Agora Market Manual 2013
Transcription
Agora Market Manual 2013
Contents AWARDS SPONSOR 4 Festival Venues 5 Useful Information for the Agora Industry 6 Thessaloniki Agora Industry Awards and Partners 8 Agora Team [Who is Who] two thirty five AWARD SPONSOR 10 Agora Industry Overview 12 Agora Industry Juries 14 Crossroads Projects 50 Agora Works in Progress 66 Agora Film Market Official Selection Film Market Crossroads Participants’ Previous Films 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual Dear friends, We are really happy to present once again the selections of the Agora Industry and its parallel events: the Crossroads Co-production Forum, The Agora Works in Progress and the films taking part in the Agora Film Market. The Agora Industry is designed to promote foremost the Greek films and help the Greek professionals as well as the Balkan, Mediterranean and Central European movie professionals to implement their cinematic projects. The joint involvement of these countries reinforces the relationship between them, which, although separated geographically, are culturally united through the international language of cinema. Agora Industry’s aim is to offer to all participating professionals a unique networking atmosphere and offer them the right means in their search of new films and projects. Agora Industry has been an important part of the Thessaloniki Film Festival since 2005 and we are grateful to all our friends, old and new, for their support and interest in our efforts all these years. We wish you a pleasant stay and we are ready to welcoming you to Thessaloniki! Dimitri Eipides Thessaloniki Internanational Film Festival Director Marie-Pierre Macia Coordinator Agora Industry and the Agora Industry Team 3 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual Useful Information for the Agora Industry z z z z z The Agora Industry is located on the 1st floor of the Electra Palace Hotel (9, Aristotelous Sq.) Working hours: 10.00-20.00, from 2 to 9.11.2013 Access: All registered delegates with TIFF Industry / Press badge have free access to the Agora Industry All Agora Industry badges are issued at the Agora Industry area (Electra Palace Hotel) All Agora Industry delegates are requested to issue zero value tickets for all official festival screenings upon the presentation of their badge (except from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies). Please return the tickets you will not use to the Agora Industry Information Desk. z All Agora Industry delegates have free access to the Press / Industry Screenings: Makedonia I @ Electra Palace Hotel (1st floor) 10.00-20.00, Frida Liappa Theatre & Tonia Marketaki Theatre 09.00-13.00 Agora Industry Services z z z z z Accreditation & Information Desk Shared exhibition space for sellers Wi-Fi Special meeting area Happy Hour at the Excelsior Bar of the Electra Palace Hotel 18.00-19.00 (3-7.11.2011) Agora Film Market z The Film Market facilities are open from the 2nd to the 9th of November, 10.00-20.00. On Saturday the 9th of November the Film Market will close at 16.00 z 30 booths fully digital are located at the Byzantion Hall on the 1st floor of the Electra Palace Hotel z Booking should be made one day in advance at the Film Market reception z Booths can be booked for a maximum of four consecutive hours z You are kindly requested to register your evaluation of each film you have watched. Agora Works in Progress The Agora Works in Progress will be screened at Olympion Theater on the 7th of November at 10.30 to 13.30. Access is strictly allowed to the Agora Industry delegates. Crossroads Co-production Forum individual meetings The individual meetings with the Crossroads Participants will be held in the Makedonia Hall II 10. 00-18.00 Agora Industry Offices Our offices are located at the Olympiada Hall next to the stairwell. Office hours: 10.00-20.00 5 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 THESSALONIKI AGORA MARKET AWARDS AND PARTNERS THESSALONIKI AGORA INDUSTRY SUPPORTERS: The NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework) 2007–2013 constitutes the reference document for the programming of European Union Funds at national level for the 2007–2013 period. It was elaborated within the framework of the new strategic approach to the Cohesion Policy of the European Union, according to which NSRF “…ensures that the assistance from the Funds is consistent with the Community strategic guidelines on cohesion and identifies the link between Community priorities, on the one hand, and the national reform programme, on the other.” The three regions Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia – Thrace, covered by the Regional Operational Programme of Macedonia – Thrace, represent an enlarged economic area, with plenty of geographical advantages and a rich supply of endogenous growth. Over the past 20 years, MEDIA, the EU’s support programme for the European audiovisual industry, has supported the development and distribution of thousands of films as well as training activities, festivals and promotion projects throughout the continent. From 2001-2006, more than half a billion euros were injected into 8.000 projects from over 30 countries. Graal is the only complete Digital Intermediate (DI) post house in Greece, performing high quality image processing, punctually and in any medium or format. Graal’s vision, as the name suggest, is the never-ending effort for the optimum sesulta, with emphasis on quality. The company’s focus is on building and maintaining its reputation for technical excellence, outstanding value and professionalism. Graal is dedicated to the continuous integration of new technologies through national and international collaborations in the film-making industry. The in-house team consists of audiovisual post-production professionals with diverse expertise. Graal seeks to enhance the Greek film industry and expand beyond the borders of the Greek market. Graal offers high quality image processing in any medium or format, in competitive prices, by professionals with diverse expertise and in-depth knowledge. Graal is sponsoring the AGORA WORKS IN PROGRESS Award two thirty five 6 2|35 Inc. (two thirty five) is a privately held, film production and post production company, located in the centre of Athens, Greece. It was established in July 2007 by experienced professionals with more than fifteen years each in the industry. The company serves the local and international film post production industry and participates in selected productions as a coproducer, offering production and post production services. We offer full Digital Intermediate (DI) 4K, 2K, and HD workflows and work to the highest technical specifications across all acquisition and distribution formats, both analog and digital. Services include digital film scanning, editing, digital visual effects, graphics, color grading, sound design,Dolby digital sound mixing, video encoding, film restoration, digital picture and sound film recording, digital cinema mastering. Since its establishment, the company has completed work on 34 feature films (7 co-productions), 52 short films, 6 documentaries and several other projects, including stereoscopic 3D films, Digital Cinema masters, teasers, trailers and planetarium/dome projections. 2|35 is offering the CROSSROADS Co-production Award 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual Created by the law of 25 October 1946, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is a public administrative organization, set up as a separate and financially independent entity. The Directorate of European and international affairs prepares, negotiates and monitors bilateral co-production agreements, assists and participates in the functioning of Eurimages (multilateral support fund for co-production, under the Council of Europe). In addition, the Directorate of European and international affairs runs bilateral cooperation schemes with countries having emerging film production sectors. Furthermore, it jointly runs and funds the Fonds Sud Cinéma with the ministry of foreign affairs, and supports training schemes for foreign professionals and various festivals or professional seminars. CNC is offering the CROSSROADS development award of 7.000 euro Founded in 1993 Initiative film is the first European consulting company specialized in development process for professionals as producers, screenwriters, directors, actors ... Attentive partner from the birth of the story to the start of production we accompany creative process linked to artistic and economic feasibility of the projects. We are working as development advisor, helping to take the necessary distance in relation to a work in progress in order to facilitate his viability in the market. After several-years of fruitful collaboration with Crossroads Co-production Forum, Isabelle Fauvel submitted to its team an Initiative Film award. It allows one selected Greek project to be followed from its current state, as presented in Crossroads to a full analysis of its evolution in a period of 6 months after the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. An exclusive program of meet-and-greets Launched in 2004, the Producers Network hosts around 550 producers from all over the world in a series of meetings created to stimulate international coproduction. Every day an individually tailored program reserved for producers will give you the opportunity to find financial partners also interested in international distribution of their films: Breakfast : various industry personalities are invited to share their experiences in the industry around a themed presentation which will touch on all of the aspects of the production and distribution of film over breakfast. Speed-Dating: gives producers time to mingle and make deals for their Projects; Master Class: an expert will share their advice and professional knowledge of a specific part of the world or of a recent development in the industry; Happy Hour: a lively atmosphere for professional encounters. The winning producer will have the chance to participate in the next round of the Producer’s Network Sofia Meetings, supported by the Media programme of the EU, is an event that aims to promote new projects from young European filmmakers and new films from Bulgaria and the Balkan region to European film festivals, sales agents and distributors. Sofia Meetings is oriented towards professional audience (producers, directors, world sales, distributors, representatives of financing organizations and film festivals). It has two separate modules: Pitching – presentation of first, second and third feature film projects looking for financial support and cooperation. Balkan Screenings – showcase of the latest Bulgarian and regional feature and short flms for directors and programmes from different international festivals, world sales companies and journalists. Additional events such as lectures, training programs, presentations happen simultaneously to the Sofia Meetings. One project will be selected to participate in the next round of Sofia Meetings MFI Script 2 Film Workshops is an advanced training initiative under the umbrella of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. Essentially a script & project development program, it is based on group work, Q&Α sessions, case studies & individual consultations, and consists of 4 intensive workshops (2 on-location in the Greek islands of Nissyros and Samos, and 2 on-line hosted in MFI’s web site).Its primary objective is to fully develop the participating screenplays, from first or subsequent draft to final draft, through a process of workshops that emphasize on script analysis, revision & rewriting.Its second objective is to help participants to set up an effective project development process (presentation, pitching, fundraising & production strategies) and help them reach the stage of production. One project will be given scholarship to participate in the next round of Script 2 Film Workshops CINEUROPA is the first European portal dedicated to cinema and audiovisual in 4 languages. With daily news, interviews, data bases, in-depth investigations into the audiovisual industry, Cineuropa aims at promoting the European film industry throughout the world. Welcome to a platform where professionals can meet and exchange information and ideas. 7 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Team [Who is Who] Marie-Pierre Macia Coordinator Agora Industry Crossroads Co-production Forum Artistic Director Yianna Sarri Head of Market 8 Denise Andreola Market Coordinator Angeliki Vergou Services Coordination Panagiotis Galios Agora Industry Production Leonidas Konstantarakos Market Assistant Europe loves European Festivals A privileged place for meetings, exchanges and discovery, festivals provide a vibrant and accessible environment for the widest variety of talent, stories and emotions that constitute Europe’s cinematography. The MEDIA Programme of the European Union aims to promote European audiovisual heritage, to encourage the transnational circulation of films and to foster audiovisual industry competitiveness. The MEDIA Programme acknowledges the cultural, educational, social and economic role of festivals by co-financing every year almost 100 of them across Europe. These festivals stand out with their rich and diverse European programming, networking and meeting opportunities for professionals and the public alike, their activities in support of young professionals, their educational initiatives and the importance they give to strengthening inter-cultural dialogue. In 2012, the festivals supported by the MEDIA Programme have programmed more than 20.000 screenings of European works to nearly 3 million cinema-lovers. MEDIA is pleased to support the 54th edition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and we extend our best wishes to all of the festival goers for an enjoyable and stimulating event. European Union MEDIA PROGRAMME http://www.ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/index_en.htm L’Europe aime les festivals européens Lieux privilégiés de rencontres, d’échanges et de découverte, les festivals rendent vivante et accessible au plus grand nombre la formidable diversité de talents, d’histoires et d’émotion que constituent les cinématographies européennes. Le programme MEDIA de l’Union européenne vise à promouvoir le patrimoine cinématographique européen, à encourager les films à traverser les frontières et à renforcer la compétitivité du secteur audiovisuel. Le programme MEDIA reconnait l’importance culturelle, éducative, sociale et économique des festivals en co-finançant chaque année près d'une centaine d'entre eux dans toute l’Europe. Ces manifestations se démarquent par une programmation européenne riche et diverse, par les opportunités de rencontres qu'elles offrent au public et aux cinéastes, par leurs actions de soutien aux jeunes auteurs, par leurs initiatives pédagogiques ou encore par l'importance donnée au dialogue inter-culturel. En 2012, l'ensemble de ces festivals soutenus par le programme MEDIA a programmé plus de 20.000 projections d'œuvres européennes pour le grand plaisir de près de 3 millions de cinéphiles. MEDIA a le plaisir de soutenir la 54ème édition du Festival International du Film de Thessalonique et souhaite aux festivaliers de grands moments de plaisir. Union Européenne PROGRAMME MEDIA Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Thessaloniki Agora Industry Overview Since the first industry event in 2003 with Balkan Fund until the full evolution of the Agora Industry many film projects have been presented in all kinds of development stages. These films have made their premiere in prestigious festivals, won awards and have also been screened at Thessaloniki International Film Festival. We are committed in enlarging that list and put our efforts into continuing to support films from Central Europe and the Balkan and Mediterranean countries. When I Saw You September by Annemarie Jacir (Jordan/Palestine/Greece) 2012 Toronto Film Festival Abu Dhabi Film Festival – Best Arab Film Berlin Film Festival – NETPAC Best Asian Film Award Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival – Open Horizons Palestine’s 2013 Oscar Entry Crossroads Co-production Forum 2008 Agora Works in Progress 2011 – Graal Award by Penny Panayotopoulou (Greece/Germany) 2013 Karlovy Vary Int’l Film Festival – Competition Toronto Film Festival – City to City section Balkan Fund Award Winner 2010 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2011 Agora Works in Progress 2012 My Dog Killer by Michalis Konstantatos (Greece/Germany) 2013 San Sebastian Int’l Film Festival London Film Festival Crossroads Co-production Forum 2010 Agora Works in Progress 2012 by Mira Fornay (Slovak Republic/Czech Republic) 2013 Int’l Film Festival Rotterdam – Tiger Award Karlovy Vary Int’l Film Festival Munich Int’l Film Festival – Cinema Vision Award Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival – Open Horizons Slovak Republic’s 2013 Oscar Entry Agora Works in Progress 2012 – Honorary Mention The Japanese Dog by Tudor Cristan Jurgiu (Romania) 2013 San Sebastian Int’l Film Festival – New Directors Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival – Balkan Survey Crossroads Co-production Forum 2010 Agora Works in Progress 2012 Wild Duck by Yannis Sakaridis (Greece) 2013 Toronto Film Festival – City to City section Busan Int’l Film Festival – Flash Forward Competition Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival – Competition Agora Works in Progress 2012 Standing Aside, Watching by Yorgos Servetas (Greece) 2013 Toronto Film Festival – City to City section Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival Crossroads Co-production Forum 2011 Hungry Man by Philip Martin (France) 2013 Karlovy Vary Int’l Film Festival – Forum of Independents Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival – Open Horizons Agora Works in Progress 2012 10 Luton Boy Eating the Bird’s Food by Ektoras Lygizos (Greece) 2012 Karlovy Vary Int’l Film Festival – Competition Toronto Film Festival Thessaloniki Intl’ Film Festival - Competition Agora Works in Progress 2011 Beyond the Hill by Emin Alper (Turkey) Berlin Film Festival – Forum 2012 Best Turkish Film - Istanbul International Film Festival 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2012 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2010 Agora Works in Progress 2011 Out in the Dark by Michael Mayer (Israel/ USA) Toronto Film Festival 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2012 Agora Works in Progress 2011 The Color of the Chameleon by Emil Christov Toronto Film Festival 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival - Competition 2012 Balkan Fund Award 2009 Agora Works in Progress 2011 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual Everybody in Our Family Black Field Tilva Rosh by Radu Jude (Romania/Netherlands) Berlin Film Festival – Forum 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2012 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2009 by Vardis Marinakis (Greece) Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2010 Cinemed - Mediterranean International Film Festival Montpellier 2010 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2006 Greece Generation Next 2008 by Nikola Lezaic (Serbia) Locarno International Film Festival 2010 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2010 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2008 Unfair World by Filippos Tsitos (Greece/Germany) San Sebastian Film Festival 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Agora Works in Progress 2010 Tales from Kars Homeland by Syllas Tzoumerkas International Film Critic’s Week – Venice Film Festival 2010 Greece: Generation Next 2008 by Özcan Alper, Zehra Derya Koç, Ülkü Oktay, Ahu Öztürk, Ömer Emre Akay International Film Festival Rotterdam – Bright Future 2009 Balkan Works in Progress 2008 Punk’s Not Dead Pandora’s Box by Vladimir Blazevski (FYROM/Serbia) Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Agora Works in Progress 2010 by Yesim Ustaoglu (Turkey/France/Germany/Belgium) San Sebastian - Golden & Silver Shell 2008 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2008 Crossroads Co-production Forum Award 2006 Amnesty by Bujar Alimani (Albania/Greece/France) Berlin Film Festival – Forum 2011 Montreal World Cinema Film Festival 2011 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2008 Agora Works in Progress 2010 Man at Sea by Constantine Giannaris (Greece) Berlin Film Festival - Panorama 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Balkan Fund 2006 Crossroads Co-production Forum2007 Agora Works in Progress 2010 J.A.C.E by Menelaos Karamanghiolis (Greece/Portugal/FYROM/Turkey/Netherlands) Tokyo International Film Festival 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Balkan Fund 2005 Agora Works in Progress 2010 Wasted Youth by Argyris Papadimitropoulos & Jan Vogel (Greece) International Film Festival Rotterdam2011 BAFICI 2011 Agora Works in Progress 2010 Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos (Greece) Un Certain Regard Award-Cannes Film Festival 2009 Greek Works in Progress 2008 Tale 52 by Alexis Alexiou (Greece) International Film Festival Rotterdam Tiger Awards Competition Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2008 Greek Works in Progress 2007 Adalber’s Dream Süt (Milk) by Gabriel Achim (Romania) Reykjavik International Film Festival 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Crossroads 2009 Agora Works in Progress 2010 by Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey/France/Germany) Venice Film Festival 2008 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2008 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2006 Loverboy The Happiest Girl in the World by Catalin Mitulescu (Romania) Un Certain Regard Award – Cannes Film Festival 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 Balkan Fund Award 2006 by Radu Jude (Romania/Netherlands) C.I.C.A.E Award - Berlin Film Festival, Forum 2009 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2009 Balkan Fund 2007 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2008 Aurora by Cristi Puiu (Romania/France/Switzerland/Germany) Un Certain Regard Cannes Film Festival 2010 Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2010 Balkan Works in Progress 2009 Outbound by Bogdan George Apetri (Romania) Locarno Intl Film Festival 2010 Golden Alexander - Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2010 Balkan Works in Progress 2009 Ajami by Scandar Copti & Yaron Shani (Israel/Germany) Camera D’Or – Special Distinction Director’s Fortnight Cannes Film Festival 2009 Golden Alexander - Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2009 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2005 Autumn by Özcan Alper (Turkey/Germany) C.I.C.A.E Award Locarno Intl Film Festival 2008 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2008 Crossroads Co-production Forum 2007 California Dreamin’ (Endless) by Cristian Nemescu (Romania) Un Certain Regard Award – Cannes Film Festival 2007 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2007 Balkan Fund 2004 Balkan Works in Progress 2006 Grbavica (Esma’s Secret) by Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Berlin Film Festival –Golden Bear 2004 Thessaloniki Intl Film Festival 2004 Balkan Fund Award 2003 11 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress Jury 2013 KONSTANTINA VONORTA She was born in New Zealand. After finishing her studies in Computer Graphics Animation she co founded Graal, in 1999. In 2006 she was trained in workflow management & digital archiving. From 2007 to 2010 she specialized in film, working on a major restoration project comprising of 200 titles. She has been working in post- production as a post production producer & coordinator of domestic and international films for more than 10 years. She is in Graal’s Board of Directors and in 2013 she was a co-producer of an award- winning short film. MATTHIEU DARRAS Founder of NISI MASA, the European network of young cinema, Matthieu Darras ideated and managed dozens of international workshops related to scriptwriting, short & documentary filmmaking, and film criticism from 2001 to 2012. Critic for the film magazine Positif, Matthieu Darras was a regular member of Cannes Semaine de la Critique selection committee from 2005 to 2011. He assumed the artistic direction of Alba Film Festival in Italy, and of the IFF Bratislava in Slovakia. Matthieu Darras has been working for the Torino Film Lab since its inception in 2008, currently as Head of Programmes. He is also delegate of the San Sebastian Film Festival, in charge of Central & Eastern Europe, and works as scout for the Jerusalem Film Lab. OLIVIER HEITz Olivier Heitz (1983) has graduated from business school and made his first steps in cinema as responsible for the selection at the Festival of European cinema in Lille, France. After several internships in the cinema industry on set and in companies such as EuropaCorp, SND and the SOFICA Cinemage, he got his first job at EuropaCorp as responsible for the international release of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s environmental documentary Home. He then spent four years at Premium films handling acquisitions and sales of short and feature films before joining MK2 at the acquisitions in 2013. 