EUROPEAN SHORT2012 PITCH
CONTENTS ABOUT NISI MASA
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ABOUT EUROPEAN SHORT PITCH
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PROJECTS
Geoff Bellhouse Lucio Besana Eicke Bettinga Nina Blazin M. Bonnici & C. Galea Eni Brandner Antonio Celotto Maria Dicieanu Una Gunjak Szymon Jachimek M. Kotecka & K. Poryzala Nora Lakos Piotr Litwin David Mahmoudieh Klaus Pas & Luc Walpoth Clarisse Potoky Martin Repka Júlia Széphelyi Léa Triboulet Acim Vasic Iacopo Zanon Frédéric Zeimet Barbara Zemljič Avgousta Zourelidi
TUTORS
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PARTNERS AND CONTACT INFO 2
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Life Midnight News Chain Dawn Is-Shab ERSATZ Field Trip Little Stones The Chicken Sweet Home à la Mamma Musk Helen’s Kitchen Flora&Fauna Seaside Samurai CTRL-ALT-DEL Aboudi Lao Tiger Fight Incella going to buy bread Sofia B. didn’t sleep well The Nail 6:30 on a Summer Evening Cowboy The Right to Love Electrifying Love
UK Italy Germany/Bulgaria Slovenia Malta Austria Italy Romania UK/Italy/Bosnia Poland Poland Hungary Poland UK Belgium/Switzerland France Slovakia Hungary France France Italy Luxembourg Slovenia Greece/UK
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ABOUT NISI MASA OUR PROFILE NISI MASA is a European Network of Young Cinema gathering hundreds of film enthusiasts and professionals from 26 countries. NISI MASA is composed of national organisations with different profiles, but all consisting of young Europeans sharing a common passion: cinema.
OUR MAIN ACTIVITIES NISI MASA holds an annual call for short film projects for young European scriptwriters and filmmakers aged between 18 and 35, which results in European Short Pitch. All year long, NISI MASA organises various events all around Europe, involving hundreds of film buffs and talents: seminars, scriptwriting and filmmaking workshops, as well as film festivals and screenings. Moreover, NISI MASA publishes Nisimazine during different European and International films festivals (Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Cannes, Rotterdam, Venice, etc.) as well as a monthly newsletter, Mas y Mas.
OUR MAIN AIMS - Discover and promote new film talents - Foster European awareness through cinema - Develop cross-cultural cinema projects - Create a platform of collaboration for young European filmmakers
NISI MASA Associations * Albania - First Step Association * Austria - kino5 * Bulgaria - SEVEN * Croatia - Kinoklub Zagreb * Croatia - Palunko * Czech Republic - Fresh Film Fest * Estonia - NISI MASA Estonia * Finland - Euphoria Borealis ry * France - NISI MASA France * Germany - filmArche * Germany - Munich Film Society * Hungary - NISI MASA Hungary * Italy - Franti NISI MASA Italia * Kosovo - 7arte
* Lithuania - Kaunas International Film Festival * Luxembourg - Filmreakter * Macedonia - Cre8ive8 * Netherlands - Breaking Ground * Portugal - FEST – Associação Cultural * Romania - Control N * Russia - Moviement * Slovakia - Early Melons * Slovenia - PIFF * Spain - Cinestesias * Sweden - NISI MASA Sweden * Turkey - NISI MASA Turkey * UK - Encounters * Ukraine - CinemaHall
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ABOUT EUROPEAN SHORT PITCH European Short Pitch is an initiative aimed at promoting the European coproduction of short films. It combines a scriptwriting workshop in residency, an on-line session and a coproduction forum bringing together scriptwriters and industry professionals from all over Europe. Selected on the basis of their short film projects, young European talents gather to discuss, rewrite and learn to promote their ideas on a European level. They eventually pitch their project in front of a panel of European producers and distributors. Initiated by NISI MASA, European Short Pitch is now in its 6th edition and is the continuation of our European Script Contest, held from 2001 to 2008. European Short Pitch’s rewriting session was held in Luxembourg at the beginning of January, with 24 participants from 15 countries attending. From collective brainstorming to working in groups or individually with professional tutors, participants discussed their projects in depth, receiving various feedbacks to nurture their projects. This year, European Short Pitch’s pitching session will take place on the 3th of March in Maribor, Slovenia, this year’s European Capital of Culture, followed by one-to-one meetings in the evening and on the following day.
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Synopsis A year on, Meagan struggles to balance a fractured home life with creating a future for herself. She spends most her time tending to her now bereaved mother and younger sister whilst working at an oriental store to bring home the family income. One day during work, Kay unexpectedly walks back into Meagan’s life – a woman Meagan never thought she would have to deal with again. At first disgusted, Meagan is soon fixated and compelled to follow Kay home.
GEOFF BELLHOUSE LIFE
UNITED KINGDOM
Later, waiting outside her house, an opportunistic moment occurs as Kay leaves and with the house alone and temporarily vacant, Meagan snatches her chance and breaks in. Once inside she is unexpectedly moved and confused by the similarities that her house and this woman share. Both are absent of someone very dear and significant. Finally, when the two women confront each other over what is going on, they soon realise they both share conflicted feelings of loss and hopelessness…
Tel: +44 208 947 8855 E-mail: Geoff@thebeatpicture.com
Intention Life offers a brief glimpse into the world of two pained characters. It portrays the parallels and similarities they both share as an after effect of this killing. A sister has lost her brother and a mother has lost a son to jail. The emotional impact on both women is extreme and as a result this moment when they encounter each other is intensely affecting and poignant. I wanted to deal with the devastation left upon both family lives a year after the incident. It is witnessed through Meagan’s eyes and it is her story but it is also her humanity, which allows the viewer into Kay’s world. Both women have a different relationship to this mur-
der and so the feelings are varied but equally there is an overriding consensus of bereavement and failure. When they discover each other and acknowledge the other person for who they are, this is the coming together of two extremes. However what exists, rather than anger or revenge, is a common acceptance that they are both in equal positions of futility. Both are subjected to the emotional consequences and damage of murder and both have lost the person they most cared about.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: £18,000
“What is it to seek compassion in the person who has hurt you most?”
Director Biography Born in London 1984, I began my film career at the Septima Ars Film School in Madrid, Spain. I studied direction for a year, before returning to the UK to complete a Masters in Filmmaking at The London Film School. Having graduated in 2010 and worked on several award winning independent shorts and documentaries, I am now writing my first feature film. I predominantly focus on fiction, looking at everyday people and their relationship to experiencing new, unusual and affecting situations. So far my works have been screened and exhibited at festivals across Europe. I have a BIFA nomination for writing and my latest fiction short Life is currently in the early stages of production.
Director of Photography – David Procter www.davidprocterdop.com Meagan – Antonia Thomas www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/94118975-5851 Locations needed: Meagan’s Flat/ Swimming Pool/ Wing Yip Cash & Carry/Bus/ Kay’s House
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Synopsis A big city, present day. Every night at midnight, a radio station broadcasts a weird talk show where you can listen to what are claimed to be the voices of the dead.
“Stay tuned.”
Max and Laura have lost their five-year-old son Michael, yet they’ve found the strength to carry on. Two years after their loss, Laura is pregnant again. But their newly found balance is put at stake when their neighbour makes them listen to the Midnight News. In one of the voices Laura recognizes Michael, their lost son.
LUCIO BESANA Midnight News
Max doesn’t want to believe and refuses to try to get in touch with his son through the transmission, but Laura can’t just leave Michael alone. The crisis forces them to cope with a sorrow now impossible to comfort.
italy
Tel: +39 039 695 7204 E-mail: luciobesana@gmail.com
Intention By depicting Max and Laura’s emotional dilemmas, I want to talk about the extreme difficulty in dealing with your pain and losses in a society without boundaries for communication and information-sharing. The Midnight News affects Max and Laura by destroying their certainties about death, making them all the more dazed and confused. No answer will be given at the end of the short, whether the voices are true or false, or what is right or wrong to do. I want the audience’s response to be emotional. I’ll direct Midnight News as a psychological drama. I’ll
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stay close to the characters and focus on their feelings. In the visuals, the outside will mirror the inside: I will depict an abstract, existential city, more a place of the soul, shot entirely at night, a barren landscape of deserted streets and eerie halos of electric lights. Even the scene in Max and Laura’s apartment is set at night time, lit by lamps, bubbles of light in the darkness. On the other hand, handheld cameras will stay close to the characters, snatching their feelings and insisting on details revealing their emotions and their physical reactions to pain.
