Market Analysis

Market Analysis (21)

MARKET ANALYSIS 2016

Malta saw a somewhat quieter year in 2016, albeit still managing to attract a few names and productions of note, and making significant steps towards the establishment of film as a medium of indigenous creative expression, artistic appreciation and academic inquiry.

PRODUCTION

Local film production saw two feature films made and benefiting from financial incentives from the Malta Film Commission: Peter Sant’s Maneland, an allegorical film about a king who lives with his three daughters in an island bunker, and Mark Doneo’s The Weeping House of Qala produced by his own Mad Movies Productions, a ghost story based on an urban legend about a dilapidated house.

U-Film resumed work on their miniseries entitled The Mystery of the Brittanic, completing episodes 2, 3 and 4, with Evgeny Tomashov and Sergey Veksler taking turns in the director’s chair. The same company also serviced Bulgarian director Javor Gardev’s Ikariya, a Russian sci-fi thriller based on the myth of Daedalus and Icarus.

Lana Wachowski brought Daryl Hannah and the rest of the Sense8 cast to shoot a special episode of the Netflix series, which was serviced by Pearly Gates. Another key figure, Gabriele Salvatores, filmed parts of Indigo Film and Rai Cinema’s Invisible Boy 2 / Il Ragazzo Invisible: Fratelli, with Valeria Golino. Latina Pictures took care of the shoot in Malta.

The largest foreign production was a retelling of the 1976 hijacking and subsequent rescue in the eponymous Entebbe, with José Padilha (Bus 174, RoboCop) calling the shots, and featuring Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl. Pellikola serviced the production for Working Title Films. Another remake, Papillon, brought Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek to Malta for a five-day shoot in the tanks at Malta Film Studios and at a cliff-side location. Red Granite pictures appointed the Producer’s Creative Partnership, which handled the production with Twenty13.

Schiwago Film and Amour Fou steered Wolfgang Fischer’s Styx towards Malta, filming in open water around the islands, and using the storm generation facilities at Malta Film Studios. Starring Susanne Wolff and Gedion Wekesa Oduor, the film narrates the transformation of a strong woman on a solo sailing trip. Small Island Films took charge of operations in Malta, again in collaboration with Twenty13.

A mini-series based on the 1996 Yohan migrant tragedy, The Ghosts of Portopalo / I Fantasmi di Portopalo, again used the aquatic facilities at MFS. With Beppe Fiorello in the lead, the Picomedia production teamed up with the Producer’s Creative Partnership.

The Mystery of Britannic seriesTelevision series constituted a significant percentage of productions that used Malta as a base for any length of time. Paul Parker handled the Smithsonian Channel and ZDF-backed Warrior Women: The Gladiatrix Episode for Urban Canyons. Katrina Samut-Tagliaferro in turn took care of the Christmas Special for the long-running BBC series Birds of a Feather, featuring Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. The Bravest / Danmarks Modigste, a large-scale endurance game show produced by Copenhagen-based Mastiff A/S, used the deep-water tank at the MFS as a set in itself, along with several other locations around Malta. Specialist Rock Productions helped make it happen.

Stargate Studios Malta, the key VFX provider in Malta, kept the ball rolling with three substantial jobs. The Embassy / La Embajada extended Stargate’s long-running relationship with Spanish studios, recreating Thailand on a Spanish set for Bambú Producciones. Canada-based Leif Films returned to the company with a work order for two biblical films: Joseph and Mary with Kevin Sorbo and Lara Jean Chorostecki in the lead roles, and The Apostle Peter: Redemption with familiar faces of John Rhys-Davies as Peter and Stephen Baldwin as Nero.

DISTRIBUTION

Rebecca Cremona’s Simshar kept on travelling with screenings in the UK in conjunction with We Are beyond Cinema, and in France with Visiosfeir Distribution. Festivals took the film to Chicago, New York, Leuven, France, Naples, Nice, Stockholm, Prague, Annaba, Zagora, Ashdod, New Delhi, Dubai, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago. And in time for the holiday season, the film made it to DVD.

Simshar’s online presence in the US and Canada spread to several networks including iTunes, Xbox, Amazon, Google Play, Time Warner Cable, AMC and the Sundance Channel, some of which made the film available to subscribers in Europe. The film was also picked up by regional networks like the Croatian B.net, Du in Dubai, OTE TV in Greece, MTN in South Africa, CableNet in Cyprus, SBB in Serbia, Solo in Nigeria and Telekom Slovenije.

GRANTS AND LEGISLATION

The Ministry of Tourism, under whose remit falls the Malta Film Commission, launched the first National Film Policy in January 2016, amid criticism that whilst a step in the right direction and inviting discussion on the preservation of film heritage, it did not go far beyond generic statements.

Released after a consultative process launched in the last quarter of 2015, the document assessed the current situation in the servicing industry, the local production situation, and the education possibilities available, making fairly generic forward-looking statements in each case. In particular, the report identified anomalous employment conditions in the servicing industry, particularly with the long hours crews were expected to work, but took a cautious approach in advocating changes.

The Malta Film Fund opened its yearly call in April and distributed 230,914 EUR in funds, split as follows:

SectionNumber of ProjectsTotal Funds Awarded
Writers’ Grant14,945 EUR
Development Grant130,000 EUR
Production Grant: Short Films, New Talent--
Production Grant: Short Films475,969 EUR
Production Grant: Feature Films1120,000 EUR

On the occasion of Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017 and Valletta’s tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2018, the Film Fund launched a surprise call in August 2016, making a further 250,000 EUR available albeit for production only. Results are expected to be released in February 2017. In conjunction with Arts Council Malta, Malta Film Commission also announced in December the intention to introduce Distribution Support in 2017.

Simshar by Rebecca CremonaUniversity of Malta's Master of Arts in Film Studies programme, funded by the Ministry of Tourism and the Malta Film Commission, saw first films made under the tutorship of Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia (writer-directors of Salvo, 2013 Grand Prix winner at the Semaine de la Critique), Scott Graham (writer-director of 2012 BAFTA-nominated Shell) and cinematographers Francesco Di Giacomo and Federico Angelucci. Robin Hardy gave a masterclass and presented the restored version of his acclaimed 1973 film The Wicker Man, his last public appearance before passing away in July 2016.

The sophomore edition of the Valletta Film Festival, with the support of the Malta Film Commission, had Sir Alan Parker as its patron, presenting a screening of Midnight Express (1978) in the same location it was filmed in. Jurors Carolina Hellsgard, Cosmina Stratan, Tamer El Said, Valery Rosier and Brontis Jodorowsky selected Måns Månsson’s The Yard as best film, and Laila Pakalnina, Yves Jeanneau and Hrönn Marinósdóttir laurelled Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina’s Walls as best documentary. Sidebar events included an international conference on the Cinema of Small European Nations.

Arts Council Malta, through its Culture Partnership Agreement, awarded funds for a three-year period to the Film Grain Foundation as organisers of the Valletta Film Festival, to Kinemastik (Kinemastik Short Film Festival) and to the Malta Film Foundation (Malta Short Film Festival).

TV

Malta has nine television channels, two of which are state-owned (TVM, TVM2), two are run by the main political parties (ONENet), and the rest are private. Three of the private channels have a General Interest Objectives licence (Smash TV, f LivingXejk), and the remaining two (iTV, Owners’ Best) are teleshopping channels. The national regulators are the Malta Broadcasting Authority for content and the Malta Communications Authority for matters related to transmission and the service providers.

Transmission is digital and, depending on the provider, via cable, terrestrial wireless, or IPTV. All GIO stations (public and private) are broadcast on a free-to-air platform managed by Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, the national organisation which runs all state-owned broadcast media.

PBS has a public service obligation, for which it was given a budget of 3,900,000 EUR in 2016, and through which it issues a yearly call for programmes of a diverse nature.

Styx by Wolfgang Fischer, Credit: Mark CassarThe National Book Council held its second annual short film contest with PBS, making available 7,000 EUR in production funds and 1,000 EUR in rights, to adapt a Maltese literary work for the screen. The project for 2016 was Il-Kompliċi, directed by Ryan Gatt from a short-story by Walid Nabhan.

Foreign television channels are readily available via cable, satellite and digital terrestrial transmission. And yet, Broadcasting Authority surveys, held thrice yearly, show that TVM, ONE and Net have retained their position at the top of viewership tables. Channels from Italian state broadcaster RAI, as well as Mediaset stations, fill in the subsequent slots, maintaining a long historical tradition of Maltese viewership. Overall, Maltese channels attracted an average of 66.87% of audience share (an increase of 3.05 points over 2015). Missing from the surveys, for reasons of understandable difficulty in quantification, is the number of viewers that in 2016 had taken to watching foreign programming, US series in particular, on un-licensed streaming services on their computers or through Android TV boxes. Netflix reached Maltese shores in January 2016, but statistics for the first year have not been made publicly available.

February 2016July 2016October 2016
ChannelRankPercentageRankPercentageRankPercentage
TVM139.05136.56133.47
ONE214.18218.12218.95
Net410.7448.1459.68
Smash150.33130.42130.29
TVM 2102.04111.2972.62
iTV140.39140.41120.31
f Living111.19121.00100.50
Xejk160.33150.19--
Owners’ Best----140.14
Parliament TV170.24----
Sub [%]68.4966.1565.96
Rai Chs.6, 12, 136.616, 10, 175.5464.21
Mediaset5, 7, 910.405, 7, 910.16313.38
BBC----91.71
Discovery Chs.82.4682.6382.37
MTV180.20160.12110.46
Other Station311.84315.41411.91
Sub [%]31.5133.8534.04
Total100100100

Source: Malta Broadcasting Authority

From the locally-made programming crop, drama remains the most popular format, consistently hitting the topmost slots. Strada Stretta from Sharp Shoot Media, a period series set in a particular Valletta street known for its hedonistic entertainment in Malta’s days as a British Colony, vied for first rank with Ċaqqufa, a series on female empowerment from Watermelon Media.

February 2016July 2016October 2016
ChannelProgrammeRankPercentageRankPercentageRankPercentage
TVMStrada Stretta114.2329.11114.29
TVMĊaqqufa213.7119.53--
TVMKatrina312.1338.39--
TVMĦbieb u Għedewwa48.7848.28211.84
TVMTereża----39.77

CONTACTS:

MALTA FILM COMMISSION
St Rocco Street
Kalkara KKR 9062
Malta
Phone: +356 2180 9135
www.maltafilmcommission.com 
Engelbert Grech, Film Commissioner
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jean Pierre Borg, PR & Marketing Executive
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Warrior Women. Copyright: Urban CanyonsCREATIVE EUROPE DESK MALTA
21, Chateau de la Ville
Archbishop Street
Valletta VLT1443
Malta
Phone: +356 2567 4210
www.creativeeuropemalta.eu 
Lisa Gwen Baldacchino, Head
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ARTS COUNCIL MALTA
Casa Scaglia
16, Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street
Valletta VLT 1311
Phone: + 356 2339 7000
www.artscouncilmalta.org 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Report: Kenneth Scicluna (2017)
Sources: Malta Film Commission, The Times of Malta, The Malta Independent, Malta Today, IMDb, Official Facebook Pages for Simshar, Limestone Cowboy, Filmed in Malta, Stargate Malta, Valletta Film Festival, University of Malta, Arts Council Malta, National Book Council, Malta Broadcasting Authority, Malta Communications Authority, Ministry for Finance.


Malta Country Profile

By Kenneth Scicluna

VALLETTA: Malta celebrated 90 years of filmmaking in 2015 with several milestones.

Michael Bay’s 13 Hours crowned, in terms of the 50m USD it left behind, a bumper crop of foreign productions that sought to film in Malta, 16 of which benefitted from the Malta Film Commission’s attractive incentive scheme. Other notable names that worked on the island in 2015 include Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac in Terry George’s The Promise, Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz in James Marsh’s The Mercy, and Michael Fassbender in Justin Kurzel’s Assassin’s Creed.

The Ministry for Tourism, responsible for the film commission, launched a draft National Film Policy along with a consultation process that eventually led to a document that was received with mixed feelings.  On the plus side, the MFC also signed agreements with the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, as well as the University of Malta, with the aim of creating a strong skill base. In the latter case this led to the launch of a hybrid Master of Arts programme in Film Studies with a practical component. Another initiative by the MFC brought together a crew composed of trainees to create a feature film, 20,000 Reasons, under the tutorship of Film London’s Microwave International programme, which was released locally in 2016.

Rebecca Cremona’s Simshar produced by Kukumajsa Productions Ltd won awards at festivals and gained distribution online in Tunisia and in Australia, and the second feature expected to attract foreign attention, Abigail Mallia’s Limestone Cowboy produced by Take2 Entertainment, entered a long phase of postproduction work. The difficulties of indigenous filmmaking in smaller countries were brought to European attention with a special session at the European Parliament, focussing on Malta and Croatia.

Cinema audiences increased by 8% over the previous year, overwhelmingly opting for US films, with European films getting a lukewarm reception and local productions little more than a sidelong glance overall, even though Simshar was popular with audiences. On the other hand, the Valletta Film Festival got off to a great start with Roland Joffé heading an international jury.