12 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual Crossroads Co-Production Jury 2013 ALESIA WESTON Sundance Institute alum Alesia Weston was most recently Executive Director of the Jerusalem Film Festival, Cinematheque and Archives, where she oversaw the International Festivals of 2012 and 2013. During her nine previous years at Sundance, Weston oversaw the international work of the year-round Feature Film Program: the international Labs, the Sundance/NHK And Mahindra International Filmmakers Awards and the international part of Screenwriters and Directors Labs in Utah. She led Sundance’s Middle East Film Initiative, working closely with Royal Film Commission of Jordan to establish RAWI Middle East Screenwriters Labs and spearheaded Sundance in Tel Aviv and Sundance in Istanbul Screenwriters Labs. She was part of the core team of Sundance’s Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue program, in partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Films include: Red Road, Paradise Now, Wadjda,Fill the Void, Elena, House of Sand, Taxidermia, Whisky. Prior to Sundance Institute, Weston worked at Trigger Street Productions, Imagine Entertainment and AFI. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Languages and Linguistics, she did her post-graduate at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Masters Program in French Literature at University College London. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Torino FilmLab, the Jerusalem International Film Lab. In 2012 was honored with the Industry Leadership Award by the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. AMANDA LIVANOU Amanda Livanou has been working as an independent producer in commercials, film and television since 1997. She has produced, co-produced or line produced more than 15 feature films and documentaries - including foreign productions that were shot in Greece. Recent titles include L by Babis Makridis (Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival 2012, Grand Prix, Molodist Film Festival, Kiev, Ukraine), and They Glow in the Dark, feature documentary by Panagiotis Evangelidis (FIPRESCI Prize, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013). She is currently developing two feature projects, the new film by Babis Makrids co-written by Efthimis Filippou, and the feature debut of Sofia Exarchou PARK (CNC development award, Crossroads Thessaloniki 2012, Eurimages Development Award, Sarajevo Cinelink 2013). In development also the new documentary by acclaimed film maker Eva Stefani. She is a graduate of the EAVE training programme. Since April 2012 she is an associate of greek distributors Feelgood Entertainment, in Promotion and Production. PETER CARLTON Peter Carlton joined Warp Films in 2009 to head up development of more internationally-focussed productions. Recent credits are as executive producer of Tyrannosaur, Four Lions, Submarine and L by Babis Makridis and as producer of the hit TV series Southcliffe directed by Sean Durkin and written by Tony Grisoni. He was previously Senior Commissioning Executive at Film4, responsible for films such as Hunger, Me & You & Everyone We Know and This Is England. 13 CROSSROADS - CO-PRODUCTION FORUM 5-9 NOVEMBER 2013 Crossroads aims to support the producers of feature-length film projects that are linked to Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Balkan regions. two thirty five AWARD SPONSOR ANOTHER PARADISE Georgia page 16 CHLORINE Italy page 18 DISORDER France page 20 ECHOES Israel page 22 FAIR PLAY Greece page 24 the crossroads projects FRANKENSTEIN (A DEATH ODYSSEY) Greece-Germany page 26 FELLINI Greece page 28 THE GERMAN CAKEMAKER Israel page 30 THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (working title) Greece page 32 GOD PROTECT MY DAUGHTER Tunisia-France page 34 A HISTORY OF WOMEN Turkey page 36 REVOLUTION France-Egypt page 38 THE SEA AND ITS WAVES Lebanon-France page 40 THE SATELLITES France-Serbia page 42 WATERLOO Spain page 44 THE VETERAN Greece page 46 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects ANOTHER PARADISE Georgia Produced by: CINETECH, N&N STUDIO Director: Nana Janelidze Scriptwriter: Nana Janelidze Producers: Rusudan Glurjidze, Ekaterina Jojua Budget: 860.530 Euros Secured Financing: 19% Location: Georgia Looking for: Co-Producers, Co-Financing SOFIA MEETINGS PROJECT SYNOPSIS As the Abkhazian war ends, Nutsa expects the return of Giorgi. Giorgi returned but he refuses to communicate with anyone, even his daughter. He is unable to be of any help for the family’s financial survival. Nutsa tries to reconnect with her husband. When she discovers the film footage he shot at war, she measures the distance that now separates them. She confronts Giorgi. He decides to leave. Soon enough the theatre closes down due to electricity cuts. Nutsa finds a job at the radio. She hosts a night broadcast. Her voice becomes a ray of light during the Georgian nights. Hoping that Giorgi is also listening, she addresses him love messages, praying him to return night after night. As Leko, her war-wounded sound engineer, tells her his own experience of war, he accuses a former mafia member, now a government official. Leko forgets to turn off the mike. Suddenly, a gang appears and destroys the small radio station. Nutsa manages to connect torn wires and resumes her broadcast. Her voice floats again across the dark city, overcoming cold, dark and desperation... People walk towards the radio to demonstrate their solidarity. Among them, Giorgi with their daughter Natka. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The events of this script take place in Georgia during the second half of the 1990s. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country sank into chaos. Anarchy, hunger, power cuts, war wounds – but also laughter, humour, high ideals, existing side by side in the former Soviet republic. My generation is now the one that remembers this period very vividly, for at the time our children were too small and saw everything through the eyes of youth and our parents are now too old to remember. To me, that period – with all its diversity – should be shown in a feature film and that is my generation’s duty. Those days belong to history, and that’s why I have to depict this era in my film. The main character of the script is Nutsa, a young woman who works as a night radio presenter for a radio station. During the programme Nutsa reassures, amuses and encourages the listeners. This is the only thing she can do to fight cynicism, lawlessness and the power cuts. She believes that every human being has a duty to save at least a small part of the world in which he or she inhabits. This film is a film of HOPE. CINETECH Cinetech is one of the most dynamically developing independent film production companies in Georgia. The company was founded in 2006 and its aim is to produce the works of independent filmmakers. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION CINETECH, N&N T: +995597704400 E: [email protected] 16 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Will There Be a Theatre Up There?!, doc, 2011 Baltic and Georgia XV National Cinematographic Forum, Best film 33rd Montpellier International Mediterranean Film Festival, CINE4ME prize XVII Moscow International Human Rights Film Festival “Stalker” - Best film Russian Film Academy, Best foreign film International Film Festival “GoEast”, Special mention Nana is the author of the script Repentance, which won in Cannes the Jury Special Prize, FIPRESCI Prize and Ecumenical Church’s prize in 1987. Holder of two “Nika” (Russian Film Academy) awards for the film Repentance (script) in 1987 and the film Will There Be a Theater Up There? (Best foreign film) in 2011. She is a member of the Russian Film Academy. Laureate of the Georgian State with a prize for the film Lullaby in 1994. She also works as a drama director at the theatre. In 2000 she founded with the actress Nanuka Khuskivadze the production studio N&N. She has restored and made available a multimedia album of the first Georgian documentary film Akaki Tsereteli’s Journey through Racha and Lechkhumi in 1912 and she is the author and presenter of program Laterna Magika at the Georgian Public broadcaster TV (2005-2007). Film projects in development: Another Paradise, GeorgianAbkhazian Dairies (doc). The Knights of Georgian Chant, doc, 2010 Christmas Gift, short, 2005 Montpellier Film Festival Lullaby, 1994 Pezaro International Film Festival, Gran-prize Moscow International Film Festival, Best director, Ecumenical Church prize Lagovo International Film Festival, Best film, FIPRESCI prize Film Festival of Orthodox Films Golden Knight, “Silver knight” award Nana Janelidze Present at Crossroads Will there Be a Theatre Up There?, the previous film of Nana Janelidze, is available at the Agora Film Market. Family, short, 1985 Student International Film Festival “Amirani”, Best short film Minsk International Youth Film Festival, Actress prize Dortmund Film Festival Florence Film Festival A Big Boy and a Little Boy, short, 1978 Rotterdam Film Festival, Golden Prize at Georgian student films program PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Caucasian Fiction by Eldar Shengelaia ,Roman Balaian ,Rustam Ibragimbekov and Temur Butikashvili (in production) Rusudan Glurjidze was born in Georgia, Tbilisi, on July 1972. From 1989 to 1991 she has been studying French Language & Literature at the Tbilisi State University. From 1990 to 1996 she has been studying Film Directing and Scriptwriting in George Shengelaia’s class at the Georgian State Film & Theatre Institute. Since 2007 she is an A.D. and Producer at Cinetech Film Production. House of Others by Rusudan Glurjidze (in pre-production) Sarajevo IFF 2013 , CINELINK Award Selected among 10 European projects selected by B’EST (The Baltic Bridge East by West) Open Doors Locarno IFF – 2013, Finalist Another Paradise by Nana Janelidze (in development) Sofia Meetings –Sofia IFF 2013, Best Project Award Rusudan Glurjidze Present at Crossroads Chaika, by Miguel Ángel Jiménez, 2011 San Sebastian International Film Festival 2012, Official Selection Rome NCN 2010, Eurimages Best European co-production project in development; Cameraimage Poland, Best DOP, Best Director Farewell to Arms, consist of five shorts shot by young Georgian film directors. Shorts were selected, mentioned and awarded at more than 70 IFF 17 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects CHLORINE Italy Produced by: ANG FILM / ASMARA FILMS Director: Lamberto Sanfelice Scriptwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso Producer: Damiano Ticconi Co-Producer: Ginevra Elkann Budget: 793.247 Euros Secured Financing: 19% Location: Italy Looking for: Co-producers, Sales Agent, Distributors MFI PROJECT SYNOPSIS Jenny is a teenager grown up in a pool with the dream of becoming a sincro swimmer champion. When the events disrupt the fate of her family, Jenny has to look after her younger brother and sick father. At that point teenage dreams clash with the responsibility of an early adult life. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT A winter of many years ago I saw a girl that looked too young to be a mother, dragging a child by the collar of the jacket toward a bus stop. The child was squirming and kicking in the air while screaming out loud all his anger. Only a few fragments of life, I never knew what happened before nor what happened to those two after that moment. Through the need to understand the cruelty of that scene, Jenny was born. The narration uses the location of the story to design a social geography which are closely related to the journey of Jenny’s family. They come from Ostia, the beach near Rome, a place for vacation and pleasure to many. A life made of simple things, a small sailing boat for family days out at sea, they swim, Jenny in the swimming pool, towards her dream. They will find themselves catapulted in the mountains, surrounded by snow. Not a fashionable ski resort, a desolate peak of the Apennines, in the middle of Abruzzi. They have no money and yet travel in the opposite direction of the migration of the 19th century, when workers left Abruzzi in search of a better life. The distance between Ostia and Passo San Leonardo, makes these places disconnected from each other, two different dimensions: the place of the present, where one is located, and the place where one’s want to be, are at the basis of the dichotomy dream-reality of Jenny. Within this framework, we borrow the eyes of Jenny, a girl of seventeen, to wander in her new life. The school abandoned for a job as a maid. A sick father with a lost glance and no will to leave. A ten-year-old brother to look after. A swimming pool she sneaks in illegally to nourish her dream. A man who understands her better than she thinks. In the midst of all this, at the end we realize that the reflection is somewhere else, that the film highlights the relationship between Jenny and her brother. The brother from which Jenny first seems to want to escape from, but which becomes the primary affection through which the girl completes her growth into a woman. ANG FILM PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION ANG FILM T: +39 06 3211960 E: [email protected] W: www.angfilm.com W: www.asmarafilms.com 18 ANG Film is an Italy-based company active in the media entertainment industry since 2004. In recent years we moved our focus to feature films, initially supporting young directors in the production of short films, documentaries and projects development. ANG Film has produced over 100 commercials, viral, promos and institutional videos for various national and international brands, like Campari, Valentino, Gucci, Amaro Motenegro, Bonomelli, Toyota, Nissan, Red Bull, A.S. Roma and others. In the last two years ANG film started to co-produce with Asmara Fims for the feature film Arianna, a first feature by the director Carlo Lavagna. At the same time ANG produced The Whistle co-produced with Asmara Film and supported by the Italian Public Fund of Mibac and directed by Lamberto Sanfelice. ANG film is currently involved in the development of the first feature film of Lamberto Sanfelice, called Chlorine. Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE The Whistle, short, 2012 Miami Short Film Festival New York City International Film Festival Athens International Film Festival After having completed his first two short films Getting Fired and Holy Sunday in the summer of 2009 at NYU, Lamberto returns to Italy and starts a collaboration with Ang Film to produce contents for the web TV Mugma. In 2012 he directed The Whistle, a short movie financed by the MiBac (Italy’s Culture Ministry) and supported by local authorities. The Whistle was selected at numerous Italian and international festivals, such as: New York City International Film Festival 2013, Bif&st Bari International Film Festival 2013, Miami Short Film Festival 2012, Roma Independent Film Festival 2013, Athens International Film Festival 2013, Newport Beach Film Festival 2013. Lamberto is currently working on the preparation of his first feature movie with the title, Chlorine, produced by ASMARA Films in co-production with ANG Film. Lamberto Sanfelice Present at Crossroads The Whistle, the previous film of Lamberto Sanfelice, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE L’Unico, short, by Carlo Lavagna, in coproduction with Asmara Films, 2012 Damiano Ticconi is a young film and TV producer born in Rome in 1975. In 2001 he graduated in Economics and Business from the University “La Sapienza” in Rome. In the following years he produced several commercials, promos and tv contents for the most important national TV channels (Rai International, Sky, Fox Int. Channel, Discovery Channel, La7, Cult, National Geographic) and many institutional videos and short films for many fashion brands like Valentino, Gucci, D&G, Stefanel. In the 2004 he founded Ang Film a production company based in Rome. His current projects include the productions of two italian feature films, Chlorine and Arianna. The Whistle, short, by Lamberto Sanfelice, 2012 Miami Short Film Festival New York City International Film Festival Athens International Film Festival Ama, short, by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, 2012 Damiano Ticconi Present at Crossroads 19 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects DISORDER France Produced by: TCHIN TCHIN PRODUCTION Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese Scriptwriter: Giacomo Abbruzzese Producer: André Logie & Gaëtan David Budget: 2.285.000 Euros Location: Romania - Italy Looking for: Co-Production, Sales agent, Distribution SYNOPSIS Bucharest. Ana abandons her studies and starts working as a waitress. She decides to make some extra money dancing in a strip bar. When she is on stage, no one can stop watching her. She dances like nobody else. Dreaming of Milan, she convinces a client to pay her a one-way ticket. Italy turns out to be a disillusion. She ends up as a prostitute in a park, but an unexpected encounter makes her enter a circle of high-class clients. In the corridors of a five-star hotel, Ana meets Saleh, a mysterious Palestinian of dazzling beauty. They fall in love. A hotel room becomes their place to meet before they get lost in the night dancing in Milan, like Ana has always dreamed, like Saleh has never done. One night in a club, Saleh is arrested. Before the police arrives, Ana hurries to empty the hotel room of him, finding a bag full of weapons and some photos of a man. Ana discovers that Saleh was part of an international cell that planned a series of operations against the principal figures of world finance. Ana is invited to a secret party in a villa lost in the countryside, organized by the man on Saleh’s photos. She brings a gun with her. Doing the best dance of her life, she becomes the object of his attentions. What Saleh could not do, Ana will. The power of life and death over Caesar. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT «O gentleman, the time of life is short... If we live, we live to tread on kings». Shakespeare, Henry IV From a strip dancer to a black widow, Ana is a character in action and in continuous movement, passing a universe of representation and repetition. A Rosetta of the Dardenne brothers who runs through The Night of Antonioni. Her body is an instrument that turns from a seduction weapon into a deadly arm. Saleh is the stranger. Like Terence Stamp in Teorema by Pasolini, he is a kind of angel of Apocalypse and – at the same time – of love. A figure that appears and disappears suddenly and mysteriously. At the end of the film, at the end of a long dressed table, there is il Presidente. In front of Ana who didn’t have anything, he who has it all and therefore constantly needs to run the risk of loosing it. The Player of Dostoyevsky. Between archetypes and realism, I will build an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty, run over by strong accelerations. The landscapes as well as the locations will compose the film as much as the characters. TCHIN TCHIN PRODUCTION PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION TCHIN TCHIN PRODUCTION T: +33 144614285 M: +33 669334949 (A. Logie) M: +33 685371878 (G. David) E: [email protected] 20 TCHIN TCHIN PRODUCTION is a production company based in Paris, created in 1986 by Eric Van Beuren and Roland Topor. More than 20 productions between 1986 and 2009 are to its credit of which Snow White (Blanche Neige la suite) by Picha, Marquis by Henri Xhonneux, The Quarry by Marion Hänsel… In 2011 André Logie and its partner Gaëtan David, originally based in Brussels, took back the control of the company and its artistic direction. Tchin Tchin Production produced I’ll Bury You by Sylvestre Sbille in coproduction with Les Productions du Trésor (Fr) and Panache Productions (Be), sold by Wild Bunch, co-produced The Passion Of Michelangelo (Rome Festival 2012) by Esteban Larrain with Piranha Films (Chili) and ARTE in France, The Bag Of Flour by Kadija Leclere in coproduction with La Cie Cinématographique (Be) and Sahara Productions (Ma). Tchin Tchin Production is currently developing various projects among which La Fille’à Côté by Laetitia Colombani (3rd feature); Disorder by Giacomo Abbruzzese (1st feature) and Today we Live by Sylvestre Sbille (2nd feature). Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Selected Filmography Born in South of Italy, on 1983. He works as a director and screenwriter between France and Italy. In 2012 he was in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and participated at the 10th Berlinale Talent Campus. In 2011 he received a post-graduate diploma in France at Le Fresnoy with a special jury mention. Between 2008 and 2009 he worked as artistic director of the Palestinian public television AQTV and as teacher of screenwriting and editing for the Bethlehem cinema school Dar Al-Kalima. His short films Archipel and Fireworks have been selected in several international festivals including Oberhausen, Viennale, Clermont-Ferrand, Tampere, Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal, Indielisboa, Leeds, Dubai, Winterthur, Molodist. They were broadcasted on televisions of three different countries. Abbruzzese won various awards, among them the Prize for Best Shortfilm at the Torino Film Festival, the Students Award at Premiers Plans d’Angers, and a mention for best short film director at Nastri d’Argento, prize of the Italian film critic. The film magazines Cahiers du cinéma and Sentieri Selvaggi dedicated him reviews and interviews. He has been selected by the Cannes Film Festival for the next session of the Cinefondation Residence. Stella Maris, short, in post-production Fireworks, short, 2011 Viennale - International Competition Indielisboa - International Competition Clermont-Ferrand - National Competition Premiers Plans d’Angers - Student Award Nastri d’Argento - Italian Film Critic Prize, Jury Special Mention Archipel, short, 2010 Oberhausen - International Competition Nouveau cinéma de Montréal - International Competition Dubai Film Festival - Arabian Nights Torino Film Festival - Best Shortfilm Award, AVANTI Award Passing, short, 2007 Visioni Italiane Cinemateca Dams Film Festival Roma Rencontres du cinéma italien Droga party, short-experimental, 2006 Milano Film Festival Lucania Film Festival Giacomo Abbruzzese Present at Crossroads Archipel and Fireworks, the previous films of Giacomo Abbruzzese, are available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE La Passion de Michelangelo by Esteban Larrain, 2012 (co-producer) Rome Film Festival André Logie, a former lawyer, studied at the Media Business School and then completed an internship with Bac Films in Paris. He worked as a consultant with Cinéart - the largest film distributor in Belgium and Artémis Productions (working on such films as Merry Christmas, La Femme de Gilles). Since 2009, André Logie devotes himself entirely to film production in Paris with his company (Tchin Tchin Production) and Brussels with his company (Panache Productions), producing and coproducing such films as I’ll Bury You by Sylvestre Sbille (2013), Casse-Tête Chinois by Cédric Klapisch (2013), Populaire (2012) by Régis Roinsard, Le Concert & La Source des Femmes by Radu Mihaileanu, Le Grand Soir by Gustave Kervern and Benoit Delépine. Populaire by Régis Roinsard, 2012 (co-producer) Rome Film Festival Le Grand Soir by Gustave Kervern and Benoit Delépine , 2012 (co-producer) Un Certain Regard Cannes La Source des Femmes by Radu Mihaileanu, 2011 (co-producer) Official Selection Cannes André Logie Present at Crossroads Robert Mitchum est mort by Olivier Babinet & Fred Kihn, 2010 (co-producer), ACID 21 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects ECHOES Israel Produced by: HANDSOME SERGE PRODUCTIONS Directors: Amikam Kovner and Assaf Snir Scriptwriters: Assaf Snir and Amikam Kovner Producer: Keren Michael Budget: 660,000 Euros Secured Financing: 5% Location: Israel Looking for: Co-producer, Sales agent, regional funds, Equity, Pre-sales SYNOPSIS Avner (43) suspects his wife Ella (40) is having an affair. He secretly records her telephone conversations, turning into a spy in his own house. Following Ella’s sudden death in a car accident, Avner searches for her lover’s identity, listening to the tapes again and again. He becomes more and more engrossed with the investigation instead of being there for his daughters, Daphne (9) and Maya (8). But while searching for one thing, he discovers another: The woman he listens to is a stranger to him, so very different from the one he thought he knew. He tries to understand that woman, to decode their relationship, and most of all he needs to know: why? He follows the footsteps she left behind her, in a journey that will finally lead him to her lover, Micah (45). But the confrontation with Micah does not offer any sort of resolution for Avner. On the contrary – the more he knows, the less he understands. Avner returns to the tapes, hearing Ella’s voice for one last time. He is willing to forgive now, he can let her go. He will have to accept the void she left inside him. