international career years ago in Rotterdam with the film Wild Bees.
Now, in the festival's forty-first year, the European premiere of Sláma’s film Four Suns will take place in the non-competition SPECTRUM section. The Rotterdam festival will take place from 25 January to 5 February 2012.
In addition to this the documentary Punk in Africa from directors Keith Jones and Deon Maas, which arose as a Czech and South African co-production, will be shown in the same section.
Furthermore the documentary Into Oblivion from debuting director Šimon Špidla will also be presented at the Rotterdam festival in the SPECTRUM SHORTS section with the director’s personal participation. The film is represented by: Evolution Films (Pavel Berčík).
Contact:
GSM: +420 221 105 398
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Meetings on the Bridge in its 7th Year; Film Development and Work in Progress Workshops, Funds for Co-Productions, Panels and Meetings
The Meetings on the Bridge will celebrate its seventh year during the 31st edition of the ıstanbul Film Festival to take place 31 March-15 April 2012.
Meetings on the Bridge brings together producers, directors, scriptwriters and representatives of organizations so as to continue providing opportunities for initial international presentations of new feature films, as well as setting the stage for co-productions.
While Meetings on the Bridge continues to collaborate with filmmakers from Turkey throughout the year, it shares with them the developments in the international film industry, as well. Filmmakers and professionals from abroad who wish to receive information on the Turkish cinema consult this platform.
The Film Development Workshop application deadline is 23 January 2012
The Film Development Workshop which receives interest from European film professionals and distributors increasingly each year will be held 10-11 April 2012. The application deadline for projects from Turkey is 23 January 2012. Providing an international platform for Turkish filmmakers to present their projects to European professionals, the workshop also leads the way for project owners to perform their initial negotiations for co-productions. The owners of the projects conduct one-to-one meetings with producers, distributors and representatives of institutions from Europe and organisations including Eurimages, ARTE, Berlinale, Binger Lab, Cinelink, Cinemart, Torino Film Lab and Fortissimo Films.
A new workshop launched this year: Work in Progress
Open to feature films from Turkey which have completed at least 50% of their shooting or which are at their post-production stage, the Work in Progress workshop will be launched this year, again within the framework of Meetings on the Bridge. During the workshop aimed at supporting film projects from Turkey at the production stage, producers will find the chance to make the initial international presentations of their films.
A maximum of 5 films to be selected by the Meetings on the Bridge advisory board will participate in the workshop at their offline editing stages. At the end of the workshop, the film to be selected by the international jury consisting of 3 members will be presented with the 1000Volt Post-Production Award. The application deadline for Work in Progress workshop is 9 March 2012.
The deadline for applications for Turkish-German Co-Production Development Fund is 2 March 2012
Seven projects selected from among the 13 film projects submitted to the Turkish-German Co-Production Development Fund, established through the cooperation of Istanbul Film Festival-Meetings on the Bridge Platform, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Funds receive support from the fund in 2011. The deadline for the second term applications of the same fund is 2 March 2012. The projects to be supported will be announced at the Meetings on the Bridge award reception during the Istanbul Film Festival in April. With a total budget of 150,000 Euros, and established by the above-mentioned three institutions which are pioneers in their fields with the purpose of increasing cultural cooperation between the two countries and supporting co-productions, this fund welcomes all Turkish-German co-productions that have not begun shooting yet.
Meeting and Panels on Turkey-Holland co-productions during Istanbul Film Festival and Holland Film Festival
Within the scope of the 400th Anniversary of the establishment of Turkish-Dutch diplomatic relations, the Turkish-Dutch Co-Production Meetings and Panels will be organized with the cooperation of Istanbul Film Festival-Meetings on the Bridge and Netherlands Film Festival-Holland Film Meetings. Aiming at bringing together film professionals from the two countries so as to pave the way for co-productions, these meetings will be held in Istanbul in April and in Utrecht in September.
Meetings on the Bridge Workshops
Topics including co-productions, international festivals and funds, new media and distribution channels are taken up during the Meetings on the Bridge workshops by expert professionals and cinema professionals, and proposals for solutions were discussed. The program for the 2012 workshops which will be open to all filmmakers and film enthusiasts is to be announced in March 2012.
Meetings on the Bridge in 2011
In 2011, a total of 109 film projects were submitted to the Film Development Workshop and Turkish-French Co-Production Meetings, and 30 foreign guests were hosted in the Meetings on the Bridge events. 17 speakers from Europe and 75 participants as audience contributed the seminars, where co-productions and the new developments in the industry were discussed. Ten feature film projects received support awards.
Istanbul Film Festival and Meetings on the Bridge celebrated the international accomplishments of the Turkish film industry in the recent years and the supported film projects, at a reception organized in May, following the festival, within the framework of the Cannes Film Festival-Producer's Network.
For further information please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The 8th edition of the JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will take place on 24-29 April, 2012.
The JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL is one of the biggest European festivals focused on Jewish themes in contemporary cinematography. We strive to show our audience the most interesting aspects of Jewish culture, history and tradition, and to promote tolerance and cultural diversity. Every year we receive hundreds of films from all over the world and present those which we feel are the most interesting and inquisitive. We accept only the latest cinematic offerings, produced no earlier than two years prior to the current edition of Festival.
The selected films take part in a competition and are judged by an international jury which includes film directors, screenwriters and critics. The most important criteria are Jewish impact, aesthetic value and craftsmanship.
The Festival films compete in the following categories:
* Best Feature
* Best Documentary
* Best Short / Animation
The Festival prizes are:
* The statues of the Warsaw Phoenix - a symbol of revival
* Cash prizes (amounting to $ 45 000)
The organizers of the Jewish Motifs IFF cover the following expenses:
- travelling costs (return ticket) for the film director (one person per production)
- accommodation costs in Warsaw (hotel in the city center) for one person per production (or two persons in a double/twin room)
For pre-selection, we accept films produced in 2010 or later. Please send us PAL DVD (with English subtitles) only.
