News

Here are the highlights of the third module, Works in Development – Feature Launch.

After the two intensive residential workshops in Trieste and Belgrade the 9 teams presented their feature film projects within the Eastern Promises Industry Days in front of international decision makers. The teams had the opportunity to meet and network with professionals from different areas of the audiovisual industry and also with a number of MIDPOINT’s partners, who announced the winners of 3 awards for this year’s participants.  

Marjorie Bendeck, the Director of connecting cottbus singled out The Ugly Mandarine, a multicultural, contemporary love story for recognition. As a result, Piaoyu Xie and Veronika Kuhrova have been granted the opportunity to pitch their project during the connecting cottbus co-production market, which will be followed by individual consultations and one-to-one meetings with potential partners.

“The range and quality of the projects of the MIDPOINT Feature Launch this year were impressive. During our selection process we took into consideration the current stage and needs of each project and how this would fit as far as them participating in the upcoming edition of our market. The Ugly Mandarine provides a fresh perspective on those that have chosen immigration and the absurd obstacles they have to overcome, told through an intimate love story. The writer/director Piaoyu Xie and the producer Veronika Kuhrova are talented up-and-coming filmmakers who show a strong passion for this important topic.” Marjorie Bendeck, Director of connecting cottbus

Adi Dizdarevic, producer of the Serbian film The Myth of a Real Man, a drama/comedy dealing with the recent past, was chosen to participate in the next edition of the Rotterdam Lab created for promising emerging film producers. The 5-day training workshop takes place during the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

“The Myth of a Real Man addresses urgent and human issues and dilemmas which are still pertinent today, told from a very personal perspective. After gaining experience in the field - the team has set up their newly established production company 'Filmbakery', with clear and high ambitions in mind. Adi Dizdarevic is in the perfect stage of his career to make the most out of the Rotterdam Lab, and we're looking forward to closely following the team on their journey completing The Myth of a Real Man and all their future projects to come!” Inke van Loocke, IFFR PRO Manager CineMart & Rotterdam Lab

The Hungarian near-past period drama, Erasing Frank was selected by Ieva Buzinskaite and Domante Urmonaite of the Art Department Masterclass. Writer/director Gabor Fabricius and producer Miklos Havas have the unique opportunity to work on the production design of their project with other emerging art directors during the second, practical workshop in Lithuania.

“We have selected Erasing Frank because of its ambitious nature and how visual this project is. In our experience, such projects require the writer, director and production designer to be very collaborative and hard working. We do believe that this project will be interesting for our participants and all of them will benefit from the creative team work.” Ieva Buzinskaite and Domante Urmonaite of Art Department Masterclass

A MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2015 project, History of Love, was selected for the Official Competition and Sonja Prosenc and Rok Secen went home with a Special Mention from the Jury.

Congratulations to everyone.

Thanks to all our partners that helped make Feature Launch 2018 possible and such a great success:

The Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, the Czech Film Fund, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Trieste Film Festival, When East Meets West, Film Center Serbia, the Audiovisual Producers` Association, Cinemart, connecting cottbus, and the Art Department Masterclass.

The call is currently open for applying to MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2019 for emerging filmmakers and script consultant trainees from Central and Eastern Europe. To read more about the program and your eligibility please visit our website. The deadline for submissions is 21 September 2018.