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT Echoes is a film about love, though it is disguised as a detective story. Behind the mystery plot and the suspence atmosphere (listening, tracking, revenge), the real enigma that the film explores is that of Avner’s relationship with his wife Ella. The actual questions that the film arises are: Do we really know the people closest to us? Do they really love us? If so - why is love not enough? Why do we really notice some things only when they’re gone? And how is it that we always hurt those we love the most? In a way, Echoes is also a film about voice. This mysterious quality that we all have, but none of us can see, or touch. It comes from within ourselves and enables us to speak out, to express ourselves. But at the same time it betrays us: it is only an echo of our internal world, our intimate self. It is the tool we use to mediate ourselves to the world, and we always fail to do so. Avner’s journey is an attempt to listen, and not only to hear, to feel without knowing, to grasp what is no longer there. HANDSOME SERGE PRODUCTIONS HANDSOME SERGE PRODUCTIONS established by Keren Michael in 2011, to be an Independent production house specialized in projects with a social cultural orientation that captures the essence of Israeli existence, yet can still break through to the international film market. The first feature film produced by Keren Michael, The Wanderer, premiered at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes in May 2010, screened in many top international Festivals and secured an international distribution. Michael is one of the founders of The Mouth Agape Productions (2006) which created short films without financial governmental support, in order to achieve creative freedom. The shorts where collected into a 7 episodes anthology titled Soap Opera of a Frozen Filmmaker. The anthology was shown in international film festivals and screened commercially in selected Israeli theatres. At 2010 Michael was selected for the prestigious program “Film Independent producer’s lab” in L.A, and participated in Rotterdam’s producers’ lab. At the same year, she began working (as co-producer with David Mandil from Movie Plus productions) on 2 feature films that were shot during 2013. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION HANDSOME SERGE PRODUCTIONS T: +972544811007 E: [email protected] 22 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTORS’ FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTORS’ PROFILES Amikam Kovner: Amikam Kovner is a director and screenwriter, graduate with honors of Tel Aviv University’s Film Department. His short film Scar was screened in dozens of film festivals, sold to PBS, and won the Kodak award for excellence. His thesis film The Home Leave was screened at numerous festivals and won awards and honorable mention. His documentary First Kiss was broadcast as part of “Docu - Children” - a joint project of the Second Authority and Keshet Broadcasting. His first feature film: CeaseFire was premiered at the Haifa International Film Festival. Ceasefire, 2013 Haifa International Film Festival 2013 The Home Leave, short, 2008 Corto in Bra – Best International Film Belo Horizonte Film Festival - Honorable mention Sehsuchte - Potsdam Int’l Student Film Festival Scar, short, 2004 Tel Aviv Int’l Student Film Festival Brno16 Film Festival FreshFilm Film Festival, Karlovy Vary - “Kodak” award First Kiss, TV - doc, 2005 Broadcast at channel 2, Israel. Assaf Snir: The 10th Man, short, 2012 Haifa International Film Festival 2012 Under the Skin, short, 2011 Open Cinema International Film Festival, St. Petersburg 2011 Cambridge Student Film Festival 2011 Pendentatillo International Film Festival 2012 Amikam Kovner Present at Crossroads Assaf Snir is a director and screenwriter, graduate of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television in Jerusalem. His short films Caravan, Under the Skin (produced by the Goethe Institute as part of an international short film program) and The 10th Man were screened at festivals worldwide. Assaf was a participant of the 2013 Berlinale Talent Campus’s writing workshop: Script Station, working on the script of Echoes, which will be his debut film. The 10th Man and The Home Leave, the previous films of Assaf Snir and Amikam Kovner, are available at the Agora Film Market. Assaf Snir Present at Crossroads Caravan, short, 2009 Haifa International Film Festival 2009 Uppsala International Film Festival 2009 Cottbus International Film Festival 2009 PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE The Wanderer, feature film, 2010 Cannes Film Festival 2010 Director’s Fortnight Jerusalem International Film Festival 2010 - Best First Feature Film, Best Cinematography Rotterdam Film Festival 2011, Bright Future program The first feature film produced by Keren Michael, The Wanderer (Ha’Meshotet), premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight (2010), screened at various film festivals worldwide and secured international distribution . Michael is one of the founders of The Mouth Agape Productions (2006), which created short films without financial governmental support, in order to achieve creative freedom. The shorts where collected into a 7 episodes anthology titled Soap Opera of a Frozen Filmmaker, shown in international film festivals and screened commercially in selected Israeli theatres. At 2010 she was selected for the prestigious program “Film Independent producer’s lab”, in L.A. At 2011 she participated in Rotterdam producers’ lab. At the same year, she founded Handsome Serge productions to be an independent production house, specialised in projects with social and cultural orientation that capture the essence of Israeli existence, yet can still break through to the international market. Since 2013, alongside her production activity, she develops an international feature films division at Dori Media Paran group. Their first script to produced will be, And There Was Morning, a cinematic adaptation to Sayed Kashua’s novel, that will be directed by Eran Kolirin. Soap Opera of a Frozen Filmmaker (an anthology in 7 episodes), Jerusalem International Film Festival 2007 - Best Experimental Film, 2007 Keren Michael Present at Crossroads 23 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects FAIR PLAY Greece Produced by: MITOS PRODUCTIONS Director: Constantina Voulgaris Scriptwriter: Constantina Voulgaris Producer: Eleni C. Afentaki Budget: 709.000 Euros Secured Financing: 27% Location: Greece Looking for: Co-producers, Financing SYNOPSIS Dionisis is one of the many people who fought for a better world back in the 70’s as a political activist, but crossed to the other side, as he grew older. He has gained money, political influence, and he is one of the few lucky people who’s prosperous life hasn’t been damaged by the Greek economical crisis. Dionisis is a man that looks really confident, charming, smart, a winner, someone that before the crisis used to be a role model. He has a happy life, a happy family, although his 17 year old son Petros is an anarchist and questions his father’s lifestyle and values. His son reminds him of himself when he was younger and sometimes Dionisis is jealous of him. Their relationship is vey intense; Petros has a few problems with the police as a juvenile delinquent, but nothing that can affect Dionisis security. But a fire in the hideout of an old armed political group, and the discovery of the typewriter they used to write their pamphlets are enough to shake his “solid” life. Dionisis has to confront his past, his present, his son, but basically he has to confront himself, his fears and complexities, in order to find peace again. Fair Play is a story that questions all these things, a story where what is good and what is bad, what is normal and what is extreme, what is ethical and what isn’t are very subjective, and a story that wants to bring back to the foreground all these ideals and principles that people once had, hoping that the game is not yet lost. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT Fair Play is the story of a man who was politically involved in the 70’s revolutionary movement as an extreme leftist, and has become a cynical powerful person in the 00’s. I believe that governments, newspapers, universities, TV channels and multinational companies all over Europe are full of people who back then were libertarians, communists, anarchists, and some of them had a very high activist profile. Through the previous decades of the 80’s, 90’s 00’s, because of some major changes in global politics, many of these people lost their faith in everything idealistic, romantic, utopist. Some of them got scared and some felt betrayed because their revolution did not succeed. They persuaded themselves that there was nothing more to do. Money, power, material goods where the goals people had, and everything else was considered naive. Now with the political crisis that goes around the world, everyone is forced to reestablish and reevaluate his/hers life. Younger generations are often resentful of their parents’ life and values, and question themselves on the very same issues on life, love, equality, tolerance, justice, revolution, change, hope. Fair Play, tries to raise questions about all these issues through the relationship of a father and a son in Greece nowadays, in a family that may not suffer economically, but has a major crisis of a different kind. I want to make a film that is accessible to everybody, that is artistic but not formalistic. The story and the feelings of the characters come out in every little detail of everyday life. The truth of each scene has great importance. I want to make a political, provoking, edgy but also human film where what is good and bad, what is fair and not, what is ethical, what is normal and what is extreme are very subjective. MITOS PRODUCTIONS PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION MITOS PRODUCTIONS T: +30 2106753783 M: +30 6982692121 E: [email protected] 24 MITOS was founded in 2007 by Eleni H. Afentaki. Since its foundation, MITOS’s business has included the production of documentaries and feature film. The company believes that it is time for the Greek film production to expand from the narrow limits of tradition, without at the same time denying it, and to open up its thematic and aesthetics in the global society. Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Only Dead Fish Go with the Stream, doc (in post production), 2013 Born in Athens 1979. Studied Cinematography in Stavrakou Athens Film School and then did an MA in screenwriting at the National Film and Television School in London UK. Currently working as a director and a director’s assistant in feature films, TV commercials and documentaries. ACAB - All Cats Are Brilliant, 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival Premiere Plans Gotterburg Film Festival Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, European Film Market Crossing Europe Filmfestival A.C.A.B, the previous film of Constantina Voulgaris, is available at the Agora Film Market. Constantina Voulgaris Present at Crossroads Valse Sentimentale, 2007 Thessaloniki International Film Festival - Leading Actress State Award, First Time Director State Award New Films New Directors MOMA NY Film Festival San Fransisco International Film Festival Calgary International Film Festival Reportage Without Frontiers, Director of 3 one hour documentaries of the TV program, 2006-2007. Sleepy Lights, short, 2001 Drama Short Film Festival - Leading actress and Editing award, State Award Youpi!, short, 1999 Drama Short Film Festival - State Award as a first time filmmaker, State Quality Award, Greek Film Center Support Award Vasso Patrouba - Associate producer Present at Crossroads PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE I’m Not Here on Vacation, doc, by Nikos Soulis, 16 epeisodes Eleni Afentaki has studied Political Studies in the University of Grenoble and German Language & Literature at University of Athens. She has worked for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a delegate for Greece in the European Parliament and for various production and communication companies in Greece (Anosi, Polygram, Project, Altec,). She established MITOS in 2007 to produce documentaries and feature films. Noor – You Can Find Light Everywhere, doc, by Nikos Soulis Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival – Images of the 21st Century Kavala 1913 - 2013, doc, by Periklis Choursoglou. Only Dead Fish Go with the Stream, doc, by Constantina Voulgaris (in post production) Eleni C. Afentaki Present at Crossroads A.C.A.B - All Cats Are Brilliant, by Constantina Voulgaris Thessaloniki International Film Festival Premiere Plans Gotterburg Film Festival Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, European Film Market Crossing Europe Filmfestival 25 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects FRANKENSTEIN: A Death Odyssey Greece, Germany Produced by: Minus Pictures Director: Costas Zapas Scriptwriter: Costas Zapas Producer: Gregory Athanasiou Budget: 1.246.00 Euros Secured Financing: 58% Location: Greece, Switzerland Looking for: Co-producers, Pre-sales SYNOPSIS A theatre troupe arrives in a city, performing Frankenstein. A young female reporter, who is investigating the legend, believes that the novel is not a fiction, but the true story of a group of intellectuals and alchemists, founded by the young doctor Victor Frankenstein. They managed, in 1817, to defeat mortality and return from the dead. Interviewing the theatre troupe members, the reporter is confronted with the dark heroes of the novel, who appear in the city more alive than ever. Her investigations lead her to a universe of monsters and finally to a revelation about the secret of an eternal love that succeeded to stay alive even after death. And this is the true story of Frankenstein as it happened in 1817 and was recently discovered by a young reporter. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT Frankenstein: A Death Odyssey is a surprising adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel that makes the heroes of the novel appear more alive and modern than ever, aiming to renew and re-brand the famous saga for the young audience and the fans of the Frankenstein novel internationally as a thriller love drama. A young female reporter investigates the saga of Frankenstein when a theater troupe is coming to her town presenting the famous novel. The reporter is confronted with the heroes of the novel themselves, appearing in front of her and claiming to be real, surrounding her, and laying siege to her, “suffocating” her. These heroes themselves are also telling the story. They do so even when the reporter is alone, by leaving her a voicemail in her answering machine, or when they secretly enter her flat. All these make us believe that the reporter is a “normal” girl that mysterious or crazy people are trying to entangle in a conspiracy of death. But what until now seems to be the reality, is fake. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus is a theorem about life and death, with contemporary sociological and philosophical beliefs. The human mankind, the “super-hero” and finally God himself are pierced limits that can be violated. As long as the humans don’t accept mortality and death, they will violate the limits and create Monsters. But is to blame the Monster or the humans who created the Monster? And if the Monster is now fictional, how real would it be tomorrow? And what would be its shape? Frankenstein: A Death odyssey is a modern cinematographic adaptation of Marry Shelley’s novel that transcribes with realism the existential agony of the heroes of the novel as if they were living in our days, more alive than ever. MINUS PICTURES Minus Pictures is a Greek independent film production company producing arthouse films for theatrical release and has already produced four full length feature films in the last eight years that have been premiered in major international film festivals and have been released in Greece and abroad. Minus Pictures is experienced in international co-productions, as it has already co-produced Minor Freedoms with Lars von Trier production company Zentropa and has already worked on an international world sales level with Trustnordisk Word Sales. Minus Pictures has now in pre-production the thriller love drama Frankenstein: A Death Odyssey based on Marry Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The project has already been selected among the top 12 European projects in the prestigious Toronto Producers Lab in Toronto IFF, and among the 21 top international projects at the Network of Asian Fantastic Films in the Puchon IFF in South Korea. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION MINUS PICTURES T: +30 2103641652 E: [email protected] W: www.cinando.com/minuspictures 26 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE The Rebellion of Red Maria, 2011 Mar del Plata International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Guardian characterized Costas Zapas as “one of the main protagonists of the burgeoning Greek new cinema wave”, Cineuropa as “one of the most outstanding directors of contemporary auteur cinema”, Latin America daily Pagina/12 as “the most explosive vein of the brilliant new wave of Greek cinema”, L’Humanite refers to Costas Zapas as “the Greek exception” and SoiledCinema refers to Costas Zapas as “one of the last truly uncompromising auteur filmmakers in the world”. 53th Thessaloniki International Film Festival focused on Costas Zapas films, hosting a retrospective with all of his four films in November 2012. His feature film Minor Freedoms was financed and coproduced with Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa. Costas Zapas films have been presented in major international film festivals with excellent critics and have been released internationally. Minor Freedoms, 2008 Montreal International Film Festival Mar del Plata International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Last Porn Movie, 2006 Montreal International Film Festival Kiev International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival Uncut family, 2004 Thessaloniki International Film Festival Chennai International Film Festival Costas Zapas Present at Crossroads The Rebellion of the Red Maria, the previous film of Costas Zapas, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE The Rebellion of Red Maria, 2011 Mar del Plata International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival Gregory Athanasiou has been selected twice as one the best European producers: at Cannes Film Festival 2007 (European Film Promotion) and at Toronto Film Festival 2011 (Toronto Producers Lab). Gregory had worked in film, theatre, opera and advertising in Germany and Greece (with Daniel Barenboim, Christa Wolf, Frank Castorf) before setting up his Athens-based production company Minus Pictures in 2004 to focus on cutting edge feature films by young filmmakers for theatrical release. With degrees in Philosophy and Physics, and courses in Linguistics, Ethnology and Psychoanalysis, he had also studied acting based on the Lee Strasberg method and attended workshops for story editing, management and legal issues, and film financing. To date, Gregory has produced four feature films by Costas Zapas. He co-produced Minor Freedoms with Denmark’s Zentropa whose world sales arm TrustNordisk acquired 2008 the exclusive international distribution rights to Zapas’ family trilogy. Minor freedoms, 2008 Montreal International Film Festival Mar del Plata International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Last Porn Movie, 2006 Montreal International Film Festival Kiev International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival Uncut family, 2004 Thessaloniki International Film Festival Chennai International Film Festival Gregory Athanasiou Present at Crossroads 27 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects FELLINI Greece Produced by: ZONARAS PRODUCTIONS Director: Karolos Zonaras Scriptwriter: Karolos Zonaras & Katerina Bei Producer: Lefteris Danikas Budget: 628.980 Euros Secured Financing: 23% Location: Athens and suburbs Looking for: Co-Producers, Pre-Sales, Post-Production Funds SYNOPSIS The film narrates the ordeal of a young Greek, who wakes up after a traffic accident not knowing who he is. An Italian passport with his alleged name: Pedro Noula, a broken cell phone, a bank check and the photograph of a woman are the only clues he has at his disposal. With these and with the help of a woman, a well-known singer with whom he becomes romantically involved, he will attempt to search for his identity. His quest will turn to be a nightmarish adventure, in which he will find himself confronted by his darkest side. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before, says Ecclesiastes, and it is true. Nothing is new under the sun. Everything in the universe is in a continuous and circular repetition. And the same applies to our lives. The unchanging elements of our character lead us with almost mathematical precision to a perpetual repetition of invariable choices, acts, errors or omissions. It’s always the same story With these thoughts, I tried to assemble the pieces of the dark and enigmatic past of the main character, Pedro Noula: a man who has lost his memory and whose present life is the only field for the search of his identity. In fact, my objective when I wrote the script was to construct the story in a way that the past and the present life of the character acquired a certain symmetry. So when towards the end of the film, the spectator is finally able to answer the question “Who is Pedro Noula?”, he is not bewildered, but considers his answer completely justified. It may sound paradoxical, but it is exactly that: The end of the story should be a logical surprise. ZONARAS PRODUCTIONS ZONARAS PRODUCTIONS is a relatively new company that was founded in 2011 by the French actress and producer Katia O’Wallis. It is an independent film and television production company based in Athens. In addition to films the company undertakes theatrical projects as well as commercials. The company’s first independent feature Big Hit has held its world premiere at 53rd TIFF and was released in Greece in March 2013. The company aims in forming and building solid European partnerships and is currently developing its second feature Fellini. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION ZONARAS PRODUCTIONS T: +302103412711 M: +306973033033 E: [email protected], [email protected] W: http://zonarasproductions.blogspot.gr 28 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Selected Filmography Karolos Zonaras was born in Athens in 1956. He studied economics at the University of Piraeus and cinema at the NYU in New York. Then he attended the Centro Sperimentale in Rome, Italy, where he lived for 13 consecutive years. He made several short and medium length films, participating in various film festivals, among which Venice in 1993. Since 1999 he lives in Athens, Greece, making commercials and documentaries. His first feature film Charlie’s Son was released in 2009 and his second feature Big Hit in 2013. Big Hit, 2012 International Film Festival International Film Festival Kolkata International Film Festival Charlie’s Son, 2008 International Film Festival Savoir Vivre , short, 2002 Greek Short Film Festival in Drama Ade e Core, short, 1995 International Film Festival Film Festival International Golden Film Festival Big Hit, the previous film of Karolos Zonaras, is available at the Agora Film Market. Karolos Zonaras Present at Crossroads Oreste a Tor Bella Monaca, short, 1993 Film Festival PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Big Hit by Karolos Zonaras, 2012 International Film Festival International Film Festival Kolkata International Film Festival Lefteris Danikas was born in Amaliada (Greece – W. Peloponnese) in 1958. He studied at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, School of Agronomy (1976-79) and then in Paris (1979-83), at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Vth Section – Religious Sciences: Ethnographical Cinema Workshop directed by Jean Rouch) as well as at the École Supérieure libre d’ Études Cinématographiques. Since 1983 he has been living in Athens, working as a director, scriptwriter and producer. The Last Tanner, short, by Lefteris Danikas, 2001 International Short Film Festival in Drama - Award, Best Balkan Film Award Festival International du Film d’ Amiens International Short Film Festiva Lefteris Danikas Present at Crossroads A Greek-Albanian Legendary, docu-fiction, by Lefteris Danikas, 1999 Kalamata International Documentary Film Festival International Meeting of Archaeological Film, “AGON” - Best Photography Award Rassegna Internazionale del Cinema Archeologico Seven Days with the Youngsters from “Margarita”, doc, by Lefteris Danikas, 1998 East of Eden, short, by Lefteris Danikas, 1985 Greek Ministry of Culture Award International Film Festival - Best Short Film Award & Greek Film Critics Award Certamen Internacional de Cine Documental y de Cortometraje de Bilbao Competition of Istituto LUCE S.p.A. - Premio di Qualita Lina Yannopoulou - Associate producer Present at Crossroads 29 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects THE GERMAN CAKEMAKER Israel Produced by: LAILA FILMS Director: Ofir Raul Graizer Scriptwriter: Ofir Raul Graizer Producer: Itai Tamir Budget: 515.163 Euros Secured Financing: 23% Location: Jerusalem & Berlin Looking for: German, French etc. Co-producers SYNOPSIS David, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli architect who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, David travels to Jerusalem in an attempt to discover more about his death. He traces Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who raises her son alone. She insists to continue running her small Café in spite of the objection of her husband’s religious family. Hiding his real identity, David starts working in Anat’s kitchen, creating fantastic breads and cakes which make her business strive and help her son overcome his grief. While his presence raises objection in Anat’s surrounding, she will defend David and develop an intimate relationship with him. The new reality will shake David’s world and bring him to stretch his lie to a point of no return. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The story tells of an encounter between two people who share two things - a mutual fate of loss, and passion for food and baking. Using some autobiographic elements, I wish to give the characters a chance to create a new life through the act of baking - a sensual and erotic act interwoven with a comforting childhood memory of the smell of a cake spreading in the house on Friday morning. Yet the road isn’t simple, and the main character’s attempt to overcome grief will confront him with an inner-Israeli conflict of religion and secularism in modern Jerusalem. His private suffering will gain a new meaning which will deny him and his lover’s wife the chance for the new life that they seek. The ritual of mourning will lead them to commit actions that defy the definitions of their identities - national, religious and even sexual. Through creating a new identity which is free from these definitions, there is chance to overcome pain and anger and find the path to forgiveness and reconciliation. LAILA FILMS Laila Films was established as boutique Production Company for high quality independent cinema intended for emerging Israeli and international filmmakers. As well as providing constant support from script to screen, we believe in an intimate approach to achieve personal, innovative and distinct cinema. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION LAILA FILMS T: +972 722224660 M: +972 544564144 E: [email protected] 30 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Dor, short, 2009 Katowice Film Festival – First prize Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival Max Ophuls Born in 1981 in Raanana in center Israel. In the last years lived in Sderot, and recently graduated the Film and Television Shool of Sapir College. Directed several shorts film, all of which were presented in international film festivals. Parallel to directing he worked on several productions as an editor, mainly on full length documentaries, a work for which he had won several awards. In 2011 participated in the NIPKOW program in Berlin, and on 2012 was selected to participate the Berlinale Talent Campus. Currently living on the line of Berlin-Jerusalem and working on his first feature film, The German Cakemaker. A Prayer In January, short, 2007 20 Film Festivals Ofir Raul Graizer Present at Crossroads Dor, the previous film of Ofir Raul Graizer, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Selected Filmography Born in 1958 in Kibutz Kfar Rupin, Israel. In the year 2010 established Laila-Films an independent productions company. produced over 30 feature films and international coproductions, among them award-winning films that have received worldwide recognition. In addition to feature films, produced documentaries movies, dramas and television programs. Arabani by Adi Aduan, 2013 Jerusalem FF – Best script prize Alice by Dana Goldberg, 2013 Jerusalem FF – Editing Prize and Best Actress and Special mention for the young director Not in Tel-Aviv by Nony Geffen, 2012 Locarno Film Festival – Silver leopard Prize Sharqiya by Ami Livne, 2012 Berlin Festival Panorama Jerusalem FF – First Prize editing and photography Itai Tamir Present at Crossroads Policeman by Nadav Lapid, 2011 Locarno Film Festival – Silver leopard Prize Jerusalem FF – Best script and photography prize San-Francisco International Film Festival – First Proze 31 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects GIRL NEXT DOOR (WORKING TITLE) Greece, France Produced by: BLONDE S.A. Director: Rinio Dragassaki Scriptwriter: Katerina Kaklamani Producer: Fenia Cossovitsa, Konstantinos Kontovrakis Co-Production: AGAT FILMS Budget: 1.000.000 Euros Secured Financing: 20% Location: Greece Looking for: 3rd coproduction country, Sales Agent, post-production fund SYNOPSIS 30-year-old Anna lives alone in the big apartment where she grew up. She takes pills to avoid her panic attacks and sees mysterious dreams featuring her parents, the old family car and 80s pop songs. She loves her solitude and her job at the supermarket where she has been working for 13 years. She is so dependent on her routine job, that, in order to keep it, she betrays her only friend, Pantelis. 10-year old Persa lives next door with her dad. She doesn’t see any dreams but she impatiently waits to go on stage at the school play for the national Independence Day. A drama queen in the making, she is passionately absorbed by this dream. One night, Persa appears on Anna’s doorstep and announces that her father is missing. She wants to stay with Anna. She installs herself in Anna’s childhood bedroom, while Anna makes no effort to conceal her strong dislike for young girls –let alone 10-year-old divas. In the following days, Persa will try to claim a place in Anna’s life. Anna will resist this outrageous invasion in every way she can. The two will face each other and themselves, as various questions will eventually arise: Can Anna overcome her fears? Will Persa learn her lines? Can the two of them become a family of sorts? And, why is there a supermarket in the middle of the forest? DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT Persa, a ten-year-old girl, recites bombastically a poem celebrating the 25th of March, the anniversary of the Greek declaration of independence against the Ottoman Empire, in 1821. In the apartment next door, Anna dreams of a time when she was still a child, not having to make decisions or suffer panic attacks; a time when a trip to the supermarket at her mother’s side felt like an amusement ride. The childish voice reciting the poem penetrates the wall between the two apartments: “A holy day is dawning! The nation, genuflecting, salutes your memory!” Anna is in for a rude awakening. Girl Next Door is a coming-of-age film in reverse. Here, the protagonist transitioning to adulthood, through the help of a child, who is already an adult. 35-year-old Anna, a loner on the brink of depression, will do anything to get rid of the 10-year-old vivacious girl from the apartment next door who appeared at her doorstep, asking for help. She will do anything to avoid admitting that having her around is not that bad after all. Girl Next Door belongs in a specific and salient visual universe, charting its trajectory from Anna’s forgotten-in-time apartment and the colorful supermarket, to the shabby delivery van and the kitsch galore of the Greek countryside, by way of the folk costumes in Persa’s school play, celebrating the liberation of a rapidly collapsing nation in decay. All these pieces make up a puzzle that hails from a parallel reality, Anna’s reality, where her own story is being played out. The absurdity, the off-beat humor, the girlish imagery, all set against a pop music soundtrack, are the basic elements that accompany Anna throughout her journey along with her determined, and at the end of the day rather entertaining, young sidekick. It is a journey that marks Anna’s coming-of-age and her acceptance of who she really is. BLONDE PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION BLONDE S.A. T: +30 2106080650 E: [email protected] W: www.blonde.gr 32 Fenia Cossovitsa is co-founder of BLONDE audiovisual productions, an Athens based independent film production company. Producer Fenia Cossovitsa counts already over 15 Greek and/or international feature films and documentaries in her resumé and has worked as a producer with internationally acclaimed filmmakers like Peter Bogdanovic and Jonathan Nossiter. Film has always been one of Blonde’s main passions and with its extensive experience in the film industry Blonde can produce any type of film covering all areas of the demanding production process. Blonde has also produced the set and the production design of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of Athens Special Olympics 2011, she produced the second feature film by Menelaos Karamaghiolis J.A.C.E. (recently received 6 awards to the Greek Film Academy Awards April 2013), has produced together with Konstantinos Kontovrakis a first feature film by Yorgos Servetas Standing Aside, Watching the Opening Film of City to City section in Toronto Int’l Film Festival 2013, and she co-produced Brigitte Roüan’s latest feature Tu honoreras ta mere et ta mere with AGAT Films (France) which was released in France last February and will be released in Greece next autumn by VILLAGE. Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Schoolyard, short, 2013 Rinio Dragasaki was born in 1980. She studied cinema in Athens and continued with postgraduate studies in Barcelona (ESCAC). She has worked in film and television industry. She has directed three short films. Her short film Dad, Lenin and Freddy (2011) participated in 35 international film festivals, awarded, bought by television networks (Canal +, SBS-TV) and won the award for best short film 2012 of the Greek Film Academy. She is also a co-founder of the production company GUANACO active in film industry and advertising. Girl Next Door is her first feature film. Dad, Lenin and Freddy, short, 2011 Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival Drama Short Film Festival - 2nd Best Film Award, Art Direction & Costumes Award Angers Premiers Plans - Musical Creation Award CFC Worldwilde Short Film Festival Leaving, short, 2005 Drama Short Film Festival Base Film Festival ESCAC Rinio Dragassaki Present at Crossroads Dad, Lenin and Freddy, the previous film of Rinio Dragasaki, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Fenia Cossovitsa’s selected filmography Fenia Cossovitsa following her cinema studies in Paris (PARIS VII) started her carrier in 1998 with Signs and Wonders by Jonathan Nossiter on behalf of the French production company MK2 (8 weeks shooting in Greece). In 2004 she founded BLONDE S.A. an Athens based production company together with Elias Ledakis and George Drivas. Producer of many feature films, among them, Backdoor by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, Athens Bluesby George Panousopoulos, J.A.C.Eby Menelaos Karamaghiolis and Standing Aside, Watching by Yorgos Servetas but also she coproduced and or line produced many international films like Tu honoreras ta mere et ta mere by Brigitte Rouan (AGAT FILMS – France), The Cat’s Meow by Peter Bogdanovich (Lionsgate – USA) and others. Standing Aside Watching by Yorgos Servetas, 2013 City to City section Toronto International Film Festival - Opening Film J.A.C.E. by Menelaos Karamaghiolis, 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival Thessaloniki International Film Festival - Best leading actress Empirical Data by George Drivas, 2009 London Greek Film Festival - Best Experimental Film Thessaloniki International Film Festival Digital Wave competition Hardcore by Dennis Iliadis, 2004 Thessaloniki International Film Festival Oldenburg International Film Festival German Independence Award, Audience Award Stockholm Film Festival Konstantinos Kontovrakis is founder and partner of Athens-based production company HERETIC with Yorgos Karnavas. Together, they have produced two of the most successful Greek films of the last years Wasted Youth by Argyris Papadimitropoulos & Jan Vogel and Boy Eating the Bird’s Food by Ektoras Lygizos and developed a number of new projects in Greece and abroad. Konstantinos recently co-produced with Fenia Cossovitsa and BLONDE S.A. the feature film Standing Aside, Watching by Yorgos Servetas, that just received its international premiere at Toronto IFF. He is a member of EAVE and Binger Film Lab and works as an expert for Cinemart and the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Fenia Cossovitsa Present at Crossroads Konstantinos Kontovrakis Present at Crossroads 33 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects GOD PROTECT MY DAUGHTER Tunisia, France Produced by: BLUE MONDAY PRODUCTIONS (France) PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION (Tunisia) Director: Leyla Bouzid Scriptwriters: Leyla Bouzid, Marie-Sophie Chambon Producer: Sandra da Fonseca Budget: 869.570 Euros Secured Financing: 49% Location: Tunisia Looking for: Financial partners of all kinds SYNOPSIS Tunis, summer of 2010, a few months before the revolution, Farah turns 18. She joins a politically-engaged band of musicians, and discovers freedom and sexuality, against her mother Hayet’s will, who knows Tunisia and its taboos. The two women are opposed in a conflict. When Farah finally sets free, it’s to end up in the hands of the state police. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT God Protect My Daughter was born from my profound conviction that we need to tell about the oppressing atmosphere in which Tunisians lived, the absence of freedom of expression, the stifling sensation and the denouncement that had become unbearable. To show, in the face of it all, the bustling youth they were stopping from being fulfilled, and who could only end up by exploding. The story of Hayet and her daughter Farah, is one of the personal stories that drove to the Tunisian Revolution. Farah is a free spirit in her mind and body, and it can’t go down well in this society. She is impulsive and intuitive. From the start, she sings songs about the dysfunctions of her country, but she’s not really conscious of what it implicates. Throughout the film, Farah grows up, discovers love and treason, becomes more grounded. She realizes what country she lives in, and decides to resist. For her, it’s a journey of initiation. The film will attempt to capture the different levels of energy to be found in Tunisia, going from a family chronicle, and opening up onto wider stakes. I’d like to propose this portrait of women within a society which is about to implode. BLUE MONDAY PRODUCTIONS Blue Monday Productions is an independent motion picture and television production company. It is committed to the diversity of works that are on offer to the general public and aims to produce ambitious, quality films. Blue Monday Productions is headed by Nathalie Mesuret and Bertrand Gore, who have more than 15 years of experience in the field. Together, they have produced to date some 17 theatrical features and two films for television, which have been selected by the major international film festivals : Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, International Critics’ Week or Un certain Regard, Berlin, Venice. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION BLUE MONDAY PRODUCTIONS T: + 33 1 42 77 56 31 E: [email protected] W: www.bluemonday.fr 34 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE zakaria, short, by Leyla Bouzid, 2013 Cinemed Festival Festival Films Femmes Méditerranée of Marseille Abu Dhabi Film Festival Leyla Bouzid was born and raised in Tunis, where she was an active member of the local cinema club. She studied French literature in Paris, then worked as an assistant director before co-directing her first film, Sbeh El Khir with Walid Mattar (2006). She studied at the film school la Fémis in Paris. Soubresauts is her graduate film. It was selected in more than 30 international festivals, as Clermont-Ferrand, Toronto, Abu Dhabi. She won prizes at Milan, Tetouan (Morocco) and Premiers Plans of Angers. She is currently preparing her first feature film God Protect my Daughter. The shooting is planned for the next spring (2014), in Tunis. Soubresauts, short, by Leyla Bouzid, 2011 Festival Premiers Plans of Angers, Jury Grand Prize for School Films Competition International Festival for Mediterranean Cinema of Tetouan, Jury Grand Prize African, Asian and South American Film Festival in Milan, ISMU Prize Un Ange Passe, short, by Leyla Bouzid, 2010 Women’s Film Festival of Créteil, Fresnes Women’s Prize Henri Langlois Meetings - International School Films Festival Carthage Film Festival Soubresauts, the previous film of Leyla Bouzid, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Dusts, short, 2013, by Daniel Metge Born in 1981 in Paris suburbs, Sandra da Fonseca studied philosophy and cinema in Paris and Strasbourg. She joins Blue Monday Productions in 2006, as the assistant of the producers Nathalie Mesuret and Bertrand Gore, then as an executive producer on Daniel Metge’s fourth short film, Dusts, and the first feature film by Leyla Bouzid, God Protect my Daughter. God Protect My Daughter, 2013, by Leyla Bouzid (pre production) Looking For Love: A Diary, doc, by Cécile Mille (in development) Leyla Bouzid Present at Crossroads Sandra da Fonseca Present at Crossroads 35 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects A HISTORY OF WOMEN Turkey SYNOPSIS Produced by: EFLATUN FILM Director: Ülkü Oktay Scriptwriter: Ülkü Oktay Producer: Onur Ünlü Budget: 600.000 Euros Secured Financing: 47% Location: Turkey Looking for: Co-Producer A History of Women is the story of five days in an Eastern Anatolian village where the winters are harsh. Left in the village are only two households; inhabitants being women, kids, an old crippled man and a mentally challenged boy. During these five days, all roads are blocked, phone lines are down; and all manners of communication with the outside world have become impossible due to heavy snow. The main story deals with the burial process of Gülbahar’s crippled husband Fesih, who dies on the night of the first day. The villagers are Hanefi-Muslims, and according to their creed, a dead male has to be washed, shrouded, prayed for and buried by another male. A History of Women is the story of these devoutly Muslim women who tackle the problem of burying Fesih properly where the imam had ran away, and all the other men are out of the village. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT As is known, the majority of Turkey consists of Hanefi-Muslims. In the guidebook issued by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, when the funeral proceedings are described, it wasn’t even conceived that there would be no men present in such a situation. This is the point of origin for our story. A History of Women views the totality of rules imposed by the patriarchal society, and reproduced and guaranteed by the mainstream religion, while criticizing these rules and their implementation through the eyes of women. The methods the women use in order to bury Fesih and the social relationships they develop during the solution process involve a social criticism of the patriarchal structure. Throughout the story, women do not adopt the patriarchal way and instead they recreate themselves as active subjects regardless of hierarchy. EFLATUN FILM Eflatun Film, established in 2006 by Onur Ünlü, Funda Alp and Orkun Ünlü. Eflatun Film is one of the leading film and television production companies based in Istanbul, produced several awarded feature films, TV Series, TV programmes, short films and music promos. Eflatun Film’s first feature film Police, which was written and directed by Onur Ünlü in 2007, was screened at numerous national and international festivals, including the Golden Boll Festival and the Moscow Film Festival. In 2008, produced two fantastic genre films, The Kid followed by Son of the Sun. Five Cities won various awards from the Golden Boll and the Golden Orange Film Festivals in 2009. In 2011, The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family was awarded as the Best Film and the Best Screenplay at the Golden Boll Film Festival. Cast members also received the Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance. And in 2013 Eflatun Film’s latest film Thou Gild’st the Even has won the Best Film, Best Script, Best Editing and FIPRESCI prizes from Istanbul Film Festival in 2013. