mรกs ymรกs
monthly newsletter of NISI MASA
SEPT12
LOW, MICRO, ZERO vol. 2 4 ways of going low interview:
Tristan Goligher report:
The Kino Kabaret Fever
Still from "Weekend" by Andrew Haigh (United Kingdome, 2011)
editorial For the first part of our special issue on “Low, Micro, Zero” last month, we were presenting you stories of brave, maverick cowboys and cowgirls, filmmakers who decided to go against the stream in order to make their dreams – their films – come true. Yet, it looks like being an outcast and suffering do not necessarily have to come together with the micro budget filmmaking package anymore. The “system” itself has appropriated the collaborative model of those, who for a series of meaningful reasons had made the choice of working outside of it. And a growing number of public film institutions (schools, festivals, funding schemes, etc.) are now offering tailor-made programs aimed at supporting filmmakers to produce films outside the box, but by the rules. For the pragmatic ones amongst us, those who are not that much interested in observing the irony of the situation, this just means more opportunities. And for sure there are! Most of the film schools have been adapting to the trend: they do not teach their students absurd skills, such as manipulating extremely expensive cameras they will never use, but organise practical low budget film forums, such as the one run by the London Film
Image of "Down Terrace" by Ben Wheatley
School (see page 4). In UK, a development and funding scheme specifically targeting micro budget projects, iFeatures2, has even been launched recently (see interview page 5). This is actually not the first one of the kind: similar programs have been in activity for several years in Canada or Israel for example. The latest addition –and innovation- comes from the Venice Film Festival: whereas festivals till now were either (besides screening films!) organising encounters & workshops (the Talent Campus of Berlinale), welcoming filmmakers in residence (the Cinefondation of Cannes), or simply running a market (the Cinemart of Rotterdam), the Biennale College of Venice will develop, produce, and distribute 3 micro budget films each year (see page 3)! NISI MASA certainly does not intend to be outdone by this plethora of actions and is planning for 2013 its own Zero Budget Filmmaking Workshop (see page 3). Please contact us if you want to have your word on it and to participate! by Matthieu Darras
credits.
Mas y Mas is a monthly newsletter published by the association NISI MASA. EDITORIAL STAFF Coordination & Layout Lucía Ros Serra
Contributors to this issue: Matthieu Darras, Tristan Goligher, Katarína Matiašovská, Mara Jelinko, Hannaleena Hauru, Haruna Honcoop
NISI MASA (European Office) 99 Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis 75010, Paris, France Tel: +33 (0)9 60 39 63 38 Email europe@nisimasa.com Website www.nisimasa.com
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Low, Micro, Zero
dossier
4 ways of going low
Venice Film Festival launches Biennale College The initiative will steer 3 micro-budget film projects from inception to release. Read the following article if you want your film to be produced and distributed by the Venice Biennale! This year the Venice Biennale takes its place in the tradition of micro-budget filmmaking with the launch of the Biennale College – Cinema, an exciting initiative to support teams of emerging directors and producers to make micro-budget fiction & non-fiction audio-visual feature works. Biennale College is already operational in Dance and Theatre sections and is to be established in all sections of the Venice Biennale. After a first 10-day workshop in Venice for 15 selected projects in January 2013, up to 3 teams will be invited to a second 15-day workshop in March and will be supported with 150.000€ each in order to produce and screen the projects during the 2013 Venice International Film Festival, directed by Alberto Barbera. The 12 projects that will not continue to the second workshop will in any case enjoy an online follow-up and will be given various opportunities to find co-producers following cooperation agreements with other International institutions and other existing markets suitable to the projects.
