Despite the ongoing war, companies from both countries are virtually attending the online film market.
Defying the ongoing war in Ukraine, a Kyiv-based media group and several independent Russian companies are attempting to conduct business as usual at Hong Kong’s Filmart Online (March 14-17) this week.
Asia’s largest film market is taking place virtually, due to the pandemic, meaning representatives of Ukraine’s Film.UA Group can discuss titles with international buyers without the need to travel out of the country. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, means Film.UA are experiencing unprecedented challenges for the company.
Defying the ongoing war in Ukraine, a Kyiv-based media group and several independent Russian companies are attempting to conduct business as usual at Hong Kong’s Filmart Online (March 14-17) this week.
Asia’s largest film market is taking place virtually, due to the pandemic, meaning representatives of Ukraine’s Film.UA Group can discuss titles with international buyers without the need to travel out of the country. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, means Film.UA are experiencing unprecedented challenges for the company.
- 3/15/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Hosts of Michel Hazanavicius’s The Search and Transporter 3 set to add rebates; Ukraine to join Creative Europe framework.
Georgia and Ukraine are set to become the latest countries to introduce tax incentives in order to attract foreign productions to shoot in their locations.
Speaking at this week’s Film Industry Office forum in Odessa, David Vashadze, head of export and distribution at the Georgian National Film Center (Gnfc), revealed that a tax rebate scheme will be launched from next January.
Foreign producers wishing to benefit from the scheme will be required to reach a minimum of spend of $300,000 in Georgia and fulfil a minimum of three days of shooting in the country.
The minimum spend will be reduced to $150,000 for documentary projects.
The rebate would be 20% of the qualifying expenses and an additional 2% could be paid if there are more Georgian elements such as the hiring of local cast or the promotion of Georgian culture...
Georgia and Ukraine are set to become the latest countries to introduce tax incentives in order to attract foreign productions to shoot in their locations.
Speaking at this week’s Film Industry Office forum in Odessa, David Vashadze, head of export and distribution at the Georgian National Film Center (Gnfc), revealed that a tax rebate scheme will be launched from next January.
Foreign producers wishing to benefit from the scheme will be required to reach a minimum of spend of $300,000 in Georgia and fulfil a minimum of three days of shooting in the country.
The minimum spend will be reduced to $150,000 for documentary projects.
The rebate would be 20% of the qualifying expenses and an additional 2% could be paid if there are more Georgian elements such as the hiring of local cast or the promotion of Georgian culture...
- 7/17/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
New Horizons Studio’s Best Pitch prize has been awarded to Aleksandra Terpinska for documentary comedy project Czech Swan.
Terpinska is a student of directing at the University of Silesia in Katowice. A special mention was made by the jury of La Femis graduate Sylvain Coisne for his feature debut Cockfest.
Terpinska and Coisne were among the participants of the fourth edition of the Wroclaw’s training programme, which included workshops on pitching, production, distribution and promotion.
It comprised 18 young Polish film-makers and nine from countries including Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and France.
Studio line-up
This year’s Studio line-up included Romania’s Iulia Rugina, whose debut feature - the low budget Love Building - premiered at the Transilvania International Film Festival last month and will open in Romanian cinemas on September 13.
Also included was Polish producer Maria Golos ,who is now in final preparations for Michal Rogalski’s Summer Solstice (Sommerwende), structured as a Polish-German co-production with Berlin...
Terpinska is a student of directing at the University of Silesia in Katowice. A special mention was made by the jury of La Femis graduate Sylvain Coisne for his feature debut Cockfest.
Terpinska and Coisne were among the participants of the fourth edition of the Wroclaw’s training programme, which included workshops on pitching, production, distribution and promotion.
It comprised 18 young Polish film-makers and nine from countries including Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and France.
Studio line-up
This year’s Studio line-up included Romania’s Iulia Rugina, whose debut feature - the low budget Love Building - premiered at the Transilvania International Film Festival last month and will open in Romanian cinemas on September 13.
Also included was Polish producer Maria Golos ,who is now in final preparations for Michal Rogalski’s Summer Solstice (Sommerwende), structured as a Polish-German co-production with Berlin...
- 7/25/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Absurdistan
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- The battle between the sexes rises to ludicrous heights in Absurdistan, an attempt at comic allegory that stretches a thin premise to feature length. A film best suited to the international festival circuit, it might find a welcome at European-friendly fests before potentially securing a spot on overseas TV or DVD.
German director/co-writer Veit Helmer's principal limitation is not an absence of imagination, but a lack of focus in the execution of his fanciful tale. Childhood sweethearts Temelko (Maximilian Mauff) and Aya (Kristyna Malerova) come of age in a small village in the arid and imaginary nation of Absurdistan (actually Azerbaijan), where the men are famed for their supposed virility and the women known for their apparent compliance. Although most of the males are incompetent at the jobs necessary to keep the little community functioning, the women always are ready to take up the slack and get the work done.
One issue they can't address is the growing deterioration of the town's water source, dependent on a rickety pipeline running from a treacherous cave high in the mountains. Although the women entreat the men to resolve the shortage, their spouses are little interested in tackling the problem, even as the dwindling supply brings about drastic conservation measures.