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION EFLATUN FILM T: +90 212 2749295 E: [email protected] W: www.eflatunfilm.com 36 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE zilo / Tales from Kars (zilo / Kars Öyküleri), short, 2010 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam 19th Sarajevo Film Festival 29th Istanbul International Film Festival Ülkü Oktay was born in Ankara in 1980 and studied architecture at Middle East Technical University before going to Istanbul Bilgi University’s Film School. While she was studying filmmaking, she started to write scripts and direct music videos. Some of her scripts won various awards in national and international script contests. In 2007, the Ankara Cinema Association held a screenplay contest entitled the Stories of Kars Script Competition. Her script Zilo was one of the five scripts that were chosen by a selection committee made up of prominent Turkish filmmakers. In 2010, this omnibus film Tales from Kars made its world premiere in Rotterdam Film Festival. In 2008, NISI MASA organized European Short Script Contest, and her script Scamps was the first winner of both national and international contests. She has been working as first assistant director of Onur Ünlü who is one of the well-known turkish directors, for four years in several projects. Also, she keeps writing scripts and directing short films at Eflatun Film. Now, she is in preproduction of her feature film A History of Women which is produced by Eflatun Film. Ülkü Oktay Present at Crossroads Zilo, the previous film of Ülkü Oktay, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Thou Gild’st the Even, 2013 by Onur Ünlü 32th Istanbul Film Festival, 2013 - Best Film, Best Script, Best Editing, FIPRESCI Prize 38th Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection 49th Karlovy Vary Film Festival Onur Ünlü was born in Izmit in 1973. After graduating from Anadolu University School of Communication Sciences, he went on to complete his masters degree at Marmara University School of Communication Sciences. Since 1997, he has realized many projects as screenwriter, copywriter, producer and director. His first feature film Police, which he wrote and directed in 2007, was screened at numerous national and international festivals, including the Golden Boll Festival and the Moscow Film Festival. In 2008, he wrote and directed two fantastic genre films, The Kid followed by Son of the Sun. He won various awards from the Golden Boll and the Golden Orange Film Festivals for his 2009 film Five Cities. In the same year, he wrote the script and co-produced Love, Bitter. In 2011, his feature film The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family was awarded as the Best Film and the Best Screenplay at the Golden Boll Film Festival. Cast members also received the Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance. His latest film, Thou Gild’st the Even has won the Best Film, Best Script, Best Editing and FIPRESCI prizes from Istanbul Film Festival in 2013 and still continues to be screened in international film festivals. The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family, 2011 by Onur Ünlü 18th Adana International Golden Boll Film Festival, 2011 - Best Film, Best Screenplay, Acting Overall Performance Award Five Cities, 2009 by Onur Ünlü 46th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Special Performance Award 16th Adana Golden Boll Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor 29th Istanbul International Film Festival - Best Actor Love, Bitter, 2009 by A. Taner Elhan (Co-Production) Son Of The Sun, 2008 by Onur Ünlü Onur Ünlü Present at Crossroads Police, 2007 by Onur Ünlü Ankara Film Festival - Best Actor 37 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects REVOLUTION France, Egypt SYNOPSIS Produced by: AURORA FILMS Director: Wissam Charaf Scriptwriter: Wissam Charaf Producer: Charlotte Vincent Budget: 940.000 Euros Secured Financing: 30% Location: Egypt Looking for: Distributor, International Seller, Co-producer Cairo, 2011. Fadi, a journalist, is covering the Egyptian revolution. Arrested and imprisoned inside a tank that is roaming the city in chaos, he must unite with his other inmates to escape and do live broadcast on time. But Sophie, his lover and fellow journalist is attacked on Tahrir Square. Fadi must find her. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The events depicted in this story have really taken place in February 2011, in Cairo, during the Egyptian uprising. As I was covering the news in Egypt, I got arrested and spent a day imprisoned in a tank with Michael, the Englishman, Hamdi, the Egyptian and Mourad and Ahmed, the two Libyans. I suffered physically and mentally, I got very scared and the situation was as bad as it could get, but it was a hell of a unique situation. Subsequently, If felt that a story had to be written about this: How do you witness a revolution, perhaps the most important event in a country like Egypt since the time of the Pharaohs, when you’re stuck in a tank for no reason with total strangers and cannot even witnesses what’s in your immediate vicinity? And how, as an individual, do you react to your sudden loss of liberty, the disruption of your daily routine? This film expresses no opinion on the political situation, in the present or at the time of the revolution. The strength of this story is to stay outside the big story, but to carry its values through the small story. The story of a journalist who has to get to his studio to tell the world what his has seen on this particular day. A day that made him a better man. AURORA FILMS Over the past few years, Aurora Films, based in Paris, France, has specialized in French and international co productions, including: The Wound by Nicolas Klotz, selected at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes 2004, Domaine by Patric Chiha, featuring Beatrice Dalle and selected at the Mostra of Venice in 2009, Iris in Bloom by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer, selected at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes 2011, and On the Edge by Leila Kilani, also selected at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes 2011 and winner of more than 10 awards worldwide. Producing also shorts and documentaries, Aurora Films invests heavily in developing new talent and promoting debut directors, with different projects currently in financing or production stages. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION AURORA FILMS T: +33 147704301 E: [email protected] W: www.aurorafilms.fr 38 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE It’s All in Lebanon, doc, 2012 London International Documentary Festival Bagdad International Film Festival Carthage Festival - Bronze Tanit of best documentary Born in 1973, Wissam Charaf is a Lebanese/French director, cameraman and editor. In 1998, he moved to Paris, France, where he began to work with the French/German network ARTE, as a news cameraman, editor and journalist. He has since covered major conflict areas ranging from Lebanon and the Near East to Darfour, Afghanistan, Haiti or North Korea and worked with programs such as ARTE Info, ARTE Reportages, Tracks, Metropolis. He has directed 3 short films: Hizz Ya Wizz, A Hero Never Dies, and An Army of Ants. This film competed in the Locarno Film Festival, and obtained the Jury prize in the Lunel Film Festival in France. Wissam Charaf has also worked as an assistant director on films with Danielle Arbid as well as on music videos with French director Henri-Jean Debon for artists such as Noir Desir, Sinead O Connor, Asian Dub Foundation. Today, he has completed It’s All in Lebanon, a 52-minute documentary and the script of his first full-length feature film. An Army of Ants, short, 2007 Locarno International Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival Lunel Festival - Jury Prize A Hero Never Dies, short, 2006 Paris Cinema International Film Festival Kort Amsterdam Shorts Hizz Ya Wizz, short, 2004 Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival Angers International Film Festival Carthage International Film Festival Wissam Charaf Present at Crossroads An Army of Ants, the previous film of Wissam Charaf, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE On the Edge by Leïla Kilani, 2012 Cannes Film Festival - Director’s Fortnight Roma FrancoFilm Festival - First Prize Tanger Festival - Great Prize Charlotte Vincent, a graduate of HEC, founded Aurora Films in 2002. Since then, she has produced shorts, documentaries and feature films. She is a member of the ACE network. Iris in Bloom by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer, 2011 Cannes Film Festival - Director’s Fortnight La Rochelle International Film Festival Bienne European Film Festival Domain by Patric Chiha, 2009 Venice Film Festival - International Film Critics Week Selected for Louis Delluc Prize 15th Cahiers du Cinéma Week, Tokyo Charlotte Vincent Present at Crossroads The Wound by Nicolas Klotz and Elizabeth Perceval, 2004 Cannes Film Festival - Director’s Fortnight Buenos Aires International Film Festival Cinéssonne International Festival - Grand Prize 39 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects THE SEA AND ITS WAVES Lebanon, France Produced by: GINGER BEIRUT PRODUCTION KAFARD FILMS Directors: Liana Kassir, Renaud Pachot Scriptwriters: Liana Kassir, Renaud Pachot Producers: Abla Khoury, Mathieu Mullier Griffiths Budget: 220.000 Euros Secured Financing: 35% Location: Beirut Looking for: Co-Production, Post-Production Funds, Broadcasters, International Sales SYNOPSIS Selim is the forgotten lighthouse keeper that no longer operates. He spends most of his time observing from his perch the movement of passersby at the Pier of Beirut. One day being bored, he thought seeing among the walkers, a wave in the sea transforming into a woman coming along from the kingdom of the abyss leading him into the fantasy of a journey through time, through the ancient ruins along the Lebanese coast, through his own past. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The film takes the form of an enchanted saunter, it describes the vertigo of a standing man in the midst of ultramodern skyscrapers, ruins of war, and antic temples of Lebanon. Our approach is in the tradition of actors’ films, as through the choice of our main character, played by the renowned storyteller, Jihad Darwish, we wish to give him free reign to employ his knowledge of Mediterranean myths by giving him room to improvise. Our text is intentionally conceived to be concise as we consider it to be changing, alive and never complete. It is the moving basis through which the particular way a storyteller narrates a story; the eyes and ears of the filmmaker; and the way in which we will film our protagonist high up in his lighthouse, hallucinating under the heat, are weaved together. The Sea and its Waves is in the first instance an experimental feature that combines the fiction of this fantastic journey and the reality show of his day to day: this pier on the waterfront of Beirut; its coast and its inhabitants. However, we wish to mix up narrative forms and conventions, by beginning with a classic documentary style, then moving gradually and with the psyche of the protagonist, to the lyricism of fantastic tales. KAFARD FILMS Born from a filmmakers association, KAFARD FILMS has been developping for the past 10 years in a place that has become both a creative and artistic hub in the heart of the French capital. Aiming to build an eclectic catalog, we produce a multi-faceted range of projects highlighting the daring of innovative authors: The International department is committed to the production of portraits, essays, features and documentary films. This choice has grown over the years based on the many experiences of shooting abroad. The 16 mm section focuses on short and feature movies exclusively shot in celluloïd. Thanks to the expertise of our technicians and an equipment acquired these recent years, we can offer a specific workflow for each project. GINGER BEIRUT PRODUCTION GINGER BEIRUT S.A.L. is a production company for feature and short films, documentaries, TV series, music videos and public service announcements that covers every aspect of the production process from co-producing and set work to post production. Their wide range of services and impressive contact list gained through years of involvement in the Lebanese film scene make of Ginger Beirut the trustworthy name it is today. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION KAFARD FILMS T: +33603576588 E: [email protected] W: www.kafardfilms.fr 40 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTORS’ FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTORS’ PROFILE Vertical Village, doc, 2012 Ecrans du Réel - Public Award Beirut International Film Festival Traces de Vie Festival Hangzhou Asian Film Festival After graduating in Cinema Studies, earning graduate degrees from the directing department at the ESRA film school (Paris, 2010), Liana Kassir and Renaud Pachot choose to engage in independent production and direction. Over the last 3 years they have sought to prove that filmmaking need not require as many means as most people tend to think. Hearing remarks such as “a cheap film at 2 million Euros”, they react with forced laughter. Their films are created with a conviction that cinema can be other than that. As Robert Bresson said, “You can’t show everything. If you do, it’s no longer art. Art lies in suggestion. The great difficulty for filmmakers is precisely not to show things.” Last Year in Bagdad, short, 2010 Berceau du cinema Le Developpeur, short, 2009 Ici et Demain Renaud Pachot Present at Crossroads Le Developpeur and Vertical Village, the previous films of Liana Kassir and Renaud Pachot, are available at the Agora Film Market. Liana Kassir Present at Crossroads PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Mathieu Mullier Griffiths’ selected filmography: Matthieu Mullier started cinema at the age of 19, attending for two years in Paris a masterclass in film production and started his career while getting a first hand experience for a distribution company. After three years, dealing with marketing, publicity, press relations and consolidating advertising partnerships, he enters the COURS FLORENT, the prestigious Paris-based school for the dramatic arts while starting to write for the stage and cinema. While on location for a movie in 2003, he met cinematographer Paul Anthony Mille and decides to launch together with 3 other associates the production company, KAFARD FILMS. Since then, he has been executive producer on numerous short films, documentaries and features contributing to make KAFARD FILMS a full-fledged independent film production company. The latest documentary he produced, the award-winning Fidaï, is due to be released in Europe in the comming months. Today he shares his time between KAFARD FILMS and his writing masterclass at a drama school. A Lapse of Time, short by Céline Tricart, Executive Producer, 2013 3D film Festival Dimension 3 - First Prize Fidaï, doc by Damien Ounouri, Executive Producer, 2012 Toronto International Film L.A.I.F.F. - Best Film IDFA Dok-Leipzig Viennale International Film Festival The Third Way, short, by Jean-Michel Tari, Executive Producer, 2011 3D Film Festival Dimension 3 - Jury’s Special Price Tulsa International Film Festival - Best foreign short film, Best short film actor Festival Effets Star - Jury’s Grand Price Illuminati by Paul Anthony Mille, Executive Producer, 2008 Abla Khoury’s selected filmography: The Wall, short, by Odette Makhlouf, Co-Producer/Line Producer, 2012 Behind the Window, short, by Nagham Abboud, Producer, 2011 Gate 5, doc, by Simon El Haber, Line Producer, 2011 Where Do We Go Now?, by Nadine Labaki, Line Producer/Casting Director, 2011 The Mountain, by Ghassan Salhab, Line Producer, 2010 Mathieu Mullier Griffiths Present at Crossroads Abla Khoury graduated in 1995 from IESAV with a BA in Arts and Theater, and has been dedicated to various forms of visual art. She acted on stage and screen (in West Beirut by Ziad Doueiry, Terra Incoginta by Ghassan Salhab, Alger Beirut by Mirzak Alllouache). She wrote, directed, and acted in numerous films and plays at La Madina Theater (Beirut, 2001), The House of World Culture (Berlin, 2003), and La MaMa theater (New York, 2004). In 2009 Abla co-founded Ginger Beirut S.A.L, Production Company for films with Lara Chekerdgian. 41 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects THE SATELLITES France, Serbia Produced by: 25 FILMS / DRUID FILMS Director: Nenad Mikalacki Scriptwriter: Nenad Mikalacki Producer: Pascaline Saillant Budget: 1.100.000 Euros Secured Financing: 15% Location: Paris and Belgrade Looking for: Co-producers, Sales agent, Distributor, Financing SYNOPSIS Two kids are sitting at a bus stop in Belgrade. They look at strangers passing by and try to guess who they might be just through observation. They comment on the passers-by, but really they are talking about themselves and everyday life in Serbia. Now, in their mid-twenties, they are in Paris, playing the same old game and talking about their past in Belgrade. Back then, they were members of a local teenage gang and their middle class families were falling apart. Blaza was leading the adventure. But one day, while they were celebrating a crime, one of the guys stole the loot. After that, most of the boys left the country. Back in Paris, they are nostalgic and lost. Srdjan doesn’t manage to find his place in society, but doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore. He goes back home, while Blaza soon vanishes forever. Back in Belgrade, Srdjan sits in his apartment for days before finally going back to his old job. He can’t help but notice the signs of social and political instability all around him. In his free time, he sits in peace in the national library and starts copying from his Paris notebook into a new one. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The Satellites is inspired by the Serbian book Ljudi za stolom (Men at the Table) written by Srdjan Valjarevic. From the book, we want to keep the dialogs and the idea of a coming-of-age story, driven by two different characters wandering between two countries and two cultures. Immigrants in the streets of Paris, these two guys represent two faces of Serbia, as they just sit on a street corner, drink beer and play an observing game to pass the time. This is what they used to do as children in Belgrade’s remote neighborhoods. Their monologues and voice-overs (flash backs) will create bridges between different times, contrasted cities, and their two conflicted moods and personalities. With the cast of professional and non-professional actors, an atmospheric approach for the creation of the music score, a combination of fiction and documentary shooting styles and a small yet international crew, we intend to create a piece of rough cinematic poetry. Although this film seeks to portray a specific Balkan soul, it refers not only to Serbians, but also to a wide range of nations who are wandering the streets of big cities, locals or outsiders, lonely and lost in a European dream. 25 FILMS 25 Films is a Paris-based production company created in 2007. Our ambition is to develop and produce socially and humanely sensitive international films. We are currently working on projects from different parts of the world (Syria, Brazil, Serbia, Madagascar), our strategy being to find different ways of producing according to the specificities of each project. No matter which genre or format, we want to share our passion for innovative storytelling or for out-of-the-box visual experimentations with the largest possible audience. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION 25 FILMS T: + 33 6 07 16 31 01 E: [email protected] 42 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Selected filmography Nenad Mikalacki was born in Novi Sad, ex-Yugoslavia in 1975. In 2001, he graduated in Film and TV Directing from the National University of Drama and Film (UNATC) in Bucharest. He directed short films and documentaries, including Mr Mr, The Last Swan Lake and At Home supported by the Robert Bosch Film Prize for international cooperation. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talent Campus (2013), Sarajevo Talent Campus (2008) and Ex Oriente (2008). In 2010, he created the production company Druid Film. In 2013, MEDIA invited him to the Euro Connection short film coproduction market, where he met French producer Pascaline Saillant with whom he is currently developing his debut feature The Satellites. At Home, short, 2011 Broadcast on Arte Festival International de Huesca, prize Nominee for Best German Short Film Prize 2012 The Last Swan Lake, short, 2006 Cinemed Festival Internation de Huesca Busho Film Festival Mr Mr , short, 2000 Cinemajove Film Festival MediaWave Film Festival DaKino Film Festival At Home, the previous film of Nenad Mikalacki, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Kaspar Film, doc, by Florence Pezon, 2011 IFFR Rotterdam 2012 Lussas Etats Généraux 2012 FID Marseille 2012 Pascaline Saillant graduated in Cinema Studies in Lyon in 2005 while working as a projectionist in a local arthouse cinema. After various experiences as a freelance production manager or producer’s assistant in France and in the UK, she created the independent production company 25 Films in 2007, driven by a desire to discover and support new talents. During the past seven years she has produced 10 multiaward winning films: animation, documentary and fiction short films. She is currently developing two debut features, The Satellites by Serbian director Nenad Mikalacki, and Another Life from Italian scriptwriter Chiara Cremaschi. License to Clean, short, by Pascal Jaubert, 2011 Liège - Prize 13ème Rue Liège Polar Festival Cognac - Best Short Film Itinérance Alès - Youth Jury Award I Was Crying Out at Life, Or for It, short, by Vergine Keaton, 2009 AnimFest Athens - Best Soundtrack Holland Animation Film Festival - Best Non Narrative Film Award Tampere Film Festival - Diploma of Merit Nenad Mikalacki Present at Crossroads Pascaline Saillant Present at Crossroads 43 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects WATERLOO Spain Produced by: KINOSKOPIK Director: Miguel Angel Jimenez Scriptwriters: Luis Moya, Miguel Angel Jimenez Producer: Gorka Gómez Andreu Budget: 883.000 Euros Secured Financing: 11% Location: Spain Looking for: European Co-Producers SYNOPSIS Waterloo is a romantic tragicomedy about a man who loses everything in the midst of a country about to crash and decides to start a journey in search of the only thing worth fighting for: Love. Waterloo is the personal adventure that draws the strange map of that strange place in the middle of the global crisis, in search of forgotten coordinates: Today is always still. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT To shoot with Jose Manuel in Benidorm, riding his last dream, chasing a trail of the past love in Maite´s eyes, it´s as comforting as shooting from an old porch next to John Wayne, like crossing the ice with Shackleton, like crossing again the last few inches before giving your first kiss. It is the epic and courage in our closer and everyday world. Although an old man trying to recapture an old love in Benidorm sounds much less commercial and desirable than an impossible love between teenage vampires, although it seems that nobody wants to see the elderly on the screen. I’ll stick with Jose Manuel and I´ll go with him on the bus, I will gorge a waffle with him in the Sunset Esplanade, and we will listen together to Camilo Sesto in the lobby of the hotel while we get drunk on a Tuesday afternoon. This movie is something of a huge importance for me, and I hope to shoot it with my colleagues in the simpliest and most beautiful way possible, and to be able to convince our audience that to join us in this spanish adventure of personal revolution before the abyss, has been and will always be worth it. KINOSKOPIK FILM PRODUKTION KINOSKOPIK FILM PRODUKTION is a production company based in Spain, formed by young proffesionals who share nearly 10 years of experience in filmmaking. We develop quality projects with a deep artistic concept oriented mainly for the European market. We work in a low-medium budget sector with a main interest for European coproductions. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION KINOSKOPIK T: +34 685459712 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] W: www.kinoskopik.com 44 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Selected Filmography Miguel Angel (Madrid, 1979) left a degree in law and started studying cinematography in TAI School, Madrid. In 2001, he shot his first short film in 35 mm – Las Huellas (Tracks) –, that was produced by Aki Kaurismäki. In 2007, he and three partners founded Kinoskopik Film Produktion and he directed the documentary Días de El Abanico (Days of El Abanico), shot in Argentina. In 2009, his first feature – Ori (The Two) – received praise from the critics during its premiere in San Sebastian International Film Festival (New Directors section). Also won First Film Prizes in Tetouan IFF 2010 and PNR Madrid FF 2010. In 2010, he directed the short film Khorosho that was selected in 25 national and international film festivals. The film was winner in Cortada Short Film Festival (Spain), UNCIPAR FF (Argentina, 2011), and Jury Prize in Art Kurtz FF 2011 (France). His second feature film, Chaika (2012) is a Spanish-Georgian-Russian co-production which won the Eurimages prize for the Best Project in Development in Rome 2010. It was premiered at San Sebastian IFF 2012 (New Directors), and it won Best Director´s Debut and Best Cinematographer´s Debut prizes at Plus Camerimage IFF 2012. The film has allso been selected to other international festivals, such as Thessaloniki IFF 2012, Mannheim-Heidelberg IFF 2012, Santa Barbara IFF 2013, San Francisco IFF 2013 etc. He is now working in his third feature film, Waterloo, written together with his scriptwriter Luis Moya. Chaika, 2012 San Sebastian IFF New Directors Camerimage - Best Director, Best Cinematographer Skip City IFF - Best Film Khorosho, Short, 2010 Cortada FF - Best Short Uncipar IFF - Best Short Art Kurtz FF - Prize of the Jury Ori, 2009 San Sebastian IFF - New Directors PNR Festival Madrid - Best Debut Film Tetouan IFF - Best Debut Film Miguel Angel Jimenez Present at Crossroads Luis Moya Present at Crossroads Chaika, the previous film of Miguel Angel Jimenez, is available at the Agora Film Market. PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Selected Filmography Born in Vitoria (Spain) in 1978. Graduate in Audiovisual Journalism by Universidad de Navarra, in 2000. Graduate in Direction of photography by TAI Cinema School, Madrid, in 2003. Director of photography since 2006. Best Debut Cinematographer at Plus Camerimage 2012 (Poland). Best Short Film Cinematographer at Madridimagen 2012 (Spain). Best Short film cinematographer at Shimla IFF 2013 (India). Best Short film cinematographer at Daimiel Short Film Festival 2013 (Spain). He is also producer of Kinoskopik company´s films: Chaika (2012), Khorosho (2010) and Ori (2009). Chaika, 2012 San Sebastian IFF - New Directors Camerimage - Best Director and Best Cinematographer Skip City IFF - Best Film Khorosho, Short, 2010 Cortada FF - Best Short Uncipar IFF - Best Short Art Kurtz FF - Prize of the Jury Ori, 2009 San Sebastian IFF - New Directors. PNR Festival Madrid - Best Debut Film Tetouan IFF - Best Debut Film 45 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Crossroads Projects THE VETERAN Greece Produced by: MARNI FILMS Director: Zacharias Mavroeidis Scriptwriter: Zacharias Mavroeidis Producer: Phaedra Vokali Budget: 400.000 Euros Location: Greece Looking for: Co-producers, financiers SYNOPSIS Aris has it all: a trendy loft, a fast sports car, a pretty girlfriend - until he loses his job. Penniless, at age 34, he is forced to leave everything and relocate to his long deceased grandfather’s flat, right above his parents’ house. Aris’ high-tech gadgets find their place along his pop’s old-fashioned furniture, while he re-discovers the neighborhood he grew up in: security alarms, higher fences and a gang of self-proclaimed nationalist teenage bullies are now part of the suburban picture. In an attempt to adjust, Aris will reunite with his high school crush and the freak of the school who still live around, both unemployed and eager to hang out with the former teenKing. Seduced by his reclaimed A-male status and disappointed with his fruitless job hunt, Aris reconsiders the temporary arrangement as an attractive option. But as he feels more and more at home, the figure of his grandfather Aristides, a WW2 veteran, starts casting an intense influence on him. Aris picks up his grandpa’s habits and tries on his clothes, confirming their stunning resemblance. When he accidentally meets a former comrade of Aristides, who is now demented and mistakes him for his old friend, a well-kept secret will be revealed. In the shadow of his grandfather’s ghost and after months of idleness, Aris enters a downward spiral. The next time he visits the city centre, he is dressed in his grandfathers’ veteran suit and carries along his sword. DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT The Veteran is an urban homecoming dramedy. Hometown is the suburb of Papagou, a striking exception of oldstyle suburbia in the otherwise arbitrarily built Athens, founded in the ‘50s to house families of army generals. Moving temporarily to the grandparents’ empty houses is a fast-spreading phenomenon among the 30-something unemployed in today’s Athens. In hope of a better future, the newcomers don’t take over the space of their ancestors. Their stuff appears misplaced in this foreign, old-fashioned environment in which they live as unproductive pensioners, supported by their families. Meanwhile, in the public discourse, the current crisis is constantly paralleled to WW2 - the war our grandparents courageously fought. These long-gone hard-working patriots are the archetype out of which modern Greek society constantly generates distorted replicas of patriotic duty and moral integrity. Through this desperate quest for role-models in the past resurfaces the polarity that led Greece into a brutal civil war, right after WW2. The Veteran narrates the dark, Cohen-style journey of a man in search of a hero within a blind-folded society. Pierced with irony and humor, the film aspires to be a transparent mirror between two generations that, aptly enough, reunite under the same roof: the deceased heroes and the new outcasts. MARNI FILMS Marni Films is a young independent company, based in Athens, that produces short films, feature films and creative documentaries by filmmakers taking their first steps. The company started out in 2011 as a co-producer of promising local projects, like Yorgos Lanthimos’ Alps. After producing its first feature documentary, Directing Hell (2011), Marni Films is now developing a number of its own projects. At the same time, the company continues to offer vital help to independent Greek films (A Blast by Syllas Tzoumerkas and Wednesday 04:45 by Alexis Alexiou). The company’s goal is to keep Greek cinema’s new wave alive by delivering innovative productions for cinema, TV and internet platforms. Marni Films’ projects aspire to carry a personal vision and are intended for international audiences. PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION MARNI FILMS T: +30 2103228860 E: [email protected] W: www.marnifilms.gr 46 Crossroads Projects 54rd Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Selected filmography Zacharias Mavroeidis studied Architecture in Thessaloniki (AUTH), theater in Madrid (RESAD), scriptwriting in Cuba (EICTV) and Filmmaking in Athens (NYC). Since 2006 he has been working as a freelance director and scriptwriter for film and TV. He participated in the 5th Berlinale Talent Campus and in the 2nd Sarajevo Talent Campus. He has directed 4 short films and one documentary. His debut feature film The Guide premiered in Greek theaters on November 2011 and, until now, it has traveled to 17 film festivals around the world. Working Day, short, in post production The Guide, 2011 Thessaloniki International Film Festival Toronto Inside Out Film Festival Transylvania International Film Festival Syria, doc, 2010 Pink River, short, 2009 Oslo Skeiver Film Festival - Best Short Film Award Frameline San Francisco Film Festival Mediterranean Short Film Festival Of Tangier Zacharias Mavroeidis Present at Crossroads The Guide, the previous film of Zacharias Mavroeidis, is available at the Agora Film Market. I Talk to My House, short, 2007 Naousa International Film Festival - Best Short Film Award PRODUCER’S FILMOGRAPHY PRODUCER’S PROFILE Pigs on the Wind by Stergios Paschos (in development) Phaedra Vokali graduated with honors from the Marketing and Communication Department of the Athens University of Economic and Business, in 2005. She consequently worked in distribution where she had the opportunity to attend international markets as a buyer and also organize the press office. In 2006 she started her collaboration with the Athens International Film Festival that carries on until this day. She got her MA in Film Studies from the University College London as a scholar of the State Scholarships Foundation. She has since worked as head of programming of the Athens Film Festival, while later she became editor in chief of Cinema Magazine, the only film magazine in Greece. She currently works as a producer in Marni Films and she has participated with scholarship in the 2013 EAVE Producers Network. 64 Squares in Athens by Aristotelis Maragkos (in pre-production) Generator, short by Nikoleta Leousi, 2013 Drama International Short Film Festival - National Critics Association’s Best Film, Honorary Distinction for the script, Greek Cinematographer’s Association Prize King Kong, short by Nikos Kiritsis, 2013 Elvis Is Dead, short by Stergios Paschos, 2013 Quiet Nights, short by Konstantinos Samaras, 2012 Phaedra Vokali Present at Crossroads 47 WORKS IN PROGRESS 2013 7 NOVEMBER 2013 The Agora Works in Progress selection team are Marie-Pierre Macia, Yianna Sarri, Angeliki Vergou (Agora Industry), Dimitris Kerkinos (Balkan Survey), Eleni Androutsopoulou, Geortina Serpieri (Greek Films) AWARDS SPONSOR This industry activity gives the opportunity to selected sales agents, distributors and festival programmers, to be the first to discover feature films from Central Europe, the Mediterranean and Balkan region, in the stage just before completion. THE CURVE Jordan-Egypt page 52 FACTORY GIRL Egypt page 53 HOME WORK Greece-Germany page 54 IMPRESSIONS OF A DROWNED MAN Cyprus Works in progress page 55 THE JUDGEMENT Bulgaria-Germany-Croatia-FYROM page 56 LAzAR FYROM-Croatia-Bulgaria-France page 57 NEXT TO HER Israel page 58 THE SKY ABOVE US The Netherlands-Serbia-Belgium-Greece page 59 SONG OF MY MOTHER Turkey-France page 60 THE WORLD IS MINE Romania page 61 ForEver Greece page 62 STRATOS Greece-Germany-Cyprus page 63 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress THE CURVE Jordan, Egypt Production Company: THE IMAGINARIUM FILMS Director: Rifqi Assaf Screenwriter: Rifqi Assaf Cast: Fatina Layla, Ashraf Barhoum, Mazen Moudam Producer: Rula Nasser Co-producer: Mohammad Hefzy, Film Clinic Key partners: AFAC, Jordan Fund Production Stage: Editing Duration: 85’ Budget: 355.000 Euros Secured Financing: 65% Looking For: Post production funds, Sales, Festivals, Co producers SYNOPSIS Contact Person: Rula Nasser, producer THE IMAGINARIUM FILMS T: +962795520056 E: [email protected] W: theimaginariumfilms.com One night, Radisuffering from social phobia, hears a shrilling scream in the distance. Despite his phobia, he challenges himself by switching on the lights of his home – a VW microbus. With the seemingly trivial switching on of a light, he soon enough finds himself on a road trip that alters his clockwork and very private lifestyle. Starting with the sheltering of the screaming woman, Laila – recently divorced and traveling back to Damascus, the adventure continues and eventually introduces two others into Radi’s mobile home. Sami – a Lebanese artist is found struggling on the side of a road. The third character, a mysterious Jordanian policeman. All characters encompass variance degrees of experience, pain, fear and a hopeful outlook on change. Within this journey, they come to realize they share much more than they would have ever thought likely. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY The Last Patch, short, 2005 Amman in Red, experimental short, 2006 Rifqi Assaf The View, short, 2008 Franco-Arab Film Festival - Best Short Film Taghit d’Or Film Festival - Best Script Middle East Int’l Film Festival - Best Short Film Jordan Short Film Festival - Best Script Izmir Film Festival DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Jordanian Filmmaker and screenwriter, born in Amman in 1978, holds a BA in English translation from ASU, with a Filmography of four short films, and the feature project The Curve that was short listed in Abu Dhabi Grant Shasha as one of the best screenplays to support. The Curve won the Arab Fund for Culture and Arts, and was supported by the Jordanian Film Fund. 52 Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual THE FACTORY GIRL Egypt, UAE Production Company: DAYDREAM ART PRODUCTION Director: Mohamed Khan Screenwriter: Wessam Soliman Cast: Yasmin Raes, Hani Adel, Ibtihal Producer: Mohamed Samir Key partners: Enjaaz Dubai Production Stage: Post-production Duration: 90’ Budget: 700.000 Euros Looking For: Sales Agent SYNOPSIS Hiyam is a factory worker who’s living in a low middle class area, along with other factory girls. She thought that her feelings for Salah, the new supervisor in the factory, can grow bigger in-spite of the class differences between them. Although he shared some feelings with her, the cruel reality calls when a pregnancy test is found in the factory and because she doesn’t hide her feelings, everybody accuses her of being a sinner. Even her close friends and family. Hiyam doesn’t want to defend herself and that makes her pay the price of a society that doesn’t accept proud women. Contact Person: Mohamed Samir, Producer DAYDREAM ART PRODUCTION T: +201005135636 M: +201005135636 W: www.ddartproduction.com E: [email protected] DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY In the Heliopolis Flat, 2007 Downtown Girls, 2005 Klephty, 2004 Days of Sadat, 2001 Dreams of Hind and Camilia, 1989 Mohamed Khan DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Mohamed Khan is one of the most prominent directors in the wave of Egyptian realism that flourished in the 1980s. He directed 23 films, four of them (Missing Person, Wife of an Important Person, Dreams of Hind and Camilia, Supermarket) listed among the top 100 Egyptian films ever. 53 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress HOME WORK Greece, Germany Production Company: OXYMORON FILMS – SHPN 3 FILMPRODUKTION Director: Athanasios Karanikolas Screenwriter: Athanasios Karanikolas Cast: Maria Kallimani, Marissa Triadafyllidou, Alexandros Logothetis, Yiannis Tsortekis, Ieronymos Kaletsanos Producer: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Lasse Sharpen Key partners: ZDF, Greek Film Centre Production Stage: Post Production Duration: 90’ Budget: 300.000 Euros Secured Financing: 80% Looking For: Sales Agent, Festival Premiere Contact Person: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Producer OXYMORON FILMS T: +306977611335 E: [email protected] W: argyburgy.com SYNOPSIS Nadia is working for twelve years in Evi’s and Stefano’s house. They are like a family. Apart from the house care, Nadia also takes cares of their daughter, Iris, as if she were her own child. When medical tests show that Nadia is having a cureless neurological disease, her relationship with the family gets complicated. After having a short disagreement with Evi, who in the beggining is against letting her go, ultimately Stefanos finds an excuse and fires her, despite the fact that she is uninsured. On a very hot day, Nadia, while waiting for a bus to take her downtown, collapses. A few hours later she wakes up at a hospital, only to find out that she has been robbed. She decides to go back to Evi’s and Stefano’s house. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Echolot, 2013 Berlin Film Festival - Forum Elli Makra - 42277 Wuppertal, 2007 Thessaloniki International Film Festival – Best Actress Göteborg Film Festival Mein bester schlimmster Fehler ,Documentary short, 2005 Mein Erlöser, short, 2003 S, short, 2002 Athanasios Karanikolas 54 DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Athanasios Karanikolas was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He studied Photography in New York and then went off to continue his studies in Media Art and Directing in Germany. He has directed fiction, documentary films and theater. His first feature Elli Makra, 42277 Wuppertal has won him among others the Best Actress Prize in the 48th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. His second feature Echolot was in the official selection of the Berlinale’s Forum 2013 and since then it was screened in numerous festivals around the world. Since 2006 he teaches directing and acting in the HFF in Potsdam, in the Met School Berlin, in the HFS Ernst Busch and in Actors Space in Berlin. His fourth feature film Home Work, financed by the ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehsspiel and shot in Athens is now in post production. Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual IMPRESSIONS OF A DROWNED MAN Cyprus SYNOPSIS A man called the Passenger meets the Co-Passenger who introduces himself as an amateur actor and gives him a DVD from an unfinished film where he starred, called Impressions of a Drowned Man. The Passenger meets a woman named Maria. She reveals to him that he is Kostas Karyotakis, a famous poet that had committed suicide in 1928, and that he relives the last days of his life before every anniversary of his death. She also reveals that she was his ex-lover and that she was expecting his baby when he died. The Passenger watches the DVD given to him by the Co-Passenger, but the DVD shows his own point-of-view while taking the DVD. Moreover he enters a photo-booth for I.D. photos, but the photos depict landscapes previously or later seen in our film. He later finds out that the Co-Passenger starred as Kostas Karyotakis in a TV series about the famous poet. He ends up at an exhibition about suicide poets. The poets themselves stand as exhibits. Among them stands the CoPassenger at the pedestal of Kostas Karyotakis. The Co-Passenger reveals that they are both the same person, and that they soon have to commit suicide as their history prescribes. Production Company: DRYTREE FILMS Director: Kyros Papavassiliou Screenwriter: Kyros Papavassiliou, Yiorgos Zois Cast: Thodoris Pentidis, Marissa Triantafyllidou, Christodoulos Martas, Melina Apostolidou Producer: Kyros Papavassiliou Co-producer : Monica Nicolaidou, Filmblades Production Stage: Post-Production (finished first cut) Duration: 95’ Budget: 480.000 euro Secured Financing: 80% Looking For: Financing to complete the film, Post-production services (image & sound), Festival Premiere, Sales Agent Contact Person: Kyros Papavassiliou, Director, Producer DRYTREE FILMS T: +357 97855893, +30 6982155096 E: [email protected] W: drytreefilms.com DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY In the Name of the Sparrow, short, 2007 Cannes Film Festival - Short Films Official Competition At Kafka’s Trial Room, short, 2005 Drama Film Festival - Special Mention by Greek Film Center Lament, short, 2003 DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Kyros Papavassiliou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1972. He studied Philosophy and Musicology in the United States. He has written & directed three short films. Impressions of a Drowned Man, currently in post-production, are his first long-feature film. His most recent short film In the Name of the Sparrow was presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 (Selection Officielle, Court Metrage). The film was then presented in many other international festivals. As a theatre director he has recently produced his first theatre performance titled Misunderstanding Concerning a Sweet Land Called Cyprus. He has worked as a film editor for short films, documentaries as well as for various TV programs. He has published a collection of poems entitled Poneman in 2002, by Gabrielides Publishings, Athens. Kyros Papavassiliou 55 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress THE JUDGMENT Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, FYROM Production Company: ARGO FILM LTD Director: Stephan Komandarev Screenwriter: Marin Damyanov, Emil Spahiyski, Stephan Komandarev Cast: Assen Blatechki, Miki Manojlovic, Ovanes Torosian Producer: Stephan Komandarev - Argo Film Co-producers: Alexander Ris - Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, Boris T. Matic - Propeler film, Vladimir Anastasov - Sector film Key partners: Bulgarian National Film Centre, Bulgarian National Television, German Film Funds - MBB, MDM, DFFF, Croatian Audio-visual Centre, Macedonian Film Fund, EURIMAGES, MEDIA, SEECN Production Stage: Post-production Duration: 110’ Budget: 1.887.000 Euros Secured Financing: 100 % Looking For: Festivals, World Sales SYNOPSIS The Judgment is a story about Mityo and his son Vasko, who live in a poor area near to the Bulgarian-Turkish-Greek border. For 25 years Mityo has lived with the burden of a terrible secret - as a soldier on the Bulgarian border, he was forced to kill a young couple from GDR that tried to escape to the West – from Bulgaria to Turkey. Nowadays, Mityo is on the border again, but this time smuggling illegal immigrants from Syria in the opposite direction – from Turkey to Bulgaria and the EU. He had lost everything that has mattered to him - his wife, his work, the confidence of his son, Vasko. In order to get Vasko back, Mityo has to find forgiveness and pay for his sin. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY The Town of Badante Women, doc, 2009 Dokufest I Internazionale a Ferrara Festival I Bratislava International Film Festival Contact Person: Stephan Komandarev, Director, Producer ARGO FILM LTD. T: +359878308238 E: [email protected] W: www.thejudgmentmovie.bg W: www.argofilm.eu World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, 2008 35 International Film Awards I Oscar Academy Awards - Shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film Alphabet of Hope, doc, 2003 Golden Rython Bulgarian Documentary Film Festival - Golden Rython for Best Bulgarian Documentary Film, Best Producer Award IDFA - Official Selection, 2003 GoEast Festival of Central and Eastern European Film - Best Documentary Film Award of the Hertie Foundation Bread Over the Fence, doc, 2002 Dogs’ Home, 2000 Berlin Film Festival - International Forum of New Cinema DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Stephan Komandarev 56 Stephan is a film director and a producer. He is a member of the European Film Academy, of the Bulgarian Film Directors’ Association and of the Bulgarian Film Producers’ Association. He completed a degree in Film & TV directing at the New Bulgarian University (1998). Stephan Komandarev’s works include documentary and feature films. He is a lecturer at the Film Department of the New Bulgarian University since 2008. He is an EAVE alumni and has participated at the Mediterranean Film Institute Script 2 Film Workshops, the ScripTeast – training program for scriptwriters from Central and Eastern Europe and the Ex Oriente Film. He is currently developing his 3rd feature film The Other Man based on the short story Macedonia from the book East of the West by Miroslav Penkov, #1 best seller in Bulgaria for the year 2012. Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual LAzAR FYROM, Croatia, Bulgaria, France SYNOPSIS Lazar is disaffected and emotionally disconnected from the world around him. When his father left the family, he had to grow up to be resourceful and tough, and now in his mid twenties, he is involved in a smuggling ring of illegal aliens. His worldview starts to change when he falls in love with Katerina, an architecture student, who he randomly meets. She is able to awaken his stunted emotional life, and Lazar starts to see a different possibility for his future. The more involved he gets with Katerina, the more he tries to get out of his criminal environment. However, he will soon realize that it is not easy to simply break out from the criminal world that he is part of. Toni, Lazar’s brother in law, who lost his job due to the economic collapse of the country, desperately tries to find ways of making money. He would do anything to change the image of a loser, and to provide a better childhood, than the one he had, for his son Zlate. Production Company: SMALL MOVES, MP FILMSKA PRODUKCIJA, GALA FILM, ARIZONA PRODUCTIONS Director: Svetozar Ristovski Screenwriters: Svetozar Ristovski, Grace Lea Troje Cast: Vedran Zivolic, Dejan Lilic, Natasa Petrovic, Vlado Jovanovski, Goran Navojec, Alexander Sano, Krassimira Kuzmanova Producer: Svetozar Ristovski, Igor Aleksander Nola, Galina Toneva, Guillaume de Seille Production Stage: Post-production/Picture editing Duration: 110’ Budget: 1.074.000 Euros Secured Financing: 90% Looking For: Post-production services (image & sound), Festivals, Sales Agents DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Dear Mr. Gacy, feature film, 2010 Mirage, feature film, 2004 International Film Festival Rotterdam - Lions Film Award Tokyo International Film Festival - Special Jury Mention Anchorage International Film Festival - Best Feature Film Toronto International Film Festival I Thessaloniki International Film Festival Contact Person: Guillaume de Seille ARIZONA PRODUCTIONS T: +33 67 8180105 E: [email protected] W: www.arizonafilms.net Joy of Life, documentary, 2001 GoEast Film Festival Wiesbaden - Best Documentary I Wine Country Film Festival - Best Documentary Hunter, short, 2000 DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Ristovski was born in Titov Veles, SFR Yugoslavia and attended the University of St Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, where he studied architecture and filmmaking. In 2001, he made his first documentary, Joy of Life, which was awarded Best Documentary at the GoEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany and Best Documentary (International Selection) at the Wine Country Film Festival in Napa Valley, California. The critically acclaimed, Mirage (2004) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004 (Discovery) and was screened in film festival official selections around the world including Thessaloniki International Film Festival, winning several awards and nominations. In 2010 Ristovski made his North American debut with Dear Mr.Gacy starring William Forsythe, a Canadian production which premiered on HBO Canada in 2010. Svetozar Ristovski 57 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress NEXT TO HER Israel Production Company: 2-TEAM PRODUCTIONS Director: Asaf Korman Screenwriter: Liron Ben-Shlush Cast: Liron Ben-Shlush, Dana Ivgy, Yaacov Zada-Daniel Producers: Haim Mecklberg, Estee Yacov-Mecklberg Production Stage: Rough Cut Duration: 90’ Budget: 420.000 Euros (not including post production) Secured Financing: 100% Looking For: Finance of post-production, Worldwide Sales SYNOPSIS Contact Person: Haim Mecklberg & Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, Producers 2-TEAM PRODUCTIONS T: +972.3.6875111 E: [email protected] Chelli, 27, is raising her mentally retarded sister Gabi, 24, all by herself. When the social worker discovers she leaves her sister alone in the house while at work, Chelli is forced to place her in a day-care center and the huge void left by her sister’s absence, makes room for a man in Chelli’s life. That man, Zohar, tears another crack in the symbiotic relationship of the two sisters. Chelli hangs on to his love as to a life belt, but her inability to lead a normal, intimate relationship with anyone but her sister, forces them into a twisted threesome, where boundaries between love, sacrifice, nurturing and torturing – are broken. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Death of Shula, short, 2007 Cannes Film Festival - Director’s Fortnight 20 other film festivals and awards Birthday, short, 2005 Munich International Film Festival Hamburg International Film Festival Jerusalem International Film Festival Asaf Korman DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Korman is a leading film editor of Jaffa, The Slut, God’s Neighbors, (all premiered at Cannes) and of the acclaimed Israeli thriller Big Bad Wolves. His short Death of Shula premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight, 2007 and won many awards at international film festivals. Next to Her is his first feature film. 58 Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual THE SKY ABOVE US The Netherlands, Serbia, Belgium, Greece Production Company: CTM LEV PICTURES Director: Marinus Groothof Screenwriter: Marinus Groothof Cast: Nada Sargin, Nikola Rakocevic, Boris Isakovic Producers: Sander Verdonk & Denis Wigman Co-producers: Art & Popcorn - Miroslav Mogorovic Entre Chien et Loup - Benoit Roland Heretic - Giorgos Karnavas Production Stage: Editing Duration: 95’ Budget: 1.100.000 Euros Secured Financing: 91% Looking For: Post Production funding SYNOPSIS This is Belgrade of ‘99. People move in and out of cafes and the rise and fall of lively conversation echoes all around. It is as if no one knows that NATO bombings are expected. It is as if they never even started. However, the tension is there, behind their eyes where the fear is suppressed at any cost. It is in this time and place that Ana, Sloba and Bojan find the need to construct their own normality in order to keep their sanity. Three ways to deal with fear. One random sky above. Contact Person: Sander Verdonk, Producer CTM LEV PICTURES T: +31653394875 E: [email protected] W: www.ctmlevpictures.com DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY The Sky Above Us, 2013, in production At Sea, TV film, premieres December 2013 Spiegelingen, short, 2011 Sunset from a Rooftop, short, 2009 Morning to Noon, short, 2008 Marinus Groothof DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Born on 24 July 1979 in Amsterdam. Marinus is a writer and a director of shorts and feature films. Alumni of Dutch Film Academy, EAVE Producers Workshop and Binger Directors Lab. He has won several prizes for his films, among them Best Dutch Short at Dutch Film Festival, Best Dance Film Belgrade Film Festival and long listed for the Academy Awards with his short Sunset from a Rooftop 59 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 Agora Works in Progress SONG OF MY MOTHER Turkey, France, Germany Production Company: MINTAS FILM Director: Erol Mintas Screenwriter: Erol Mintas Cast: Feyyaz Duman, Zubeyde Rohani, Nesrin Cavadzade, Cuneyt Yalaz Producer: Asli Erdem Co-producer: Guillaume de Seille (Arizona Productions), Mehmet Aktas (Mitosfilm) Key partners: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Municipality of Dogubeyazit, Anadolu Kultur Production Stage: In production Duration: 90’ Budget: 250.000 Euros Secured Financing: 70% Looking For: Post-production partners or completion funds for post-production, festival launch possibilities, sales agent SYNOPSIS This is the bittersweet story of a displaced Kurdish family: a young man torn between his nostalgic mother chasing an old song in her dreams and a girlfriend who unexpectedly gets pregnant. Contact Person: Asli Erdem, Producer MINTAS FILM T: +905332639896 M: +905332639896 E: [email protected] DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Berf, Short, 2010 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - Best Short Timishort Film Festival - Best Director Boston Turkish Film Festival Short Film Competition - Special Mention !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival - Audience Award Istanbul Sinepark Film Festival - Best Editing Izmir Short Film Festival - Special Jury Award Montpellier Film Festival - Official Selection Erol Mintas Butimar, Short, 2008 İFSAK Short Film Festival - Special Jury Award Kristal Klaket Short Film Competition - Best Film Turkish Pharmacists Congress Short Film Competition - Best Film Filmmakers of Tomorrow Script Competition - Third Place DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Born in Kars, Turkey. His first short film Butimar was screened in various film festivals and received four awards. His recent short Berf received the Golden Orange for Best Film in Antalya FF. Berf has competed in important film festivals in the country and around the world and won seven awards. 60 Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual THE WORLD IS MINE Romania Production Company: LIBRA FILM Director: Nicolae Constantin Tanase Screenwriter: Raluca Manescu Cast: Ana Maria Guran, Florin Hritcu, Oana Rusu, Mircea Rusu Producer: Tudor Giurgiu Co-producer: Radu Stancu, De Film Key partners: Digital Cube - Romania Production Stage: Post-production Duration: 100’ Budget: 575.000 Euros Secured Financing: 60% Looking For: Co-producers, Sales Agent, Festivals SYNOPSIS Larisa is 16 and lives in a small town by the sea. She grows up in a violent society, dominated by money and influence, where “if you’re not somebody, you’re nobody”. And Larisa wants nothing more than to be somebody! DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY 12 minutes, short, 2013 Transilvania International Film Festival - Short Films Competition I Namur IFF - ‘Regards du Present’ Selection BLU, short, 2012 Transilvania International Film Festival - Best Romanian Short I Cortex International Film Festival Lisabon - Best International Film, Jury Award I Sarajevo International Film Festival I Tirana International Film Festival- Short Film Competition I Gopo Nomination for Best Romanian Short Film Contact Person: Tudor Giurgiu, Producer LIBRA FILM T: +40213266480 E: [email protected] W: www.librafilm.net Outrageously Disco, short, 2009 Hyperion Stud Fest Film Festival, Bucureşti - Best Film of the Festival - Trofeul Hyperion I FFest Student Film Festival, Cluj Napoca - Audience Award I Future movie Film Festival, Galaţi- Best short fiction film - Grand Prize I National Artistic Short Film Festival, Resita- Festival Tropy for Best Short Film zombie Infectors 3, short, 2008 CineMaIubit International Film Festival - Best Set-Design, Best Editing Nicolae Constantin Tanase DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Nicolae Constantin Tanase started his film-studies at F.A.M.U. and graduated in directing from U.N.A.T.C. in 2009. His final short from the film school Outrageously Disco won numerous awards, and continued the successes that his third-year-short Zombie Infectors 3 had. His first independent short film BLU brought him several awards at international film festivals, including the Best Romanian Short award at Transilvania IFF and the Young Hope Award at Gopo 2013. Currently touring the festivals, his last short 12 minutes premiered in the Romanian Days Competition at Transilvania IFF 2013, and was screened in Namur IFF in the Regards du Present section. His feature-film-debut, The World is Mine was shot this year and is in post-production, expected to be finalized mid-2014. 61 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 ForEver Agora Works in Progress OUT OF COMPETITION Greece Production Company: FALIRO HOUSE Director: Margarita Manda Screenwriter: Margarita Manda Cast: Anna Mascha, Kostas Filippoglou Producers: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Kostas Kefalas, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Costas Lambropoulos, Margarita Manda Co-producers: CL Productions, Heretic Production Stage: Post-Production Duration: 85’ Budget: 300.000 Euros Secured Financing: 53% Looking For: Sales Agent, Festivals SYNOPSIS Contact Person: Kostas Kefalas, Producer FALIRO HOUSE T: +302109404762 E: [email protected] W: www.falirohouse.com Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Producer HERETIC T: +306976887137 E: [email protected] W: www.heretic.gr Costas is a driver of the Athens railway that has been connecting the city’s mountains to the sea for the last 100 years. He lives without a social life or relationship. He believes that the train he drives every day is the last remaining river of the city – a city that covered its real rivers to turn them into roads. Anna sells tickets for a fairy company in a booth situated in the port of Piraeus. She lives alone, without a social life or relationship. She takes the train every day to go to her work and back. Costas and Anna are two solitary people journeying in a city that’s slowly dying from the lack of love. Athens. Costas falls in love with Anna, whom he takes every day to the port and back. He loves her silently, without ever daring to approach her. He tries to make a recording of his fairy tale about the rivers of Athens to give it to her as a gift. He doesn’t dare to do it until, one day, a random event changes his life forever and he decides to claim his right to life and love. Anna, after a lot of hesitation, finally succumbs to his persistent approach. These two lonesome people will finally say “I love you” to each other and their words will breathe life to the fairy tale of the rivers that protect Athens. At the dawn of a bright, new day. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Gold Dust, 2009 Panorama of European Cinema - Audience Award I Hellenic Film Academy - Best Supporting Actress Award London Greek Film Festival IMunich Greek Film Festival ICairo International Film Festival - Official Competition New Odessa – the Village of the Lake, 2004 Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival - Official Selection I Montpellier International Film Festival The Guardians of Time, documentary, 2002 I Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - FIPRESCI Award DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Margarita Manda 62 Margarita Manda studied Political Science and French Literature while completing her studies in film directing at the Lykourgos Stavrakos Film School. She has worked as assistant director to many notable Greek filmmakers. She was Theo Angelopoulos’ assistant on the films: Ulysses’ Gaze, Eternity and a Day, The Weeping Meadow and The Dust of Time. Manda has written and directed short films and features, documentaries, videos for theatre productions and corporate videos. She has worked with the world famous photographer Joseph Koudelka and was the literary supervisor for the published editions of the Theo Angelopoulos scripts Ulysses Gazeand Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow. Her novel Memory Immovable was published in 2002 and her memoirs from the shooting of Ulysses’ Gaze in 2013. Agora Works in Progress 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual OUT OF COMPETITION STRATOS Greece, Germany, Cyprus SYNOPSIS Stratos works at a bread factory by night, by day he kills people for money. He needs it to finance a jailbreak for the man who saved him while in prison, Leonidas. He owes the man his life and Stratos always pays his debts. DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY Knifer, 2010 LA Greek Film Festival - Best Feature Film Award (Orpheus Award) Cyprus Film Days - Best Feature Film Award Hellenic Film Academy Awards - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound Greek Association of Film Critics Award - Best Greek Film of the Year Soul Kicking, 2006 Cannes International Film Festival - The International Critics’ Week I Chicago International Film Festival Pusan International Film Festival I Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Matchbox, 2003 Montreal World Film Festival I Pusan International Film Festival I International Film Festival of India Production Companies: FALIRO HOUSE ARGONAUTS THE MATCH FACTORY YANNIS ECONOMIDES FILMS Director: Yannis Economides Screenwriters: Yannis Economides, Thanos Xiros, Vangelis Mourikis, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Haris Lagoussis Cast: Vangelis Mourikis, Vicky Papadopoulou, Petros Zervos, Yannis Tsortekis, Giorgos Giannopoulos, Yannis Anastasakis, Polina Dellatola Producers: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Panos Papahadzis, Michael Weber Associate Producer: Irini Souganidou Key partners: Feelgood Entertainment Greek Film Centre, ERT, Film Advisory Board of Cyprus, FILM-UND MEDIENSTIFTUNG NRW and Eurimages Production Stage: in post production Duration: approx. 135’ Budget: 1.650.000 Euros Secured Financing: 100% Contact Person: Greg Tselentis FALIRO HOUSE T: +30 210 9404762 E: [email protected] W: www.falirohouse.com The Life You Hoped For, documentary, 1995 Just Smelling the Jasmine, documentary, 1994 DIRECTOR’S PROFILE Yannis Economides was born in Limassol, Cyprus, in 1967 and studied film in Athens. He has directed several short films and documentaries. He directed his debut feature film Matchbox back in 2003. Soul Kicking, his second feature, celebrated its world premiere at the renowned official section of the Cannes International Film Festival 2006, The International Critics’ Week and was selected for competitive screening at various film festivals throughout the world. His third feature, Knifer, had its world premiere in Pusan International Film Festival 2010. At the Hellenic Film Academy Awards Knifer excelled and received seven awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound). It was also awarded with the Greek Association of Film Critics Award as the Best Greek Film of the Year 2010 and at the LAGFF 2011 as the Best Feature Film. Yannis Economides 63 AGORA FILM MARKET 2-9 NOVEMBER 2013 The Agora Film Market promotes the majority of the feature films participating in the official sections of the 54th TIFF and the latest film productions from Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Also includes the previous films of Crossroads participants, as well as a selection of Greek films produced within the past two years. Agora Film Market Film Market A man runs away from home, leaving a wife and a child behind. He checks-in to a hotel, biding his time, dying for something to happen, something that will shake him up. But home is where the heart is, and the heart is in the chest. You can’t just rip it out. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 309 The 10th Man 21’ Assaf SNIR, Israel 2012 Production Company Sam Spiegel Film School Jerusalem Einat Ohana +972 2673 1950 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films In 1989, the whole country watched live on television as angry crowds forced Romanian dictator Ceausescu to flee Bucharest by helicopter. In a quiet town east of the capital, sixteen years since this historic day, the owner of the local TV station invites two guests to share their moments of revolutionary glory. One is an old retiree and sometime Santa Claus, the other a history teacher who has just devoted his entire salary to his drinking debts. Together they will remember the day when they stormed their town hall shouting “Down with Ceausescu!”. But phone-in viewers dispute the claims of the heroes, who were propably drinking in the bar or making Christmas preparations rather than rebelling in the streets. 278 12:08 East of Bucharest 89’ Corneliu PORUMBOIU, Romania 2006 World Sales Company The Coproduction Office, Paris, France +33 1 5602 6000 [email protected] www.thecopro.de Official Selection At the age of 33, Arman decides it’s time to change his life. To begin, one Saturday he goes jogging in a park. As he turns a corner he bumps into Amélie. The first meeting is a shock; the second will be like a stab in the heart. Benjamin is Arman’s best friend. One evening he collapses and falls over into a hedge grove. Doctors diagnose a stroke. Between two autumns and three winters the lives of Amélie, Arman and Benjamin intermingle and are filled with meetings, accidents, love stories and memories. The time which passes is made up only of monologues. 150 2 Autumns 3 Winters 93’ Sébastien BETBEDER, France 2013 World Sales Company Alpha Violet Keiko Funato +33147973984 [email protected] Film Market Electra is in her early 30s, living in modern-day Athens. She is an artist but makes a living as a babysitter. She is an activist and her boyfriend is a political prisoner. She is lonely and struggles to find her place in the world. We follow her as she meets the most important people in her life. Through these meetings, we understand better Electra, but also a whole generation of young people who feel suffocated by this world. These days, when capitalism, consumerism, and globalization is called into question, and the director’s need is to make a film that questions all these things. My interest is to show the effects they have on everyday life, on people’s small decisions, on our intimate relationships. 328 A.C.A.B All Cats Are Brilliant 85’ Constantina VOULGARIS, Greece 2012 World Sales Company Rendez-vous Pictures Philippe Tasca +33 1 4857 4997 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 67 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 112 Acrid 94’ Kiarash ASADIZADEH, Iran 2013 Film Market Acrid depicts the inner feelings of different couples suffering from discordances to infidelity. We travel from one character to another, young lovers or married ones, who turn out to be linked together, creating a close circle between them where trust is at stake. World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 216 Ali Blue Eyes 100’ Claudio GIOVANNESI, Italia 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Nader and Stefano: one is Egyptian but was born in Rome, the other is Italian and is his best friend. Nader’s girlfriend Brigitte is Italian too, and that’s exactly why the boy’s parents oppose their love. A week in the life of an adolescent boy who tries to flaunt the values of his family. Precariously balanced between being Arab or Italian, Nader, courageous and in love, will have to endure solitude, the streets, cold, hunger, fear and the loss of friendship, in an attempt to regain his own identity. Official Selection 225 All About You 83’ Alina MARAZZI, Italia 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market 341 Anemistiras 93’ Dimitris BITOS, Greece 2013 World Sales Company Highway Productions Yorgos Lykiardopoulos +30 210 331 4088 [email protected] Film Market 68 Pauline (Charlotte Rampling) returns to Turin – her place of birth – for the first time after many years and gets in touch with Angela who runs a Maternity Center. There, Pauline egins to research motherhood – as it is experienced by women today – by accessing videos, photographs and actual statements of mothers collected by Angela at the Center. Among the mothers attending the Center is Emma (Elena Radonicich), a young and elusive dancer in deep crisis: she can’t cope with the responsibilities demanded by motherhood and sees her life at a standstill. She feels isolated and inept. A relationship of complicity develops between the two women which, in a mirrorlike play of reflections, will lead Pauline to come to terms with her own tragic past and Emma to acknowledge her new identity as a mother. A young girl – holding a grenade in her hands – directs her parent’s relationship from scratch. The claim of an ‘ideal’ world through the harsh innocence of a child. Film Market Araf is the story of Zehra and Olgun whose lives are caught in a vacuum. The world in which they live and work is a place of throwaway culture and constant change. They too are waiting for a chance to change and escape from their empty, monotonous lives. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 251 Araf - Somewhere In Between 124’ Yesim USTAOGLU, Turkey- France- Germany 2012 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Film Market Abed, a young Palestinian enters Israel illegally by passing under the Wall, through the sewers. He works in a restaurant in the West of Jerusalem. On his day off, Abed decides to go home with a mysterious white box. It is the beginning of a long journey. 337 Archipel 23’ Giacomo ABBRUZZESE, France-Palestine 2010 Production Company Le Fresnoy, Yellow Dawn Production Natalia Trebik +33 320 283 864 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films In the South of Lebanon, you might find a strange object under the ground, so strange that you lose your job and you lose yourself. 