The Biennale College - Cinema will be a community of filmmakers, selected from around the world, to work alongside an invited team of international experts and tutors to explore the aesthetics of microbudget filmmaking and the new integrated models of production, which engage with an audience from the outset. A dedicated website will be set up for the selected project teams to have an on-line presence from the moment their participation is confirmed. Sharing the experience and building interest through online activities is an integral part of the Biennale College – Cinema experience. The Call has just been launched during the 69th Venice Film Festival, and it will be open till 22nd October 2012 only to teams of directors at their first or second feature and producers with variable degrees of expertise who must have produced short films distributed and/or presented at festivals. You could be a recent film school graduate, a short filmmaker looking for a break into features, a micro-budget stalwart who believes micro-budgets as the only true form of filmmaking, a games designer, an artist whose work could cross between galleries and cinemas. There is no age limit and no participation fee. The Artistic Director of the Venice International Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, and his team will complete the selection by the beginning of December 2012. The selected teams will then sign an agreement with the Biennale that assures their presence throughout the whole Biennale College – Cinema process. For further information: www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/collegecinema/
NISI MASA & Munich Film Society cooking up Zero Budget Film Workshop Coming up in summer 2013, this project that will take place in Munich (Germany) is looking for suggestions from Mas y Mas readers. Munich Film Society, NISI MASA new member association in Germany, will not only host the network General Assembly next year (write down the dates: 21-23 March 2013), but also an international film workshop during the summer. The project will be partially funded by the European Union’s Youth in Action Programme. At the moment, Martin Blankemeyer, Munich Film Society’s managing director, and Hannaleena Hauru, NISI MASA’s Head of Film Lab Department, are brainstorming on a Zero Budget Film Workshop, which will most probably take as a starting point the various issues raised by Mas y Mas August & September 2012 on “Micro-Low-Zero”, and also on experiences such as the Kino Euphoria (see next page). Martin and Hannaleena are calling on your active participation for making this project happen: “What's puzzling you, or what would you like to tackle in a zero budget film workshop? Are you a master of zero? Send you hopes, dreams, proposals to: hannaleena@nisimasa.com
Picture by Hannaleena Hauru
dossier
4
European Film Schools Go Low Budget Visegrad Film Forum
Still from Aliyah
Initiated by the London Film School, the Low Budget Film Forum aims at increasing awareness amongst film students of low budget film production issues. The fact that the Forum celebrated its 5th edition last June in Paris probably proves its continuing relevance… Launched in 2008 in London, the Low Budget Film Forum comprises a festival, conference and graduate training workshop all in one. Leading directors and producers join each year about 25 European film students & graduates for case studies and workshops on low budget films. The forum, supported by the MEDIA Training Programme, is a touring event, as it already took place in Budapest (Hungary), Les Arcs (France), and Copenhagen (Denmark). Different film schools are partners, such as La fémis, Paris; the National Film School of Denmark; the Budapest Academy of Drama and Film; The DFFB in Berlin. During the last edition in Paris, one could meet NISI MASA alumni, such as Gergely Nagy (participant of European Short Pitch 2011), Gabor Harmat (participant at General Assembly 2010), or Linda Dombrovszky (participant of Cineboat). Film case studies included Wild Bill (Dexter Fletcher), Dear Betrayed Friends (Sara Cserhalmi, see Nisimazine Interview and review @ Karlovy Vary 2012), and Aliyah (see Nisimazine review @ Cannes 2012: ). According to the London Film School director, Ben Gibson, the forum is motivated by “recent events all around the world [that] remind us how much the creative community needs to build value. Every new Euro gets you more of a film, but loses you some freedom too. Learning to work within the numbers is a spur to creativity and helps new filmmakers build careers in which the deal follows the film, rather than the other way about” Low Budget Film Forum aims to provide participants with the tools to develop and deliver successful, strategic approaches to marketable low-budget filmmaking in Europe. The conference also aims to offer a high level of debate and exchange amongst industry peers on current low-budget filmmaking practice in Europe. Most of the participants bring to the Forum their own low-budget film project on which they receive detailed feedbacks. Check out the following link if you want to apply the 2013 edition of the Forum: www.lfs.org.uk/euprojects/lbff/index.php For more info contact Suzy Gillet, International Relations Manager: s.gillet@lfs.org.uk
Still from Turin Horse
For the second year, the Visegrad Film Forum will take place at the Bratislava Film School (VSMU) in Slovakia, from the 17th to the 20th of October 2012. A series of 8 master classes and workshops will focus on… low-budget film production! Open to film students and professionals, but also to general public interested in film, the Visegrad Film Forum is organised by film students, in collaboration with the Student Film Festival Áčko (http://ackofestival.sk/). Last year, prestigious directors, such as Benedek Fliegauf, Krzystof Zanussi, Vít Klusák or Filip Remunda, were amongst the experts invited. Confirmed guests for the 2012 edition include Jim Stark (producer of Jim Jarmusch) and Fred Kelemen (cinematographer of Bela Tarr). According to the managing director, Jakub Viktorín (who is about to be a NISI MASA volunteer, working on European Short Pitch 2013), the ambition of the Visegrad Film Forum is to support the collaboration between film students and graduates coming from V4 region (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary), to create favorable working conditions for them, to share practical information on international low-budget film production. Partner universities include FAMU in Prague, SZFE in Budapest, PWSFTViT in Lodz, AGRFT in Ljublana and UNATC in Bucharest. More information: www.visegradfilmforum.com/2012/
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interview...
