News

The CineLink Work in Progress section at Sarajevo Film Festival, which showcases feature film projects from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has selected eight fiction and three documentary projects.

Among the subjects of the projects are a teen threesome in North Macedonia that leads to a troublesome pregnancy, a shipwreck hiding a sacred amulet on the Atlantic coast of the Sahara, a crumbling blue bus in 1950s Turkey, and mysterious aunt in rural Serbia.

The projects will be presented to international film funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers with the aim of helping them be completed and boost their distribution chances.

The films “explore the complexities of human nature and the fragility of social consensus, and the tensions between collective expectations and personal anxieties,” the festival said. “What unites these films is a shared sensitivity to the nuances of human relationships, between generations, individuals, and communities.

Kosara Mitic’s teenage drama 17 is among the 11 features participating in the work-in-progress strand of CineLink Industry Days (August 16-21), the industry platform of Sarajevo Film Festival.

Macedonian director Mitic’s debut feature will follow a 17-year-old girl who gets pregnant after a threesome with her classmates; and her attempts to hide the pregnancy become more difficult during a graduation excursion.

Scroll down for the full list of titles

The film is produced by Tomi Salkovski for North Macedonia’s Black Cat Production, in co-production with Serbia’s Art&Popcorn and Slovenia’s December.

The Sarajevo selection includes eight fiction features,...

Horror film Kazimir won the big prize of Transilvania Pitch Stop, part of the Ro Days industry platform at the Transilvania International Film Festival.

The second feature by Moldovan-born Romanian actor-director Dorian Boguta won the Chainsaw Europe’s postproduction award, offering €25,000 in postproduction services

Lucia Chicoș’ debut feature project Horseshoe won the Tps development award of €5,000 in services from postproduction house Avanpost’s. It was pitched as a bittersweet portrait of a 40 year- old primary school teacher caught between generations, expectations and an unresolved childhood who becomes pregnant and is faced with a tough decision about becoming a mother herself.

Irish filmmaker Brendan Canty’s debut feature Christy will open the 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca on June 13.

The coming-of-age-story had its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section where it won the section’s Grand Prix for best film.

The film will be launching TIFF’s new competitive section, Teen Spirit, dedicated to exploring youth culture through fiction and documentary films, with the winning film being decided by a jury made up of local teenagers aged 16 to 20.

The screening of Christy on Cluj-Napoca’s Unirii Square will be preceded...

Swedish star takes the lead in debut feature from Hungarian auteur Balint Kenyeres.

Swedish star Michael Nyqvist (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol) has been confirmed as the lead in Hier, the debut feature from highly regarded young Hungarian auteur, Bálint Kenyeres.

The $1.2 million film, which combines “a film noir-style investigation with an exploration of altered states of consciousness,” is due to shoot in Morocco this spring. Made through Mirage Film Studio, it is being backed by the Hungarian Film Fund and by foreign partners, Les Films de L’Apres-Midi (France), One Two Films (Germany), Rotterdam Films (Netherlands) and Bleck Film (Sweden).

The project passed through Sarajevo CineLink and Cannes l’Atelier and is supported by Netherlands Film Fund, Film i Vast, Arte Germany, Saarlandischer Rundfunk, Cnc France and the Media Programme.

A sales company is expected to be announced shortly.

Nyqvist will play 50-year-old Otto Ganz, a businessman...

Fitzgibbon, Sitaru, Vicari, Huddles, Runarsson and van Geffen will be at Les Arcs this December.

Ireland’s Ian Fitzgibbon, Romania’s Adrian Sitaru, Iceland’s Runar Runarsson (pictured), Italy’s Daniele Vicari and America’s John Huddles are among the directors who will be presenting their new projects at the Les Arcs Co-production village this year.

The event, which runs Dec 14-17 within France’s alpine, Sundance-style Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 14-21), unveiled the production line-up on Thursday as well as the productions that will be presented in the Works in Progress section on Dec 15.

This year’s co-pro selection mixes upcoming productions from established independent filmmakers with a slew of projects from feted shorts directors who are embarking on their first features.