PRODUCTION

Two feature films of note were made in 2015, both with significant involvement from the Malta Film Commission and the Malta Film Fund that it administers. 

Abigail Mallia, a name known locally for above-par television drama, steered her Limestone Cowboy, part-financed with 90,000 EUR from the MFF, into postproduction. Based on a local political dark horse, the film attracted substantial attention throughout its gestation period due to the popularity of the actors featured and the involvement of substantial amounts of extras. Hopes for a 2015 release, teased by the periodic release of production stills, did not materialise however, with the film having its first screening during the 2016 Valletta Film Festival.

Jameson Cucciardi’s 20,000 Reasons, from a script by Malcolm Galea, was the fruit of a long training scheme masterminded by the film commission in conjunction with Film London’s Microwave International programme, and a budget of 200,000 EUR sourced from a European Social Fund scheme. Seeking to bolster skills across the board, the crew benefitted from mentorship throughout the various stages of the process with the film eventually reaching local screens in 2016.

U-Film started work on Dark Waters, a documentary series on wrecks in the Mediterranean, the kind of production uniquely posed to create having a sister company called U-Boat, which specialises in underwater research with the aid of two Triton submersibles.

Returned émigré Mario Philip Azzopardi, known for directing episodes of Star Gate, Dinotopia and Degrassi, produced two television films for Canadian eOne in coproduction with his own Ċittadella Films. Titled A Dangerous Arrangement (starring Tamara Duarte and Colm Meaney) and The Red Dress (with John Rhys-Davies and Once Upon a Time’s Sean Maguire), both films were written by Azzopardi, with the former also having him as director. A large part of the cast on both films was Maltese, with Stargate Malta handling visual effects.

Stargate, a rising VFX star this side of the Mediterranean, with strong support from its parent company in Canada, has helped create another pillar of interest for foreign production companies looking at bringing film work to Malta. Beyond the usual attractions of sunlight on the same latitude as Los Angeles, good weather, a variety of locations, marine facilities, and an affordably talented, multilingual cast and crew, the offer of high-grade value-for-money visual effects has been creating its own particular kind of business, which is no longer dependent on physical locations. In fact, most of the material that Stargate handled in 2015 was shot on location away from Malta. 

On the other hand, their participation in various projects opened a conduit for elements and scenes, sometimes on a fairly large scale, to be filmed in Malta. Some of the company’s larger projects included Pietro Mennea – La Freccia del Sud (Casanova Multimedia, Milk & Honey, Rai Fiction), I Misteri di Laura (Casanova Multimedia, Mediaset), El Principe (Plano a Plano, Mediaset España), Medici: Masters of Florence (Wild Bunch, Big Light, Lux Vide – with Dustin Hoffman), and You, Me and the Apocalypse (Working Title TV, Big Balls Films, Sky, NBC – with Jenna Fischer and Rob Lowe).

Italy has long found Malta a convenient location for its television series and acclaimed leading man Raoul Bova headed back to produce and star in Fuoco Amico: TF45 (RB Productions), which was serviced by veteran company White Coral Films.

The traditional servicing industry enjoyed an equally prosperous year with several high-profile and lucrative productions spending long periods, and large amounts of cash, on the island.

Latina Pictures serviced Michael Bay’s 13 Hours, which saw the construction of a sprawling set making Malta stand for Benghazi, a hectic six-month schedule and the injection of 50m USD into the local economy. Latina also handled Justin Kurzel’s Assassin’s Creed, with Michael Fassbender, which filmed in Valletta on a closely guarded set.

Falkun Films handled Terry George’s film on the Armenian genocide, The Promise, with Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac in lead roles, with Valletta this time standing in for Istanbul. The same company also facilitated the production of Stephen Quale’s The Lake with JK Simmons and Diarmaid Murtagh, which made extensive use of the aquatic facilities at the Malta Film Studios.

Russian director Yuriy Moroz brought leading man Maksim Matveyev to Malta to resume his eponymous role in the high-octane series The Gambler. U-Film provided the services, in keeping with the special relationship the company enjoys with the Russian film and television market.

Belgian company Studio 100 returned to Malta to shoot a film, with the assistance of Parker Film & TV, and featuring two characters highly popular with audiences in Flemish Belgium and the Netherlands: Mega Mindy vs Rox.

Small Island Films took care of Philippe de Chauveron’s Débarquement Immédiat!, whilst Twenty13 handled The Mercy, the Donald Donald Crowhurst project directed by James Marsh and featuring Rachel Weisz and Colin Firth.

DISTRIBUTION

Rebecca Cremona’s Simshar went from strength to strength in 2015, a feat remarkable not least because it was the first indigenous film to travel as far, as rapidly, and with as much acclaim as it did.

After finishing 2014 as the most popular Maltese film in local cinemas, and one of the two most popular films overall, Simshar made it again to local screens with a presence spanning the whole year from January to December. The film made it into the official selection of various festivals in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, winning Silver at the California Film Awards, the Silver Dhow at Zanzibar, the Golden Aphrodite at the Cyprus International Film Festival, Best International Feature at Edmonton in Canada, and the Best Director award at Agadir in Morocco.

The true breakthrough came in September 2015 with the general release in Australian cinemas through The Backlot Films, and in Tunisia via Hakka Distribution. Extended several times, the runs lasted until November 2015 down-under and till December 2015 in Tunisia.  Gravitas Ventures acquired the rights for the US and Canada and released it in November 2015 on the major VOD channels, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

FILM INSTITUTIONS

In March 2015, the Ministry of Tourism, under whose remit the Malta Film Commission falls, announced the appointment of a consultative council to draft the first national film policy, although the names of those involved were not made public. In September 2015 the draft document was released and a public consultation process launched until October 2015. 

The document assessed the current situation in the film services industry, the local production situation, and the education possibilities available, making fairly generic forward-looking statements in each case. In particular, the report identified anomalous employment conditions in the services industry, particularly with the long hours crew were expected to work, but took a cautious approach in advocating changes. 

The final report was released in January 2016, attracting criticism that, whilst it was a step in the right direction and it cast a glance at the need for a discussion on the preservation of film heritage, it did not go far beyond the generic statements of the draft document.

The Malta Film Fund distributed 243,000 EUR in funds, split as follows:

SectionNumber of ProjectsTotal Funds Awarded
Writers’ Grant312,400 EUR
Development Grant125,000 EUR
Production Grant: Short Films, New Talent25,000 EUR
Production Grant: Short Films116,000 EUR
Production Grant: Feature Films3185,000 EUR

In a drive to bolster film education in Malta, hitherto served by first degrees in media and communication studies at the vocational Malta College of Arts, Sciences and Technology, and at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences at the University of Malta, the Malta Film Commission signed agreements with both institutions. With MCAST, the commission signed a memorandum of understanding, through which Creative Arts students would be given the opportunity to create several featurettes under the mentorship of the film commission in the various elements required to create the clips.

At the University of Malta, the Ministry of Tourism and the film commission funded the Faculty of Arts to assist it in the setting up of a particular MA in Film Studies programme that aims to provide a solid theoretical and practical base in film.  Tutors in the first year included Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia (writer and directors of Salvo, 2013 Grand Prix winner at the Semaine de la Critique), Scott Graham (writer and director of 2012 Bafta-nominated Shell) and Gigi Roccati (Babylon Sisters, 2016).

The Valletta Film Festival, launched by the Film Grain Foundation, had its first edition in June 2015 and got off to an auspicious start. More than 5,000 tickets were sold for 77 screenings, with master classes also proving popular.

Also in June 2015, Maltese MEP Marlene Mizzi convened a seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels, to discuss the particular problems faced by the smallest filmmaking countries in Europe.  Using Simshar and Dalibor Matanić’s High Sun / Zvizdan (Croatia, Kinorama, kinorama.hr) as test cases, the seminar had Rebecca Cremona, Martina Petrović (Head of the Croatian Creative Europe Desk, Pauline Durand-Vialle (FERA CEO), Engelbert Grech (Malta Film Commissioner), Matteo Zacchetti (Deputy Head, DG Information Society and Media) and European Commissioner Günther Oettinger, as speakers.

The same topic was discussed through aesthetic, practical and academic lenses in September when the itinerant Small Nations Cinema Conference opened its 2015 sessions in Valletta.  Various filmmakers, scholars and practitioners from ancillary arts met to discuss and deliver papers on the particular voices emerging from the smallest filmmaking nations around the world.

Recognising the efforts made during the previous nine decades, Intellect added an edition on Malta to the seminal World Film Locations series, making it the only book to-date to study the productions made in Malta, of local and foreign origin, in relation to the context in which they were filmed.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

Ticket sales for Maltese films decreased to 2.9% of total sales in 2015 from 4.2% in 2014.  US films still lead the pack with 79% of seats sold (up from 73% in 2014), with EU films registering a meagre but steady 16%.

A total of 375 different titles were shown, up from 368 in 2014. Attendance overall registered an 8% increase, with ticket sales hitting 704,243 and raking in 4.19m EUR in gross receipts, of which Maltese productions pocketed just 0.1 m EUR. Whereas in 2014 Maltese films attracted the largest audience per film (average of 5,500) and had the greatest exposure (average of 280 screening days), the figures almost halved in 2015 (audience 2,500, screening days 70), losing out to films from the US on audience and hitting a draw on the latter figure.

A winner, in rather relative terms, was the documentary format, climbing up from 121 seats sold for two films, to 5,814 admissions for 15 films. On the other hand, stereoscopic films slid downwards to 9.4% of tickets sold from 12.8%.

TV

Malta has nine television channels, two of which are state-owned (TVM, TVM2), two are run by the main political parties (ONE and Net), and the rest are private. Three of the private channels have a General Interest Objectives licence (Smash TV, f LivingXejk), and the remaining two (iTV, Owners’ Best) are teleshopping channels. The national regulators are the Malta Broadcasting Authority for content and the Malta Communications Authority for matters related to transmission and the service providers.

Transmission is digital and, depending on the provider, via cable, terrestrial wireless, or IPTV. All GIO stations (public and private) are broadcast on a free-to-air platform managed by Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, the national organisation which runs all state-owned broadcast media.

PBS has a public service obligation for which it was given a budget of 3.9m EUR in 2015, and through which it issues a yearly call for programmes of a diverse nature.

The National Book Council launched an annual short film contest with PBS, making available 7,000 EUR in production funds and 1,000 EUR in rights, to adapt a Maltese literary work for the screen. The first project under the scheme was Dar ir-Rummien, directed by Federico Chini from a short story by Pierre J. Mejlak.

Arts Council Malta announced a scheme of its own with a budget of 280,000 EUR. Kultura TV co-finances culturally-relevant works which may be factual or fiction in nature, one-off films or serialised, as long as they are created in coproduction between one of the private television channels and a local production company. Six proposals out of 18 earned sufficient marks and were allocated a total of 184,456 EUR. Creators of televised series also have the option of applying for financing from the Malta Film Fund, although the latter intimates that they are more interested in pushing for material with international marketing potential.

Foreign television channels are readily available via cable, satellite and digital terrestrial transmission. And yet, Broadcasting Authority surveys, held thrice yearly, show that TVM, ONE and Net have retained their position at the top of viewership tables.

Channels from Italian state broadcaster RAI, as well as Mediaset stations, fill in the subsequent slots, maintaining a long historical tradition of Maltese viewership. Overall, Maltese channels attracted an average of 63.82% of audience share. Missing from the surveys, for reasons of understandable difficulty in quantification, is the number of viewers that in 2015 had taken to watching foreign programming, US series in particular, on un-licensed streaming services on their computers or through Android TV boxes. The only indications of a conjecturally substantial size of clandestine viewership came from debates on social media on series that were otherwise not available in Malta, and from the number of adverts for Android receivers. Netflix was still unavailable in 2015, being released to Maltese viewers in January 2016.

February 2015July 2015October 2015
ChannelRankPercentageRankPercentageRankPercentage
TVM136.63134.45139.06
ONE217.52315.90214.88
Net48.0948.0548.73
Smash160.23130.70120.52
TVM 2111.03120.8291.49
iTV150.31150.33180.07
f Living120.73110.88140.37
Xejk----150.20
Owners’ Best----160.15
Sub [%]64.5461.4465.47
Rai 163.9173.2764.76
Rai 282.32101.47110.88
Rai 3140.33140.54130.37
Rete 4101.1891.73101.10
Canale 555.3556.9955.66
Italia 173.8165.0074.08
Discovery Ch.92.2282.9682.91
MTV130.59170.15170.12
Other Station315.76216.45314.64
Sub [%]35.4638.5634.53
Total100100100

From the locally-made programming crop, drama remains the most popular format, consistently hitting the topmost slots. Ċaqqufa, a drama on female empowerment from Watermelon Media vied for first rank with Rewind Productions’ tale on two orphans, Katrina. A drama on a particular Valletta street, known for its hedonistic entertainment in Malta’s days as a British Colony, Strada Stretta from Sharp Shoot Media entered the charts at the fifth slot in October, to quickly climb to the top by February 2016.