Low, Micro, Zero
Tristan Goligher Creative England, a public agency supporting film in UK, recently launched iFeatures2, a scheme specially designed at micro budget film projects. Mas y Mas discussed with iFeatures2’s Head, Tristan Goligher, who had previously worked in development on UK Film Council new talent schemes, but also produced Weekend (directed by Andrew Haigh), a micro budget film that has delighted audiences across the globe. Micro budget filmmaking is often associated with the idea of making films outside of the system. Isn’t it a contradiction in terms to set up a scheme such as iFeatures2? This is a critical and fundamental question. Many of the best micro budget films have, thus far been made outside of the system. The anarchic and entrepreneurial spirit that drives those films should continue to thrive and create work off the radar of the establishment. But the rise of micro budget filmmaking has been born out of new technologies and a simultaneous reduction in the opportunities for 1st and 2nd time filmmakers. For that reason it is important that the more traditional funders begin to engage at this level. I think it’s crucial that we are prepared to be brave and stay true to the spirit of film making at this level. Could you explain what the specificities of iFeatures2 are? Which goals did you set for yourselves for this first edition? The first edition of features was unique in that it required the stories be set in the city of Bristol. This was a way of establishing the initiative’s desire to tell stories with a strong sense of place, and a genuine regional voice. For Chris Moll, the founder of iFeatures, the idea was born out of an increasing number of finished, often self funded, films landing on his desk, which had promise, but lacked execution. He believed that these filmmakers would have a greater chance of succeeding if they had better support and crucially more experienced editorial input. iFeatures 2 has broadened it’s scope and is now open to stories set anywhere in the English regions.
Could you name one example of UK micro budget film, which could serve as model for what you would like to achieve? Down Terrace, by Ben Wheatley was made for less than £20,000 but played at SXSW amongst other festivals, before going on to have a good commercial life. Just two films later Wheatley has premiered Sightseers at Cannes. In Down Terrace he made a strong piece of work with value in it’s own right, but which has also served as a stepping-stone to larger films, with greater profile. It’s an aspiration many of the iFeatures filmmakers will have.
It seems that UK micro budget films have not been traveling much in Europe so far. What has been preventing them to “reach the world”? I think this question requires that we dig a bit deeper. Do many independent British productions, whether micro budget or larger travel well through the rest of Europe? And for that matter do many films from other European countries travel well? The answer is no. Those films that do travel really are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of local production. Usually only those films performing well at A-list festivals, and with strong critical and even sales agent push manage to cross borders. With that in mind it is especially hard for micro budget films. It makes no sense to spend £100,000 making a film, and then to spend the same, or more, selling it. It feels to me that this is a part of the old model that must change to make independent film viable for producers, and financiers. I do think that the rise of micro budget filmmaking has brought a, much needed, focus on the cost indie films have been produced for. Money needs to be spent, but on projects with budgets coherent to their potential.
dossier
iFeatures2 includes a rather long development process with different phases… The first phase runs through the summer with 16 projects for 8 weeks. This is kick started with a 3-day workshop, which involves speakers such as distributors, and sales agents, and gradually moving towards a much greater focus on story theory, and on each specific story. The teams then go their separate ways and for the next 8 weeks write, with the support of an independent script editor. The second phase follows a similar pattern but runs through the autumn for 12 weeks, with 8 of the original 16 invited to take part. Finally 3 projects are selected to go forward to production. Whilst we can only finance three films we hope that every project will have been strengthened, and that each team will have gained greater insight, and fostered new relationships in the industry.