“We pretty proud of this year’s line-up. There’s a lot of projects I would be seriously looking at if I were going to Les Arcs in a professional capacity rather...

Fitzgibbon, Sitaru, Vicari, Huddles, Runarsson and van Geffen will be at Les Arcs this December.

Ireland’s Ian Fitzgibbon, Romania’s Adrian Sitaru, Iceland’s Runar Runarsson (pictured), Italy’s Daniele Vicari and America’s John Huddles are among the directors who will be presenting their new projects at the Les Arcs Co-production village this year.

The event, which runs Dec 14-17 within France’s alpine, Sundance-style Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 14-21), unveiled the production line-up on Thursday as well as the productions that will be presented in the Works in Progress section on Dec 15.

This year’s co-pro selection mixes upcoming productions from established independent filmmakers with a slew of projects from feted shorts directors who are embarking on their first features.

“We pretty proud of this year’s line-up. There’s a lot of projects I would be seriously looking at if I were going to Les Arcs in a professional capacity rather...

Fitzgibbon, Sitaru, Vicari, Huddles, Runarsson and van Geffen will be at Les Arcs this December.

Ireland’s Ian Fitzgibbon, Romania’s Adrian Sitaru, Iceland’s Runar Runarsson (pictured), Italy’s Daniele Vicari and America’s John Huddles are among the directors who will be presenting their new projects at the Les Arcs Co-production village this year.

The event, which runs Dec 14-17 within France’s alpine, Sundance-style Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 14-21), unveiled the production line-up on Thursday as well as the productions that will be presented in the Works in Progress section on Dec 15.

This year’s co-pro selection mixes upcoming productions from established independent filmmakers with a slew of projects from feted shorts directors who are embarking on their first features.

“We pretty proud of this year’s line-up. There’s a lot of projects I would be seriously looking at if I were going to Les Arcs in a professional capacity rather...

European Film Promotion has special programs highlighting talent in Berlin (Shooting Stars), a Producer Lab in Toronto, 10 Directors to Watch at Karlovy Vary, European Directors at Busan and a great networking party at Afm. For 14 years Efp has hosted Producers on the Move in Cannes. This year 29 producers from 29 different European countries will take part in the event from 18 to 21 May, 2013. The Republic of Kosovo* and Montenegro will both be represented for the first time this year with a producer. These are the producers who set the ball rolling on projects, forge coalitions and conjure up a film out of an idea. Film producers are increasingly looking past their national borders. In order to facilitate an exchange with similarly ambitious colleagues from other European countries and showcase their range of achievements, European Film Promotion (Efp) offers a platform for networking to carefully selected producers. 12 of the 29 producers are women ♀.

Looking back at the 2012 edition of Producers on the Move, almost all of the producers are still in contact with one another to follow up on ideas. 17 from last year's 25 participants (68%) are already working on 15 co-productions.

The group of former participants includes such internationally known and award-winning producers as Ada Solomon from Romania (Child's Pose), Bettina Brokemper from Germany (Bal), Louise Vesth from Denmark (Melancholia) and Siniša Juričić from Croatia (Sofia’s Last Ambulance).

Scheduled during the Cannes International Film Festival, the program provides its participants with an additional visibility they get at this melting pot for filmmakers, sales agents, financiers and the international media. Producers On The Move's schedule with pitching sessions, one-on-one speed-dating meetings and various opportunities to build up business relationships and to exchange knowledge enables the selected filmmakers to return home with advanced film projects and, sometimes, with a co-production deal. At the Producers' Lunch, they can, moreover, get in contact with participants from previous years.

The participants have already realized joint European film projects which were noticed on the international radar, but they still are on their way to becoming international players. Many of them produced feature films as well as documentaries, and some are additionally active in the field of animation films.

For the fourth time, Efp will be cooperating for Producers On The Move with the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages.