February 2015July 2015October 2015
ChannelProgrammeRankPercentageRankPercentageRankPercentage
TVMĊaqqufa116.09214.63213.84
TVMKatrina213.55115.10114.94
TVMĦbieb u Għedewwa410.1147.7849.61
TVMStrada Stretta----59.49

CONTACTS

MALTA FILM COMMISSION
St Rocco Street
Kalkara KKR 9062
Malta
Phone: +356 2180 9135
www.maltafilmcommission.com 
Engelbert Grech, Film Commissioner
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jean Pierre Borg, PR & Marketing Executive
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CREATIVE EUROPE DESK MALTA
21, Chateau de la Ville
Archbishop Street
Valletta VLT1443
Malta
Phone: +356 2567 4210
www.creativeeuropemalta.eu 
Lisa Gwen Baldacchino, Head
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sources: Malta Film Commission, National Statistics Office, The Times of Malta, The Malta Independent, Malta Today, IMDb, Official Facebook Pages for Simshar, Limestone Cowboy, Filmed in Malta, Stargate Malta, Intellect Ltd, Valletta Film Festival, MCAST, University of Malta, Malta Broadcasting Authority
Report by Kenneth Scicluna

Montenegro

Breasts by Marija PerovićMARKET ANALYSIS 2020

PODGORICA: The budget of the Film Centre of Montenegro has been increasing each year since its establishment at the end of 2016. In 2020 the budget of the Film Centre of Montenegro increased to 1.4 m EUR, which is less than the planned 40% increase compared to 2019’s budget of 1.2 m EUR and 950,000 EUR in 2018.

The Film Centre of Montenegro became a member of the European Association of National Film Agencies – EFAD in January 2020.

All four planned national premieres of feature films have been postponed for 2021: Elegy of Laurel directed by Dusan Kasalica, Supermarket directed by Nemanja Becanovic, The Stork by award-winning Isa Qosja, and the debut feature After the Winter directed by Ivan Bakrac.

PRODUCTION

One feature film, The Face of Honour directed by Nikola Vukčević and produced by Galileo Production, and one long documentary, The Last Nomad by directors Petar Glomazić and Biljana Tutorov, produced by Cut-Up, were shot in 2020.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic's harsh conditions and tough government measures, many film projects in development have been suspended or cancelled in Montenegro, and the postproduction of some films stopped.

After the Winter by Ivan BakračAmong the affected films there were two titles produced by Artikulacija and ABHO Film: the debut feature After the Winter by Ivan Bakrač, and The Stork / Roda by Isa Qosja, which is produced by Montenegro’s Artikulacija Film in coproduction with ABHO Film and Aba Film from Montenegro, One Draft LLC from Kosovo and Tunnel Film from Albania. Pigmento Film from North Macedonia is expected to join as a coproducer.

Artikulacija production’s head Ivan Djurovic estimates the losses of his company, which is also engaged in production services and advertising, at between 45,000 and 50,000 EUR.

Elegy of Laurel directed by Dušan Kasalica and produced by Meander Film (Montenegro) in coproduction with Non Aligned Films (Serbia), had been set to wrap by the end of April 2020, but was stopped in its sound-mixing stage. The premiere and distribution were, thus, delayed indefinitely.

The Face of Honour / Djeca directed by Nikola Vukčević and produced by Montenegro's Galileo production in coproduction with Serbia's Cinnamon films was stopped in its development phase after filming its teaser in the first quarter of 2020.

Ivan Marinovic’s second feature Forever Hold Your Peace, coproduced by Adriatic Western (Montenegro), Sense Production (Serbia), Analog Vision, (Czech Republic), Kinorama (Croatia) and Krug Film (Northern Macedonia), had to delay its casting planned for the spring of 2020, as well as the location scouting planned for June 2020.

The short film Everything Went Smoothly / Sve je teklo svojim tokom, directed by Anja Jovanovic and produced by Videa production, completed its filming in 2020 and is now in postproduction.

The shooting of another short film, Boiling / Kljucanje directed by Luka Djurovic as an MA diploma work at FAMU Prague, began in 2020. The project is a coproduction between FAMU and the Montenegrin CUT-UP production production and will be entirely filmed in Montenegro.

There are several production companies in Montenegro experienced in working with international productions. Among them are production companies which can help on different stages of production, from preliminary location scouting, through putting international producers in touch with tax and legal advice services, shooting permits, The Elegy of Laurel by Dušan Kasalicaaccommodation, travel and catering arrangements, to casting, facilities and equipment rental, marketing, etc. More information is available HERE.

COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

In order to compensate for the negative consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic in the cultural sector, the Ministry of Culture launched in cooperation with the Film Centre of Montenegro a public call for emergency support in the amount of 500,000 EUR in the field of creativity, for the cultural workers most affected by the crisis. This public call addressed co-financing activities in the field of cultural and artistic creativity that served the public interest, and the protection of the socio-economic interest of unemployed artists and culture professionals, culture entrepreneurs, freelance artists, and cinemas/businesses whose activity had been suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It applied to film production companies, cinemas and individuals, along with others in the creative sector.

Additionally, on 24 March 2020 the Film Centre of Montenegro announced a public call for co-financing of film works, for script development and project development, ahead of the planned calendar of the competition and with larger commitments. The deadline for submitting the applications for both calls was 24 April 2020.

“The Ministry of Culture and the Film Centre of Montenegro immediately launched the first measures in order to help, above all, those film workers and companies most affected by the current situation: freelancers and cinemas. We also announced public calls for film script and project development, applications which can be completed online from homes. Many obligations of the Film Centre within the national and international frameworks are delayed or transformed, so we are in a highly challenging situation, in which we must continue our regular work and be ready for the return of regular conditions”, said the Director of Film Centre of Montenegro Sehad Čekić in April 2020.

In March 2020 the Agency for Electronic Media of Montenegro decided to exempt commercial and public broadcasters (both radio and television) from the obligation to pay broadcasting fees in the next three months. These obligations were reduced by approximately 80,000 EUR.

The Face of Honour by Nikola VukcevicDISTRIBUTION

The main local film distributors in Montenegro are MCF MNE and Taramount film d.o.o. Since 2013 Montenegro has been submitting a candidate for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, which contributes to the increasing visibility of Montenegrin films on the international scene.

In 2020 the popular TV series turned into a feature film Breasts directed by Marija Perovic was selected by the selection committee of the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture as Montenegro’s official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. The film was produced by Montenegro's Open Box Studio in association with Montenegro's Meander film and in coproduction with Croatia’s Mitropa and Serbia’s Visionary Thinking.

The Otter directed by Srdjan Vuletic and produced by Artikulacija received the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at the 2020 CineLink Co-Production Market, the industry platform of the Sarajevo FF. The project Valley of Monuments (working title) directed by Srdjan Vuletic and produced by Artikulacija Film was awarded Best Pitch at the 10th edition of the Coproduction Forum of the When East Meets West, the industry segment of the Trieste Film Festival.

Planet 7693 directed by Gojko Berkuljan and produced by A Production received a development grant from the SEE Cinema Network. The project also received an award at Kids Kino Industry in Warsaw, consisting in an invitation to the next edition of Kids Kino Lab, and it also won Best Pitch at the 2020 Pitch Balkan within the Balkan Film Market in Tirana.

The Montenegrin feature film project Scarab directed by Mladen Vujačić and produced by Far Production, received a six-month mentorship of a script doctor at the workshop My First Screenplay within the Industry section of the 18th Zagreb FF. Earlier, the project had been awarded a special jury prize at the Best Pitch – PriForum, within the PriFilmFest.

The Film Centre of Montenegro participated for the 4th time in the Marché du Film, held within the Cannes Film Festival. In 2020 the market was held online.

Forever Hold Your Peace by Ivan MarinovićThe Film Centre of Montenegro also promoted film locations in Montenegro at the 2020 FOCUS Digital in London, held online from 15 to 17 December 2020.

The first cycle of contemporary Montenegrin films was organised online in Argentina in August 2020, supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro and Gestion Cultural in Buenos Aires, Cine Club Nucleo, and Cine Arte. Six films were screened free of charge on the streaming platform of Arte Lumiere Cinema.

The Cinematheque of Uruguay screened, with the support of Film Centre of Montenegro and at the initiative of the Montenegrin community in Uruguay, five contemporary Montenegrin films within the 4th edition of the Balkan Film Festival in Montevideo, from 6 to 12 December 2020.

In 2020 Underhillfest was held slightly later than its regular dates (16-23 June); the Herceg Novi FF, usually held in the first week of August, was cancelled altogether; the 2020 edition of the young Seanema FF, usually held during four days in September in Ulcinj on the Adriatic Coast, took on a hybrid form, combining online and in-person activities from 1 to 4 October 2020; the Podgorica FF usually held in December, had its 6th edition online from 15 to 20 December; the Green Montenegro IFF, usually held in the first week of August, moved its dates to 18-21 December 2020 and was held online. The Fast Forward Human Rights FF also went online on its fixed traditional dates of 10-14 December 2020.

Camera Lucida, the first and only film magazine in Montenegro, founded in 2010, is published on a quarterly basis in its multilingual editions, providing film reviews, homages to the greatest world film authors, festival reports and interviews with both established film figures and newcomers. In 2020 Camera Lucida published six new issues (48 altogether), including the special 45th issue marking its 10th anniversary in June 2020.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

There are two multiplexes, with 10 screens, and eight other one-screen cinemas in Montenegro.

In 2020 the Film Centre of Montenegro signed contracts with several cities and with the Ministry of Culture for the digitalisation of cinemas in the towns of Ulcinj, Bar, Kotor and Cetinje.

The Montenegrin Cinematheque and the Music Centre of Montenegro officially moved to a new building on 3 November 2020, after two decades of waiting. In the new building, the Cinematheque has a small cinema, a big concert hall, which will be equipped with DCP for film screenings, a summer stage for open-air screenings and a mediatheque including a space for various events.

The Otter by Srđan VuletićThe Montenegrin Cinematheque is engaged in a documentary film project financed by the Ministry of Culture within the programme of protection and preservation of cultural heritage. The film Paths of Doclea Heritage / Putevima dukljanske bastine, directed by veteran film author Branko Baletić, focuses on the presentation of the preserved and newly-discovered artifacts of the most important antique location in Montenegro.

The total admissions were 92,510 and box office was 333,017 EUR in 2020.

In 2019 total admissions were 307,324 and box office was 1,175,315 EUR.

Cineplexx Podgorica, which was closed from 13 March to 3 September 2020, reported total admissions of 71,118 in 2020, compared to 285,359 in 2019. Its total box office was 257,848,70 EUR, compared to 1,082,157 EUR in 2019.

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

The Film Centre of Montenegro was established in the last days of 2016 and it is headed by producer Sehad Čekić, who was approved for a four-year mandate in 2017.

The film industry of Montenegro is governed by the Law on Cinematography from 2015, which received enormous support from decision makers, the film community and the international community.

The Law on Culture approved in 2018 governs the area of culture and the establishment of public institutions in Montenegro.

The Film Centre of Montenegro is administered by a Council composed of five members. The Government appoints four members of the Council from the rank of experts in film and culture, and the fifth one is appointed from among the employees of the Centre. The Centre is financed from both the budget of Montenegro and the Film Fund, generating revenues on the basis of fees paid by entities that, directly or indirectly, exploit cinematographic works.

Valley of Monuments by Srdan Vuletic, photo: Artikulacija FilmThe following entities are obliged to pay the levy to the Film Fund:

  • public service - 5% of the total annual revenues generated from marketing;
  • commercial broadcasters with national coverage – 0.8% of annual revenues;
  • operators providing cable, satellite and internet distribution services, radio and television programmes (KDS/MMDS/IPTV/DTH platforms), representing their core activity - 2% of realised annual revenues;
  • cinemas - 3% of every sold cinema ticket, of which 1.5% shall be borne by the exhibitor, and 1.5% shall be borne by the distributor of the cinematographic work;
  • public communications network operators, including internet access operators - 0.9% of annual revenue generated from Internet services, distribution of TV programmes and rental of cinematographic works;
  • providers of video-on-demand rental services, representing their core activity - 3% of realised annual revenues.

In 2020 the Film Centre of Montenegro granted 825,000 EUR for production (domestic and minority coproductions), films for children and youth, short films, animated films, as well as for script development, project development and complementary activities.

The Film Centre of Montenegro offers incentives to foreign and national producers shooting in Montenegro. Producers have the possibility to obtain a cash rebate on the invested funds for a film/TV project. The refund can cover up to 25% of eligible expenditures incurred in Montenegro for the making of an audiovisual work. The right to a cash rebate may be granted to the producer, a coproducer, or a production company that performs services. The right to a cash rebate for part of the funds spent on film production can be acquired by a producer for the production of live-action, animated and documentary films, TV films and series which are fully or partially produced in Montenegro and which are intended for public presentation.

Two TV series completed the shoot of their second seasons in Montenegro in 2020 -  Debt To The Sea / Dug moru produced by Monte Royal International, and Besa produced by Telekom Serbia, Adrenaline, Red Planet Pictures (UK) and Montenegrin Natenane. Both productions applied for and were granted a cash rebate.

