Holland Film Meeting Daily 4 29-9

Holland Film Meeting Daily4 29-9
the one-stop, non-stop meeting place for dutch and international professionals sept 26–29 2013 Utrecht filmfestival.nl
The HFM in words
Today at the HFM
09.00 – 12.00
Digital Film Library
Jan van Nassau Room
Holland Film Meeting chief Signe
Zeilich-Jensen and a selection
of guests spoke to the HFM daily
yesterday about a 2013 event that
celebrated international co-pro
potential but which was not shy of
examining some of its harsh realities.
13.00 – 14.30
HFM Seminar: TV Drama
SSU - Blauwe zaal
And the Winners are…
“The Holland Meets Russia event was a good day, both
informative and useful,” she stressed, acknowledging
that the climate is not yet amenable to fruitful collaboration between the countries. “But what was said
on the panel is that things can change quickly in Russia. In this particular case it is very difficult but there
are always people in every country who are interested
in an international perspective and would like to
exchange ideas, money and productions, so it always
useful to help these people to find each other.”
Russian producer Natalia Drozd offered a darker
assessment of the notion of formal co-production
intent on the part of her government, but pointed out
that the spirit to collaborate remains undiminished.
“Any increase in the number co-productions should be
a strategic decision made by the government, one that
they mean and want, but it is not there. If it’s done
then we can talk about it again in that perspective, but
now we can’t. We will co-produce, but this is nothing
to do with the government, it is because we are as we
are.”
The inaugural Works-in-Progress session of the
Netherlands Production Platform was very warmly
received by the industry. “It was a lovely atmosphere,”
commented Zeilich-Jensen. “Of course it is very sensitive to show work that is not yet finished to a group of
industry professionals and I think it was really brave
how the producers shared a lot of things with us and
showed us the rushes. It was a very special session and
I know that people hope that we continue it next year.”
She further pointed out the difficulty she felt in choosing the 23 NPP projects in 2013. “There were so many
After hours of intense deliberation
and the most careful consideration
the following projects have been
awarded prizes at the Netherlands
Production Platform 2013.
The Haghefilm International Prize:
Europe’s Borderland (Weydemann
Bros, Germany) “A film that succeeds
in translating the personal involvement of the director into an original
and intellectual concept which goes
against clichés.”
Paula van der Oest interviewed by Geoffrey Macnab. Photo Felix Kalkman
very strong submissions and my general feeling is that
we were very lucky this year. A lot of good projects
came our way. But the final selection reflected our aim
to mix the established producers and directors with
newcomers to the industry.”
First time NPP attendee Roy Boulter, who pitched the
Terence Davies project A Quiet Passion commented:
“It has been a really successful few days. Pitching
your project really focuses your mind, and I have been
really touched by the mutual support. It really doesn’t
feel like a competitive process. Our options for a German and French co-producer have been enhanced by
meetings here, and likewise there are a couple of other
projects that I would like to talk about getting involved
with. It’s that multi-faceted effect that is most useful
at these events.”
Zeilich-Jensen reserved special comment for Franz
Rodenkirchen who gave Thursday’s lecture on modern
script-writing dilemmas, and Paula van der Oest, the
subject of the Binger/Screen International interview.
“Franz’s was a very well attended talk and it was extremely interesting. He has great experience in script
supervision but also in the skills of writing them,
scripts and I am very interested to know more about
his research.”
“Paula’s interview was really inspiring,” she continued. “She was very open about how she works with
actors, and she shared special moments in her filmmaking career with us. The questions were very good
as many of us wanted to get to know Paula’s filmmaking a little better, and Geoffrey Macnab succeeded in
guiding us into her work.” Nick Cunningham
Dutch director Ben Verbong opened the public
session of the Dutch/German Meeting with a
keynote address. “I was surprised to learn how
openly I was received in Germany, how much they
are willing to let others join their culture,” he said.
“I thought, and still think, that you can only make
films for an audience you know, I decided to move
there. I wanted to know what makes people tick,
what they are talking about and which tv shows they
watch. What is it they are sensitive to, what do they
criticise and what are their vulnerabilities?
“Since 2000 I live in both Munich and in Amsterdam.