Production Facts estimated Budget: 30.000 € To be shot in English. Written with Milan in mind, but can be set in many other big cities (i.e. London) Self-contained, yet conceived to be a teaser for a feature. I need a more-than-amazing sound designer to create the outer world sound design.
Director Biography Born in 1982, Lucio Besana grew up in a small town near the banks of the river Adda, east of Milan. He’s been writing since the age of 9. At first he created short stories and novels, then, as a teen, started writing stage plays for a school acting course – an activity which he kept up for the following 10 years, writing, acting and directing dark comedies in amateur theatre companies. At 23 he was selected for the Directing Course at the Scuola Civica in Milan, where he wrote, shot and edited short films and documentaries. He’s now working as a First Assistant Director and freelance Script Editor and Filmmaker.
Synopsis Southern Bulgaria, 1989 – only a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. While on holiday, twenty year old Andrea - a free spirited and idealistic girl from the GDR - decides to carry out a secret plan to cross the border to Greece. One morning she gets on a bike and sets off. When the chain unexpectedly falls off, it appears that Andrea’s plan is shattered. But then Dian, a young Bulgarian man, comes along and helps Andrea fix the bike. Soon they start talking and visibly enjoying each others company. For a brief moment it seems that anything is possible. Yet, a little later they say goodbye and part again.
eicke bettinga chain
germany/bulgaria
Night falls and Andrea becomes increasingly restless. She heads towards the border fence through the darkness of the forest. Andrea manages to cut the wires and experiences the first moments of liberty, when all of a sudden she is surrounded by a group of Bulgarian border soldiers…
Tel: +49 173 444 7266 E-mail: ebettinga@gmx.net
Intention During the initial research I came across the shocking fact that during the Cold War, GDR citizens trying to flee across the Bulgarian borders to the West were in some cases shot, even when they could have simply been arrested. The GDR regime allegedly paid 1.000 Mark to a Bulgarian border soldier for every ‘neutralized’ GDR citizen. Additionally, the Bulgarian State awarded the soldiers with up to ten days of vacation. The more I learned about this issue, the more I became determined to get this story out there and to shine a light on an unknown issue of recent European history, which until today remains a taboo.
My goal is to create an emotive, truthful and visually striking short film, which takes place over one day and one night during which the lives of two people change dramatically.
Production Facts
The story would be told using poetic cinematic language, focusing on the tensions within the characters. I intend to direct the film with an emphasis on creating subtext consisting of gestures, glances and facial expression which will be brought out in the subtleties of the performances and in a restrained use of visual suspense.
Contrast Film Ltd E-mail: katya.trichkova@yahoo.com
Estimated Budget: 42.000 €
“Bulgaria, summer 1989. The story of a girl and a boy who meet as friends in the morning, and the same night again – but this time as enemies.” Director Biography Eicke Bettinga studied film directing under Stephen Frears at the National Film & Television School in England. His graduation short Shearing was selected for Cinéfondation at Cannes and won a number of awards. After attending the Berlinale Talent Campus, Eicke directed TRUST, Wohltat, a sci-fi drama set in the year 2020 - commissioned by ZDF. In 2009 Eicke was awarded the cast & cut scholarship, which led to his short Together. The film was selected for competition at Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. Eicke is based both in Berlin and London, currently working on a variety of projects, including a historical feature film commissioned by Film4.
Nominated for the Co-production Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung Status: Seeking European co-production partner, public/private funding, television pre-sales
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Synopsis Pregnant Lejla (31) and Tine (30) are about to have a baby. Lejla’s father Jovan (55) has come from Serbia to stay with the couple. Tine and Jovan are trying to assemble a baby bed. Jovan doesn’t accept Tine – he thinks Tine isn’t good enough for his daughter. Tine tries to convince Jovan that he can be a good partner to Lejla. When the arguing gets too loud, Lejla reminds them why they are together – because of the new life. Slowly they overcome the problems and learn to deal with each other. Robert (50) comes to visit his dying father (75) and his sister Barbara (40). Because of old resentments Robert hasn’t seen his father for many years. The father is very ill. As a retired composer he can only communicate through music. The sister Barbara spends all of her time helping her father. While visiting his father Robert resolves old problems.
nina blazin Dawn
Everything happens in a 3 hour period – from early morning when it’s still dark until the beginning of the new day. One life ends so another one can begin.
slovenia
Tel: +38 640 265 638 E-mail: nina_blazin@yahoo.com
Intention In one appartement the young family is waiting for a baby to be born. Pregnant Lejla is mostly in her bedroom. Boyfriend Tine and father Jovan try to assemble a baby bed. They have a lot of problems – they can’t read the manual, they don’t find the matching pieces to assemble the bed. In a humourous situation the men deal with their issues. Jovan has come from Serbia to see his daughter. He thinks of Tine as a boy who doesn’t deserve his daughter. He tries to show him this with every action and every word he makes. Tine tries to be accepted. In another appartement a son, Robert sees his father
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after many years. His dying father lives in his own world of music and isn’t able to communicate with anybody apart his sister. Through the music slowly the father makes the connection with Robert. The light in the film is very intimate - only some parts of the shot are lite, the rest in dark. The light from the window is used to make a special atmosphere in the film. Camera is handheld and sometimes very close to the charachter. The overall feeling of film is rough, shot in a documentaristic style. The light gives the shots a poetic feeling.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 105.000 € Casablanca Productions Igor Pedicek Intends to acquire about 45 – 75% of the estimated budget from the National sources. The rest of the budget will come from the coproductions in financial, technical and human resources in production and postproduction.
“A story of 4 men where 2 men overcome cultural differences while making a baby bed and 2 are joined together with music – in one story life ends so in another one life can begin.” Director Biography I was born 3 months before the date. My weight was like a loaf of bread – not even 1 kilo. I didn’t even have a name, just a surname and the word GIRL next to it. When I was a bit bigger my father put me into an old shoe box and entertained me by slideing the box around the appartment. My first holidays I spent dressed in shorts and a telephone number written on my behind – just in case I wondered away and got lost.I still like to wonder away and get lost in stories, situations and interesting people. After finishing my diploma in the Film Academy (AGFRT) in Ljubljana, Slovenia I’ve worked on different projects: I’ve written and directed short films, long, short documentaries, tv-shows.
“After losing his wife, an old farmer embarks on a journey that makes him question life, but comforted by her memories and his faith in humanity, he finds a way to be with her for eternity....”
Synopsis
martin bonnici & chris galea Is-Shab
malta
Tel: +356 274 321 35 E-mail: martin@martinbonnici.com
Intention Can you find balance again after losing the most important thing in your life? And can faith and belief help you through the journey of regaining this balance? How does someone who has known only one life for many decades, adapt to a sudden change? The intention of this project is in itself an internal journey aimed at questioning accepted norms of life, love and old age. Through subsequent drafts we have discovered a world that’s grounded in Mediterranean traditions and religion but also allows nature’s magic to work itself into everyday moments. With the help of Guzeppi,
we explore a rural world were emotions are rarely expressed but colour every aspect of life as its inhabitants seek to release them. The story is sombre but supported by light comic moments, aimed at provoking the audience into questioning the value of life, the strength of one’s beliefs and the eternity of love.
Guzeppi is a 74 year old farmer from the small Mediterranean island of Gozo. He’s been married to Rita for 55 years and in their old age, they still enjoy a loving relationship and find magic in everyday moments. Every year, they celebrate their anniversary with the first fog of November, sitting together in their field at the edge of a cliff, as they are covered by the advancing fog. One day, Rita dies unexpectedly, and Guzeppi yearns to fill this void that she leaves behind. As Guzeppi spends his days trying to recreate the moments he used to share with his wife, he makes friends with an old man called Karmenu, and a lonely street dog. With their help, Guzeppi begins to understand more what it was that Rita brought into his life but ultimately, Guzeppi must accept that nothing can replace the love and company of Rita and seeks a way to join her for eternity.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 35.000 €
Director Biography Through the past 7 years Martin Bonniċi has worked with various Maltese agencies and production houses and for the last 2 years as a freelance Director and Post-Production Artist. As of January 2012 he is engaged fulltime as director of Shadeena Films. Shadeena Films’ first inhouse project, Tele-Monkey, an animated short directed by Martin Bonniċi, has just been completed.
Scriptwriter Biography Christian Galea is primarily an actor who has written and co-directed theatre productions and composed music for video art and theatre productions. He is now directing his attention towards film. He has studied literature at post-graduate level and lectured on Shakespeare. Currently he writes scripts for corporate a/v productions and reviews publications on a prominent newspaper in Malta.
Shadeena Film ltd. Supported by Studio 7, a Maltese production house, that offers studio space and rental services. Looking for a co-producer that can bring additional talent to the project in the form of Director of Photography, post-Production and others as well as the remaining funds.
