Five projects were selected for Drama Series Pitching that will take place on 27 March 2024.
Other main events of Meeting Point - Vilnius are Pro Point, Edu Point and Talent Point. MPV is held 24 – 27 March 2024 within the 29th Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris (14 – 27 March 2024).
Click HERE to see the projects selected for Drama Series Pitchings and HERE for the full programme of Meeting Point – Vilnius 2024.
WORK IN PROGRESS SELECTED PROJECTS :
Electing Miss Santa (Moldova, Romania), documentary
Directed by Raisa Răzmeriță
Produced by HaiDOC Productions
Coproduced by Tangaj Production
This documentary in rough cut stage is set in a remote village in the Republic of Moldova, 42-year-old Elena embarks on a journey to break free from social and family conventions, and to gain control over her life and dreams. Elena navigates between two distinct lives. She is close to her home where she lives together with her mother Ana, managing the daily routine that sustains them. But she is also a community organiser, aiding the elderly and engaging children in environmental activities. Upon marrying Vitalie, who supports her passions unlike her previous abusive husband, tensions rise between Elena and Ana. The rift deepens as Ana chases Vitalie away, escalating the conflict between mother and daughter.
“The dilemma that will accompany the viewer throughout the film is whether this fight and contrast in beliefs will destroy their bond or strengthen it. Staying or leaving is not a simple choice. It involves sacrifices and compromises that one has to live with forever and for children who have to care for their aging parents, sometimes it means giving up on cherished dreams”, Raisa Răzmeriță said in a statement.
The film has a budget of 229,474 EUR with 179,824 EUR already secured.
The producer Ion Gnatiuc from HaiDOC Productions and Anamaria Antoci and Anda Ionescu from Tangaj Production are looking for funders, buyers, broadcasters and sales agents.
The foreseen premiere of the film is 14 November 2024.
Grace for Sale / Sahibinden rahmet (Turkey)
Directed by Emre Sert and Gözde Yetişkin
Produced by Riders Film
Coproduced by Sert Yetișkin Film
Holy Electricity / Tsminda Eleqtroenergia (Georgia, the Netherlands)
Directed by Tato Kotetishvili
Produced by Ogasavara Film
Coproduced by Nushi Film, The Film Kitchen, Gogo Film
This black comedy in final cut stage is set in contemporary Tbilisi, where crusaders Gonga and Bart seize business potential in giant neon crucifixes popping up around town. But their door-to-door sales of home-size replicas are not successful. The film delves into the power of friendship and the perils of naivety, while painting a vivid portrait of Tbilisi’s eclectic inhabitants, overlooked misfits shaping the city’s identity.
“All characters in the film are non-professional, real inhabitants of Tbilisi. Who they are in reality plays a decisive role in the film’s story. The characters they play are very close to their real-life personalities, and their actions in the film are very similar, if not identical, to what they do in their real life. Even their names are the same”, said Tato Kotetishvili in a statement.
The budget is 280,000 EUR, with 256,154 EUR secured.
The premiere of the film is set for 15 May 2024.
The producers Tato Kotetishvili and Tekla Machavariani are looking for sales agents, festivals and distributors.
Leaving Eden (Albania, Kosovo, Poland, North Macedonia),
Directed by Genc Permeti
Produced by Ska-Ndal
Coproduced by New wave, WaterColor Studios, La luna, Added Value Films, Time Lapse
This drama is set 60 years after the nuclear apocalypse when a small group of people have managed to survive, including 10-year-old Niko and his grandfather, Lexi. Living in a devastated industrial area where they can find food and shelter, has made them see it as a heavenly place for which they have to fight.
“With the latest world political developments, where we saw the madness of the modern day’s autocrats bringing the world into the brink of the nuclear disaster, we strongly believe that this project is a call for reasoning to all humankind. Disaster films have created a genre which got their fan base, but Leaving Eden is a story which tries to warn us about what could happen if we don’t start paying attention to the wrong policy making and distancing ourselves from the dictators and autocrats”, Genc Permeti said in a statement.
The producers of the film are Elida Rasha, Amedeo Pagani, Andrzej Wyszyński, Sławomir Jóźwik and Liridon Cahani.
The budget is 920,000 EUR and 90 percent of it is already in place.
The premiere is set for 2024.
The producers are looking for a distributor and world sales.
Partitas mundi (Serbia)
Directed by Zoran Tairović
Produced by Rezon
Coproduced by Intercultural theatre III
Partitas mundi is a meditation on characters who come from nothingness and go to nothingness. The film follows Chiaroscuro, a blind man who has embraced darkness after a disturbing discovery, and who seeks to find the light that will restore his sight, longing for redemption and a chance to repair long-broken family ties.
