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MIDPOINT Shorts Showcase!

Five short film projects by talented emerging filmmakers will be presented on January 22, 2024, within the When East Meets West co-production forum in Trieste, Italy.

The current edition of the MIDPOINT Shorts program offered intensive training to five short film projects in development. The creators worked under the guidance of Pavel Marek, an acclaimed director and script consultant, and MIDPOINT Shorts Head of Studies, producer tutor Dora Nedeczky, pitching tutor Stefano Tealdi, as well as several guest tutors.

The second and final workshop starts on January 18, 2024, in Trieste, Italy, in partnership with the Trieste FF and When East Meets West co-production forum.

The intensive program will peak on Monday, January 22, 2024, at 16:30 CET with a project showcase hosted by MIDPOINT Institute pitching trainer Stefano Tealdi.
(Accredited industry guests of When East Meets West are welcome to attend the pitching session and set up meetings with the creators afterward.) 

The presented short film projects are:
LITTLE HOUSE / Slovenia
SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS / Croatia
TOKOS / Portugal
UNAVAILABLE / Ukraine, France
GONE / Czech Republic (Selected through collaboration with Cannes Court Métrage)

Moreover, this year for the first time we will be awarding the best project with our brand new HAVC&MIDPOINT Development Award. Read about the award here.

MIDPOINT Cold Open

The fifth edition of the program, targeting independent feature film producers shifting to high-end series content, will be organized in partnership with the When East Meets West co-production forum and as one of its Inspirational Labs from January 21 to January 24.

The following producers have been selected to participate in MIDPOINT Cold Open 2024:

Jivan Avetisyan, Fish eye Art Foundation/ Armenia 
Barbora Bereznakova, Znama Firma / Slovakia 
Costanza Coldagelli, Matrioska / Italy 
Madalina Grosu, Youth Media Center / Moldova 
Marko Jacimovic, Giggling Goat Production/ Montenegro 
Vicky Miha, asterisk* / Greece 
Alejandra Mora, Quatre Films/ Spain 
Effie Skrobola, View Master Films/ Greece 
Magdalena Sztorc, Mozaika Films / Poland 
Sergei Yahontov, Independent Film Project/ Georgia

Tutors Gabor Krigler (Joyrider) and Snezana Van Houwelingen (This and That Production), together with guest tutor Bonnie Williams, will familiarize the participants with the overall landscape and priorities of the industry and provide hands-on skills in the financing and distribution of scripted series content and also how to master the skill of networking.

The program will also offer accredited industry guests of When East Meets West an open inspirational talk titled "Unveiling the Small Screen: ‘Morning Changes Everything’ - My Debut TV Series Production Story by Snezana Van Houwelingen" on January 21, 2024, starting at 18:30 CET onsite.

It’s Company Time!

The fifth follow-up module of the Feature Launch 2023 program, called COMPANY TIME, is focused on additional training & enhancing the skills of participating producers.

This follow-up workshop offers producers alumni of the Feature Launch program support in company sustainability and strategic business planning. This training is designed and co-organized with EAVE and takes place within When East Meets West from January 19 to January 24, 2024.

Company Time Producers: 
Kristian Van der Heyden, Belgium / HARALD HOUSE BELGIUM BV 
Constantinos Nikiforou, Cyprus / CARETTA FILMS (CPN) LTD 
Genoveva Petrovits, Hungary / KINO ALFA KFT 
Tomas Pertold, Czech Republic / Perfilm s.r.o. 
Mina Dreki, Greece / Marni Films LTD 
Kristians Alhimionoks, Latvia / Centaur Films 
Katarina Krnacova, Slovakia / SILVERART 
Karin Berghammer, Austria / berg hammer film GmbH
Eva Kucera Smon, Slovenia / Perfo

The workshop is led by Juliane Schulze, a strategic creative economy expert in business, finance, investment, and sustainability, who advises European and international audiovisual companies as well as funding institutions and business agencies.
Over four days, participants will sharpen their competitive advantage and enhance the viability of their businesses. Feedback rounds and individual mentoring sessions will offer direct support to tackle the challenges they are facing as film professionals in an ever-changing marketplace.