The submission deadline is 20th January 2012.
Films and entry forms should be sent to:
JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Wilcza 12C
00-532 Warsaw, Poland
Entry forms can also be sent via e-mail to Magda Maślak: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You will find more information about the Festival Rules, as well as the entry forms, on our website: www.jewishmotifs.org.pl
You can find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jewishmotifs
We strongly encourage you to take part in the competition, and watch the films during the Festival in Warsaw!
Kind regards,
Organizers - Jewish Motifs Association
The jury president for the Golden Tulip International Competition and the Golden Tulip National Competition of 31st Istanbul Film Festival, organised by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts under the sponsorship of Akbank in 31 March - 15 April, were appointed.
The Golden Tulip Jury President will be Nuri Bilge Ceylan at the International Competition
The Golden Tulip International Competition Jury will be led by renowned director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who lately won the Special Jury Prize in Cannes Film Festival with his latest film Once Upon A Time in Anatolia. In addition to the Golden Tulip as the Grand Prize of the festival, the jury will also present a director the Special Prize of the Jury for exceptional achievement. The International Competition will be supported by a total of 25,000 Euro monetary prizes to be given by the Eczacıbaşı Group in the memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı. Of this total amount, 10,000 Euros will be given to the Turkish distributor of the film to earn the Golden Tulip Best Film award.
The Golden Tulip National Competition Awards will be determined by the jury headed by Murathan Mungan
The Golden Tulip National Competition Jury will be headed by poet and writer Murathan Mungan, whose several works have been adapted to theater Mungan was also the screenwriter of Dağınık Yatak / An Untidy Bed by Atıf Yılmaz, considered a cult film by many. Lead by Mungan, the jury will hand out nine awards including the Best Turkish Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Director of Photography, Best Music, Best Editing, and Special Prize of the Jury.
The film to be selected as the Best Turkish Film will be awarded 150,000 TL, and the Best Director will be awarded 50,000 TL. The Best Actress and Best Actor will be awarded 10,000 TL each.
The Special Prize of the Jury, which was supported with a monetary award for the first time in 2011, will come to be distributed by Efes Pilsen this year. Among the films partaking in the Golden Tulip National Competition, the director of the film to win the Special Jury Prize in the memory of Onat Kutlar, will be awarded 30,000 US Dollars by Efes Pilsen to be used in his/her next film.
For further information: http://film.iksv.org/en
For images of the 31st Istanbul Film Festival: www.iksvpress.com/film2012
To apply for international press accreditations: http://film.iksv.org/en/press/accreditation
Dear friends,
we are happy to be sending you the programme of WEMW and more detailed information on selected projects, decision makers and one-to-one meetings. We kindly ask you to read carefully and come back to us in case you need any further help!
SELECTED PROJECTS
As we mentioned in our previous emails and newsletters, along with the “final line-up” of 18 projects selected for the public pitching, WEMW 2012 will present two new categories: “follow-up” (10 strong projects already presented in other European co-production markets) and “warm-up” (11 projects in a very early stage of development that look extremely promising). The producers of these last two selections will have the chance “to request only 4 individual meetings, whereas the producers selected for the pitching will have the chance to have meetings with all possible decision makers they wish to meet in Trieste. Please find attached the project catalogue with full information on the projects, producers, companies, writers and directors.
DECISION MAKERS & ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS
Please find attached the book of decision makers. Selected producers are requesting their meetings and we will do our best to try to satisfy all their wishes. Also decision makers can request a few one-to-one meetings both with producers or other decision makers. If you wish to pre-schedule some appointments we have attached a one-to-one decision makers form where you can write who you would love to meet. In order to be able to pre-arrange your meetings we kindly ask you to return the form via email at the latest before Sunday January 15th
PROGRAMME
Please find attached the almost definitive programme for decision makers with all the details regarding the several panel and pitching sessions.
We are really sorry for this extremely long email, but we hope you finally reached the end! Tomorrow you will receive a logistic letter with precise information on your accommodation and other important details on WEMW and your stay in Trieste.
We look forward to seeing you!
WEMW team
When East Meets West
Tel. +39 0432 500322
Fax +39 0432 200825
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
{mosimage}PRAGUE: The Czech animated film Fimfarum Third Time Lucky (www.maurfilm.com) is being released on 50 prints in France by distribution company Cinema Public Films. The film is the latest in a series of animated puppet films and will be accompanied by an exhibition of puppets at the Czech Centre in Paris.
{mosimage}PRAGUE: Polish director Agnieszka Holland is preparing to direct a film on Jan Palach, who died of self-immolation during the Czechoslovak protests of 1969.The news was made public as the Czech Republic commemorated the anniversary of Palach’s death in January 1969.
{mosimage}BUDAPEST: The Turkish crime show Ezel has been breaking TV viewer records in Hungary since its debut in April 2011. According to Today's Zaman, Turkish programmes have become the most popular shows on TV in Hungary.
{mosimage}WARSAW: Polish actor Jakub Gierszal and Romanian actress Ana Ularu will join the European Promotion (EFP, www.efp-online.com) Shooting Stars 2012 lineup at the Berlinnale this year.
WARSAW: The Wajda Studio (www.wajdastudio.pl) has announced a 31 January 2012 deadline for the 2012 EKRAN Training Program for Film Professionals. Nine participant teams of three persons each will be chosen for the programme.
The programme will focus on the creative preproduction process and
script development, with each team composed of a director (or writer/director),
writer (or co-writer), and producer, with an optional director of photography.
The programme is free of charge to participants.