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Synopsis Ersatz looks at the daily life of a human, that is increasingly influenced by the effects of trying to consume the instant happiness promised to him by convenience products. The more simple he tries to make his existence, the more he suffers from some adverse effects: the objects surrounding him begin to come to life instead of him and, bit by bit, the human turns into a perfect but hollow shell of his original self. Items and gadgets start to appear out of nowhere on their own, growing and changing into different versions of themselves, filling the space up to its last corner, constantly moving and transforming. Everything gets full of activity ...except the human. Will he be a victim of his own consumption? Or can he break free amidst all of the commotion that is going on around him?
eni brandner ersatz
austria
Tel: +43 699 1151 6696 E-mail: eni@chello.at
Intention In my story I want to show a man, who easily ‘buys’ things, without looking behind their surface. By conforming to uniformity of mass production instead of using his skills to improvise and find new solutions anything is marketable with the right target audience, no matter how useful it is. I want to play with the aesthetic of a constantly monitored world and the voyeurism it causes - surveillance and monitoring, also in the sense of behavior that is instilled through propaganda or advertisement. Ersatz will have an approximate duration of 5-7 minutes and will be made with stop motion and pixilation
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technique, shot partly in a real environment, partly on green screen - which will be made to look like a realistic environment through 3D compositing. The protagonist as well as the objects, will be recorded and animated in the real environment and on green screen. The aesthetic is realistic, we can’t see it is a digitally created environment, until the surreal elements appear, when the layers start to shift and twist out of perspective - a visualization of how easily pictures can be manipulated and we need to look behind their surface, before we believe in them.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 45.000 € Amour Fou Filmproduktion Looking for co-producer(s) in Animation, Digital Compositing, Location/Studio
“A life taken over by objects and gadgets.”
Director Biography Eni is a European filmmaker, animator and visual artist. In her work she is interested to reflect on and around social-critical thematics and experiment with creating narratives from fragmented visual elements. After studying Multimedia Art (Salzburg/ Austria, 1999-2003) and Animation & New Media (Zagreb/Croatia, 2003-2005), she collaborated with directors and artists from different disciplines as animator and digital artist. After showing her first film Granica successfully at more than 30 international Festivals receiving four awards, she is currently based in Vienna, working on her second animated experimental short film Exhaustibility, which will be finished in 2012.
Synopsis Giacomo and Alisia are a couple trying to adopt a child. They have the chance to obtain it when, by her initiative, he is accepted for a better position he doesn’t want, in a private university. Sonie, his ex-girlfriend and colleague, suggests him to talk to Alisia about the issue, but Giacomo and Alisia hardly communicate and he lies to her instead of resigning. He decides to join the school field trip in order to get some time to think. The trip is in a place where he has been with Alisia in the past. Here, his memories will show him that the woman he is with is not anymore the one he loved, and that he is holding to the past. He will spend a nostalgic moment with Sonie.
antonio celotto field trip
italy
But Alisia is going forward with the adoption, unaware of his lie, and he is forced to stop her when she gives him the good news. Alisia tracks him down to demand an explanation and they confront each other, reaching the conclusion that their relationship has arrived to an end.
Tel: +33 761 598 435 E-mail: antonio.fandan@alice.it
Intention Field trip is the story of a journey into the memories evoked by a place, a confrontation between past and present that reveals things we couldn’t see otherwise. Giacomo is a character afraid of radical changes but soon he has to deal with the reality that if he doesn’t evolve, things around won’t wait for him. He realizes why he can’t keep his promise, simply because life changes things and people; in this case it happened that he and Alisia went both in different directions. The movie will be rich of textures, washed out like far memories, like painted with watercolours, all focused around Giacomo: since it is a story focused on a char-
acter’s interiority no one element must force the audience out of the story or away from his point of view: motivated camera movement, natural cuts, reaction shots, natural feeling of the light. The sea is a meditative point for the story, it represents the edge, the abyss: at the same time it is a space out of the ordinary reality: it is lived in two different opposite moments of Giacomo’s life.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 41.000 € Locations needed: social assistant studio / the road to the school / the road for the bus / Giacomo and Alisia’s apartment / the school / the seaplace
“What does it cost to keep holding the past instead of flowing with life? ”
Director Biography Antonio Celotto was born in Italy and has lived in Paris for the past four years. A musician since youth, his passion has always been writing. He worked as editor for fashion videos and director of fashion shows for five years. At the same time, he kept writing music and lyrics, and studied literature independently. After a personal crisis caused by the dissatisfaction of that lifestyle, he quit his job and moved to London to start again from scratch. It’s there that he discovered the magic of cinema. He then went on to study at the EICAR film school in Paris, where he directed, wrote, edited and was the DoP for several short movies. He is currently working on Faithless, the thesis project for his 3rd year of studies.
Will need special make up to make Alisia and Giacomo look 5/6 years older. The class is composed of 10 young extra’s who look about 17/19 years old.
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Synopsis Set up in a world where kids have large stone-like heads, wear colored clothes and are encouraged to express themselves, Little Stones explores the painful growing-up process of a boy, Oyst. Born in a perfect loving family, Oyst is a very talented painter crazy about colors. Together with his bestfriend Layla, he is preparing to start his education process. However, school brings considerable changes because in order to become grown-up kids have to physically make their head fit through an oval shaped golden mask, relinquish the idea of standing out and accept to live in a perfectly organized neat monochrome world.
maria diceanu little stones
romania
Tel: +31 624 989 465 E-mail: ricutza@yahoo.co.uk
Intention A couple of years ago I fell in love with a Tim Burton short story about a character called Oyster Boy who gets consumed by his parents unhappy with the way their son had turned out. I started thinking about the ways the family, friends and society are shaping and re-modeling us and that that growing up is not just a gaining-knowledge process, but it implies loosing other things as well. A story began emerging in which becoming mature meant physically altering one’s self. I imagined that an artistically inclined child might feel a greater need to hold on to his childhood, realizing what is at stake with the growing up.
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Oyst doesn’t plan to be a rebel, nor a hero. He just has his passion for colors and doesn’t want to give it up. He loves his family and friends, he doesn’t want to hurt them in order to make a statement but he also finds it impossible to conform to the standards of society. He tries to hold on to his childhood thus delaying the growing-up process, but soon realizes that this is also not a solution. Nobody can keep staying as a child but this shouldn’t mean that we have to give up everything we valued when we were young and simply let outside factors shape our future.
Every single thing that Oyst has to give up makes a small piece of his head fall, and the child soon finds himself not only trying to save his passions but also the small loose parts of himself. When the disappointment of his family, the ridicule of his friends and society become evident, Oyst is faced with a tormenting decision: conforming or becoming an outcast.
Production Facts Little Stones will be an animated movie of approx. 20 minutes. The exact technique is yet to be decided but as textures and shapes play an important role in the story it is quite likely we will use something in the realm of CGI.
“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.”
Director Biography In 2004, Bucharest-born Maria Dicieanu was accepted at Romanian National Film University in the Multimedia Sound and Image Editing department. During the school years Maria worked on several short films among which It Doesn’t Matter by Andreea Stan winner at the International Film Festival Where Is The Love. Although initially drawn to film editing, Maria ended up embracing ‘multimedia’ by working on commercials, TV shows, projections for theater plays and choosing a theoretical master of Film Studies at the University of Amsterdam which she graduated from in 2009. At the moment Maria is a free-lance visual artist and is looking forward to step things up and start creating her own projects.
Synopsis The Chicken is a story of a six year old Selma, set in wartime Sarajevo, where she lives in a flat with her parents and her sister. When on her birthday, Selma’s dad, who is away on the front, sends her a chicken, a live one, Selma is convinced that the bird is meant to be her new pet. She quickly grows very fond of it and is looking forward to the fun times together. Discovering that her mother Sabina is supposed to kill the chicken and prepare it for their dinner, is both shocking and upsetting for Selma, so she decides to secretly free the chicken and save its life. When her mother finds out about Selma’s mischief, angry, she heads outside to find the chicken.
una gunjak the chicken
uk/italy/bosnia
Going outside is a dangerous business in 93’ Sarajevo, though. Sabina becomes the target of a sniper while looking for the bird and Selma is forced to watch her own mother being shot at and fight for her life. “If something happens to mum, it’s all gonna be your fault”, Selma’s sister says to her.
Tel: +44 789 679 4409 E-mail: una.gunjak@gmail.com
Intention The reason why I want to make The Chicken is to show how during the war one can grow up five years in a single day or just in a few hours. Childish games can become dangerous and deadly, consequences of our even most benign and innocent actions can become extremely cruel. You wake up as a child and you go to bed as an adult.