The Film Centre of Montenegro became a member of the European Association of National Film Agencies – EFAD in January 2020.

Besa series, credit: AdrenalinTV

When the Coronavirus pandemic broke out, actions were undertaken to keep film and culture in the public eye. Beginning on 23 March 2020, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the public broadcaster TVCG dedicated its second channel's TVCG 2 evening programme to exclusively culture related content, including feature and documentary films. The special focus of this programme was Contemporary Montenegrin Cinema, broadcasting one recently produced Montenegrin film each evening.

In May 2020, the Film Centre of Montenegro gave urgent aid grants for complementary film activities, in the total amount of 71,000 EUR, to three TV channels for their film education programmes: TV Vijesti (25,000 EUR), TV Nova M (24,000 EUR) and TV Prva (22,000 EUR).

There are 18 TV channels operating in Montenegro, including three public channels TVCG 1TVCG 2 and TVCG Sat (for the Montenegrin diaspora) and local public channels TV NikšićTV Budva and TV Pljevlja. The most popular commercial TV channels are TV Nova MTV Vijesti and TV Prva. Other commercial channels are TV Rožaje, Srpska TV, TV 777TV Corona, TV Boin, TV Novi, TV Sun and TV HN.

According to the Article 15 of the Law on public broadcasting services in Montenegro, the Radio Television in Montenegro (RTCG) is funded from: the general revenue of the budget of Montenegro in the amount of approximately 1.2% of the current budget, advertisement production and broadcast, the production and sales of audiovisual services; programme endorsements and also the organisation of concerts and other events.

CONTACTS:

FILM CENTRE OF MONTENEGRO
Bulevar Džordža Vašingtona 98, Podgorica
Phone: +382 (0)20 675 238
www.fccg.me
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MEDIA DESK MONTENEGROBreasts by Marija Perović
13. Jula, bb, 81000 Podgorica
Phone: +382 (0)20 675 238
www.kreativnaevropa.me
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF MONTENEGRO - Directorate for Cultural and Artistic Production
Ulica Njegoševa bb, 81250 Cetinje, Crna Gora
Phone: +382 (0)41 232 571
www.mku.gov.me
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MONTENEGRIN CINEMATHEQUE
Miljana Vukova 59, 81000 Podgorica
Phone: +382 (0)20 232 016
www.kinoteka.me
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ASSOCIATION OF FILM PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS OF MONTENEGRO
Novaka Miloševa 42, 81000 Podgorica
Phone: +382 67 568 110
www.afpd.me

CAMERA LUCIDA
Crnogorskih serdara 31, 81000 Podgorica
www.cameralucida.net
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Report by Maja Bogojevic (2021)
Sources: Film Centre of Montenegro, Montenegrin Cinématheque, Cineplexx Podgorica

goEast 2017: Hello, Gurus - Goodbye, Hate!

New Festival Section: goEast Gurus // Competitions, Awards & Juries // OPPOSE OTHERING! // Registering for Accreditation

goEast GURUS

With the new section goEast Gurus, goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (to take place in Wiesbaden, Germany, from April 26th to May 2nd 2017) is opening up a special platform to filmmakers whose pioneering work has been the object of particular admiration from audiences and festival organizers for years now. Independent of the premiere status of the works in question, goEast Gurus will present cinematic highlights from the international festival circuit, straight from Cannes, Venice, Toronto or beyond. The first edition of this unique section wouldn't be complete without the presence of an important contemporary director: Cristi Puiu. His most recent outing, SIERANEVADA, which was nominated for the Palme d'or, will be screened in goEast Gurus, alongside many other compelling films from treasured auteurs.

Screen Shot 2017 03 02 at 14.06.24

COMPETITIONS, AWARDS AND JURIES

The Competition for Fiction Features and Documentaries promises its share of surprises, discoveries and controversies. Already confirmed for inclusion in the program is the Croatian debut film QUIT STARING AT MY PLATE (NE GLEDAJ MI U PIJAT) by Hana Jušić, in which a young woman (Mia Petričević) attempts to break free from her family after her tyrannical father suffers a stroke. The program also features EXILED (PELNU SANATORIJA), a Latvian-Lithuanian co-production directed by Dāvis Sīmanis. Sīmanis' film is set in Latvia in the last year of the First World War and tells the story, based on historical fact, of a German surgeon who happens upon the sealed-off world-within-a-world inhabited by shell-shocked patients in a hospital. Lead actor Ulrich Matthes is expected to attend the festival.

In addition to vying for the right to take home the Golden Lily for Best Film (endowed with prize money of 10,000 euros), the featured productions, chosen by the goEast selection committee chaired by festival director Gaby Babić, will also be competing for the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director (7,500 euros) as well as the Award of the Federal Foreign Office for Cultural Diversity (4,000 euros). In all, ten fiction features and six documentary films, together representing the diversity of Central and Eastern European auteur cinema and painting a nuanced emotional portrait of Central and Eastern Europe, are nominated to take part in the competition. The prize winners are determined by a five-member international jury and the awards ceremony at Caligari FilmBühne is the jubilant climax of the festival. A jury representing FIPRESCI also presents the International Film Critics' Award to one fiction feature and one documentary film respectively.

The Open Frame Award, worth 5,000 euros, is awarded in the framework of the Experimental Film and Video Art Competition. The award, endowed by BHF-BANK Foundation, honours the best work from young artists or filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe or from students from one of Hessen's film or art academies.

Further prizes, with a total value of 23,500 euros, are awarded in the festival's own dedicated projects for the fostering of young talent. In the East-West Talent Lab, the goEast Development Award, endowed with prize money in the amount of 3,500 euros by Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, goes to the best film project, while in OPPOSE OTHERING! five directorial duos are set to receive productions grants of 4,000 euros per team.

OPPOSE OTHERING!

Brexit, the recent election campaign in the USA, radical Islamism, populism - all of these phenomena make it abundantly clear that the fight for solidarity and equality around the world is far from over. With the support of Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”, goEast is making a contribution to the cause: The goEast project OPPOSE OTHERING!, along with the section of the same name, is devoted to the examination of various manifestations of othering - a term denoting focussed misanthropy directed at groups and the marginalisation of people of different social, religious or ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations and/or gender identities. The featured films treat solidarity and civil courage and portray individuals who have chosen to take a stand against discrimination. Five young directorial duo teams from Germany and Central and Eastern Europe are currently in the process of completing films that deal with othering, to be premiered at goEast. Ten new filmmaking tandems will participate in a workshop and film program at goEast 2017. Five of the nominated tandems will be awarded production grants in the amount of 4,000 euros each for the realisation of their project ideas. // www.oppose-othering.de

The complete program for the 17th edition of goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be announced at the beginning of April.

The first press release for goEast 2017, published in January (originally from 25.1.2017, with a thematic focus on women in film) can be found at here

goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by Deutsches Filminstitut and supported by numerous partners. The festival is primarily funded by the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ), Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland, BHF-BANK Foundation, the Adolf und Luisa Haeuser-Stiftung für Kunst und Kulturpflege, the Federal Foreign Office, Deutsch-Tschechische Zukunftsfonds, the municipality of Eschborn and Krušovice. Media partners include among others 3sat, the FAZ and hr-iNFO.

REGISTERING FOR ACCREDITATION

goEast offers representatives of the reporting press the opportunity to register for professional accreditation free of charge. We would like to extend a very warm invitation to join us in Wiesbaden from April 26th to May 2nd 2017 for the 17th edition of our festival and we look forward to your coverage.

 

The accreditation form and further details are available here

 

The press conference for this year's goEast Film Festival will take place on Thursday April 20th at 11 AM at Caligari FilmBühne in Wiesbaden.

For more information, please contact:

NOISE Film PR
Mirjam Wiekenkamp & Saskia April Kluge
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

North Macedonia

Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara KotevskaMARKET ANALYSIS 2020

SKOPJE: It was a challenging year for the industry in North Macedonia, as everywhere. Filming became complicated, cinemas went dark, festivals were moved and canceled.

However, the year started with one of the greatest chapters in Macedonian film history. The documentary Honeyland / Medena zemja directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov was nominated in the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories at the Academy Awards. It was not only the first time when a Macedonian film got two Oscar nominations, but also the first time when a documentary was nominated at the Oscars in the two categories.

In March 2020 Honeyland cinematographers Samir Ljuma and Fejmi Daut received the ASC Documentary Award for exceptional cinematography in non-fiction filmmaking as well as the International Federation of Cinematographers IMAGO International Award for Best Cinematography in a documentary.

Honeyland became the most watched domestic film at the box office with approximately 5,000 admissions from January until the cinemas closed in early March 2020.

In the same period, the Macedonian short film Sticker / Nalepnica directed by Georgi M. Unkovski premiered in the International Narrative Short Films at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Best Narrative Short Prize at the Brooklyn Film Festival. The film received over 40 awards (at over 170 festivals) and qualified for a further Oscar Sticker by Georgi M. Unkovskinomination.

The government adopted several decisions to support filmmakers at the beginning of May 2020, providing financial support for independent film workers. The procedures were carried out through the North Macedonia Film Agency.

Academy Award nominee Milcho Manchevski’s Willow / Vrba was selected as North Macedonia’s candidate for the 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the Best International Feature Film category.

In December 2020, Bojan Lazarevski was named acting director of the North Macedonia Film Agency.

Irena Stefoska was appointed the Minister of Culture of North Macedonia on 31 August 2020.

PRODUCTION

In 2020 North Macedonia produced three feature films supported by the North Macedonia Film Agency (excluding minority coproductions), which were shot under the safety guidelines for filming prepared by the North Macedonia Film Agency and the Association of Macedonian Film Professionals in May-June 2020.

These three films are: Eleonora Veninova`s debut feature Sabattier Effect / Preeksponirano produced by DNF Films and coproduced by Serbian Lilit, Goce Cvetanovski's debut feature The Day of the Woman / Denot na zenata produced by Makedonska krepost, and Darijan Pejovski's sophomore feature Mimi produced by Skopje Film Studio in coproduction with Croatia's Maxima Film and Kosovo`s In My Country Post Production.

The Day of the Woman is the first feature film shot by cinematographer Fejmi Daut after Honeyland.

Two more short films produced by the Agency were filmed under strict protocols: Common Eli / Obicnata Eli by Lavinija Sofronievska, produced by Minimal kolektiv, and Tina`s Problem / Problemot na Tina by Radovan Petrovic, produced by Partizans.

Willow by Milcho ManchevskiThe independent low-budget feature film The Other Side / Drugata strana directed by Martin Cicovski and produced by Marvi Productions was also shot in the summer of 2020.

The shootings for the debut features Everybody Calls Rexho by Ibrahim Deari, produced by Manufaktura Produkcija, and Osvetlen by Srđan Janićijević, produced by Novo Makedonsko Video, were postponed for 2021.  

The Croatian/Macedonian coproduction Do Pigs Go to Heaven? / Nosila je rubac crleni directed by Goran Dukic, completed filming in 2020. The film is produced by Croatian Svenk and coproduced by Macedonian Vertigo Visual.

The Slovenian/Croatian/Macedonian coproduction Grandpa Goes South also began production in August 2020 after it had been postponed twice due to the pandemic. The film is produced by the Slovenian A Atalanta in coproduction with Sektor film (North Macedonia) and  MP Films (Croatia).

The minority coproduction Deadlock / Zastoj directed by Vinko Möderndorfer and produced by Forum Ljubljana in coproduction with Delirium (Serbia) and Sektor Film (North Macedonia), was completed in 2020.

The long documentary Ganja Will Set You Free / Konoplja osvobaja directed by Miha Čelar entered postproduction in 2020. The film is produced by Astral film in coproduction with Wolfgang&Dolly (Croatia), Platforma (Serbia) and Award Film & Video (North Macedonia).

COVID-19 GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 

Several aid measures for filmmakers and projects were put in place by the Government throughout 2020.

Sabattier Effect by Eleonora Veninova shootingOn 24 March 2020, the North Macedonia Film Agency gave out an emergency financial support from its annual budget to film projects that were completed or in the process of completion, to be used to cover contractual costs towards freelancers and others.

The Agency then set up a commission, together with the Macedonian Film Professionals Association, to establish the standards based on which filmmakers would receive further necessary assistance. At that time the North Macedonia Film Agency also started to actively prepare the basic safety guidelines for filming.

In April 2020 the Government decided to subsidise the companies for their employees’ April and May salaries in the form of a payment of a monthly net of approximately 250 EUR / 14,500 MKD. Although it was a general measure for all businesses, private cinemas and production and distribution companies applied as well.

On 27 May 2020, the Government of North Macedonia adopted a decision to provide financial support for independent film workers (freelancers) in the form of a payment of a monthly net of approximately 250 EUR / 14,500 MKD for March and April provided from the COVID-19 Crisis Management Assistance and Support Fund. The procedure was carried out through the North Macedonia Film Agency, which on 1 June 2020 published a public call for applicants who had been hired to work on projects that were canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Government of North Macedonia approved financial support for film workers affected by COVID-19 at its 11 December 2020 session. The new package of measures included 404,529 EUR / 24,948,000 MKD for artists and film workers, among others.