Tristan Goligher
Do you consider micro budget filmmaking as the most collaborative production area of the film industry? I’m wary of suggesting that filmmaking at a larger budget is not collaborative, because of course it is. There is, however, something unique, and perhaps more artistic, in the nature of collaboration on micro budget films. Having less money necessitates creative solutions, and the inevitability of a smaller crew works to break down the compartmentalised way we often work at a larger scale. I actually find this to be the most exciting aspect of working at this budget level. The often departmentalised, “not my job” attitude, on many films infuriates me. By challenging that and bringing people closer to one another, and also to the creative process, is incredibly refreshing. To be on a set where everyone feels invested in what’s actually happening in front of the camera is exhilarating and conducive to making good work. I do believe this is something that micro budget filmmaking lends itself to.
spotlight
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Taking advantage of our low budget special, we had to speak about Kino Cabaret. Euphoria Borealis (NISI MASA Finland) still has a hangover from their last session and Kino Praha ( NISI MASA Czech Republic) is preparing its new edition. Let's have a quick look at this movement, which allows filmmakers to have complete freedom on their films, but with two little invonvenients: no time and no budget!
The Kino Kabaret Fever
Kino Kabaret Praha 2012 In recent years the Kino Movement has grown into one of the biggest world-wide networks of independent filmmakers. At the end of the 1990s the concept was born in Montreal from where it spread first to Canadian and European cities and gradually also to Africa, the US, Latin America and Australia. Kino Kabaret – how the Kino Movement film making session is often called – is one of the most spontaneous, intense and open-minded way of short filmmaking. Interested directors, scriptwriters, actors, cameramen, editors, sound engineers, musicians, singers, animators, producers etc., both young and old, film professionals and amateurs, assemble in a given Kinocell for a short time of two or three days so as to create short films of any genre. While a similar project "48hours" is highly competitive and restricted by many rules, Kino people don’t set any fast rules, they do not compete but rather help each other. They don't waste any time - as is the case in big film productions, and they don't waste any money - simply because we don't have any. On principle, the network is not centralized and there is no administrative, directive or funding organization. It is up to each city´s Kinocell when they organize their own Kino Kabaret, how they manage it, how long the event takes place, how they promote and how they fund it. The participants of the Kino Kabaret just pay the basic fee of 10-15 EUR per
Group photo of Kino Kabaret Praha screening by Xuan Hoang session, including basic equipment for work, screening places, promotion, free bed at local participants places and, of course, breakfast each morning to keep the filmmakers alive. In 2011 the first Kino Kabaret took place in Prague with almost 100 filmmakers from all over Europe. Kino Praha was inspired by Kino Dynamique in Vienna organized by NISI MASA member Kino5. And here we go and currently we are organizing the second year of Kino Kabaret Praha. From September 24-29, 2012 we will run two three-day sessions to make short films in experimental club NOD in the very centre of Prague. As a piece of news, filmmakers can also make silent films and let them go on screen with an accompaniment of live music. Prague, after all, is the city of music and jamming. Why should you go for a holiday when you can participate in a Kino Kabaret in a different place every year? Well, you don't get too much rest, but you can experience various cities from a new perspective. Welcome to Prague and register by September 15! www.kinopraha.cz
Haruna Honcoopová, the founder of Kino Praha
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Kino Euphoria A spasm of life in the middle of a deserted Helsinki I found that Kino Cabaret is a wonderful concept. I suppose it is similar in all of the world, but it is so especially in Finland that people spend way too much time on contemplating stories and reading or learning up on theory of film-making, even though every veteran in the business can tell you that you really learn it by doing. I belong to the type that hesitates and contemplates too much and I go actually shoot something when I'm absolutely sure what I want to do. Though I find no particular fault in this, I do think that the friendly and constructive atmosphere of a Kino that pretty much forces you to just go out and do something, is an excellent motivator to go out and try anything and everything. By doing, you will learn what works and what doesn't.
It is the beginning of July. In Finland, Helsinki is almost deserted, since most of its inhabitants have gone to the countryside to enjoy the short weeks of summer in their cottages. But in the midst of it, there is a bunch of people around the KinoLab of Kino Euphoria. This was the second year Kino Euphoria has been organized in full scale and it was also my second year to attend. I haven't been to other Kino Cabarets in other countries, but I sure have heard a lot about them.