Production Facts Estimated budget: 25,000 €
“Turning 6 in wartime Sarajevo it’s not like any other birthday. ”
Director Biography I was born and raised in Sarajevo, where in the aftermath of the 90’ war my love for filmmaking was born, as a form of escapism. After a degree in Film Studies and several student shorts, I went to the National Film and TV School in UK where I graduated with an MA in Editing. Since then I have cut numerous fiction and documentary films that have travelled through Cannes, Palm Springs, Edinburgh, Toronto and many other festivals. I directed several commercials including a commissioned viral for Toshiba and a test commercial for Armani. The Chicken is going to be my first professionally produced short film where I will work again with Cecilia Frugiuele and Parkville Pictures as my UK producer.
Parkville Pictures E-mail: cecilia@parkvillepictures.com Cinematographer – Dan Stafford-Clark Production Designer – Luke Hull Post-production in place in the UK Target: Co-producer on the ground (Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia)
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Synopsis Four red-haired, intensively freckled children live in an awry, colorful house. Next to them there is an old neighbor, whose life passion is esthetics: he’s in love with his wonderful garden and a view at lake from the window. One day he discovers that this strange house... moved and uncovered the view on rusty, dirty factory. He talks to the children, trying to get to know the story of the house. Children are unwilling to share a secret. But we see that they treat the house in an unusual way: they talk to it and they ask it for advice. You don’t see regular people doing that, at least in Poland.
Szymon jachimek
poland
SWEET HOME A LA MAMMA
Neighbor tries to live his life normally, but then the house moves again and destroys part of the neighbor’s garden. He decides to go on a battle. He calls up the authorities to take care of parentless children. They are taken away. But their relationship with the house is stronger than anyone could expect. No wonder why – it turns out that within the walls lives their huge, huuuuge mother.
Tel: +48 506 758 397 E-mail: szymonjachimek@o2.pl
Intention Some people say that every single story ever told is about love. It’s surely true for my script. Bizarre at beginning, warm (hopefully) at ending: no matter who your mother is, she’ll overcome every obstacle to take care of you. Even if most of the times it’s you who has to take care of her. The four kids live in a building that consists of their mother and walls around her. Through the whole movie, mother is only a mysterious decoration. Once the kids are in danger though, she awakens and rescues them. The script is intended for a short cartoon movie. I believe that through its creativity and colorfulness it can
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attract younger, older and even the oldest viewers possible.
Production Facts GS Animation Robert Jaszczurowski E-mail: biuro@s-g.pl
“True love can tear every wall apart.”
Director Biography Szymon was born in 1982 in Poland. He was an ingenious pupil in primary school, a smart boy in high school and a very average student at university. Since he became a Master of Sociology in 2005, he’s trying hard (and successfully!) to avoid any regular job. Instead of a regular job Szymon: - is an actor of Kabaret Limo, well known Polish comedy group; - writes songs, short stories and scripts; - spends a lot of time on Facebook. He’s proud of: - getting a scholarship at Theatre Department at University of Northern Iowa (USA; 2004); - writing several scripts for TV series for children (Basia, Mami Fatale); - running a marathon last year (3:45:01).
Synopsis It’s an unusually hot September. PETER (37) and SOPHY (33) go on a short vacation to their newly acquired lodge. Peter thinks that this house surrounded by nature will “cure” their relationship. It has been their dream to have a baby and it turned out that it’s impossible –Peter is infertile. Sophy goes with the hope that they’ll have a chance to talk.
“Sex without love is as hollow and ridiculous as love without sex.”
The lush and vibrant summer highlights the emptiness they find within themselves. Trees in orchards bend under the weight of apples. The warm light of the sun extracts the obsolete, outgoing colours of summer. Every now and then the wind brings to the yard the odour of musk. Neither Peter nor Sophy had any idea that mating season had started. The silence is being disturbed by the roars of agitated bulls.
monika kotecka&karolina poryzala POland MUSK
In this scenery two people undergoing a crisis cannot find a common language. Sophy becomes obsessed with her body, which begins to take precedence over rationality. Instinct wins.
Tel: +48 691 034 456 E-mail: moonisk2@gmail.com
Intention The world is moving forwards due to the power of our brains. So we like to think. Michel Foucault does not agree with this - in his opinion we are driven by instincts. According to his definition instincts are innate and are the hereditary capacity of animals - including humans to perform behaviours driven by impulses. In our movie an awakening instinct can destroy everything which a loving couple has created so far. Fruitless efforts to have a baby have caused stagnation in their relationship. It makes our heroine no longer lust after her husband, but it doesn’t change her love for him... Sophy
escapes into the world of “animal instincts”, knowing that she won’t find any solace there. On the other hand - does staying with Peter not condemn her to fail as a biological mother? Is the decision to be in a relationship with a man who cannot give her a child an act against nature? We took the filming style from nature films: recording the slightest movement, textures, meatiness and colour. Our aim is to carefully observe our heroes and their emotions. We reduce dialogue to a minimum, and put the soundscape to the foreground. Sounds of nature will create a dense soundtrack.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 65.000 - 80.000 €
Director Biography Monika graduated from the Lodz National Film School in 2009, after completing short films that have been shown at prestigious International Film Festivals. She also participated in international projects – Cinetrain, Triangle in Cooperation, City Space. In 2008 she was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus. Karolina’s love for movies started at the National Film School - she studied photography but also worked on many short films there. She has created photographic projects and exhibitions shown in Europe. Since 2010 she has been creating with Monika Kotecka a collective called KURKOT (http://kurkot.tumblr.com/ http:// kurrrkot.blogspot.com) which focuses on photo shoots, fashion movies and music videos.
- Looking for coproduction partners – sound designers / sound postproduction - We’d like to get part of the money from Studio Munka - We’d like to shoot it on a Arri Alexa - We already have a location - We would like to use only the sounds from nature to create the whole sound track.
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Synopsis Helen’s Kitchen is a fairy tale placed in the dawn of Socialism. A story where Chocolate meets Vera Drake. There are more women then men after the war. The competition amongst women to get married is high. Helen the inventive pastry girl prepares a birthday cake for her fiancé when he splits for another woman. Helen is depressed, her tears make all the pastries salty. She gets fired from the pastry shop.
nora lakos
helen’s kitchen
On top of that, she realises she caught a venereal disease. Helen sees she is not alone with her problem: women are scratching secretly in the market, in the street, everywhere! As Helen is baking wedding cake for her best friend, she discovers that cacao butter helps to ease her itching. She starts experiencing. One morning she finds a thick white cream in her pot. She forms it to cones. In a few days Helen’s disease is gone.
hungary
Helen spreads her magic cones in a special way. She places them on the top of her cake as if they were candles. A secret women movement starts in the city.
Tel: +36 705 561 509 E-mail: lakosnora@gmail.com
Intention
with all these things.
I was searching for something in the library when found an issue of the Hungarian Women Magazine from 1953 by chance. On the cover there was a women riding a tractor. The main article said: women on tractor should take sunflower oil from the kitchen and put it on their face to protect their skin from sunshine.
Helen’s kitchen is about a young dreamy, naive, cheerful pastry girl who is just on the right track to fulfil all these requirements when her fiancé leaves her. This point she has to realise no matter how hard she tries to fit the ideal picture of women, she fails. She has to loose her naivety and needs to grow up and find her own way in a strict society.
I turned over and found: those who do not have children have to pay extra taxes. So surreal but true. So it means the ideal women work, and have children at the same time. But we are in Eastern Europe in the 50’s. These women are not suffragettes, they don’t do it to free themselves. They are forced by the state to deal
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The film is a playful tale on Helen’s invention that changes women’s sexual life and in this sense they free themselves for real.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 35.000 € PoP Film Károly Fehér Will apply for support to the Hungarian National Television Fund in March 2012.
“A fairy tale placed in the dawn of socialism.”
Director Biography I’ve been working as a journalist in Budapest, then one day I got pregnant and felt this is a new start not only for the baby but for me, as well. I got admitted to the Hungarian Film Academy, and made several shorts as a director. My most recent short titled: Edina, was selected to the Sarajevo City of Film program last year so I could make my first international short. And even won the British Council Short Film Award and the SCF special mention with it! At the moment I’m finishing my documentary which was developed in the framework of the Robert Bosch Stiftung co-production prize program and beside that I’m writing my first feature script.
