News

Hungarian director’s third film explores the tensions of a polarised society.

Films Boutique has boarded international sales on Hungarian director Gábor Reisz’s Explanation For Everything which will world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section.

Written and directed by Reisz and co-written with Éva Schulze, Explanation For Everything is set during a summer in Budapest. High school student Abel is struggling to focus on his final exams, while coming to the realisation that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka.

Explanation For Everything is one of 18 titles playing in Horizons. When announcing the Venice line-up yesterday,...

Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has picked up Hungarian drama “Wild Roots,” which will world premiere at an A-grade film festival later this year, and will have a market screening at the Pre-Cannes Screenings next week.

“Wild Roots,” a drama about a lonely, ex-con bouncer who is reunited with his wild child daughter, won the Works-in-Progress Award at Eastern Promises, Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s industry section. The film is the feature debut of director-writer Hajni Kis, whose “Beautiful Figure” was nominated for the Student Academy Awards in 2016.

The film, written by Fanni Szántó and Kis, centers on 12-year-old Niki, who finds out that her father, Tibor, is in town after being released from prison. She disobeys her grandmother’s fierce objections and meets him in secret. Tibor is forced to confront his role as a father and finally take responsibility. After seven years without contact, the father and daughter get to know each other,...

Father-daughter drama ‘Wild Roots’ won the top prize at the Eastern Promises industry showcase.

Wild Roots, the feature debut of Hungarian director Hajni Kis, has won the Works In Progress award at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s industry showcase, Eastern Promises.

A cash prize of €10,000 was awarded to the Hungary-Slovak Republic co-production by Turkey’s Trt.

Wild Roots, which is in post-production, centres on an aggressive ex-con whose troubled 12-year-old daughter seeks him out following his release from prison. The cast includes Gusztáv Dietz, Zorka Horváth and Éva Füsti Molnár.

Co-written by Kis and Fanni Szántó, the producers are...

Producer Wanda Adamik Hrycová readies a political thriller fictionalising true events, written by Peter Balko and directed by Jonáš Karásek. Political thrillers inspired by true events are trending in Slovakia. Amnesty, focused on the geo-political tectonic shift of the Velvet Revolution, recently premiered, while Mariana Čengel Solčanská and Rudolf Biermann teamed up on political thriller Scumbag, echoing the murder of a young journalist and his fiancée, and Mátyás Prikler is readying the political drama Power, seemingly inspired by a more obscure domestic incident (read the news). In addition, Slovakian producer Wanda Adamik Hrycová — who has already produced a successful film of this ilk, The Line — is working on The File, a political thriller that does not hide its source events. Written by Peter Balko, who wrote The Line and is currently working on folk horror Mother of the Night (read the news), the script of The File follows...

Slovakian director Mariana Čengel Solčanská and independent producer Rudolf Biermann have joined forces to direct a bleak genre flick about real-life crimes. With the recent premiere of the Slovak-Czech political thriller Amnesty, inspired by Václav Havel’s amnesties and the bloodiest prison riot in Slovakia’s history (see the news), genre fare based on recent political events is clearly in demand. Peter Bebjak’s The Line (see the news), set during the era of the impending Schengen border between Slovakia and Ukraine, Michal Kollár’s The Red Captain, unearthing the crimes of the communist past (see the news), Mátyás Prikler’s upcoming Power (see the news) and Mariana Čengel Solčanská’s thriller Kidnapping (see the news), revolving around the controversy that arose when the secret service abducted the president’s son in the early 1990s for political reasons, also confirmed the audience appeal of such movies at the domestic box office.

The film by Mátyás Prikler broaches the topics of politics and power in current Western democracies. Slovakian producer Mátyás Prikler, of MPhilms, made his first feature-length directorial outing, Fine, Thanks, in 2013, after co-writing it with Marek Leščák. Prikler mostly focused on producing after his first directorial feature; however, he has recently been preparing his next feature-length project under the title Power. Teaming up with Leščák once again on writing duties, his sophomore feature marks a departure from the social-realist drama he debuted with. Power is intended to be a political thriller and crime film, a genre for which there is a considerable appetite in domestic theatres (see the news and the article). The film broaches the topics of politics and power in modern-day Western democracies. In it, a high-ranking politician kills a child...

Some 24 film producers from across Europe took part in Efp’s networking platform Producers on the Move.

Carefully selected by the European Film Promotion’s member organisations, 24 film producers took part in this year’s Producers on the Move at Cannes (May 17-19).

