Restored Hyppolit, the Butler
The 1931 film Hyppolit the Butler, the first Hungarian "talkie," has been digitally restored.
Polish new year kicks off with budget busting comedy
The Konecki & Saramonowicz duet is once again taking a comedy spin on the relations between the sexes.
Lithuania plans new Film Centre
The Lithuanian government has approved a plan to create a National Film Centre, which set to open in 2009.
Prague multiplex closes
Prague faced its first multiplex closure: Cinema City at Novodvorska Plaza shopping center was closed on December 3 because of low ticket sales.
Crime that shook Poland on the big screen
Don't Turn Your Eyes, directed by Michal Rogalski and based on a true story, is preparing to shoot from March through May, 2009.
New fund, new support, new films for Slovakia
The Slovak Film Institute unveiled 48 new Slovak films and co-productions at a presentation of upcoming feature, documentary and animated films held during the 10th Bratislava International Film Festival (www.iffbratislava.sk).
Season of the Witch resumes shooting in Hungary
After three weeks on location in the Austrian Alps, Season of the Witch starring Nicolas Cage has relocated to Hungary where it will continue production until February.
MEDIA doc seminars at Vilnius festival
The MEDIA Programme Division of the International Cultural Programme Centre is offering seminars and discussions for documentary filmmakers during the Vilnius Documentary Film Festival.
The Forrest gets finishing touches
The Forest, a partially animated feature film from animator and director Piotr Dumala, is in post-production, with a May 2009 projected completion date.
Chocolate's Day enters pre-production
Chocolate's Day, produced by Jacek Blawut Film Production, has entered the pre-production stage after a preparatory period that started in February 2008.
Bratislava film festival announces awards
Mid-August Lunch directed by Gianni Di Gregorio (Italy) won the Grand Prix at the 10th Bratislava IFF 2008, which ended on December 5.
The Lesser Evil hits screens in December
The Lesser Evil, the story of a young writer, who manages to develop a career in the communist Poland without writing a single book, opens in Poland on December 31.
Six Lithuanian documentary premieres at Vilnius Documentary Film Festival
The fifth edition of the Vilnius Documentary Film Festival (December 5-14 2008) will host six Lithuanian documentary premieres.
Polish thriller in the works
Marcin Wrona is in preparation to begin filming on Baptism in the first half of 2009.
New funding decisions at Hungary's MPPFH
The Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary (www.mmka.hu) has announced its latest support for Hungarian film projects and coproductions.
Herz co-production begins filming
Director Juraj Herz has started shooting on a Czech/Slovak/Polish co-production, The Dark, in Western Bohemia.
Holland's Christine in pre-production
Agnieszka Holland is in preproduction with Christine, based on the life of Krystyna Skarbek, a Pole who Winston Churchill called most prominent female agent during World War II.
Love on the Runway ushers in New Years Eve
Romantic comedy Love On The Runway, directed by Krzysztof Lang, gets a head start on next year's distribution race with a December 31 premiere in Poland.
Polish voice over readers on the war path for royalties
The 2007 amendment to the Polish copyright law extended royalty rights to film and TV voice-over readers, who have formed an association to enforce the new regulations.
Polish premiere boom to launch the New Year
Thirteen Polish premieres are scheduled for release in between Christmas and the end of and February, a sign of brighter times ahead for local cinema.