We live in a revolution of technology in the film business. There are big pictures being made with DSLR's, so there is no longer a necessary dominance of film-schools that provide students with the expensive equipment. Essentially anyone can make a movie, but you will never learn to do a good one unless you go out and try what works. The Kino provides us all with that opportunity without the worry of being judged if you make something stupid. I’m sure I did... A LOT! And I learned from all of it. Even before Kino. And now I have a feature of my own making the festival circuit this year. If you are in Raindance this year, come and see INDEBTED!
by Mara Jelinko
We making movies
by Katarína Matiašovská
Pictures taken during Kino Euphoria by Emilia Haukka
spotlight
Kino Euphoria was quite an experience. Nine days of flat out, peddleto-the-metal 24/7 filmmaking, where fortune favours the dauntless, the quick-witted, the fast-working and where the crazy obsessives flourish. I did it twice. August 2011 and July 2012. This year at Kino Euphoria though, the filmmaking madness was even enhanced given there were white nights occuring and the sun didn`t set sooner than at eleven and rose already at three. We were all well acquainted with the slogan, "do well with nothing, do even better with a little and do it right now!" It’s the credo of the Kino movement, where creativity, skill, passion and commitment are pushed to the limit and sheer love of filmmaking wins the day. On the first day of each session (three sessions altogether, each lasting three days) introductions were made, weapons revealed (skills, cameras, props, ideas etc), and collaborations forged. I think that Kino movement presents a fantastic opportunity and challenge for young, fledgling filmmakers. Where else can they get real hands-on experience and "simply shoot it?" I also appreciate the fact that Kino provides an artistic freedom to produce censorship-free films. Artists do not abide by any rules and are not dictated any regulations when it comes to the content of the films. I am an actress, but also grasped the unique opportunity that Kino movement offers and wrote/directed my very first movies. This year`s Kino Euphoria wasn`t an exception and amongst acting in several short films I directed my own project as well. You can watch Superspooked here. One of the films I acted in during Kino Euphoria is called Bloody tunnel.
news GENERATOR: youth audiovisual forum
GENERATOR: youth audiovisual forum, hosted by NISI MASA and its member associations, will take place during 3 days in Strasbourg, France (January 25 – 27, 2013), bringing together 120 young people (from at least 19 different partner countries) and youth leaders with experts and decision makers. The forum will debate on how young people can have access to European culture and express themselves thanks to audiovisual tools. In two days, participants will take part in different activities, such as plenary debates, presentations, one-to-one meetings, group workshops (film labs, script labs, film critique workshops), screenings and a project fair.
néma de Brive – France, Ad Arte – Poland, TISFEST – Turkey, Psarokokalo Athens Short Film Festival - Greece, Kinoklub Zagreb – Croatia and Munich Film Society - Germany will gather to discuss film lab projects and network projects for the next 2 years. We hope to see you at Encounters, which is one of the world’s best-known showcases and meeting points for emerging short film and animation talent!
kinoKABARET praha CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
The dynamic nature of the program, its different levels of interaction and communication and the strong implication of partner organizations and participants in sharing their experiences and proposing their own ideas all aim to foster a collaborative spirit which reaches far beyond the event itself to indirectly promote tolerance and understanding between cultures. We are looking forward to welcoming you at this ‘NISI MASA Has Talents Forum’! Call for participants coming soon!