A total of 462 beneficiaries who applied through the call announced by the Ministry of Culture were planned to receive from 235 EUR to 350 EUR (depending on their income) for a period of three months.

Grandpa Goes South by Vinci Vogue AnžlovarAdditionally, film workers could also qualify for one-time financial support to buy domestic products and services in the amount of 97 EUR / 6,000 MKD per person.

The list of film workers-beneficiaries of this Law was prepared by the Public Revenue Office using data from the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the North Macedonia Film Agency. The Ministry of Culture had announced a public call for the preparation of a list of artists and other persons engaged in cultural activities on 9 December 2020.

As a consequence, film workers were temporarily able to access funds to alleviate hardship, while film and TV production continued to operate under the COVID-19 Film Production Guidelines.

DISTRIBUTION

Three domestic feature films were released in 2020, compared to five majority productions in 2019.

A total of 22 domestic films shot in 2019 (five feature films, six documentaries and 11 short films) were screened at the second edition of the Golden Frame Macedonian film review in February 2020, organised by the Association of Macedonian Film Professionals and the North Macedonia Film Agency

The year 2020 was again very successful for the international recognition of Macedonian films. Following the Oscars, Honeyland directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, and produced by Trice Films and Apollo Media, was released by Umbrella Films in Australia and New Zealand from 5 March 2020. As of February 2020 Honeyland grossed 727,169 EUR in the USA and Canada, and 20,379 EUR in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of 747,548 EUR since it was released in the USA by Neon on 26 July 2019.

A release in other European countries, South and North America, China, Japan, South Africa and Turkey should have followed, but was disrupted by the pandemic. Deckert Deadlock by Vinko Möderndorfer, photo: Željko StevanićDistribution is handling the sales.   

The minority coproduction The Flying Circus by Fatos Berisha was presented the Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film during the 35th Santa Barbara IFF in January 2020. The film is a Kosovan/Albanian/Macedonian coproduction between B2 Kosovo, B2 Albania, Macedonian Black Cat Production and Ikone Studio Kosovo. 

The Romanian director Cristi Puiu won Best Director at the Berlinale’s new Encounters section for Malmkrog, which was produced by Mandragora (Romania) and coproduced by iadasarecasa (Romania), SENSE Production (Serbia), Cinnamon Films (Serbia), Film i Väst (Sweden), Doppelganger (Sweden), Bord Cadre Films (Switzerland), Produkcija 2006 Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Sisters and Brothers Mitevski (North Macedonia).

Eleonora Veninova`s debut feature Sabattier Effect, produced by DNF Films, was selected for the 17th edition of the Sofia Meetings. Also, Macedonian films M by Vardan Tozija, produced by Focus Pocus in coproduction with Croatia’s 4 Film, Kosovo’s In My Country and Greek 2|35, and Sister by Dina Duma, produced by List Production in coproduction with Kosovo's Added Value Films, Montenegro's Videa Production and France's Arizona Productions, were selected for Sofia Meetings Works in Progress.

Sister also participated in the cocoWIP Projects 2020 of the 22nd edition of connecting cottbus. Director Gjorche Stavreski and producer Ivana Shekutovska from Fragment Film pitched the film Swaps in development in the cocoPITCH Projects 2020.

The Sign by Eleonora Veninova was selected for We Are One: A Global Film Festival held on YouTube from 29 May to 7 June 2020. The film was part of an omnibus project of Southeast European Factory (SEE Factory) inspired by the concept "La Factory" founded by Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2019, where it had its premiere.

Snow White Dies in the End / Snezana umira na krajot by Kristijan Risteski was presented at Karlovy Vary’s Eastern Promises Works in Progress in July 2020. The producer is Vertigo Visual.

North Macedonia’s writer-director and LUX Award winner Teona Strugar Mitevska participated in Thessaloniki Film Festival’s initiative Spaces on YouTube, alongside renowned directors from all over the world, who prepared short films at home. Mitevska also participated with her project The Happiest Man in the World in the 16th edition M by Vardan Tozijaof Cannes L’Atelier- Cinéfondation (14-21 May 2020).

The Macedonian minority coproduction Andromeda Galaxy / Galaktika e Andromedes directed by More Raça had its world premiere in the Competition Programme - Feature Film 2020 of the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival. The film was produced by Arena (Kosovo) in coproduction with 39 Films (Italy), Ad hoc studios (Spain), Deluxe (Italy), Nephilm Producciones (Spain), No problem sonido (Spain), DMF Films (North Macedonia).

The main distributors in Macedonia are: MCF MK, Konstantin film MKD, KT Film & MediaCutaway and Uzengija, which dominate mostly the art house market. The leading distributors of mainstream cinema on the Macedonian market are the Croatian Continental Film doo, 2iFilm, the Croatian Blitz Film and Video Distribution and Premium Film.  

In 2020 Macedonian distributors applied for distribution support from the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme for the third time, with MCF MK and KT Film & Media supported in the call for selective distribution, and Cutaway in the call for automatic distribution.

The biggest Macedonian distribution success in 2020 was the documentary Honeyland / Medena zemja, which was screened in 30 cities in North Macedonia since its release in August 2019. The film racked up around 5,000 admissions from January 2020 until the cinemas closed in March 2020, making it the most watched domestic film of 2020 in Macedonian cinemas.

Two domestic feature films supported by the North Macedonia Film Agency had their premieres in 2020 – the Macedonian/Serbian/German coproduction Stela directed by Stojan Vujicic and produced by Dream Factory in coproduction with Akcija Production and MOUNA GmbH Film & Media Studio, whose premiere was postponed from March to 1 October 2020, and Homo directed by Igor Ivanov and produced by Skopje Film Studio in coproduction with Bulgaria’s Gala Film, the Belgrade-based Art & Popcorn, Slovenia`s Iridium Film and Kosovo`s Trigger, which was domestically released on 22 October 2020.

The low-budget independent feature film TM directed and produced by Ivica Dimitrijevic and Martin Ivanov through MI Film, was released in cinemas on 8 October 2020.

The crisis largely disrupted the festivals cycle. As a result, festivals were canceled, postponed and challenged to go hybrid or fully online.

Sister by Dina DumaThe first to go fully online was the Philosophical Film Festival from 21 to 31 May 2020.

The 23rd edition of the Skopje Film Festival, which had been due in April, was held 9-16 September 2020 with open-air screenings and a limited number of seats.

The 41st edition of the International Cinematographers` Film Festival Manaki Brothers was celebrated by a formal one-hour event in Bitola on 19 September 2020 as well as several online activities, which didn't include online competition screenings. The highest awards, the Golden Camera 300 for Lifetime Achievement was presented to the Polish-American cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, and the Big Star of Macedonian Film Award to the director Stole Popov.

The CINEDAYS Festival of European Film celebrated its 19th edition with a reduced programme from 18 to 24 September 2020, two months earlier than its regular November dates.

The Festival of Creative Documentary Film Makedox celebrated its 11th edition from 19 to 26 August 2020 as a hybrid edition and without foreign guests.

The North Macedonia Film Agency organised a Macedonian promotional e-pavilion within the virtual Cannes’ Marché du Film from 22 to 26 June. The Agency presented eight feature films, as well as the latest catalogues with all the new film projects from 2019-2020 and films in development.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION  

The pandemic has accelerated the experimentation with the length of theatrical windows for TV and other platform launches. The crisis has created favourable conditions for platforms offering online film streaming, whose users numbers increased significantly during the quarantine.

During the quarantine the only Macedonian VoD platform Cinesquare made more than 200 films available online and free of charge to its users as an act of solidarity. The free films were available from 1 April until 15 May 2020 as part of the #StayHome campaign. The feature films, documentaries and short films were available for free in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey for viewers who Snow White Dies in the End by Kristijan Risteskiregistered on cinesquare.net or the Android app available on Google Play.

Additionally, Cinesquare offered free of charge all the films selected for its 5th edition of the SEE Online Film Festival in April 2020.

Cinesquare, which is an initiative of the Cutaway Distribution Company and is supported by Eurimages, the North Macedonia Film Agency and MEDIA Creative Europe, recorded a two-to-threefold increase in traffic and had requests to put on festivals online, including the Philosophical Film Festival (21-31 May 2020), the Flipbook Film Festival (7-13 August 2020), the Festival of Creative Documentary Film Makedox (19 August – 20 September 2020) and the Galichnik Film Festival (28-30 August 2020). 

In April 2020, Cinesquare signed a partnership with the Macedonian Cinematheque to screen online the documentary Galichnik, filmed in 1940 by the amateur filmmaker Sifrid Miladinov. Ten more archive films were presented and screened within this collaboration. The Cinematheque of North Macedonia also shared more than 20 films from its archive for online watching on its platform, including the early Manaki Brothers films.

The short film Sticker / Nalepnica directed by Georgi M. Unkovski premiered on HBO GO in 2020.

In June 2020, due to the increased number of Covid cases in the country, Milcho Manchevski shared a free online streaming of his 2001 film Dust / Prasina, which was produced by UK's History Dreams, Germany's ena Film, Italy's Fandango Film and Macedonia's Shadow Films.

The most watched domestic film in 2020, Honeyland was free for streaming on Hulu and also available for buying on Apple iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, FandangoNOW, Google Play Movies, YouTube, DIRECTV online, Dafilms, BFI player, Picl and Cinetree Netherlands, Cinobo Greece, and many more.

Amazon also acquired the streaming rights for the Serbian historical thriller TV series Black Sun aka Shadow over the Balkans directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić and produced The Happiest Man in the World or Lessons in Love by Teona Strugar Mitevskaby Cobra Film Production in coproduction with United Media Group, Slovenian Perfo Production and Macedonian Skopje Film Studio.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

The country’s film distributors and exhibitors began 2020 confidently, after 2019 when the admission were at the highest point ever. The data released by the European Audiovisual Observatory in 2020 shows that North Macedonia registered the best results at the box office in 2019 with a 25 percent increase in admissions, from 0.4 m admissions in 2018 rising to 0.5 m admissions in 2019.

The first two months of 2020 had robust results, but later the cinema closures for six months and release cancellations that began with the first national lockdown on 11 March, resulted in a drop of 85% in comparison to 2019. Although open air cinemas were opened in early July and the traditional cinemas reopened on 24 September and stayed opened till the end of the year, the admissions were lower than ever.

Three commercial cinemas (one multiplex, Cineplexx with nine cinema halls, Cinema Milenium and 3D Cinema Bitola) and two art house cinemas with a regular repertoire (Cinema Frosina and the Macedonian Cinemateque) operate in North Macedonia. Another 18 cultural centres, equipped with digital cinema projectors by the North Macedonia Film Agency, which screen films occasionally, only screened one or two titles and the majority remained without cinema activity since March until the end of 2020.

The domestic film with the best results in cinemas in September-December among the domestic films released in 2020 is Igor Ivanov`s Homo, distributed by Skopje Film Studio. According to the biggest cinema in the country, Cineplexx, the film had approximately 700 admissions. The official statistics were not ready at the beginning of 2021.

Stela by Stojan VujicicStojan Vujicic`s debut feature Stela, distributed by Dream Factory, came second in September-December 2020 with approximately 500 admissions.

Honeyland, which was released by Tris Films dooel in North Macedonia in 2019, had 45,200 admissions throughout the country and was distributed in 30 cities in North Macedonia since its release on 29 August 2019, while Willow / Vrba had 30,000 admissions and was distributed in more than 20 cities in North Macedonia since its release by Banana Film on 1 November 2019.

Honeyland is also the most watched domestic film in the history of the only multiplex cinema in the country, Cineplexx, with 11,113 admissions, followed by Willow / Vrba with 9,777 admissions.

In its eighth year Cineplexx, the largest exhibitor in North Macedonia, with over 70% of market share, screened 91 titles compared to 148 titles screened in 2019. According to the cinema, the US Production Bad Boys For Life (Continental Film Doo) was the most watched film with 14,298 admissions. The multiplex registered 90,801 admissions in 2020, which is a drop of 77%  compared to 395,487 admissions in 2019.

Cinema Milenium, based in Skopje, registered a decrease of 71% compared to 2019. It screened only 44 titles and sold 13,836 tickets. According to the cinema’s statistics, the sales declined by 96.45% from January-March 2020 to October-December 2020.

The second film in the Macedonian overall box office is the Albanian I Love Tropoja directed by Ermal Mamaqi, with estimated 9,320 admissions, followed by the US production Jumanji: The Next Level (Continental Film Doo) with estimated 7,420 admissions.

Only three open-air cinemas were operating in the entire country in the summer of 2020: the Cinemateque of North Macedonia, the Youth Cultural Center, which runs Cinema Milenium and Cinema Frosina, and 3D Cinema Bitola.

Homo by Igor IvanovAdditionally, in August and September 2020 there were many open-air initiatives organised by the municipalities, NGOs and private companies.