Synopsis Jan (56) is a high school teacher who decides to buy a young girl’s virginity. Marysia (15) decides to sell her first time with a man. They agree to meet and go to a hotel where their contract can be settled and consumed. Due to Jan’s lack of erection they are unable to do so. They part ways without resolving their contract.
“I want my money back.”
Later in the day as emotions cool down, Jan realizes that he paid for something he did not get. Jan and Marysia meet again. To his surprise Marysia informs him that she needs his cash and convinces him to continue with the contract at her place.
piotr litwin
flora & fauna
POland
Inside her flat Jan overcomes his passiveness, but now Marysia begins to have second thoughts. Jan almost rapes her but in the last moment he is brought to his senses by the girl’s scream. For the first time this day they see each other as human beings and talk honestly. Their idleness is interrupted by Marysia’s mother early return home. Marysia tries to lie herself out of the situation. Jola has doubts but eventually Jan stays for dinner...
Tel: +48 605 353 596 E-mail: peterlitwin@o2.pl
Intention Flora & Fauna is a story of a peculiar day. A story inspired by two different real life stories, that found me during the last two years. Although it deals with an uneasy subject it tries to show human beings without judging them. Only suggesting that perhaps they got a bit lost in the modern World. It also tries not to explain human behaviour as by watching someone from aside or through a glass window we are not able to tell about motivations behind actions. We can only observe them, their actions and the consequences that they lead to. As with fish in a bowl or an aquarium. This is the perspective and distance I want to maintain
during the film. I hope this will allow me to play with the audience expectations and desires as we follow the day of Jan and Marysia and their growing frustration. Hopefully this will also underline the absurd nature of the situation they got themselves into resulting in some black humour. Although Jan and Marysia will be eventually left unsatisfied, their meeting will perhaps allow them to move on from the point of life they stuck in. And we, for a moment during the dinner, will see a twisted vision of a possible but improbable family.
Production Facts
Director Biography Piotr Litwin. Born in 1983 in Moscow, USSR, from Polish father and Korean mother. Living in Poland since 1986. From 2002 till 2007 a student of Warsaw University at Law Faculty and Social Science Faculty, with a short stint at Korean Philology. Since 2007 a student of Directing at the Polish National Film, Television and Theater School in Lodz. Since 2011 a co-owner of MX35, a film equipment rental house. Some awards. Does not believe that the World will end in 2012. Currently preparing his graduation film and observing how his six months old son is growing up.
Estimated Budget: 18.000 € To be produced by the Polish National Film School and by MX35(film equipment). Looking for sound design co-production possibilities. Looking for financial co-production possibilities.
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Synopsis 13-yr-old Marek is a misfit. Having just moved from native Poland to a bleak windy seaside town in England with his mother, he’s struggling to adapt to his new country. Friendless and regularly tormented by a vicious gang of bullies, Marek takes solace in his passion, art; drawing picturesque renditions of his local beach. Trouble is, such is Marek’s attraction to the sea, his tormentors always know where to find him. When his latest savage beating results in his beloved sketches being swallowed by the sea, Marek encounters a mysterious blind man who tells him the legend of “Sam”, a lonesome hobo who was once a great samurai warrior but currently dwells in one of the beach-side caves.
david mahmoudieh seaside samurai
uk
Tel: +44 776 595 0650 E-mail: mahmoudiehd@yahoo.co.uk
Intention I chose this subject matter because I can relate to the struggle to fit in. As a kid, I moved around a lot after my parents divorced, and endured a period of bullying shortly after moving to a new town and new school. The bullying centered on my Iranian heritage and in the end was the single-most important experience of growth I underwent throughout my childhood. Despite this, I still wish I had the services back then of a Sam; a loyal samurai to even up the number a little. In a way, I did; writing and cinema were my Sam. I grew up instilled with the limitless optimism of charac-
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ters such as Daniel Laruso, Jack Burton, Marty McFly – heroes of my childhood, breathing life into me and, in turn, inducing me to authenticate their invention. Seaside Samurai is therefore about fiction directing truth. It is an effort to express the ancient importance of stepping out of reality in order to step back into it truly inspired. The film is also a homage to my late father, Afzal, who sadly passed away last year. Some of my fondest memories as a child were sitting beside him watching kung fu movies, believing one day I could fight the evil forces of the world too. Maybe with this short, I still can.
Upon following the blind man’s strict instructions, Marek finds Sam and enlists him as a guardian against his aggressors. Soon it’s Marek and Sam against the world, but as the true origins of Sam’s arrival emerge, Marek learns his actions have come with a set of consequences even he could have never foreseen.
Production Facts To be shot on the Arri Alexa with Cooke Anamorphic lenses (both of which my DP owns) Predominant usage of natural light, utilizing silhouette as a tool to press home the alienation Marek feels to his surroundings Music shall be a throwback to the catchy yet minimalist themes of early 80’s fantasy (i.e. Escape From New York, Big Trouble In Little China, Risky Business, Goonies, etc)
“Marek, an immigrant teenager suffering regular beatings by a vicious group of bullies, enlists the services of a mysterious vagrant at his local beach, who may or may not be a real samurai…” Director Biography David is a 27-year-old award-winning writer-director, UK-born but of Iranian heritage. His career began in Canada as a trainee AD on productions such as Outer Limits, Wolf Lake and X-Files before he graduated to 1st Assistant Director. Having also worked extensively as a 2nd Unit Director, David made the step up to Director with a number of story-driven Music Videos for labels including Mercury Records and EMI. In 2008, David’s script Rain won Best Short Script at the ECU European Film Festival in Paris, the rights for which have since been assigned for development as a six-part mini-series in the US. In addition to Rain, David is currently in development on his first feature as writer-director, The Frail.
“When humanity turns functional, the heart of machines beats louder.” Synopsis In 2061, following a virus that decimated half of the world’s population, humans are compelled to take a daily vaccine making them sterile. To cope with their incapacity to give life, couples buy young androids who grow up with them.
klaus pas & luc walpoth ctrl alt del
belgium/switzerland
Tel: +41 786 145 402 E-mail: klaus@turbulencefilms.ch
Intention With Ctrl-Alt-Del, we guide the audience through a visual journey along the pathways of our consumption habits. What if mothers nurtured warm feelings of love for their mechanical children? What if we could get out of a relationship simply by terminating our partner’s existence? What would we be left with if we lost all form of compassion for humankind and only saw it as an expendable by-product of our society? Combining the emotional impact of a family drama with the action-driven narratives of the sci-fi genre allows us to explore the abyssal needs awoken in a mother by the loss of her child. Obsessed by an in-
ability to conceive, which is further exacerbated by her purposeless programming as the perfect wife, Amy will confront the system that made her and prove herself more human that those surrounding her. Through our characters’ individual stories, we interrogate ourselves on how we fight to find a purpose in life when hope seems gone. Exploring Amy’s existential need to give life, Christopher’s pathetic attempt to live the illusion of a family, and Sophie’s simple urge to survive, we paint a grim reality that is not so far from ours. A reality where again, hope lies in the younger generation.
Director Biography Born in Zurich in 1981, Luc Walpoth grew up in Bern, studied law in Lausanne and film directing in Paris. He works as a director, producer and cinematographer in France, Italy and Switzerland, accumulating award-winning short films, international commercials and feature film experience, which led him to co-found Turbulence Films with Klaus Pas in 2009.
Ctrl-Alt-Del is a twenty-minute science fiction family drama telling the story of Amy, a loving mother forced to terminate her only daughter, a dysfunctional 13year-old android. Deeply affected by this emotional void, she loses track of the reality she lives in. Her husband Christopher desperately tries to comfort her but Amy’s craving for motherhood pushes her to take in Sophie, a wandering, flesh and bone gutter kid. When Chris finds out, a violent clash follows, forcing Amy to choose between the child and her husband. Her choice leads her to discover that like her daughter, she is herself nothing more than a companion object, another android that will soon be disconnected and replaced.
Production Facts estimated Budget: 220.000 €
Scriptwriter Biography After a career in finance, and a Master in film directing in Paris, Klaus worked as a producer, writer and director for both documentary and fiction. Ctrl-Alt-Del is the second film co-written by Luc and Klaus, after their 2010 success Invisible Trajectories, which premiered in Clermont Ferrand’s international competition, and went on to win six awards.
Interest from Swiss production company. Looking for more partners.
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Synopsis Settled in Nice, Anna, 23, is a promising young photographer. One day, a phone call is enough to turn her life upside down. Her ex fiancé has just died, leaving Pierre, their 4-year-old son, an “orphan”.
“All true language is incomprehensible.”
