EFP selects Producers on the Move for Cannes

The 14th edition of Producers on the Move will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival from May 18-21.

EFP’S member organisations have selected a record total of 29 young European producers.

Two of the selected producers have films screening in sections of the festival in Cannes.

The first is Italian producer Viola Prestieri of Buena Onda, who executive produced The Great Beauty [pictured] by Paolo Sorrentino, which will be screened in Competition, and Valeria Golino’s Honey to be seen in Un Certain Regard.

The second is the UK’s Andrea Cornwell of Lobo Films, who produced Ruairi Robinson’s Directors’ Fortnight title The Last Days On Mars.

The 2013 line-up also includes Estonian producer Kiur Aarma, who was awarded Screen International’s Best Pitch Award at the Baltic Event in Tallinn last December for the project The Hoppers by Jaak Kilmi, and Georgian director-producer Zaza Rusadze whose debut feature A Fold In My Blanket was the opening film at the Berlinale’s Panorama last February.

German Films selected teamWorx’s Jochen Laube whose latest production, Burhan Qurbani’s Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark began principal photography on Tuesday [Apr 23] starring Devid Striesow, Jonas Nay, Saskia Rosendahl (Lore), Joel Basman, and Trang le Hong.

Qurbani, whose feature debut Shahada had its premiere in the Berlinale’s Competition in 2010, wrote the screenplay with Martin Behnke and had been inspired by the events of August 1992 in a suburb of the east German city of Rostock when neo-Nazis attacked a residential home for asylum seekers with the local population looking on.

The project had been pitched by the Afghan-German Qurbani and his creative director Leif Alexis at the Sofia Meetings in 2011 and attraced funding from MDM, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, BKM, Nordmedia and DFFF. Beta Film will handle international sales, with Zorro Film releasing the film in German cinemas in 2014.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, Bulgaria’s choice of producer-director Konstantin Bojanov of Argentum Lux Films said that he is looking to participating in Producers on the Move.

“I am expecting hopefully to find partners for some of the projects I am developing and also to look for projects that I could participate in as a minority co-producer,” he said.

“For me, I would like to try more and more to have a balance between my own films and producing those of other directors.”

Bojanov will be in Cannes looking for a UK production partner for his London-set feature Blinded By The Sun as well as pitching young Bulgarian director Pavel Vesnakov’s debut feature.

According to EFP, almost all of the producers from the 2012 edition are still in contact with one another to follow up on ideas. A total of 17 from last year’s 25 participants are already working on 15 co-productions, the Hamburg-based institution reports. 

Since its launch 14 years ago, Producers on the Move has brought 270 producers together over four days during Cannes and aims to lay the foundation for future collaborations at round table meetings and co-production lunches. The initiative is financially backed by the European Union’s MEDIA Programme and the EFP member organisations, and has support for the fourth year running from the pan-European fund Eurimages.

PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE 2013

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 Moven 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
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 Films
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, Film production and distribution
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 2014 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 Axel Petersén
selected by ICAA / Spain

Sweden
Erika Wasserman, Idyll
i.e. Avalon by Karzan Kader
selected by the Swedish Film Institute

Switzerland
Joëlle Bertossa, Close Up Film
i.e. TBA
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

EC drafts Kosovo MEDIA proposal

This week also saw the European Commission (EC) publish a draft proposal for a framework agreement between the European Union (EU) and Kosovo for its participation in EU programmes, including MEDIA 2007 and Culture

Kosovo has already participated in activities of EFP through the Kosova Cinematography Center (KCC) becoming a member last year: actress Arta Dobroshi was selected as a Shooting Star at this year’s Berlinale, and now Valon Jaupaj will participate in the Producers on the Move platform in Cannes.

According to Article 2 of the agreement, Kosovo would contribute financially to the general budget of the EU in proportion to the specific programmes in which it participates.

If the European Council of the EU member states agrees, and once the agreement is signed by both sides, Kosovo would be able to participate in a total of 22 EU programmes.