Partnership Building Seminar 20-23 September 2012
NISI MASA – European Network of Young Cinema and Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival organize a Partnership Building Meeting. 15 people from the network (long term members as well as new and applying members) - the representatives of Euphoria Borealis ry - Finland, NISI MASA Estonia, Franti NISI MASA Italy, Festival du Ci-
Come to Prague and discover the city from a different perspective! Register for the 2nd edition of international short film workshop and festival Kino Kabaret Praha 2012 which will take place 24-29 September at Prague’ s NoD club (Dlouhá 33, Prague 1). The experimental space NoD will serve as a production meeting place, base for postproduction and also screening place of the freshly made films in 2 x 60 hours. Kino Kabaret is a non-competition concept of filmmaking. All the filmmakers make films for pleasure, under this motto: “Do well with nothing, do better with little and do it right now!“ Deadline for registration : 15 September For more info: kinopraha.cz/kino-kabaret-2?lang=en Registration: kinopraha.cz englishregistration?lang=en
TORINO FILM LAB CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Our friends from Torino Film Lab have just launched two calls for participants for their new edition of Script&Pitch:
SCRIPT&PITCH One more year, TorinoFilmLab, in partnership with NISI MASA and Le Groupe Ouest, organized a new edition of Script&Pitch, an advanced script development course for scriptwriters and directors of feature films all over the world. Torino Film Lab is looking for 16 projects, which will be developed in a 9 monthscourse (from March to November 2013, including 3 residential workshops and 2 on line sessions. The course will follow the entire scriptwriting process and will end with a final pitch in front of film professionals (producers, distributors, etc), which will take place during the Meeting Event in November 2013, during the next Torino Film Festival. Script&Picth is open to professional scriptwriters, writer-directors, as well as to writer-producers and development executives with a good knowledge of English, as it’s the working language of all Script&Picth workshops and meetings. Workshop locations & dates: 1st residential workshop: 11-17 March 2013 (location to be confirmed) 2nd residential workshop: 16-22 June 2013 (Brignogan, France) 3rd residential workshop and Meeting Event: 21-27 November 2013 (Turin, Italy) More info and application forms: www.torinofilmlab.it/training.php For doubts and questions contact: scriptandpitch@torinofilmlab.it Deadline for applications: 31st October 2012
news
agenda
TORINO FILM LAB
1 september
TorinoFilmLab has also launched the Writer’s Room Call for Projects. Grab a pen and a paper and get ready to apply!
9 september
Launch Call for Projects InVitr0
CALL FOR PROJECTS
WRITER’S ROOM This year, and in collaboration with Power to the Pixel, Torino Film Lab offers the Writer’s Room, focused on the process of developing two transmedia projects within a team framework. There will be two call for applications: Call for transmedia projects: Two transmedia projects will be selected to participate in the Writer’s Room 2013. The projects considered eligible must be fiction-based narrative and extend to more than one platform. In addition to the 2 authors with projects, 3 transmedia developers will be selected to join the workshop process, thereby completing the Writer’s Room team. The team will work together under the guidance of tutor and story editor Gino Ventriglia, plus additional trainers with background in i.e and game development. The Writer's Room is aimed at professionals working across different platforms and media, such as story architects, games writers, audience engagement designers, online content developers, writers (script, TV, journalists etc.) and producers, who have experience within cross-media production. More info: www.torinofilmlab.it/writersroom.php For doubts and questions contact: valeria.richter@torinofilmlab.it Deadline for applications: 31st October 2012
Languages and media From the 21st to the 23rd November, Berlin (Germany) will be helding the 9th annual edition of Languages & The Media conference, where the technological change and technical innovations and the way media are produced, consumed and distributed will be discussed.
The theme “Translating in multilingual communities” will guide the discussions in the workshops, seminars and conference presentations. In today’s multilingual communities, technological developments bring both opportunities for and obstacles to translation. Using new media for translation in these communities has widespread implications for the producers and translators of audiovisual material, for television networks and for software developers – all matters to be addressed at the Languages & The Media conference. If you want to know more about the conferences: languages-media.com/index.php If you want to attend as a participant: languages-media.com/part_who.php
InVitro
call for pROJECTS
In NISI MASA, we love adventurous and challenging projects, and that’s why we don’t want to loose the opportunity to show you this amazing project called Loss of Virginity. Organized by InVitrO, a new content and distribution platform, Loss of Virginity is their first Script Contest, where participants would have to apply with a creative and groundbreaking script inspired by the theme Loss of Virginity. The succesful participants, will get their film produced by and InVitro production partner and also become, as InVitro Talent, part of their international production network! For more info about InVitrO: www.invitr0.com
Deadline Adapting for Cinema http://194.116.73.168/adaptingforcinema/
15 september Deadline Kino Kabaret Praha
18 - 23 september
Encounters Short and Animation Film Festival
20 - 23 september
Partnership Building Meeting at Encounters Film Festival
24 - 29 september Kino Kabaret Praha
30 september
Deadline Call for Projects European Short Pitch 2013
26 september - 7 october Nisimazine Kaunas