Desperate, the villagers send their young men to the big city to study the water problem and Temelko reluctantly departs, even though Aya's grandmother has consulted the stars and set a date for the couple to consummate their relationship four years in the future.
When he returns close to the appointed time from his urban sojourn, Temelko unwisely squanders water from the town's meager supply for the ritual bath that must precede the couple's special night, provoking Aya to angrily prohibit any lovemaking until Temelko solves the water crisis.
Soon, all the village women have delivered the same message to their spouses, declaring No water, no sex, as low-intensity gender warfare gradually begins to escalate, trapping Temelko and Aya in the middle.
While Helmer and his three co-writers aim for a lyrically comic tone, the inspiration for their script was an actual incident in Turkey. The story's anecdotal origins provide little material for compelling character development or inspired dialogue, relying primarily on voice-overs narrated by Aya and Temelko.
Helmer's attempt to craft an absurdist Lysistrata-like fable founders further on his tendency to favor small comic bits at the expense of developing the overall narrative. With two ineffectual lead performances and a supporting cast drawn from 16 European nations, Helmer's filmmaking skills aren't sufficient to the task of forging a coherent vision for the film.
ABSURDISTAN
A Veit Helmer film production in association withMedienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFF and MFG
Credits:
Director: Veit Helmer
Screenwriters: Gordan Mihic, Zaza Buadze, Ahmet Golbol, Veit Helmer
Producer: Linda Kornemann
Director of photography: George Beridze
Music: Shigeru Umebayashi
Costume designers: Mehriban Efendiyeva, Serap Bahadir
Editor: Vincent Assmann
Cast:
Temelko: Maximilian Mauff
Aya: Kristyna Malerova
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- The battle between the sexes rises to ludicrous heights in Absurdistan, an attempt at comic allegory that stretches a thin premise to feature length. A film best suited to the international festival circuit, it might find a welcome at European-friendly fests before potentially securing a spot on overseas TV or DVD.
German director/co-writer Veit Helmer's principal limitation is not an absence of imagination, but a lack of focus in the execution of his fanciful tale. Childhood sweethearts Temelko (Maximilian Mauff) and Aya (Kristyna Malerova) come of age in a small village in the arid and imaginary nation of Absurdistan (actually Azerbaijan), where the men are famed for their supposed virility and the women known for their apparent compliance. Although most of the males are incompetent at the jobs necessary to keep the little community functioning, the women always are ready to take up the slack and get the work done.
One issue they can't address is the growing deterioration of the town's water source, dependent on a rickety pipeline running from a treacherous cave high in the mountains. Although the women entreat the men to resolve the shortage, their spouses are little interested in tackling the problem, even as the dwindling supply brings about drastic conservation measures.
Desperate, the villagers send their young men to the big city to study the water problem and Temelko reluctantly departs, even though Aya's grandmother has consulted the stars and set a date for the couple to consummate their relationship four years in the future.
When he returns close to the appointed time from his urban sojourn, Temelko unwisely squanders water from the town's meager supply for the ritual bath that must precede the couple's special night, provoking Aya to angrily prohibit any lovemaking until Temelko solves the water crisis.
Soon, all the village women have delivered the same message to their spouses, declaring No water, no sex, as low-intensity gender warfare gradually begins to escalate, trapping Temelko and Aya in the middle.
While Helmer and his three co-writers aim for a lyrically comic tone, the inspiration for their script was an actual incident in Turkey. The story's anecdotal origins provide little material for compelling character development or inspired dialogue, relying primarily on voice-overs narrated by Aya and Temelko.
Helmer's attempt to craft an absurdist Lysistrata-like fable founders further on his tendency to favor small comic bits at the expense of developing the overall narrative. With two ineffectual lead performances and a supporting cast drawn from 16 European nations, Helmer's filmmaking skills aren't sufficient to the task of forging a coherent vision for the film.
ABSURDISTAN
A Veit Helmer film production in association withMedienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFF and MFG
Credits:
Director: Veit Helmer
Screenwriters: Gordan Mihic, Zaza Buadze, Ahmet Golbol, Veit Helmer
Producer: Linda Kornemann
Director of photography: George Beridze
Music: Shigeru Umebayashi
Costume designers: Mehriban Efendiyeva, Serap Bahadir
Editor: Vincent Assmann
Cast:
Temelko: Maximilian Mauff
Aya: Kristyna Malerova
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/30/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- There were 983 submissions from 15 countries in this category and apart from a couple of names, I know not one of the final selections below. World Cinema Dramatic Competition"Absurdistan" (Germany), directed by Veit Helmer, written by Helmer, Zaza Buadze, Gordan Mihic and Ahmet Golbol, about a sex strike by village women that threatens a young couple's first night together."Blue Eyelids" (Mexico), directed by Ernesto Contreras, about the ramifications of a single woman's winning of a beach trip for two."Captain Abu Raed" (Jordan), directed and written by Amin Matalqa, concerning an aging airport janitor who relates tall tales to local kids who think he's a pilot."The Drummer" (Hong Kong), directed and written by Kenneth Bi, the story of a young man who matures from reckless gangster to serious grownup due to the influence of Zen drumming."Elite Squad" (Brazil), directed by Jose Padilha ("Bus 174") and written by Braulio Mantovani and Padilha,
- 11/28/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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