{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.

{mosimage}The Romanian/Irish feature documentary Off the Beaten Path, directed by Dieter Auner and produced by Cristian Mungiu (www.mobrafilm.ro), will have its theatrical release in France on 25 January 2011. Worldwide distribution is handled by Vienna based sales company EastWest Filmdistribution (www.eastwest-distribution.com). Following the French release, the film will be distributed in Estonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

HELSINKI: Kati Noura has been promoted to International information officer at the Finnish Film Foundation (www.ses.fi).

WARSAW: The Swedish-based broadcasting company Modern Times Group (MTG, www.mtg.se) signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Latvian commercial TV operator AS Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija (LNT, www.lnt.lv) in Latvia for an undisclosed cash consideration.

HELSINKI: A record 34 local films were released in Finland in 2011, taking 17% of the box office share, or 1.2 million admissions.

{mosimage}WARSAW: Polish title Sponsoring (Elles) directed by Malgorzata Szumowska will be the opening film of the Panorama section of the Berlinale 2012.