A combination I can strongly recommend.” NC
Wood in Workshop
The diminishing boundaries between cinema
and television, as evidenced by the rise in
popularity of the ‘boxed-set’ experience, will be
discussed today by Katrina Wood of MediaXchange. The workshop in SSU Blauwe Zaal is
organised by the Erich Pommer Institute.
Ben Verbong. Photo Felix Kalkman
Taxing Debate
A report published today by UK-based Oxford
Economic recommends the introduction of
fiscal or economic incentives to boost the
Dutch audiovisual sector.
Over the period 2009 to 2011, the report states, the
media and entertainment sub-sector contracted by an
annual average of 1.7% over the period losing 3,122
jobs. While the film and music sectors saw a measure of growth (444 and 243 jobs respectively) other
sectors contracted, with the radio and television subsector losing 1,035 jobs.
Against this backdrop, Dutch film’s share of the admissions market rose from just under 14% in 2007 to
approximately 15.8% in 2012 and 17.4 % in the first half
of 2013. In addition, box office returns and admissions to
Dutch films have risen from 2007 to 2012. The number
of films in production has also risen over the period.
The report reads: “Given the evidence we would
recommend that Dutch Government consider the implementation of fiscal and economic financial incentive to invest in audio-visual activity. Previous studies
... provide further evidence that public incentives to
invest in film can generate economic growth whilst
being tax neutral or indeed positive.”
Netherlands Film Dund director Doreen Boonekamp
commented: “After several years of growth in attendance numbers at the box office, the Dutch film and audio
visual sector now stands at the cross roads. The report
by Oxford Economics is very clear about the further
growth potential for the Dutch industry. If the government and the Netherlands Film Fund together develop a
long term strategy including clear economic targets like
employment growth and production volume by using a
good mix of cultural and economical incentive schemes
a healthy production climate for film in the Netherlands
will be created, and prolonged success, both economically as culturally, can become a reality.” NC
“The three main themes will be
audience and consumption of
content, how story-telling has
been impacted, and funding - and
how all three are inter-connected,” Wood commented yesterday.
“Boxed sets give audiences a
Katrina Wood
cinematic experience. I can sit at
home watching these wonderful
series, glass in hand, for as long as I want. And I think
large sections of the audience enjoy the interactivity of
working on different media the whole time. Those two
tv types of experiences are impacting cinema.
“I also believe that the personal vision has migrated
to TV,” she continued. “People wanting to tell a more
personal story are finding that is more possible in television, and there is lots of evidence of that with David
Fincher, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, all of which
we will be using as examples.” NC
The Filmmore Work-in-Progress
Prize:
Land. (Augustus Film, The Netherlands) “An original take on the topic
of immigration which is never patronising. Production values are very high
and the storytelling is very sensual
and organic.”
Land
The Filmmore/Cam-a-Lot Emerging
Talent Award:
Monk (Viking Film, The Netherlands) “A film which could hardly
tick more ‘emerging talent’ boxes
when it comes to its key team members: a first-time director working
from a script which started out as
a graduation project, working with
an experienced producer launching
a new company. The journey which
this marvelously dysfunctional family
– hypochondriac son, bolshy daughter, depressed father, stressed-out
mother - takes is a trip on which we’d
all like to go along. The jury also recommends that the journey to Spain
should pass through as many tax
shelter territories as possible.”
The Warnier Posta Award:
Heartstone (Join Motion Pitures,
Iceland) “A very personal story of
coming out and coming of age set
against the bleak background of rural
Iceland. It’s a film which has the potential to be both touching and lighthearted – a film about being brave
enough to be different in a small
community, and about how friendship
can transcend such differences. The
jury was especially won over by the
passion and enthusiasm of the project’s presentation.”
The Binger Jury Award:
Monk (Viking Film, The Netherlands) “The award goes to a team of
promising new filmmakers who are
developing a project that is startlingly
original. It manages to combine a
delightfully bittersweet tone with a
sense of truth and authenticity in its
presentation of a dysfunctional family comprised of extreme characters,
who are all struggling with their
individual crises and fears in a most
entertaining way.”
See filmfestival.nl/profs_en/news/ for online news coverage of the Holland Film Meeting and Dutch industry, and interviews with leading Dutch professionals