Anna is suddenly forced to face her past mistake: being psychologically fragile, Anna couldn’t take on her responsibilities and abandoned him after his birth. Now Marie France, Anna’s mother-in-law, has started a procedure to obtain the boy’s custody. Torn between the conviction of being a bad mother and the fear that her mother-in-law will get custody of her child, Anna finally decides to spend the three days preceding the verdict of the judge with Pierre. Totally inexperienced and awkward as a mother, she tries to overcome the rejection of her son.
clarisse potoky aboudi lao
france
Her surprise is all the stronger when she finds out that the child has been expressing himself in a strange language that nobody understands since his father’s death. More and more involved, Anna realises that the only way to communicate with Pierre is to learn this language.
Tel: +33 683 517 060 E-mail: cla.potoky@yahoo.fr
Intention “Desertion” has always been an important theme in my family story. During the Second World War my Jewish grandmother fled Austria and took refuge in France where she met my grandfather. They had three children but, struggling with money, had to give them away for adoption. At the age of 15, my father discovered that he was adopted. When he was 18, he travelled through France to find his biological mother. Sadly, the encounter with my grandmother didn’t give him the answers he was looking for, leaving an emotional scar that never healed. Aboudi Lao gives me the opportunity to deal with this complicated subject. However, I didn’t want to tell the
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story of my father and I felt the need to focus on the opposite point of view: the deserting mother. As children, my friends and I often invented a magic dialect in order to exchange secrets. This game was a symbol for a deeper dream, the possibility of creating a world in which imagination had no boundaries. Such creations are characteristic of childhood and, personally, I think they are most sacred. The secret dialect in Aboudi Lao is a “poetic metaphor” of a painful and profound wound. Anna’s only way to communicate with her son and to help him in his grieving process is to learn his language. That is her last possibility for redemption.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 100.000 € Iloz Productions Anna Sarkissian
Director Biography Just after finishing a Master’s degree in Cinema, I crossed the Channel in 2009 and worked in London for a year as a production assistant. Back to Paris, I was active in the same area for a production company specialised in kids TV programs. Then I worked as a web editorialist but soon discovered a need to learn the craft of screenwriting. I participated in a few competitions and was lucky enough to be a prize winner of the Estran Script Competition 2011 with a short film project Les Anglais ont débarqué. Straight after that, Aboudi Lao won 3rd prize for best script at the Film Festival of Lille. It has been selected for European Short Pitch 2012 with Iloz Productions attached to the development.
Synopsis It was an ordinary working day up to the moment when KADER (29), the Tiger Artist appeared in SHARMA`s (50) office to introduce himself. This desperate Artist put everything on one card to get a small role as an actor, although there was no job for him. Sharma, who didn’t succeed for years to follow up on his earlier successes as a filmmaker, takes the unexpected role as a Casting Director with gratitude and enjoys it to degrade this poor fellow. But Kader is not stupid. He is a fighter. Stubbornly, he directs the casting exactly right where his strength lies: the ‘tiger dance’. With a breathtaking dance performance in front of the astonished eyes of Sharma Kader wins his respect. Nevertheless there is no job. Kader collapses. He leaves the office humbled. Meanwhile Sharma caught fire. He sees in Kader his long-awaited chance to get back into the spotlight. When he finally has the role for Kader, all attempts to find the Tiger Artist fail.
martin repka tiger fight
slovakia
Tel: +43 699 199 499 80 E-mail: mrepka@web.de
Intention In the Indian metropolis Chennai I discovered a gem - the short story Tiger Artist. Its author the Tamil writer Ashoka Mitran gave me his blessing to adapt it. Now I am trying to create an audio-visual world that shows the cycle of dependency between art and capital in an original way. On the one side stays the poor tiger dancer Kader, who is a metaphor for an artist struggling for recognition and a basic living. His antagonist, the lousy filmmaker Sharma, got stuck in his past glory. These two characters clash together in a typical up to date situation: in a humiliating casting with zero chance for
Kader to get a job. Tiger Fight is a perfect experimental field for a 12–14 min 3D live-action short. Stereoscopic shooting offers me the opportunity to capture the space with a presents and dynamic that was not possible in 2D. The Tiger Artist extends his hand to the audience and takes him into another reality. The path of the Tiger is more than reality and creates new images within the spectator. The images invade you with the permanent fear of the possible death of Kader.
Production Facts
“Director Sharma, who lost the ability to feel and doesn’t listen what life brings him, misses the chance for a come back and destroys the life of a true artist - Kader.”
Director Biography Graduate of the Film & Televison Academy VSMU in Bratislava. Author and Director of several internationally successful and award-winning short films such as Swimming, The last Supper & Thieves. His full length feature film debut Return of the Storks was the Slovak national entry for the 80th Academy Awards. Besides his artistic work, he also works successfully as a contract director for TV and advertising and as producer, production manager, script editor and lecturer. Currently he writes on two feature film scripts and develops the short film Tiger Fight.
Estimated Budget: 58.000 € Financing in place: 14.000 € Associated Producer: PubRes s.r.o. (Slovakia) Open for: crazy film artists & financiers, postproduction facilities Shooting location: India
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Synopsis Incella is the teenage daughter of a greengrocer. She is a confused and vulnerable creature. Prompted by her alcoholic mother, she leaves to buy bread, when the elevator of the run-down Budapest apartment block breaks down and gets stuck for three days. As no-one reacts to the alarm bell, Incella sits and waits patiently. The family notices with interest that the elevator is broken, and after a day... that Incella is missing, too. The family and other tenants come to help - under-informed policemen, lost repairmen, a thin-mouthed social worker and a colourful group of vacuous ladies - all expecting István, the almighty caretaker, to come up with the solution.
julia szephelyi
Finally, Győző, an 8-year-old little friend suffering from Down syndrome hears Incella’s voice coming from the elevator and rescues her. After 3 days in her prison, Incella escapes. But to what end...? It seems she had a better time inside.
INCELLA GOING TO BUY bread
hungary
Tel: +351 914 323 909 E-mail: anaisabelalmeida@gmail.com
Intention In this grotesque short movie the protagonist is the house itself and the ensemble of its tenants. The characters, even Incella and her family, represent archetypes but all of them have distinctive attributes (a dachshund, a saucepan, a walking frame). The most recurring location of the movie is the stairwell, where the neighbours meet and where the elevator stands (with Incella in it). Being jumped around by the fussy crowds of tenants the stairwell becomes the metaphor of intellectual impotency. The building with its helpless community, the empire of István the caretaker, represents Hungary.
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The visual style and the material surroundings reflect the timeless state of Hungary and the disposition of people here to keep stalling. The approach is not that of kitchen sink realism, it is slightly elevated and cartoonish, both in terms of visual style (set-design, lighting), and acting. The non-hierarchical, ensemble cast is visually expressed by the long takes of the film, enabling the characters to enter and exit a scene, maintaining the illusion of perpetual action, while nothing significant happens.
Production Facts Production company: AZT-Media (www.aztmedia.hu) Locations, casting: in progress Possible co-production companies: Hungarian Rental Houses Other Funds: application in progress (NKA, MTVA) Other info: script received grant from FilmJus (annual scriptwriting grant) Looking for: other producers, post-production capacity.
“After no one reacts to the alarm bell, she sits down and starts to wait patiently. Patiently.” Director Biography I graduated from the University of Drama and Film, Budapest as a scriptwriter, and have also studied at the HFF Konrad Wolf Potsdam-Babelsberg. Currently I work for AZT-Média, a Hungarian production company, as a writer and creative consultant. I’ve written two feature length scripts, several shorts, directed a few shorts and some non-commercial ads – two of them award-winning. I directed TV spots for the French Mezzo TV and also participate in projects as co-writer and consultant on dramaturgy. With a few colleagues from the University we founded the Science Fiction Scriptwriter Lab. Most recently we’ve been working on developing an original TV-series format.
Synopsis 16-year-old Sofia is a boarding school pupil. Solitary and distant, abandoned by her parents, she has an inner visible force, ready to explode. One day she can’t stand it anymore and decides to run away. She goes to visit the only person she has an address for, a grandmother she never met. When she arrives, the old woman tells her to go away but Sofia decides to stay and take advantage of the situation. She imposes her presence but the old woman rejects her. Sofia realizes that she is looking for her own family. In this little industrial town of eastern France, Sofia meets Bernardo, an older Italian worker, and they begin to pass time together without any expectations. Step by step, he begins to want to take care of her. In parallel, Sofia and her grandmother begin to tame each other but it’s not easy.
lea triboulet
sofia B. didn’t sleep well france
When Bernardo must go back to Italy he asks her to go with him. Sofia cares about them both. She has the possibility to leave but also the possibility to stay. She has to make a decision.