On 6 September 2020, the first drive-in cinema opened in Shtip. From 14 to 16 August 2020, three films were screened during the first drive-in cinema organised in Ohrid, and another drive-in cinema was organised in Veles in July and August 2020. On 3 and 4 September open-air screenings of German films took place in Prilep. The telecom provider A1 also organised a seven-day drive-in cinema in Skopje from 29 September 2020.

The Cinemateque of North Macedonia launched open-air screenings on 10 July 2020.

The Government of the Republic of Macedonia appointed the Cinematheque as the institution responsible for the digitalisation of the Macedonian film heritage in 2011. In 2012, the Cinematheque launched a long-term project to digitalise and digitally restore the national audiovisual heritage. In 2020, the Cinematheque digitalised around 20 short films made between 1957 and 2006, and worked on the digitalisation of the first Macedonian feature film, Frosina directed by Voislav Nanovic and produced by Vardar Film.

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

The main film institution in the country is the North Macedonia Film Agency, first established in 2008 as a film fund. Its goal in recent years is to enhance the quality of national cinematography and to increase its competitive advantage in the regional and wider framework.  

The new strategy of the North Macedonia Film Agency since 2019 includes activities for developing the domestic film culture, with an emphasis on tapping into the young talents, while developing a system for supporting national production and coproduction, and services for shooting foreign productions in the country. Support will be provided as part of this strategy for expanding distribution and marketing, while activities will be undertaken for developing existing professional film workers and for addressing the insufficient supply of film professionals.

Honeyland by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir StefanovIn this new strategy and in all other activities planned for the coming years, the Agency will place special emphasis on nurturing women directors and encouraging new women directors to conceive and initiate original and innovative films. At the same time, greater openness and logistical support will be provided for foreign producers interested in shooting their films at attractive locations in North Macedonia, with stimulus provided by the production incentive programme.

The Agency supports script development, production, postproduction, distribution and film festivals. Its majority funding sources come from the state budget with the amount depending on the annual budget of the country.

The annual state support for film industry in 2020 was 2,632,028 EUR / 161,869,732 MKD.

The North Macedonia Film Agency distributed 2,889,430 EUR / 177,700,000 MKD in production grants for 20 films in the first grant call of 2020. The Agency supported six majority feature films including four debut features, three minority coproductions, four majority long documentaries, one minority long documentary, one minority long animated film and five short films. Some of the supported films will start principal photography in 2021 and 2022.

Directors Milcho Manchevski and Teona Strugar Mitevska received the highest amounts of support of 487,805 EUR / 30 m MKD each for their new films, Kaymak produced by Banana Film, and The Happiest Man in the World / Najsrekniot covek na svetot.

The three minority feature films receiving production support include Escort by Lucas Nola, coproduced by Skopje Film StudioBehind the Haystacks by Assimina Proedrou, coproduced by Sektor Film, and Forever Hold Your Peace / Živi i zdravi by Ivan Marinović, coproduced by Krug Film.

In the first films category, the biggest grant of 374,599 EUR / 23 m MKD went to Agim Abdula`s Coma / Koma, produced by Galaktika Pictures.

There is an annual Call for applications (with two deadlines in March and August) for production support for feature films, documentaries, short films and animated films.

The results of the second deadline of the Call for applications were not published by the end of the year.

Willow by Milcho ManchevskiAs North Macedonia joined the revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction, the conditions that must be met by the productions to be considered coproductions were reduced by half starting 1 October 2020. As a result, multilateral coproductions have now a minimum share of 5% (compared to 10% previously), while bilateral coproductions have a minimum share of 10% (compared to 20% previously).

Starting from 2014, the North Macedonia Film Agency has been encouraging the investment of funds in film or television projects applying for the right of refund in the amount of 20% of the gross costs incurred in the country for the realisation of a film or television project, which is not less than 100,000 EUR. The Agency is focused on boosting the country’s film production tax incentive, increasing it from 20% to 30%, as an effective measure to bring about significant benefits for the national film industry and the economy.

In 2020 there were no applications for projects to use the right of refund. The last issued decision for payment was made on 23 January 2020, but it referred to 2019. The film in question is A Mermaid in Paris / Une sirène à Paris directed by Mathias Malzieu and produced by French Overdrive Productions in coproduction with Belgian Entre Chien et Loup and Macedonian Sisters and Brother Mitevski.

In February 2020, the North Macedonia Film Agency announced its decision to boost 22 festivals and events according to the announced Call for financing projects of national interest in the film industry, for organising domestic festivals and other international film events in 2020. Established festivals such as the International Cinematographer’s Film Festival Manaki Brothers, the Cinedays Festival of European Film, the Skopje Film Festival and the Tetova International Film Festival ODA received the highest grants. The Agency also supported the second edition of Days of the Macedonian film Golden Frame Review, organised by the Macedonian Film Professionals Association.

In 2020, the Macedonian applicants received a total support of 108,216 EUR at several different calls of the MEDIA Programme.

In 2020, Eurimages financially supported four projects produced and coproduced by Macedonian producers. At its 158th management board meeting the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund supported Sabattier Effect / Preeksponirano by Eleonora Veninova with 88,000 EUR.

Forever Hold Your Peace by Ivan MarinovićAt its 159th meeting held online, the Board of Management of the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund gave a production grant of 160,000 EUR to the minority coproduction Behind the Haystacks by Assimina Proedrou. The project is a coproduction between Argonauts Productions SA (Greece), Sektor Film (North Macedonia) and Fiction Park (Germany).

In October 2020, Eurimages decided to support the Albanian/Macedonian coproduction My Mother Is a Cosmonaut by Andi Deliana. The film is produced by Red Helicopter Films (Albania) and coproduced by Dream Factory (North Macedonia).

The Macedonian minority coproduction The Body / Telo was supported in the last batch of Eurimages grants in 2020 with 60,000 EUR. The film is produced by Zavod Petra Fan Film (Slovenia), Wolfgang & Dolly (Croatia) and PPFP Ltd Skopje (North Macedonia), and it also received 25,000 EUR support from MEDIA Creative Europe.

In 2020, two majority Macedonian projects received funding from MEDIA Creative Europe for single project development. In the first deadline, The Happiest Man in the World / Najsrekniot covek na svetot directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska and produced by Sisters and Brother Mitevski, received 30,000 EUR for development. The film was the first Macedonian project presented in Cannes's L'Atelier - Cinéfondation 2020.

Land of Sar / Dolinata na Sharko directed by Petra Seliskar is the first Macedonian long creative documentary to receive MEDIA Creative Europe funding (of 25,000 EUR) in 2020. The documentary is produced by PPFP Ltd Skopje (North Macedonia), and coproduced by Zavod Petra Pan Film (Slovenia) and Cinephage Productions (France).

The mandate of the former director of the Agency Gorjan Tozija expired on 4 August 2020. The Macedonian Government named Bojan Lazarevski acting director of the North Macedonia Film Agency at its 15 December 2020 session.

On 31 August 2020, the Parliament appointed Irena Stefoska the Minister of Culture of North Macedonia.

TV

TV production remained low in 2020.

The fifth season of the Macedonian TV Series Prespav, directed by Vardan Tozija, Dina Duma, Igor Ivanov and Georgi M. Unkovski, went into production. The 20-episode series is produced by OXO and aired in prime time on the first channel of the Macedonian Radio Television starting 18 December 2020. The production celebrated 120 episodes since its release and featured a special COVID-19 episode, which was aired on 26 April 2020 on the first channel. On 7 October 2020, the fourth season of Homo by Igor IvanovPrespav premiered on Bulgarian bTV Comedy.

TV 24 started broadcasting Enemy / Neprijatel on 5 December 2020. The 11-episode series was filmed in Bitola during 2020 and is produced by Solza i smea drama studio. The director is Aleksandar Dimitrovski.  

The TV series Zoki Poki, based on the best known Macedonian children character, premiered on 4 May 2020 on the Macedonian Radio Television. The 10-episode series, which was shot in 2019, is produced by Kino Oko and was backed with 309,000 EUR / 19 m MKD by the North Macedonia Film Agency. Aleksandar Popovski is co-directing along with Marija Apchevska, Darijan Pejovski and Radovan Petrovic.

Thirty new episodes of the very popular educational-music series Dajte muzika, directed by Marko Gjokovic, premiered on Macedonian Radio Television on 4 November 2020. The series is a coproduction of the Macedonian Radio Television and Rifenstahl production. 

The TV series When You Fall, produced by OXO and currently in development, received the Script Pool TV Award given by Industry@Tallinn in partnership with MIDPOINT TV Launch.

The pandemic urged the TV premieres of several domestic films including Honeyland / Medena zemja, whose first and exclusive television screening came ahead of schedule, disrupting the two-year TV holdback. The film had an early television premiere on Telma TV on 18 April 2020.

On 29 March 2020 Milcho Manchevski`s new feature Willow / Vrba also had an early TV world premiere on the public broadcaster Macedonian Radio Television as part of a Manchevski #StayHome film review.

Three Days in September by Darijan Pejovski, produced by Skopje Film Studio in coproduction with Ikone Studio Kosovo, had its TV premiere on Telma TV on 20 April 2020. 

Gjorche Stavreski`s The Secret Ingredient / Iscelitel produced by Fragment Film, which was released in 2017, also had its TV premiere on 24 May 2020 on the  Macedonian Radio Television.

The TV stations aired multiple reruns of domestic films and TV series during the quarantine.

Beginning on 8 April 2020, the public service broadcaster launched four new TV channels, including a children's channel and sports and entertainment channels.

In 2020 the Macedonian postproduction company Fx3x worked on nine episodes of the third season of American television series Star Trek: Discovery. The season is produced by CBS Television Studios, and premiered on CBS on 15 October 2020. Netflix has the rights to broadcast the series in 188 countries.

In 2020, the Macedonian Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services published the analysis of the market of audio and Zoki Poki TV Seriesaudiovisual media services for 2019. According to the report, revenues in the media industry are declining year by year. In 2019 they decreased by 0.76% and were at the lowest in the last five years. The Macedonian Radio Television saw a revenues decrease of 2.24% compared to 2018 and operated at a loss of 8.5 m EUR.

Among the five terrestrial televisions that broadcast on a national level, Telma TV registered loss of around 355,000 EUR. In satellite television, TV 24 had a loss of about 138,000 EUR. The financial result for the whole industry is that both the public service and the commercial broadcasters operated at a loss.

The total revenue generated in 2019 by all broadcasters (45 television stations and 69 radio stations) was 39.5 m EUR compared to 39.8 m EUR in 2018.  

TV Sitel was the most watched television in 2019, with a daily average reach of 38.62% and an average weekly reach of 52.78%. TV Kanal 5 was the second most watched television with 31,62%, followed by TV Telma (15,12%), Alsat-M (14,02), Macedonian Radio Television (11,78), Alfa TV and TV 24.

The most watched foreign television channels in North Macedonia are again Sport Club, Fox, Discovery, National Geographic. According to the report, the viewers mostly watched the news on all televisions, followed by information programmes, educational and culture programmes, sports and TV series.

Most television connections are available through cable television – 48.5% and IPTV – with 27.6%.

CONTACTS:

NORTH MACEDONIA FILM AGENCY
8 Mart br. 4, 1000, Skopje, Macedonia
Phone: +389 2 3224 100
Fax:    +389 2 3224 111
http://www.filmfund.gov.mk/ 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
Gjuro Gjakovik 61, Skopje 1000, North Macedonia
Phone: +389 2 324 0600
Fax: +389 2 3240 575
http://www.kultura.gov.mk/ 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

M by Vardan TozijaCINEMATHEQUE OF NORTH MACEDONIA
Nikola Rusinski 1, Skopje, North Macedonia
Phone: +389 2 307 1814
Fax: + 389 2 30 71 813
http://www.maccinema.com/ 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ASSOCIATION OF FILM PROFESSIONALS
8 Mart br. 4, 1000, Skopje, North Macedonia
Phone: +389 2 3211811
Fax: +389 2 3211811
http://www.dfrm.org.mk/index.html 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CREATIVE EUROPE DESK MK
MEDIA SUB-PROGRAMME
8 Mart br. 4, 1000, Skopje, North Macedonia
Phone: + 389 2 3224 100
Fax: +389 2 3224 111
http://www.ced.mk/ 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Report by Marina Lazarevska (2021)
Sources: the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Macedonian Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, Cineplexx, Milenium, Cinematheque of North Macedonia

Serbia

Dara in Jasenovac by Predrag AntonijevićMARKET ANALYSIS 2020

BELGRADE: Film Center Serbia managed to maintain its standard pattern of financial support contests in full capacity for the fifth year in a row even during the pandemic-stricken year 2020.

Father / Otac directed by Srdan Golubović was selected for the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlin IFF.

Ivan Ivkić’s sophomore feature Oasis / Oaza was selected for the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival 2020.

Dara of Jasenovac / Dara iz Jasenovca by Predrag Antonijević was chosen as Serbia's candidate for the 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the Best International Father by Srdan Golubović, photo: Maja MedićFeature Film category.

In 2020, the 25% cash rebate for film production remained at the level established in 2019.