The film “is not interested in the narration itself and Euclidean space. The essence of the pre-lost battle with logic suggests a lateral procedure in the construction of film material, a structure bounded in the space between the coming thought and its verbalisation. That space is a space of poetic silence, somewhat like poetry, as the blink of a poet on the absolute of his flickering soul. This film reads the bipolar tremors of the world and accurately communicates to the souls who cast their gaze over nature and the courtyard of abstract space”, said Zoran Tairović in a statement.
This avant-garde film is currently in rough-cut, produced with a budget of 180,000 EUR of which 150,000 EUR is in place.
The premiere is set for 17 May 2024.
The producers Nikola Spasić and Milanka Gvoić are looking for festivals, sales agents and postproduction partners.
Quiet War (Ukraine), documentary
Directed by Lana Shapoval
Produced by Independent Cultural Initiatives
Something Larger than Me / Nešto jače od mene (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, USA)
Directed by Danilo Šerbedžija
Produced by Kinoteka
Coproduced by December, Living Pictures
This biopic of the great basketball player Dražen Petrović focuses less on the already-known sports successes and more on the personal side of his life and his unique character. The story problematises the relationship between Dražen and basketball, which was his greatest passion and a kind of personal religion.
“Dražen Petrović was a big part of my youth, an idol, a symbol of dedication and love. Our challenge is to delve into the life and death of a basketball genius, and to remind the world of his indomitable spirit and desire to push boundaries“, said Danilo Šerbedžija in a statement.
Appoximately 85% of the 1.65 m EUR budget is secured.
The premiere is set for October 2024.
The producers Ljubo Zdjelarević and Ivor Šiber are looking for financing, sales and platforms.
Sounds of Desert (Lithuania), documentary
Directed by Emilija Škarnulytė
Produced by Mirror Matter
The film follows Sun Ra Arkestra band members and their journey across the desert, a promised land where Sun Ra once created his identity. Navigating through an astro-galactic world of sound, they find a reason to fight racism, injustice and vanity of the modern world, all through inner wisdom of music and sound.
“In our moment of forced migrations and global catastrophe, I think in Abshalom’s story I’ve found an extraordinary human that through the magic of his music and the galactic visions of his spiritual philosophy, searches for home that can resonate with a general audience. As many of us are pushed out of where we come from and the changes that these places are rapidly undergoing, how do we find a home when we lose it through ecological and/or political upheaval?”, said Emilija Škarnulytė in a statement.
The budget is 200,000 EUR with 130,000 EUR secured.
The film is set to premiere in 2024.
Emilija Škarnulytė, who is also producing, is currently looking for coproducers and distributors.
The Lost Son / Izgubljeni sin (Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia)
Directed by Darko Štante
Produced by Staragara
Coproduced by Graal, Staragara I.T., Propeler Film, Kaval Film
Andrej, a seasoned criminal investigator, faces a shocking revelation when he encounters his estranged brother, Kristian, as a domestic violence perpetrator. As he grapples with guilt and tries to mend their relationship, parallels between Kristian’s behaviour and their abusive father’s emerge. Amidst personal turmoil, Andrej’s professional life intertwines, leading to substance abuse and strained relationships.
“With this film, I aim to realistically depict the dynamics of relationships among individuals at different stages of life, who grew up in families where they were victims of various forms of violence. I wonder if it is possible to break the cycle of violence, which often gets passed down from generation to generation, turning victims into perpetrators”, said Darko Štante in a statement.
The budget of 1.3 m EUR is completely covered.
The film is set to premiere in the second quarter of 2024.
Producers Miha Černec and Nina Robnik are looking for festival programmers, sales agents, distributors, exhibitors and international press.
Toxic / Akiplėša (Lithuania)
Directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė
Produced by Akis Bado
This coming-of-age story follows 13-year-old Maria who was abandoned by her mother and is forced to live with her grandmother in a bleak industrial town. During a violent clash on the street, Maria meets Kristina, a girl of the same age who is striving to become a fashion model. In a bid to get closer to her, Maria enrolls in a mysterious modelling school, where the girls are preparing for the biggest casting event in the region.
“Toxic follows the lives of young girls navigating through toxic landscapes, toxic beauty standards and toxic relationships. As I grew up in a bleak industrial area, I was living with the thought of escaping not just from my surroundings, but also from my body. I was very thin, trying to enrol in modelling agencies around my town, but I was constantly told that some parts of my body were too big to fit the standard. I kept pursuing it, seeking validation in places where I couldn’t find any”, said Saulė Bliuvaitė in a statement.
The budget is 580,650 EUR, of which 565,650 EUR is already in place.
The premiere is set for 20 May 2025.
Producer Giedrė Burokaitė is looking for a sales agent and festivals.
Zinema / Зінема (Ukraine, Germany, Luxembourg), documentary
Directed by Kornii Hrytsiuk
Produced by Think Tank Ukraine