Tel: +33 677 736 715 E-mail: lea.triboulet@gmail.com
Intention Sometimes, one reacts by withdrawing from the world - by closing doors. It’s an instinct for survival, to protect oneself. And it’s difficult to get out of. When you grow up without family, when you have to face a hostile environment, you learn to build yourself alone, without any love. Sofia never had a family, she is an outsider but she wants to change her life. She is looking for her own family. The most important question for Sofia is how she will be able to relate to other human beings. Meeting this man, Bernardo, and her grandmother is a turning point for her.
The script focuses on the confrontational relationship between two women of two different generations; how they evolve, how they tame each other. It shows the evolution of Sofia’s mental state. The script was built as a progression, with cuts, passages and pieces of dialogue. For the set, I have in mind industrial mining towns. They are empty, lifeless. Time seems to have stopped. The city is cold and oppressive in contrast with the upheavals of the characters’ inner lives. In this environment, Sofia changes and so do her relationships with others.
Production Facts Short fiction – Approximate time : 20 minutes
“How to confront yourself and relate to others?”
Director Biography Léa Triboulet was born in 1987 in the south of France. During her studies at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg and her Erasmus exchange in Estonia, she practiced set design, photography and made her first short films. She graduated with a Master’s degree in 2010. In parallel to her directing activities, she works in set design both for cinema and for the theatre company Le théâtre destinerrant. All of these experiences, as well as her trips to Eastern Europe and other countries, have improved her artistic work. She has a poetic and contemplative approach to cinema; a cinema of contrasts, silence, empty spaces, waiting and loneliness but also of hope, movements and contradictory feelings.
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Synopsis In the 1930s, an intercity bus is struck by lightning, and its thirty passengers and driver unknowingly travel to the 2020s.
“Buyer beware.”
The bus suffers a flat tyre due to a big nail in the middle of the road and stops next to three billboards. The oblivious bus driver, Marcel, starts changing the tyre, while the passengers notice a strange worker putting new posters on each of the billboards. One by one, the passengers are brainwashed by the posters, becoming super-consumers. As they run out of things to buy, they begin rioting. When Marcel finishes repairing the tyre he discovers that his passengers have gone mad. They begin to attack him, though he manages to escape, speeding away in the bus. Soon enough, the same nail pierces the same tyre. The strange worker appears once again, and starts putting up a new poster on yet another nearby billboard…
acim vasic
the nail
france
Tel: +33 611 980 858 E-mail: tzdsc@yahoo.com
Intention The Nail is a satirical short film which explores the brainwashing of society by advertising. Time travel serves as a fast-forwarding device, where thirty passengers on a bus from the early 20th century - representing a group of people from a more innocent time - travel to the year 2020, allowing a social, cultural and temporal comparison of consumerism and materialism. As the film has no dialogue, the sound design will be imperative in setting the tone. Sound effects will drive the characterisation and help create the atmosphere of a flat, deserted, windy landscape.
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The Nail is set on a simple country road which passes through endless fields. An old bus, a customised bicycle and three big billboards are the main props required. Rain is necessary for one scene, while the only post production special effect will be the lightning strike. The main costumes are from the 1930s period. This film is universal for its themes and storyline, which reflect upon today’s global situation and the future to come. The imagery will speak clearly to an international audience, relating as they watch the madness rise in an increasingly consumerist world.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 130.000 € Christophe Lambert expressed his interest in the project, for the role of the bus driver.
Director Biography Aćim has been based in Paris for the past eight years, having originally moved from his Serbian homeland to study film in France. His latest award-winning short film 8 has been screened at many festivals worldwide and shown on several TV stations across Europe. Aćim is represented by Partizan in Paris, and is currently developing two short film projects with them.
Synopsis Shikha is a young Bengalese woman living in Rome. She decides to let Emiliano, her ex-boyfriend and father of her one-year-old child, take care of their son for the day. The encounter between the young man and his child, who up until now have been strangers to one another, becomes an opportunity for Emiliano to overcome his self-destructive habits made up of unhappiness and alcohol. It is an opportunity for him to create a relationship with his son.
iacopo zanon
six thirty on a summer evening
italy
I began thinking about this story while I was filming Sono Qui (They’re Here). The film revolved around Italian language schools for immigrants in my city, Rome. In the span of one month, moving from location to location where immigrants could receive shelter and food, the crew and I filmed hundreds of immigrant faces. Although each one had its own innate peculiarities, every face had something in common with the others: a gleam in their eyes that was so alive, so full of light. That gleam was the testament to their strength and a fierce determination, so rarely found in human beings,
to live life completely. I began asking myself when I had last seen that in the eyes of one of my Italian compatriots. Two films immediately came to mind: Paisa by Roberto Rossellini, and The Bicycle Thief by Vittorio De Sica (both filmed at the end of the 40s). I began to elaborate a story taking place in Rome, in which an immigrant woman attempts to restore in her ex-boyfriend, who is Italian, that same strength and dignity. The means the woman uses is the son they had before breaking up. She hopes that by putting the most precious thing she has on the line she will save the man from self-destruction. Ultimately she hopes he will regain a state of being based on respect for himself as well as others. All this is: Six thirty on a summer evening.
Director Biography Iacopo Zanon was born in Rome in 1979. After graduating from a high school specialised in the classical arts, he enrolled at Sapienza University majoring in Literature and Cinema. While completing his degree he worked for three years on various movies as an assistant director to Mimmo Calopresti, Francesca Archibugi and Nanni Moretti.
Tel: +39 349 372 5821 E-mail: iacopozanon@gmail.com
Intention
“A child. A drunk father. One day to get to know each other.”
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 45.000 €
During these years he also shot and completed production on two small documentaries and a short. He graduated from Sapienza University with a thesis on Marco Belloccio’s film Buongiorno Notte. He then moved on to direct several short films. He is currently working on two music videos for the band Mamavegas.
Pin Up Filmaking s.r.l. Giorgio J.J. Bartolomucci Locations needed: Bar / Tram / Emiliano’s home / Public park / Shikha’s home / Notturno club / Train station Most key positions already in place.
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Synopsis Eight-year-old Joachim has a peculiar friend, Cowboy, who comes to his rescue after his mother suffers a terrible car accident that leaves her comatose. Joachim was also in the car but barely remembers the event. Joachim meets his playmate in an imaginary world that he creates to cope with the trauma. His buddy is a clumsy, funny and plump cowboy in whom he finds refuge. Joachim’s father, Philippe, tries to shield his son from seeing his mother who is in a vegetative state. However, he is unable to communicate with him. Philippe is torn between anger and pain, since his wife had the accident just as she was leaving him for another man.
frederic zeimet
cowboy
luxembourg
In an attempt to lessen his pain and to apprehend what happened, Joachim asks many questions for which there is no redeeming answer. Slowly, it becomes clear that his friend Cowboy can no longer manage to bring him all the comfort he needs… His imaginary world and reality will collide, and this young boy will have to face the truth.
Tel: +352 691 736 703 E-mail: scriptdoctors@gmail.com
Intention Cowboy is a very personal and intimate project. It is the story of a young boy having trouble facing the cruelty of life and trying to reconnect with his father. It’s a drama but with some comic parts. I did not want to tell a dark and sad story, I needed Cowboy to narrate something tragic but with some lighter parts. This is reflected in the relationship between Joachim and Cowboy. Children have a way of coping and of looking at things that we, as adults, have lost. We bury ourselves in our grieving processes, forgetting what surrounds us.
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The original language of this project was French and I intend to shoot it in French too. Without a doubt, a story has to be universal, but every filmmaker writes to touch the people who are closest to him and my family is French-speaking. My inspirations were Calvin and Hobbes and Where the wild things are.
Production Facts estimated Budget: 70.000 - 100.000 € No producer definitely attached yet (one Luxembourgish and one from France are interested). Locations: flexible (France, Luxembourg…).
“In a desert of solitude, it’s always great to be able to count on your imaginary cowboy.”
Director Biography An eager storyteller, passionate about movies, Frédéric Zeimet decided at the age of 18 to learn the complex craft of screenwriting. His first step was to study History of Art at Brussels University for 5 years. His final dissertation was about Wim Wenders. He then started a 2-year course in Scriptwriting and Analysis at the same University. He worked with Luc Dardenne on his first script (selected at the International Screenwriters’ Festival in Bourges, France). Frédéric has co-written a feature-length script and collaborated on the development of three more. He participated in several screenwriting competitions, winning in 2010 the Best Junior Screenwriters’ Prize in France.
