Two projects awarded finance prizes; Global Film Initiative introduces new grants.

The 31st CineMart co-production market came to a close last night (Jan 29) with the awarding of prizes.

The ceremony, held at the Doelen as part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), saw two projects rewarded.

The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €30,000 for the best CineMart 2014 project with a European partner was given to Tabija by Igor Drljaca from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a production of SCCA/pro.ba.

The jury stated: “This is a project with great urgency developed by a young team, in an interesting form and style. This will be a film that portrays a generation of young people after a war we all know. We are very much looking forward to see this intense and modern film from a country, that hasn’t made such a film yet.”

Igor Drljaca fled with his parents from his homeland to Canada in 1993, where he graduated with a masters’ degree in film production at York University in 2011. During his studies, he made several successful short films. His feature debut Krivina screened at IFFR 2013. Tabija previously received support from the Hubert Bals Fund for script and project development in 2012.

The ARTE International Prize of €7,000 for the best CineMart 2014 project was given to Happy Time Will Come Soon by Alessandro Comodin, a co-production of Okta Film (Italy) and Shellac Sud (France).

The jury said: “This very original project seems to go deep into the rich and sensitive world of the filmmaker that we noticed with his excellent previous film L’estate di Giacomo. The elaborate narrative of the project nourished by family stories and rooted into the landscapes of North-East Italy promises a beautiful and imaginative film.”

Italian filmmaker Alessandro Comodin graduated in cinema direction from the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) in Brussels, Belgium. His short documentary Jagdfieber (2008) was selected for the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes. His award-winning first feature film L’estate di Giacomo screened at IFFR 2012.

The CineMart jury consisted of ARTE France’s Annamaria Lodato, Pierre Menahem from MPM Film, and Netherlands Film Fund head Dorien van de Pas.

Global Film Initiative Grants

While in Rotterdam, Global Film Initiative decided to make three grants of $10,000 each available to participants in this year’s CineMart, in support of the long relationship with the Hubert Bals Fund and IFFR.

Susan Weeks Coulter, chair of the board of Global Film Initiative: “We felt that perhaps this year, filmmakers would appreciate knowing they had an immediate decision about some financing and we have decided to make that a reality for three of them today.”

The three projects receiving the grants are

Chingari - The Spark by Rajesh S. Jala (India, produced by The Elements and A.S.A.P. Films),

Nervous Translation by Shireen Seno (The Philippines, produced by Peliculas Los Otros),

Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Turkey/France/Germany, produced by Aurora Films).
 
For its 31st edition, CineMart selected 25 projects. The selection included three ‘Art:Film’ projects and two projects from this year’s Boost! program.

CineMart is supported by MEDIA Programme of the European Union, City Development Corporation (OBR), City of Rotterdam and MEDIA Mundus. 

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