Now in its 15th year, Efp’s networking platform spotlights emerging European producers and includes working sessions and various opportunities for discussions on future projects.

The 24 producers of this year’s platform, seen in the photo above, are:

from left: Mathias Rubin, Récifilms (France), Teréz Hollo-Klausen, Anna Kron Film (Norway), Olivia Musini, Cinemaundici (Italy), Henning Kamm, Detailfilm (Germany), Marta Velasco, Áralan Films (Spain), Árni Filippusson, Mystery (Iceland), Eva Jakobsen, Nimbus Film (Denmark), John Keville, Sp Films (Ireland), Eszter Gyárfás, Proton Cinema (Hungary), Tristan Goligher, The Bureau Film Company (United Kingdom), Maya Vitkova, Viktoria Films (Bulgaria), Mark Lwoff, Bufo (Finland), Petter Lindblad, Snowcloud Films (Sweden), Tomáš Hrubỳ, Nutprodukce (Czech Republic), Konstantin Kontovrakis, Heretic (Greece...

Based on their outstanding careers forged on international co-productions, 24 up-and-coming players in the European film industry have been selected to take part in European Film Promotion's (Efp) networking platform Producers on the Move. Now in its 15th year, Efp spotlights emerging European producers at the Cannes Film Festival from May 17-19 and helps them embark on successful cooperation with their similarly ambitious Producers on the Move colleagues from all over Europe.

The programas been financially supported by the Media Program (2007-2013) of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations who each made a careful selection of their national participants according to specific criteria.

The schedule of Producers on the Move includes working sessions, one-to-one speed-dating meetings and various opportunities to exchange knowledge and follow up discussions on future projects. In addition, Efp will be teaming up with the European cultural channel Arte and the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages for Producers on the Move. For the first time, Eurimages has prepared a case study exclusively for Efp's program to be discussed under the direction of Eurimages Executive Director Roberto Olla.

He points out the importance of programs such as Producers on the Move:

“This is the 4th consecutive year that Eurimages is involved with this initiative which perfectly marries our objectives of encouraging co-operation between producers so as to stimulate cinematographic co-productions and of promoting their international distribution. Further to the success of the collaboration at the Cannes Festival, the Eurimages Fund has strengthened its partnership with European Film Promotion through other initiatives which also seek to unite professionals from the European film industry in order to participate in its development on an international level.”

Looking back at previous editions, Efp's programme results each year in several new trans-national co-productions and gives the producers a higher profile in Cannes. For 2013, almost all of the participants are still in contact with one another and 17 co-productions are in development.

One recent success story is the coming-of-age feature The Word, directed by Anna Kazejak and co-produced by two Producers on the Move from 2011, Lukasz Dzieciol(Opus Film, Poland) and Jesper Morthorst (Sf Film Production, Denmark). The film was released in Poland in March after its premiere at the Berlinale in the Generation sidebar.

Currently in post is Dirk Ohm - The Illusionist That Disappeared, directed by Bobbie Peers. The producer Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film As, Norway), joined forces for this film with her Producers on the Move colleague from 2011, Gian-Piero Ringel (Neue Road Movies, Germany) and the 2010 Producers on the Move, Lizette Jonjic (Migma Film, Sweden). Norway has scheduled the release for September 2014. Ekerhovd and Ringel also worked together for two further projects: Every Thing Will Be Fine by Wim Wenders and the six episodes for Cathedrals of Culture which have been presented at this year’s Berlinale.

The following producers were selected by the Efp member organizations:

