PRODUCTION: Švankmajer in Preproduction on Čapek´s Insects
Czech auteur and animation artist Jan Švankmajer at age 76 is preparing a film adaptation of legendary Czech playwright and novelist Karel Čapek's book "On the Life of a Beetle" which is in preproduction under the title Insects. Švankmajer premiered his last film, the collage-styled Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život), at the 2010 Venice Film Festival last year.
PRODUCTION: Night Boats in Production
Night Boats, a Croatian-Slovenian-Serbian coproduction directed by Igor Mirković, began shooting in Zagreb on 28 April 2011. The melodrama was written by Mirković along with Elvis Bošnjak and Ognjen Sviličić.
PRODUCTION: Fashion Tension Begins Filming in Hvar
ZAGREB: The Croatian feature Fashion Tension is directed by Filip Šovagović and written by Ivica Đikić and Robert Perišić began shooting on the island of Hvar on 26 April 2011.
PRODUCTION: Slovak/Russian Baluansky in Preproduction
BRATISLAVA: Baluďanský, a Slovak-Russian full-length documentary written and directed by František Palonder (My Father Gulag), is in preproduction with filming to start in summer 2011. The production is scheduled for 50 days and shooting locations will be Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Vienna, London, Oradea (Romania), and Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), and will be released in 2012.
PRODUCTION: TVP Series Higher Power in Production
WARSAW: ATM Grupa (www.atmgrupa.pl) is producing an original new series, Higher Power, a comedy that will explore the spiritual life of Poles. Polish public broadcaster TVP (www.tvp.pl) has commissioned one season of the original Polish series written by Robert Butter and Jerzy Niemczuk.
PRODUCTION: Alvernia Producing Hollywood's Arbitrage
KRAKOW: Alvernia Studios, one of the most modern Polish film studios, is co-producing and investing in Arbitrage, a drama starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth.
PRODUCTION: Kolski in Production with Kill the Beaver
WARSAW: Acclaimed Polish director Jan Jakub Kolski is currently filming his 14th film, Kill The Beaver. Shooting started in Popielawy near Lodz at the beginning of April 2011 and will last through May.
PRODUCTION: Croatian Doc Receives Romanian Funding
Croatian documentary film Gangster Loves You by director Nebojša Slijepčević and produced by Restart and Fade In received a grant of €26,000 from the Romanian National Film Fund CNC (Centrui National ai Cinematografiei) through Romanian co-producer, Subcultura production company managed by Florin Iepan.
PRODUCTION: Flower Square in Production
ZAGREB: Croatian director Krsto Papić has begun shooting his feature film Flower Square (working title). Filming commenced on 10 April 2011 in Zagreb, and is scheduled to wrap on 20 May. The entire film will be shot on location in Zagreb.
PRODUCTION: Apricot Island Premieres in Slovakia
BRATISLAVA: Slovak director Peter Bebjak's debut feature, Apricot Island, will hit Slovak cinemas on 14 April 2011 after four years in production.
PRODUCTION: Lithuanian Co-production Blood in the Snow Wraps Shoot
VILNIUS: The Spanish-Lithuanian co-production Blood in the Snow (Sangre en la nieve) from director Gerardo Herrero will complete filming by 15 April 2011.
PRODUCTION: First Polish Social Documentary Planned
One of the biggest Polish music festivals will be the topic of Opener Generation, the first Polish document made with the help of the whole community of participants. The creative team behind Opener Generation, a social documentary about the Heineken Music Open'er Festival (www.opener.pl) in Gdynia, are inviting all past participants of the event to take part in the production.
PRODUCTION: The Island Completes Postproduction
SOFIA: Bulgarian director Kamen Kalev announced that the postproduction of his second feature The Island is now completed. He told FNE that the edit of the film, which was shot in the summer of 2010 on the Black sea Saint Anastasia Island, was locked in mid-February 2011 in Denmark and the postproduction was completed in Sweden.
PRODUCTION: Parade Shoots in Croatia
Parade, directed by Srđan Dragojević co-produced by Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia, and funded by Eurimages, completed a week shoot on locations in Croatia. The film is co-funded by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (www.hvac.hr).
PRODUCTION: TVP Drama Series Aida
WARSAW: Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP, www.tvp.pl) has commissioned the first season of Aida, a new Polish series based on a Spanish format.
PRODUCTION: Polish WWII Prison Break Story in Production
WARSAW: Polish director Andrzej Skłodowski is reconstructing one of the biggest break-outs from Nazi work camps in his new documentary Harry - tunel do wolności ( Harry - A Tunnel to Freedom), a documentary about the escape of 76 Polish pilots from the Stalag Luff camp in Żagań.