PRODUCTION

Nine new Serbian feature films started and/or completed production since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely: Radivoje Andrić’s How I Learned to Fly / Leto kad sam naučila da letim, produced by SENSE production and coproduced by Croatia's Kinorama and Bulgaria’s Art Fest; Miloš Avramović’s South Wind 2: The Quickening / Južni vetar 2. Ubrzanje, produced by Režim and Archangel Studios, and coproduced by Croatia's Telefilm d.o.o.; Milutin Petrović’s Bad Blood / Hadžijino zvono, produced by This And That Production and coproduced by RTS – Radio Television of Serbia; Dragan Bjelogrlić and Zoran Lisinac’s Toma, produced by Cobra Film and Minacord Production; Ognjen Janković’s Golden Boy / Zlatni dečko, produced by Fantastika Film Studio; Nemanja Ćeranić’s Penance / Lihvar, produced by Tracktor Film; Slobodan Šijan’s The Great Tram Robbery / Budi Bog s nama, produced by Gargantua Films in coproduction with Croatia’s Maxima film and Jaako dobra produkcija, Slovenia’s Studio Virc, Oasis by Ivan IkićMontenegro’s Artikulacija Film, Czech Sirena Film, Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers and Romania’s Micro FILM; Petar Ristovski’s Once Upon a Time in Serbia / Bilo jednom u Srbiji, produced by LE Film and coproduced by Media House, DME Production and Soul Food Films; and Balša Đogo’s Košare, produced by Omega Production. For comparison, 14 Serbian films were shot in 2019.

Numerous feature films are in different stages of prostproduction: Darkling / Mrak directed by Dušan Milić and produced by Film Deluxe Int and This and That Productions in coproduction with Denmark’s Space Rocket Nation, Bulgaria’s RFF, Italy’s A Lab Debore Desio and Greece’s Graal; Heavens Above / Nebesa directed by Srđan Dragojević and produced by Delirium Film in coproduction with Croatia’s Studio DIM, North Macedonia’s Sektor Film, Slovenia’s Forum Ljubljana, Montenegro Max Film, Germany’s Ma.ja.de. Fiction GmbH; The Celts / Kelti directed by Milica Tomović and produced by EED Production; It’s Not So Bad to Be Human / Nije loše biti čovek directed by Dušan Kovačević and produced by Art & Popcorn in coproduction with Croatia’s Terminal 3; As Far As I Can Walk / Strahinja Banović directed by Stefan Arsenijević, produced by Art & Popcorn and coproduced by France’s Surprise Alley, Luxembourg’s Les Films Fauves, Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers and Lithuania’s Artbox; The Only Way Out / Jedini izlaz directed by Darko Nikolić and produced by Stanković & sinovi; The Key / Ključ directed by Marko Sopić and produced by Istar Studio; Don’t Bet on the Brits directed by Svetislav D. Pešić and produced by Een Rock Production.South Wind 2 by Miloš Avramović

As a result, 2021 should bring another slight increase in the number of Serbian films and Serbian majority productions to be completed and released.

In 2020, the cash rebate for film production (25%) remained at the level established in 2019. The cash rebate scheme, which was launched in April 2016, applies to qualified Serbian spend for feature films, TV series, animated films and visual effects, TV commercials and documentaries.

Even during the pandemic year, Serbia managed to keep attracting international productions willing to shoot there, including a sequel to the American box-office hit Don’t Breathe directed by Rodo Sayagues, produced by Ghost House Pictures and serviced by Work in Progress; the UK/German/Serbian horror Vampir directed by Branko Tomović, produced by UK’s Red Marked films, coproduced by Germany’s Vickermann Films and serviced by Dinaric Alps Productions; Howard J. Ford’s climbing thriller The Ledge, produced by Evolution Pictures and serviced by Red Production Serbia; the Australian feature film You Won’t Be Alone directed by Goran Stolevski, produced by Causeway Films in association with Head Gear Films and Metrol Golden Boy by Ognjen JankovićTechnology, and starring Noomi Rapace, Anamaria Marinca and Felix Maritaud (serviced by Balkanic Media). The CW channel’s fantasy TV show The Outpost continued production in Belgrade, serviced by Balkanic Media.

At the end of April 2020 London-based Head Gear Films announced its plans to make a large investment in productions shot in Serbia. The investment facility has been set up to be operated in partnership with the Belgrade-based production outfit Balkanic Media, founded by filmmaker Jonathan English together with Los Angeles-based producer James Gibb.

COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Film Center Serbia was the first state culture insitution to voice out a formal plee for the state to support film workers and exibitors. Consequently, even during the pandemic Serbia managed to maintain its standard pattern of financial support contests in full capacity for the fifth year in a row.

In November 2020 eighteen cinemas and/or screening venues were granted approximately 43,000 EUR / 5 m RSD for stimulating Serbian/domestic film distribution.How I Learned to Fly by Radivoje Andrić

DISTRIBUTION

Five new Serbian feature films were released in 2020, compared to 15 the year before: Srdan Golubović’s Father / Otac produced by Serbia’s Baš Čelik in coproduction with France’s ASAP Films, Germany’s Neue Mediopolis, Croatia’s Propeler Film, Slovenia’s Vertigo, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s scca/Pro.Ba, in coproduction with ZDF Arte and Arte France; Mladen Đorđević’s docufiction Vienna Hallways / Sumrak u bečkom haustoru produced by Corona Film and Cinnamon Films; A.S. (25) by Milena Grujić, produced by the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade / Fakultet dramskih umetnosti; Darko Bajić’s Fathers of Liberty / Ime naroda produced by Zillion Film with executive producer Košutnjak Film; and Miroslav Momčilović’s Weekend with Pop / Vikend sa ćaletom produced by Brigada and coproduced by United Media.

The Great Tram Robbery by Slobodan Šijan, photo: Dusan IvanovicWeekend with Pop was by far the most popular one, scoring nearly 60,000 admissions in Serbian cinemas during the autumn of 2020.

In February 2020 Father / Otac by Srdan Golubović was selected for the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlin IFF, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Award and the Audience Award.

Ivan Ivkić’s sophomore feature Oasis / Oaza aka The Users / Korisnici, produced by SENSE Production in coproduction with the Netherlands’ Kepler Film, Slovenia’s Tramal Films, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s SCCA / Pro.ba and France’s Les Films d’Antoine, received the Europa Cinemas Venice Label Award in the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival 2020.

The Serbian minority coproduction Malmkrog directed by the Romanian Cristi Puiu and produced by Romania’s Mandragora in coproduction with iadasarecasa, SENSE Production, Cinnamon Films, Film i Väst, Doppelganger, Bord Cadre Films, Produkcija 2006 Sarajevo and Sisters and Brothers Mitevski, Once Upon a Time in Serbia by Petar Ristovskiwas awarded for Best Director in Berlinale's 2020 new section, Encounters.

In the Dusk by Lithuanian director Sharunas Bartas, a coproduction between Studio Kinema (Lithuania), France‘s Kino Elektron, Serbia's Biberche Productions, Latvia‘s Mistrus Media, Sirena Film from the Czech Republic and Portugal’s Terratreme Filmes, was selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and was later screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The Serbian/German/Bulgarian coproduction Living Man / Živi čovek directed by Oleg Novković and produced by Produkcija SALT in coproduction with Ostlicht filmproduktion GmbH and The Chouchkov Brothers, premiered at 2020’s Cottbus Film Festival.

Marko Đorđević’s debut feature My Morning Laughter / Moj jutarnji smeh, produced by Altertise in coproduction with Vienna Hallways by Mladen ĐorđevićCinnerent, was screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival at the beginning of 2020.

Starting from March 2020 the vast majority of film festivals were postponed and took place online.

Also in 2020, the Yugoslav Cinematheque / Jugoslovenska kinoteka went on with its process of restoration of Serbian film classics in cooperation with the VIP Mobile operator. The restoration schedule is based on an official voting for the best Serbian films of all times, organised by the Cinematheque in December 2016. The premieres were mostly organised online.

The historical WW2 drama Dara of Jasenovac / Dara iz Jasenovca directed by Predrag Antonijević was chosen as Serbia's candidate for the 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the Best International Feature Film category. The film is a Serbian coproduction, produced by Dandelion Production Inc and coproduced by Film Danas and Komuna.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION 

The leading Serbian film distributor, MCF Megacom Film started its PVOD platform in April 2020, followed by the launching of the streaming platform Cinesseum, focusing solely on Serbian Weekend With Pop by Miroslav Momčilovićand regional films and content.

Furthermore, Film Center Serbia launched its YouTube channel, thus providing authors and producers with an additional opportunity to reach a much broader audience with their films. 

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

Total admissions in Serbia plummeted from 4,784,598 in 2019 to 1,562,590 in 2020, while total gross fell from 16.6 m EUR in 2019 down to 5.2 m EUR in 2020. Cinemas in Serbia were closed from March up to the early days of September, and later on they operated under official restrictions regarding working hours and the number of cinemagoers allowed.

The most watched new Serbian film in regular distribution during 2020 was the dramedy Weekend With Pop / Vikend sa ćaletom, with 53,718 admissions and 183,000 EUR / 21,619,847 RSD gross. The film, scripted and directed by Miroslav Momčilović, was produced by Brigada and coproduced by United Media. Penance by Nemanja ĆeranićIt was distributed by MCF Megacom Film.

The second most watched new Serbian film in 2020 was Father / Otac by Srdan Golubović (distributed by MCF Megacom Film), with 15,010 admissions and 47,000 EUR / 5,534,001 RSD gross.

The rest of the domestic chart is as follows: Fathers of Liberty / Ime naroda by Darko Bajić (distributed by MCF Megacom Film) with 2,636 admissions and 7,800 EUR / 925,450 RSD gross, A.S. (25) by Milena Grujić (distributed by FAME Solutions) with 1,531 admissions and 4,500 EUR / 530,206 RSD gross, and the docufiction Vienna Hallway / Sumrak u bečkom haustoru by Mladen Đorđević (distributed by MCF Megacom Film) with 866 admissions and 2,800 EUR / 325,800 RSD gross.

Additionnally, Ajvar directed by Ana Marija Rossi, produced by Serbia’s Biberche, coproduced by Montenegro’s Artikulacija and distributed by Taramount Film, and 4 Roses / 4 Ruže directed by Vasilije Nikitović, produced by Kinooko Film and distributed by Cinefest, entered distribution in 2019 and scored 51,953 admissions and 166,000 EUR / 19,601,361 RSD gross and 52,706 admissions and 178,000 EUR / 21,055,899 RSD resepectively in 2019 and 2020 combined.The Celts by Milica Tomović, photo: Irena Canić

The most popular new foreign films in Serbian cinemas in 2020 were: The Gentlemen, Tenet, After We Collided, Mulan and The Trolls: World Tour, the first three being distributed by Blitz Film & Video and the fourth and the fifth ones by MCF Megacom Film and Taramount Film, respectively. The most watched, however, was the Russian blockbuster The Servant, starring the Serbian actor Miloš Biković and distributed by At Vista, which began its distribution in Serbia at the end of 2019 and went on being screened during the winter of 2020, as well.

The Cineplexx opened two more multiplexes in Belgrade, whereas the Cinestar opened its first multiplex in Belgrade and its fourth multiplex in Serbia.

It's Not So Bad to Be Human by Dušan KovačevićMoreover, Film Center Serbia and Belgrade’s Kombank Hall / Kombank dvorana established a partnership, and every week Kombank Hall will screen a Serbian feature film, a Serbian minority coproduction and a long Serbian documentary film.

GRANTS AND LEGISLATION

Film Center Serbia (FCS) supported numerous film projects or film-related projects (such as pre-digitalisation) with 7,122,949 EUR / 837,307,600 RSD. In 2020 there were 26 Film Center Serbia’s contests for co-financing of feature films and short fiction films, long and short documentaries, student films, experimental and video art films, genre-profiled and potentially commercial films.

For 2021 FCS has already planned two new grant categories: grants for feature films by renowned veteran directors and grants for film adaptions of Serbian literary works. During the course of 2020, Film Center Serbia carried out 29 grant contests, resulting in the support of 166 projects, which were granted with 6,167,743 EUR / 724.5 m RSD. The grant list includes 18 feature films and 13 long documentaries, which is the highest number of supported projects in the history of FCS.The Only Way Out by Darko Nikolić

Serbia continued its successful cooperation with MEDIA Desk. MEDIA supported four prominent film festivals in Serbia in 2020: Belgrade’s Beldocs Documentary FF, the European Film Festival Palić, the Free Zone / Slobodna zona Film Festival and the Auteur Film Festival / Festival autorskog filma, providing a total of 154,000 EUR. Serbian production houses, companies and projects were sucessful in 10 categories, winning 817,132 EUR in total at the MEDIA Creative Europe contests in 2020.

Radivoje Andrić’s How I Learned to Fly / Leto kad sam naučila da letim and Vuk Ršumović’s Story About Fateme / Priča o Fateme, produced by Baboon Production and Art & Popcorn, were supported by Eurimages in 2020.