Synopsis Magda, a mother and a wife, is ill. She is aware of the fact that she only has a few more months to live, and that her ability to speak will evaporate in just a few weeks. Therefore she decides to gather her family and speak about the issue which binds them together. Her husband Jože is forced to host his homosexual son Igor with his partner Hans and their adopted daughter Tončka, whom he did not see or talk to for several years. Everything starts to make sense when Magda uses her right to speak, which she is about to lose, to tell the long buried family secret which makes undigested past events come to the surface. The film is about human rights. The right to speak: What do you say when you’re about to lose your voice? The right to be different. And last but not least, the right to love.
Barbara Zemljič slovenia THE RIGHT TO LOVE Tel: +386 313 112 89 E-mail: barbara.zemljic@gmail.com
Intention I strongly believe that considering the current political situation in Slovenia, it is of utmost importance to talk about human rights. The Right to Love is a family melodrama, concerning a wide range of interactions which go beyond the typical idea of a family. We could find aesthetic and visual parallels in the Susanne Bier films Open Your Heart and After the Wedding. The film addresses the fact that some things need to be said, especially the things we don’t want to see or talk about, and the truth has to come out eventually in order to gain peace of mind and freedom.
At the moment we are hoping for your help with the coproduction investment and hopefully the exchange of knowledge and experience on an international scale, which is an opportunity I would gladly take advantage of.
Production Facts A Atalanta Brana Srdić
“What do you say when you’re about to lose your voice?”
Director Biography Barbara Zemljič graduated in film and TV directing from the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana in 2009, and in philosophy from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana in 2005. She has been working at RTV Slovenia as a director and screenwriter since 2005. She has directed 8 documentaries, written 5 documentary and 6 short film scripts, as well as directing more than 500 TV shows and many live concerts. In 2010/11 she wrote, staged and directed TV show Viktorji (Slovenian Oscars) and in 2011 co-wrote and acted in a supporting role in the feature film Panem et circenses, which won an audience award - Vesna awards for supporting female and male roles, and for best costumes, at the Slovenian national film festival.
Received 70.000 € production help from the Slovenian Film Centre. Will be made as micro-budget feature to be shot mid April 2012. Two post-production companies attached to the project: Filmservis and Nuframe. Looking for a possible co-producer to invest in the film.
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Synopsis Electrifying Love tells the tragicomic musical love story of a male electric pylon from Siberia who is accidentally transported and installed in the heart of the English suburbs. Although he tries his best he doesn’t manage to fit into the new cultural environment.
“Great love will spark electricity in the most unlikely characters.”
Things get even worse when he meets and falls in love with a female pylon. His attempts to win her heart fail miserably. All that he achieves is to annoy her and create interference in radio and electricity transmissions. One day a heavy blizzard hits the city. Pylons fail to provide electricity causing blackouts and accidents in the nearby town. The Russian pylon is the only one who can withstand the cold and saves the day.
Avgousta Zourelidi
Electrifying Love
Greece/UK
The Female pylon realizes that she loves him. They share a moment of happiness, in form of a musical duet, just before he is taken away to be recycled. Female pylon is devastated and decides to shut down her own circuit, she is also taken away. The two pylons are reunited by being recycled into one object.
Tel: +44 790 687 3087 E-mail: avgousta_zourelidi@yahoo.com
Intention I was inspired to write this story in the summer of 2011. During a train journey I noticed several lines of electric pylons stretching out into the distance. They reminded me of parading soldiers marching into the void of the morning fog. Their anthropomorphic structures sparked an idea for a tragic love story. The musical elements in this film will create a great contrast between the static reality of these metal structures and the vibrant dance numbers they share to express their love for one another. This is an allegorical tale about two characters from
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very different backgrounds and the cultural differences they have to overcome in order to communicate. It is about the alienation and stereotyping of people that move from their homeland to another country and the problems that arise with that. But above all this is a story about relationships and how love can help deal with all these issues. I’m drawing from personal experiences to write this film. When I was 9 years old my family moved from Russia to Greece. The cultural differences and language barrier caused many problems in my interactions with other people and I believe these are important issues to explore in a film.
Production Facts Estimated Budget: 50.000 € Technique: 2D Digital Drawn animation technique with some CGI elements for the musical numbers. Overall Schedule 48 weeks. Production: Helen Brunsdon has agreed to be on board as a consultant. Helen has worked for BBC, Aardman and Arthur Cox. Studio Sun and Moon in Bristol have agreed to provide studio space and expertise. Music: I have teamed up with music composer Paul Lambert. Paul’s credits include the live action short film The Confession, that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2011.
Director Biography I was born in St.Petersburg, Russia and have since lived in Greece and the UK. At the age of four I drew a red bunny rabbit and was admitted into art school–there was no turning back. Since then I have completed an MA in Animation Direction at the National Film and Television School in the UK, my graduation film Laika has been shown in more that 40 festivals around the world. I have four years experience working in the animation industry, most recently as the Animation Director on the popular CGI pre-school series, Chuggington. In the future I would like to develop more short films and at some point perhaps immortalize that bunny in his own film.
TUTORS
FABIENNE AGUADO
ORSOLYA BENKÖ
Antoine Le Bos
Fabio Grassadonia
Fabienne Aguado holds a BA in Film Studies (thesis about Jacques Tati) and a Masters Degree in Sociology. Her early professional life was spent on film sets and on writing film reviews. Her experience includes managing a film production company, running evenings for film clubs, reading scripts and being a regular member of juries attributing development grants. `
Based in Budapest, Orsolya Benkö is working as member of the script development board of the Hungarian National Film Fund. After graduating at the Faculty of Cinema Aesthetics and English Studies at ELTE University in Budapest, she completed a research work at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. As part of her studies, she did a traineeship as a production and distribution assistant for The Coproduction Office in Paris.
Antoine Le Bos is a French screenwriter and script consultant, with 25 feature scripts delivered under contract, and the experience of a hundred feature projects followed as a consultant. After a first life as a sailor and an interrupted PhD in philosophy, he graduated from the French Conservatoire for Film writing in 1996. He directed short films shown in more than 50 film festivals, and on-stage experiments (theater, contemporary opera in Paris and Prague). He then co-created the animation series Ratz, shown in more than 20 countries. He won the Gan Foundation Prize as a writer in 2005, and works with among others the Afghani director and Prix Goncourt Atiq Rahimi. He teaches screenwriting at Brest University. Since 2007 he has been the artistic director of Le Groupe Ouest, European center for film creation in Brittany (France). He’s been a tutor for Script & Pitch Workshops and Torino Film Lab since 2007.
Fabio Grassadonia is an Italian filmmaker and script consultant. Born in Palermo, he graduated in Arts and Philosophy with a specialization in Comparative Literature. After taking a two year post-graduate diploma in narrative techniques from the Holden School in Turin he started to work as a scriptwriter and script consultant in Rome. He has collaborated as development consultant and acquisition consultant for major Italian production companies, such as Fandango and Filmauro. In 2004 he wrote with Antonio Piazza the film Ogni volta che te ne vai, a romantic musical comedy set among the night clubs of the Romagna coast, produced by Fandango. In 2009 the same partnership between Fabio and Antonio gave life to the short film Rita, their debut as directors. Rita is one of most successful Italian short films of recent years. Fabio and Antonio will realize their first feature film as directors, Salvo, in summer 2012.
f.aguado@moulinande.asso.fr
In 1998, she helped founding the Centre for Cinematographic Scripts (CÉCI) and has been managing it for the past seven years. The CÉCI holds its offices at the Moulin d’Andé, a cultural association of international reputation located in Normandy (France) where artists have found support and inspiration over the last fifty years. It provides a permanent program for film screenwriting which supports innovative and personal projects.
orsolya.benko@gmail.com
She has contributed to the organisation of several film festivals in Budapest and joined the Hungarian Desk of the MEDIA Programme. She started collaborating as a script consultant in 2007 with Hungarian production companies. In 2010 she participated as a story editor trainee in the Script&Pitch Workshops. Currently she is also cooperating on various Hungarian and international projects as a script consultant.
Antlebos@aol.com
fabio.grass@yahoo.it
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PARTNERS & CONTACT INFORMATION With the support of
With the partnership of
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CONTACT 99 rue du Faubourg Saint Denis 75010 Paris Tel.: +33 (0) 9 60 39 63 38 Email: europe@nisimasa.com Website: www.nisimasa.com President Hannaleena Hauru Director Matthieu Darras In charge of European Short Pitch Wim Vanacker
We wish to thank all scriptwriters and tutors for their kind contribution. A NISI MASA PUBLICATION Editor-in-chief / Layout Wim Vanacker wim@nisimasa.com 31
NISI MASA # European Short Pitch # March 2012
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