The following producers were selected by Efp member organizations from their respective countries:

Belgium

Anton Iffland Stettner, Need Productions

i.e. Home by Ursula Meier ♀

selected by Wallonie Bruxelles Image

Bulgaria

Konstantin Bojanov, Argentum Lux Films

i.e. Avé by Konstantin Bojanov

selected by the Bulgarian National Film Centre

Croatia

Zdenka Gold, ♀ Spiritus Movens Production

i.e. A Stranger by Bobo Jelčić

selected by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre

Czech Republic

Viktor Tauš, Fog’n’Desire Films

i.e. House by Zuzana Liová

selected by the Czech Film Center

Denmark

Mikael Chr. Rieks, Nordisk Film Production

i.e. A Funny Man by Martin Zandvliet

selected by The Danish Film Institute

Estonia

Kiur Aarma, Traumfabrik

i.e. Disco & Atomic War by Jaak Kilmi & Kiur Aarma

selected by Baltic Films

Finland

Jussi Rantamäki, Aamu Filmcompany

i.e. The Painting Sellers by Juho Kuosmanen

selected by the Finnish Film Foundation

France

Mathieu Robinet, Révérence

i.e. Love is in the Air by Alexandre Castagnetti

selected by Unifrance films

Georgia

Zaza Rusadze, Zazarfilm

i.e. A Fold in my Blanket by Zaza Rusadze

selected by the Georgian National Film Center

Germany

Jochen Laube, teamWorx Ludwigsburg

i.e. Five Years by Stefan Schaller

selected by German Films

Greece

Giorgos Karnavas, Heretic

i.e. Boy Eating The Bird’s Food by Ektoras Lygizos

selected by the Greek Film Centre

Hungary

Andrea Taschler, ♀ Mirage Film Studio

i.e. Bibliothèque Pascal by Szabolcs Hajdu

selected by Magyar Filmunió / Hungarian National Film Fund

Iceland

Thorkell Hardarson, Markell Productions

i.e. Feathered Cocaine by Thorkell Hardarson & Örn Marinó Arnarson

selected by the Icelandic Fim Centre

Ireland

Conor Barry, Sp Films

i.e. Love Eternal by Brendan Muldowney

selected by the Irish Film Board

Italy

Viola Prestieri, Buena Onda

i.e. The Great Beauty by Paolo Sorrentino ♀

selected by Istituto Luce Cinecittà

Republic of Kosovo*

Valon Jakupaj, Gegnia Film

i.e. Adventures of Santa Clause by Valon Jakupaj

selected by the Kosova Cinematography Center

Luxembourg

Gilles Chanial, Red Lion

i.e. Le goût des myrtilles by Thomas de Thier

selected by Film Fund Luxembourg

Fyr of Macedonia

Labina Mitevska, ♀ Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production

i.e. The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears by Teona Mitevska ♀

selected by Macedonian Film Fund

Montenegro

Sehad Čekić, Cut-Up Production

i.e. The Ascent by Neminja Becanovic

selected by the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro

The Netherlands

Marleen Slot, ♀ Viking Film

i.e. Zurich by Sacha Polak ♀

selected by Eye International / Netherlands

Norway

Hans-Jørgen Osnes, Motlys

i.e. Oslo, August 31st by Joachim Trier

selected by the Norwegian Film Institute

Poland

Agnieszka Kurzydło, ♀ MD 4

i.e. In The Name Of by Małgośka Szumowska ♀

selected by the Polish Film Institute

Portugal

João Matos, Terratreme filmes

i.e. Lacrau by João Vladimiro

selected by Ica I.P. / Portugal

Romania

Anca Puiu, ♀ Mandragora

i.e. Rocker by Marian Crisan ♀

selected by the Romanian Film Promotion

Slovak Republic

Mira Fornay, ♀ Mirafox

i.e. My Dog Killer by Mira Fornay ♀

selected by Slovak Film Institute

Spain

María Zamora, ♀ Avalon P.C.

i.e. Todos están muertos by Beatriz Sanchis ♀

selected by Icaa / Spain

Sweden

Erika Wasserman, ♀ Idyll

i.e. Avalon by Axel Petersén

selected by the Swedish Film Institute

Switzerland

Joëlle Bertossa, ♀ Close Up Film

i.e. Body by Halima Ouardiri ♀

selected by Swiss Films

United Kingdom

Andrea Cornwell, ♀ Lobo Films Ltd

i.e. The Last Days On Mars by Ruairi Robinson ♀

selected by the British Council...