Viktoria

Director: Maya Vitkova

Producer: Maya Vitkova

Viktoria Films, Bulgaria

selected by Bulgarian National Film Centre

Gangster of Love

Director: Nebojša Slijepcevic

Producer: Vanja Jambrović

Restart, Croatia

selected by Croation Audiovisual Centre

Burning Bush

Director: Agnieszka Holland

Producer: Tomáš Hrubỳ

Nutprodukce, Czech Republic

selected by Czech Film Center

Antboy

Director: Ask Hasselbalch

Producer: Eva Jakobsen

Nimbus Film, Denmark

selected by Danish Film Institute

Concrete Night

Director: Pirjo Honkasalo

Producer: Mark Lwoff

Bufo, Finland

selected by Finnish Film Foundation

Möbius

Director: Eric Rochant

Producer: Mathias Rubin

Récifilms, France

selected by UniFrance films

Brides

Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili

Producer: Tinatin Kajrishvili

Gemini, Georgia

selected by Georgian National Film Center

The Special Need

Director: Carlo Zoratti

Producer: Henning Kamm

Detailfilm, Germany

selected by German Films

Standing Aside, Watching

Director: Yorgos Servetas

Producer: Konstantin Kontovrakis

Heretic Creative Producer, Greece

selected by Greek Film Centre

Land of Storms

Director: Adam Csaszi

Producer: Eszter Gyárfás

Proton Cinema, Hungary

selected by Magyar Filmunió/ Hungarian National Film Fund

Metalhead

Director: Ragnar Bragason

Producer: Árni Filippusson

Mystery, Iceland

selected by Icelandic Fim Centre

You're Ugly Too

Director: Mark Noonan

Producer: John Keville

Sp Films, Ireland

selected by Irish Film Board

Black Souls

Director: Francesco Munzi

Producer: Olivia Musini

Cinemaundici, Italy

selected by Istituto Luce Cinecittà

Monument to Michael Jackson

Director: Darko Lungulov

Co-Producer: Ognen Antov

Dream Factory Macedonia, Fyr of Macedonia

selected by Macedonian Film Agency

The Ascent

Director: Nemanja Becanovic

Producer: Ivan Djurović

Artikulacija Production, Montenegro

selected by Ministry of Culture of Montenegro

Totally True Love

Director: Anne Sewitsky

Producer: Teréz Hollo-Klausen

Anna Kron Film, Norway

selected by Norwegian Film Institute

Fuck for Forest

Director: Michal Marczak

Producer: Mikołaj Pokromski

Pokromski Studio, Poland

selected by Polish Film Institute

Collider

Director: Jason Butler

Producer: Nuno Bernardo

beActive Entertainment, Portugal

selected by Ica I.P. / Portugal

Slovakia 2.0

Director: Iveta Grófová, Juraj Herz, Martin Šulík, Miro Jelok, Mišo Suchý, Ondrej Rudavský, Peter Kerekes, Peter Krištúfek, Viera Cákanyová, Zuzana Liová

Producer: Mátyás Prikler

MPhilms, Slovak Republic

selected by Slovak Film Institute

The Extraordinary Tale

Director: José F. Ortuño, Laura Alvea

Producer: Marta Velasco

Áralan Films, Spain

selected by Icaa / Spain

Beyond Beyond

Director: Esben Toft Jacobsen

Producer: Petter Lindblad

Snowcloud Films, Sweden

selected by Swedish Film Institute

Ate Ver La Luz

Director: Basil da Cunha

Producer: Elodie Brunner

Box Productions, Switzerland

selected by Swiss Films

Secrets of War

Director: Dennis Bots

Producer: David Bijker

Bijker Film & TV, The Netherlands

selected by Eye International

Weekend

Director: Andrew Haigh

Producer: Tristan Goligher

The Bureau Film Company, United Kingdom

selected by British Council...

UK’s Tristan Goligher and Germany’s Henning Kamm among upcoming European producers set to be showcased at Cannes.Scroll down for the full list

European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 24 emerging young European producers for the 15th edition of its Producers on the Move networking initiative, which will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival from May 17-19.

The 2014 selection includes the The Bureau Film Company’s Tristan Goligher, who is currently in production on Andrew Haigh’s new feature 45 Years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay and sold internationally by The Match Factory.

Also on the list is Hamberg-based Henning Kamm, who had two co-productions at this year’s Berlinale – Karim Ainouz’s Praia do Futuro and Kutlug Ataman’s The Lamb - and is now working on new films by Mohammad Rasoulof, Stéphane Robelin and Lili Horvath.

Georgian producer-director Tinatin Kajrishvili has also been selected. Kajrishvili’s feature debut Brides had its premiere...

Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida received the Skoda Film Prize for Best Film at Wiesbaden’s goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, which ended with the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening (April 15).

Ida, which had taken the prize for Best Narrative Film a day before at the Sarasota Film Festival in the Us, was released by Arsenal Film on 26 prints in German cinemas last Thursday (April 10) after opening goEast the previous evening.

The International Jury, headed by German-born producer Jan Harlan and including Russian actor Ivan Shvedoff, Ukrainian producer Dmytro Tiazhlov and Georgian film-maker Nana Ekvtimishvili and Hungarian film critic Ivan Forgacs, praised “a precise screenplay and the outstanding direction” of Pawlikowski’s Polish-language debut.

On announcing the winner, Harlan said that the whole jury was ¨agreed¨ and ¨elated¨ about giving the top honour to Pawlikowski’s film which includes a cash prize of € 10,000 for the producers.

Opus Film’s Ewa Puszczynska, the film’s...