TV

My Morning Laughter by Marko ĐorđevićThe Serbian National Broadcasting Company RTS maintained its dominance in 2020, being the most popular channel for the seventh year in a row (and nine out of 10 years), according to the TV station’s reports. A survey commissioned by the RTS itself showed that RTS’s programmes were watched by approximately 3 m spectators on a daily basis, and great reasults in 2020 were achieved by sports, entertaintainment, film, educational and music programmes on this channel. The list of the 10 most watched domestic TV series includes nine series which were aired on RTS.

The most popular new TV series at the end of the year was Truckers 3 / Kamiondžije, d.o.o directed by Filip Čolović and produced by RTS itself, while TV Prva can surely boast the domination in the respective slot on working days with the soap opera Game of Destiny / Igra sudbine directed by various directors.

The Belgrade-based Firefly production house in coproduction with Telekom Srbija made three drama series which were aired in prime-time at the Radio Television of Serbia – RTS, namely: Tycoon / Tajkun directed by Miroslav Terzić, The Swamp / Močvara directed by Oleg Novković and Clan / Klan directed by Boban Skerlić, the last one being the most watched among all the TV series at the turn of the year.  

Film Center Serbia has reignited the cooperation with the RTS – Radio Television of Serbia regarding the acqusition and screenings of Serbian documentary films and Serbian minority coproductions.

CONTACTS:

FILM CENTER SERBIA
Koče Popovića 9/III
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +3811162 251 31
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fcs.rs

FILM IN SERBIA
Vlajkovićeva 18
Living Man by Oleg Novković, photo: Jovan Ilić11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 3230 581
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.filminserbia.com

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
Vlajkovićeva 3,
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 33 45 650 (Secretary of the Ministry)
www.kultura.gov.rs

FACULTY OF DRAMATIC ARTS
Bulevar Umetosti 20,
11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 213 56 84
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fdu.edu.rs

NATIONAL CINEMATHEQUE
Uzun Mirkova 1,
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 262 25 55
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.kinoteka.org.rs

NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVEVampir by Branko Tomović
Kneza Višeslava 8811000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 354 97 94
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.kinoteka.org.rs

Report by Zoran Janković (2021)
Sources: Film Center Serbia, Serbia Film Commission

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Quo Vadis Aida? by Jasmila ŽbanićMARKET ANALYSIS 2020

SARAJEVO: The already fragile film industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been severely shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cinema attendance dropped by 70% compared to 2019 results, almost all production has been moved to 2021 and, as there is still no Cinema Law or Film Centre in the country, filmmakers could only count on themselves to try and weather the storm.

Several professional associations, the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sarajevo Film Festival in the first place, are trying to cover as many as possible of the development and promotional needs that should be handled by a film centre inside the country and abroad, but it is a question of time, especially if this unfavourable situation continues, till they will have to give up on this and concentrate on their primary missions only.

The Sarajevo Film Festival - and with it the BH Film Programme, which shows the complete yearly production of Bosnia and Herzegovina -  was organised completely online in 2020, as public gatherings were banned in Sarajevo during the summer of 2020.

Film Center Sarajevo, with Ines Tanović as acting director, started two new projects - the Free Cinema “Walter”, that shows only Bosnian and Herzegovinian films from their archives, and the set of lectures titled “How to Read Film” and open for the general public. 

Although total admissions dropped by 70 percent, domestic admissions increased by more than 400 percent, mostly thanks to the cinema success of Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?

A new incentive scheme and an increase of funds announced for 2020 were delayed for better times.

PRODUCTION

Only one film went into production in 2020 and is expected to be released in 2021.

Aida Begić, whose two previous feature films competed at the Cannes Film Festival, winning her the Best Film Award at Critics Week for Snow (2008, Mamafilm) and the Special Distinction Award at Un Focus, Grandma by Pjer ŽalicaCertain Regard for Children of Sarajevo (2012, Film House), shot her fourth feature film. The shooting of The Ballade, a modern interpretation of the famous folk poem Hasanaginica, was delayed from April to November 2020 because of the pandemic. The Ballade is produced by Film House and it was supported by the Film Fund

COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

There was no government support for the filmmakers affected by COVID-19 or for the film industry in general, despite several attempts of professionals and professional associations to communicate their needs to the representatives of the Government.

DISTRIBUTION

American films had most admissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019, but an interesting thing happened as a consequence of the pandemic. As most of the American studios decided to delay the release of new films, distributors of Bosnian and Herzegovinian films used the opportunity to put more domestic films on the market.

Two new domestic films were released in 2020, Quo Vadis, Aida? and Focus, Grandma.

Quo Vadis, Aida? directed by Jasmila Žbanić and produced by Deblokada in coproduction with Austria’s Coop99, Romania’s Digital Cube, the Netherlands’ N279 Productions, Germany’s Razor Film, Poland’s Extreme Emotions, France’s Indie Prod and Norway's Tordenfilm, had a success that had not been recorded for a domestic film in the last 10 years, finishing in the box office and admissions Top 10 in 2020 with 36,162 EUR / 70,726.5 KM gross and 11,340 admissions.

Focus, Grandma / Koncentriši se baba directed by Pjer Žalica and produced by the Obala Art Centar under the umbrella of Sarajevo Film Festival’s Sarajevo City of Film project, was the second domestic film released in 2020. It had 4,298 KM gross and 786 admissions.

Full Moon / Pun mjesec, a debut feature by Nermin Hamzagić, produced by SCCA/pro.ba, continued distribution from 2019 adding 847 EUR / 1,656 KM and 365 admissions to the 2019 results of 838.5 EUR / 1,640 KM gross and 425 admissions.

Full Moon by Nermin HamzagićTwo more films, Good Day’s Work by Martin Turk and SEE Factory, both produced by Obala Art Centar and initially released in 2018, had re-runs in 2020

A total of 109 films premiered in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2020 (of which three films were screened for only one day, as they premiered on 31 December), with another 27 films continuing distribution from 2019 and 19 films having re-runs. The numbers show a 50% drop in released films compared to 219 films that premiered in cinemas in the country in 2019. The complete picture shows a 70% drop in admissions and a 69.5% drop in box office.

Blitz Film & Video Distribution acquired 2iFilm at the beginning of 2020, which resulted with the merger of the two companies that had dominated the market in 2019. Consequently, Blitz continued to dominate the market with 50.66% market share, compared to 40.7% share in 2019.

Continental Film saw a significant increase in the share from 9.09% in 2019 to 17.82% in 2020. Una Film recorded a drop in their market share percentage for the second year in a row, dropping from 14.47% share in 2019 to 13.41% in 2020. Oskar Film’s share also decreased from 11.24% in 2019 to 10.45% in 2020.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION 

Good Days Work by Martin TurkAfter successfully organising the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival online, Obala Art Centar decided to use the developed platform to create the premium content VoD Meeting Point on Demand. Meeting Point on Demand is envisioned as pay-to-watch VoD that will have no subscription and where films will be available for a limited time in chosen regions, depending on the available rights.

Thanks to this, Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida? became the first film to use a distribution model in which it has been available in cinemas and online from the very beginning of its distribution.

After this, four more films have been screened at Meeting Point on Demand: Full Moon by Nermin Hamzagić, the Serbian film Father directed by Srdan Golubović and produced by Baš Čelik in coproduction with French ASAP Films, German Neue Mediopolis, Croatian Propeler Film, Slovenian SCCA/pro.ba, Bosniana and Herzegovinian SCCA/pro.ba, ZDF Arte and Arte France, as well as the Croatian/Swiss Mare directed by Andrea Štaka and produced by Okofilm Productions in coproduction with Croatian Dinaridi film, Swiss SRF and SRG SSR and ZDF/ARTE.

It will take some time to see how successful the platform is, as there are still no exact numbers for the films distributed through it, although the screenings of the 2020 Sarajevo Film Festival proved that there is an audience for premium content in all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

The exhibition circuit might have taken the hardest blow in 2020, as cinemas were closed due to the lockdown for full 10 weeks from 18 March till 28 May 2020.

SEE Factory - Red Stain by Urška Djukić (Slovenia) and Gabriel Tzafka (Greece, Denmark)After the acquisition of Multiplex Ekran by CineStar Group, only three cinemas are now part of the Europa Cinemas network: Cinema Meeting Point, the most important art house cinema in the country (located in Sarajevo), Cineplexx Palas (located in Banja Luka) and Multiplex Cinema City (located in Sarajevo).

In 2020 CineStar Cinemas, after the aforementioned acquisition and opening of the new multiplex in Sarajevo, came to the number of six multiplexes with 35 screens in Banja Luka, Bihać, Mostar, Sarajevo and Tuzla. Most of the films in the country are screened in these cinemas.

Cineplexx Group also announced the opening of a new eight-screens-multiplex in Sarajevo in 2020, but the opening has been delayed because of the pandemic. 

American films dominated the Bosnian and Herzegovinian box office in 2020, with a visible decrease in share from 83.59% in 2019 to 72.52% in 2020, but domestic films showed a rise in the market share from 0.18% in 2019 to 3.23% in 2020.

The highest grossing films in 2020 were: Bad Boys for Life with 102,336 EUR / 200,152 KM gross, The Gentlemen with 58,995 EUR  / 115,383 KM gross, Holop with 52,373 EUR / 102,433 KM gross, Tenet with 36,695 EUR / 71,768 KM gross, Quo Vadis, Aida? with 36,162 EUR / 70,726 KM gross, Jumanji: Next Level with 35,959 EUR / 70,329 KM gross, Greenland with 35,802 EUR / 70,023 KM gross, Trouble with 32,010 EUR / 62,607 KM gross, 1917 with 28,852 EUR / 56,430 KM gross, Fantasy Island with 28,196 EUR / 55,147 KM gross.

Quo Vadis Aida by Jasmila ŽbanićTotal admissions decreased by 69.5 percent from 1,293,760 in 2019 to 387,691 admissions in 2020. Total box office decreased by 70 percent from 3,496,957 EUR / 6,839,454 KM in 2019 to 1,067,755 EUR / 2,088,347 KM in 2020.

Admissions to domestic films increased by 438 percent from 2,322 in 2019 to 12,499 in 2020. Domestic box office shows a 786 percent growth from 4,425 EUR / 8,654 KM in 2019 to 39,224 EUR / 76,715 KM.

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

The Film Fund announced the recipients of grants for production and development of feature and short films in September 2020.

A total of 628,889 EUR / 1,230,000 KM was allocated for all these categories. The production of three feature films and six long documentaries was supported, as well as the production of 14 short fiction, documentary, animated and experimental films. Additionally, three minority coproductions with North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia received funding.

The Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Sarajevo Canton continued supporting films in 2020 through its own scheme for the production of cultural projects.

Two big announcements regarding funding were made in 2019, but unfortunately nothing happened with either the incentives scheme or regarding the raise in funds available for production through the Film Fund.

The Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska announced their call once again. This time the amount of 25,564 EUR / 50,000 KM was planned for feature film development and short film production. Two feature films and two documentary features, as well as three animated projects were supported.

Full Moon by Nermin HamzagićAfter 2018, when 30,677 EUR / 60,000 KM had been allocated and 2019, when none of the 51,130 EUR / 100,000 KM planned by the call for applications announced in October 2019 had been allocated, as the Expert Committee decided that there was not even one project worthy of production support, the 2020 call shows there is not much interest in the production of feature films in Republika Srpska.

TV

Television channels in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still not investing in feature films. All of them though, especially the three main public channels - the Radio Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Radio Television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Radio Television of Republika Srpska, produce short and long documentaries.

Al Jazeera Balkans is still involved in documentary film production, further supporting the development of documentary filmmaking in the country on a big scale. In 2020 Al Jazeera continued supporting the documentary field by approving financial and expert support to students of the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo for their short documentaries.

BH Telecom announced a call for TV series projects in February 2020, but the results haven’t been made public yet.

There is still no public support for the development of TV series, so they are mostly produced independently and then sold to the television.

CONTACTS:

ASSOCIATION OF FILMMAKERS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Branilaca Sarajeva 20/2, 71000 Sarajevo
Phone / Fax: +387 33 667 452
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bhfilm.ba

FILM FUND
Obala Maka Dizdara 2 (building of Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports), 71000 Sarajevo
Phone: +387 33 206 704
Fax: +387 33 226 675
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fondacijakinematografija.ba

Pjer Zalica - director of Focus, GrandmaMINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS OF FBIH
Obala Maka Dizdara 2, 71000 Sarajevo
Nothing But a Wind by Timur MakarevićPhone: +387 33 254 100
Fax: +387 33 226 675
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fmks.gov.ba

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
Trg Republike Srpske 1, 78000 Banja Luka
Phone: +387 51 338 721 (Monika Ponjavić, representative of RS in Eurimages)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.vladars.net

FILM CENTER SARAJEVO
Fadila Jahića Španca 1, 71000 Sarajevo
Phone / Fax: +387 33 873 027
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fcs.ba

THE NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVES OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Alipašina 19, 71000 Sarajevo
Phone / Fax: +387 33 668 678
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Report by: Tina Šmalcelj (2021)
Sources: Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Statistics and Analysis Department, Zoran Galić (VizArt production), Agency for the Statistics in Bosnia and Herzegovina