323 An Army of Ants 23’ Wissam CHARAF, France 2007 Production Company Aurora Film Charlotte Vincent +33 1 4770 4301 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films Set in the 1970s, the story follows brother and sister Kuenphen and Jamyang as they learn traditional archery from their old and strict warrior grandfather. Kuenphen has opportunities to further his interests, while sister Jamyang must stay home to weave, cook and get married; a fate the young woman is not willing to accept without a fight. Filmed entirely on location in the breathtaking Himalaya mountains, the actors are local highland village people, including current members of the famous Bhutanese Olympic women’s archery team. 111 Arrows of the Thunder Dragon 91’ Greg SNEDDON, Australia 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 69 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 116 Artificial Paradises 96’ Marcos PRADO, Brazil 2012 Film Market Artificial Paradises tells the love story of Nando and Erika, two young people in their early 20s, who meet and miss one another over the years. Against a background of the universe of mega raves and electronic music festivals, the film portrays the maturation of its protagonists from their experiences with family and friends. World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market 307 At Home 19’ Nenad MIKALACKI, Serbia-Germany 2011 An elderly lady goes from Germany to Eastern Europe to find and visit the house of her childhood. Meanwhile, two deported boys, now back in Serbia, are trying to survive in totally different living conditions. They tell her that they can help her find this house Production Company Druid Nenad Mikalacki +381 63 592 042 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 135 Bad Hair 93’ Mariana RONDON, Venezuela 2013 World Sales Company FiGa Films Alex Garcia +1 323 258 5241 [email protected] Official Selection 117 Bad Hair Friday 100’ Andres KOPPER, Arun TAMM, Estonia 2012 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market 70 Junior, a beautiful nine-year-old boy with curls, longs to straighten his hair; his fantasy of looking like a long-haired troubadour has become a fixation. His mother, Marta, exhausted from lack of steady work and single motherhood, worries about the homosexual connotations of his behaviour. Junior is caught between his mother’s anger and his grandmother’s absolute acceptance. Both women go to extremes and Junior’s process of self-discovery, complicated in and of itself, becomes imbued with confusion and guilt. Shot in the vast Caracas multi-family housing units that form a cruel tableau of thousands of families and thousands of stories, Pelo Malo is unflinchingly pragmatist, yet tender towards its protagonists. Spartan in its execution, the film portrays unique, full-blooded characters and achieves a moving and rare humanity. At an ever-accelerating pace, this thriller/dark comedy tells the story of 8 very different groups whose paths cross in the space of 24 hours. We meet a wide range of characters – from spoiled rich brats to real bottom-feeding criminal scum, and everyone in between. In the best traditions of Commedia dell’arte, the characters each have easily recognizable roles – although there are a few twists to throw the audience off and keep things fresh. It starts out innocently enough with jokes, fun and a bit of alcohol, but given the level of intellectual capacity in our leading characters, you can see the train wreck coming. And when some drugged out punks go all Clockwork Orange on an opera loving cankerous old man, it can only end up in tears (and blood, guts and bit of rather literal toilet humor as well). Film Market Jeton, a 10-year-old boy, is sitting on the edge of a balcony on the 4th floor. Neighbors and passers-by, terrified at the sight, call the police and firefighters. But the situation quickly becomes unmanageable. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 185 Balcony 20’ Lendita ZEQIRAJ, Kosovo 2013 Production Company n’Art Bujar Kabashi +386 200 408 [email protected] Official Selection Ernesto and Helena have been married for many years. They live in an isolated estate between tobacco fields and the high mountain jungle in the northwest of Argentina. One day, Helena’s cousin Joaquín arrives. He has just been discharged from rehab, and has been sent by his family and against his will, to spend some time with his cousin and her husband. Helena and Ernesto’s marriage is going through a fragile phase, their problems with conceiving a child having plunged them into obsession and a loss of desire. This new presence is Helena’s opportunity to reinvent herself; for Ernesto it’s an infusion of oxygen. Living at close quarters will destabilize the couple and a love triangle begins to take form among the hunting, the cockfights and life in the fields. Desire can also take on the shape of a deeply felt violence. Athens Greece, 2012.In his attempt to trace the causes of the suicide of a colleague, Sergeant Aristides Kormas will find himself embroiled in a nightmarish adventure, where organized crime and the police are two sides of the same coin. 303 Belated 102’ Barbara SARASOLA DAY, Argentina-Colombia-Norway 2013 World Sales Company Rendez-vous Pictures Philippe Tasca +33 1 48 57 49 97 [email protected] Official Selection 317 Big Hit 95’ Karolos ZONARAS, Greece 2012 Production Company Zonaras Productions Katia Leclerc Zonaras +33 685 07 34 70 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films Once upon a time in a coastal village there lived a beautiful girl who used to gather seaweed. One day this girl was taken to the rock called Aebawi by a man who had a contract to marry her. The man went back to the village. At dusk the girl waited for him to come and take her home but he couldn’t, due to very rough seas. A large wave struck the rock drowning the girl. From that day onward the fishermen had no luck with their catch. The villagers believed that it was due to the dead girl’s bitter soul. Finally, the people decided to offer curved wooden phalluses as a sacrifice in Haesindang Park to appease the dead girl’s spirit. After that, the village fishermen enjoyed a bountiful catch once more. The phallus offering ceremony is still held even today on the first full moon of the lunar year. 230 The Birds Singing ...in Korea 62’ Angelos THEODOROPOULOS, Greece 2013 Production Company AngelosTheodoropoulos +30 6993 681 194 [email protected] Film Market 71 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 147 Black Diamonds 110’ Miguel ALCANTUD, Spain - Portugal 2013 Film Market Two African boys are brought into Europe to play football. They will enter a dark world of agents, money, interests, and some kind of football that will take them into a different reality than they have dreamt of. World Sales Company Latido Films Juan Torres +34 91 548 88 77 [email protected] Film Market 316 Block 12 94’ Kyriacos TOFARIDES, Cyprus-Greece 2013 World Sales Company TANWEER ALLIANCES Dionissis Samiotis +30 210 894 1117 [email protected] English satellites that conduct research from space discover large oil deposits in the area of the Old Mines in Cyprus. A big part of the area belongs to Costantas Rizites (he has bought half of it from his Turkish Cypriot colleague Ahmet Beyoglu), who has retired there with his wife Ellou. The outbreak of a big economic crisis leads the two sons of the family to bankruptcy forcing them to move their families to the house. This whole situation is made worse when the Cyprus government keeps asking to buy the house, and Costantas stubbornly refuses. Moreover, two English agents and Hassan Beyoglu (son of Ahmet) camp outside the house. The house is in a state of internal and external siege. Film Market 262 Blood Pressure 95’ Sean GARRITY, Canada 2012 World Sales Company Alpha Violet Keiko Funato +33 147 973 984 [email protected] Film Market 206 The Blue Identity 20’ Mumin BARIS, Turkey-Germany 2012 Production Company layla film Kristin Nahrmann +49 152 5699 6224 [email protected] Film Market 72 Nicole, 41, is a pharmacist with a husband and two teenage kids, who is at a point in her life when she is asking if ‘this is it,’ or whether there’s something more. One day she gets a letter from an anonymous Observer who knows her daily habits and her potential – intimately. He has a plan for her, if she is interested. The letter contains a green card that she should place in her window, if she wishes to pursue the mysterious relationship. If not, she should throw the letter away, and she will never hear from the Observer again. After a few days of internal debate, she puts the card in the window and begins a long relationship with the elusive Observer, who puts her on a program that starts by changing her life, but ultimately threatens everything that has meaning for her. Two Kurdish men with a Blue (refugee) passport living in Berlin try to deal with the idea of not being able to go back to their homeland ever again. Film Market In the northern reaches of Maine, a local school bus driver becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection and fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. What happens next shatters the tranquillity of her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 334 Bluebird 90’ Lanse EDMANDS, USA-Sweden 2013 World Sales Company The Yellow Affair Chris Howard +46 8 645 1212 [email protected] Official Selection A teenager gets into a taxi and discovers it’s a car bomb. From that moment, the driver and his passenger become prisoners of one another. 140 The Bomb 75’ Sergio BIZZIO, Argentina 2013 World Sales Company URBAN FILMS S.L. Horacio Urban +34 914 479 543 [email protected] Film Market Herman, Lykov, Shorokh, and Grekh are the best of friends. Having each done their service in the army, they now serve as operatives in OMON, the Russian special police force. By night, they patrol the crime-ridden streets, looking for whatever excitement is to be had. When a simple misunderstanding with the local mafia escalates into a bigger conflict, the friends prepare for war. To exacerbate matters, Herman has fallen in love with the mob boss’s girl, Aglaya. He dreams of running away with her and starting a better life — but fears what would no doubt mean drastic consequences for his companions. 325 Break Loose 85’ Alexey UCHITEL, Russia 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 153 950 464 [email protected] Film Market Roshan is a teacher in a kindergarten. She intends to save the life of one of her student’s fathers, who is accused of unintentional homicide. There were seven witnesses, who saw the incident, but no one intends to tell the whole truth because of the power and the influence of the slain’s family. If the witnesses don’t tell the truth, the accused will be facing retaliation and the death penalty under the law of Ghesas… 301 Bright Day 86’ Hossein SHAHABI, Iran 2013 World Sales Company Iranian Indedependents Mohammad Atebbai +98 912 3198 693 [email protected] Film Market 73 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 314 Carmina or Blow up 72’ Paco LEÓN, Spain 2012 Film Market Carmina is a 58-year-old lady who runs a grocery store in Seville. After suffering several robberies and unable to get support from an insurance company, she invents a way to recover the money to keep her family going. While she waits for the outcome of her plan, she reflects on her life, work and miracles in the kitchen of her house. World Sales Company Cinema Republic David Castellanos +34 91 859 39 94 [email protected] Official Selection 295 A Castle in Italy 104’ Valeria BRUNI-TEDESCHI, France 2013 Louise meets Nathan. She is able to dream again. This is also the story of her ailing brother, their mother, and the destiny of a wealthy Italian industrialist family. The story of a family that is disintegrating, an era that is ending, and a love that is beginning. World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 53 10 33 99 [email protected] Official Selection 203 Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari 106’ Alexey FEDORCHENKO, Russia 2012 World Sales Company Antipode Sales Elena Podolskaya +7 916 604 5884 [email protected] The Mari are a Russian ethnic group of Finnish-Hungarian origin, who live on the shores of the Volga in western Russia and continue to keep alive the pagan customs of their ancestors. The film is made up of twenty-nine vignettes focusing on the sex life of a group of Mari women and recreating a distinctive world of magical realism, in which female fertility, beauty and happiness are the driving forces, and where a woman’s life is prescribed folkloric beliefs – from the smell that will confirm that her husband is being unfaithful, to the phallic-shaped mushroom that will help her choose the ideal husband. Official Selection 300 Chaika 95’ Miguel ANGEL JIMENEZ, Spain 2012 World Sales Company Media Luna New Films Alessandro Lombardo +34 685 459 712 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 74 Chaika is a love story between a prostitute and a loser sailor, taking place between two seasons: the eternal winter of Siberia and the summer in the dusty steppes of Kazakhstan. Young Tursyn comes back home to face what remains of his family: an old nomad about to die and a shipwrecked father. Both of them will bring back the vague memories that Tursyn has of his mother. Chaika is the adventure of joining those memories that life left scattered in the most hidden paramo, almost at the ends of the world. Film Market Zoé tries to escape herself. She travels north through bleak landscapes until she gets on a ferryboat where a mysterious woman suddenly disappears. In the winter coat of a stranger, Zoé reaches the other side of the Channel. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 129 Cherry Pie 85’ Lorenz MERZ, Switzerland 2013 World Sales Company Film Republic Xavier Henry-Rashid +44 783 599 9112 [email protected] Film Market In the midst of a mysterious, devastating epidemic, Eusebio – a forensic cleaner who sterilizes the apartments of the dead – discovers an eight-year-old boy hiding in an uninhabited house. A grizzled loner all his life, Eusebio suddenly finds that he must care for this young boy as civilization crumbles around them in this quietly compelling dystopian drama. 130 The Cleaner 95’ Adrian SABA, Peru 2012 World Sales Company Film Republic Xavier Henry-Rashid +44 783 599 9112 [email protected] Film Market Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s the day to day living that wears you out This is the every-day story of two women taking care of their sick man. 193 Coming Forth by Day 96’ Hala LOTFY, Egypt 2012 Production Company Hassala Films Hala Lotfy +20 122 741 8314 [email protected] Official Selection Widowed plumber Leo (Valerio Mastrandrea) is the one trying to make some sense of his life as he struggles to deal with distracting visions of his late wife and the growing pains of his teenage daughter. Meeting penniless artist Diana (Alba Rohrwacher) and her eccentric landlord Amanzio (Giuseppe Battiston) was definitely not part of his plan. This thoughtful, touching fable unfolds under the stern gaze of a statue of Garibaldi mounted on a horse. Garibaldi adds his own rueful reflections on modern Italy and the chaotic lives of the people who pass beneath him. 228 The Commander and the Stork 108’ Silvio SOLDINI, Italy 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 068 077 252 [email protected] Film Market 75 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 171 Concrete Night 96’ Pirjo HONKASALO, Finland- Sweden- Denmark 2013 Production Company Bufo Helena Mielonen +358 41 532 3394 [email protected] Official Selection 103 Condom Lead 14’ Arab NASSER, Tarazan NASSER, Palestine 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market 318 Dad, Lenin and Freddy 20’ Rinio DRAGASSAKI, Greece 2011 Film Market A dream-like odyssey through Helsinki over the course of one night. The protagonist of the film is a 14-year-old boy named Simo who is still searching for his own identity. Simo and his big brother Ilkka are the sons of a helpless and unpredictable single mother. Their chaotic home is located deep in the heart of a concrete jungle in Helsinki. Ilkka has one day of freedom left before starting his prison sentence. The mother persuades Simo to spend the last night with his brother. During the course of the day and night spent roaming around Helsinki, the brothers witness incidents they would rather not see. Vulnerable Simo is not equipped to handle what he sees or delude himself – he sees things exactly as they are. To him, the unfiltered world seems unbearable. Finally, a casual encounter with a photographer, whose intentions Simo misreads, launches him into blind fear. In the panic-stricken violence that ensues, Simo finds his missing identity, his true face. Just like any place in the world wracked by conflict, the people of the Gaza Strip experienced unbelievable tension, anxiety, and loss of hope. Sex was universally jettisoned by more pressing concerns, such as food, fuel, electricity, and the search – elusive though it may be – for physical and psychological safety, security, and equilibrium. This makes sense: during war, sex becomes a kind of no-fly zone; the sexual instinct is suppressed, and the conjugal bed is worn out with worry over when the next bomb will hit. Even if we manage to overcome the fear and make a mental break from the imminent dangers in our surroundings, the sheer exigency of the machines of war – the airplanes and tanks, the ambulances and missiles, the constant hum of their moving parts, the ground-shaking force of their explosions – will always win out over the most triumphant acts of human will. During the 80s, in Athens, a nine-year-old girl gradually loses touch with her workaholic communist father. She fantasizes that Vladimir Lenin wants to harm him. Things get worse when the American movie maniac, Freddy Krueger, joins forces with the Russian. Production Company Guanaco Rinio Dragassaki +30 6949 807 016 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 180 The Deflowering of Eva van End 98’ Michiel TEN HORN, The Netherlands 2012 World Sales Company M-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Film Market 76 Etty, her husband Evert and their children Erwin, Manuel and Eva are a perfectly normal family, who over the years developed a slightly dysfunctional way of relating to one another. Then, all of a sudden, the incarnation of perfection enters their lives, embodied by the German exchange student Veit. With his arrival, doubt, insecurity, fear and desire invade the Van End family. During the two weeks of Veit’s stay, all five family members start to reinvent themselves, as they feel increasingly alienated from themselves and from each other. But in the end, it’s not perfection they are looking for. Film Market Eladio, an aged man, lives alone in his dilapidated factory, making and distributing a drink with the label “Devil’s Liquor.” Straight from the past of Chilean history, the drink’s name comes from a time when the army’s 18-year-old soldiers were given a mixture of alcohol and gunpowder that would drive them crazy so that they’d be unstoppable in battle. Eladio is no longer 18, nor does he ever “lose” it. He just waits to die, having given up on his relationships with his family and people in general, who just “bother him”. The only thing he’s interested in is his factory, which he protects from a real estate company that’s claiming it. The arrival of his grandson, who decides to work for him, provides Eladio with a chance to save his job and maybe make human contact. Between past and future, old and new, The Devil’s Liquor paints with careful brushstrokes of respect the portrait of a man, who gives his own personal battle with his demons. Dor, a handsome IDF soldier, returns home for the weekend with a dark secret in his heart. While spending time with his family and friends, Dor finds himself doubting the values and ideas on which he was raised. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 169 The Devil’s Liquor 97’ Ignacio RODRIGUEZ, Chile 2012 World Sales Company Huachaca filmes Tomás Arriagada +56 988 090 020 [email protected] Official Selection 280 Dor 27’ Ofir Raul GRAIZER, Israel 2009 Production Company Sapir College Oriana Ben Aba +972 77 980 2787 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films Symeon is a young man whose nighttime dreams come true the very next day. Things get complicated when he dreams of Chloe, whom he is in love with, dying. Afraid of losing Chloe, he tries to prevent his dreams coming true but he only makes her hate him, since she cannot understand what’s wrong. In the end, Chloe doesn’t die but Symeon loses his love because Chloe moves to another country with her family. 157 Dreamer 61’ Andi RAFMANI, Greece 2012 Production Company Andi Rafmani +30 6979 861 876 [email protected] Film Market They come from all over Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Moldavia... The eldest ones appear no older than 25; as for the youngest, there is no way of telling their age. They spend all their time hanging around the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. They might be prostitutes. Daniel, a discreet man in his early fifties, has his eye on one of them – Marek. Gathering his courage, he speaks to him. The young man agrees to come and visit Daniel the following day at his place... 297 Eastern Boys 128’ Robin CAMPILLO, France 2013 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 53 10 33 99 [email protected] Official Selection 77 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 263 Eden 101’ Masaharu TAKE, Japan 2012 World Sales Company Alpha Violet Keiko Funato +33 1 4797 3984 [email protected] Film Market Miro is a choreographer and madam in a Tokyo gay host bar, Eden. Early one morning he brings home a friend who’s had too much to drink and is crying over her most recent break-up. Noripee is a woman on the inside, but she was born in a man’s body. When she dies, Miro and the Eden dancers reflect on the rejection they constantly face from society and their families. They decide to bring Noripee’s body back to her family, who disowned their son after his transformation. Film Market 102 Emigrants 75’ Justinas KRISIUNAS, Lithuania 2013 Production Company Justinas Krisiunas Vaida Kanopaite +37 061 515 141 [email protected] A feature film, Emigrants is like a protest against what is going on in Lithuania nowadays. A problem of emigration involves every family. In the movie, a heartbreaking family’s tragedy is revealed through irony and humor. A young Monica is planning her designer career in Lithuania. Her boyfriend Linas helps Monica’s dreams come true. Due to financial difficulties, Monica’s family has to move to London. This has a negative effect on Monica and Linas’s destinies... Film Market 232 Emilia’s Friends 90’ Ludmil TODOROV, Bulgaria 1997 Production Company Gala Film ltd. Galina Toneva +35 92 981 4209 [email protected] The film consists of seven short stories, each of which deals with a paradoxical human behavior. Sometimes, man acts in a generous way, only to be able to steal. Sometimes, to be in love means not to want to see the object of your love. Sometimes, being regal means mending old socks. Sometimes, you can tell lies with tears in your eyes. Sometimes, the stronger the desperation is, the stronger the love among the people is. The film focuses on the human soul, on human characters that are unpredictable, true to life and typically Bulgarian. Thus, with no direct mention of the changes in the country, the film makes an attempt at outlining the spiritual parameters of the new times. Official Selection 162 The Emperor 40’ Konrad LECKI, Poland 2013 Production Company Lidia Sadowska +48 793 525 141 [email protected] Film Market 78 The film is set in the period of ancient Rome. A group of aristocrats carry out a coup by which Emperor Nero is overthrown. The protagonist is a General Marcus Otho, who we meet at a crucial moment in his life. After years in exile, Germania gets his chance for a change of fate. He will have a short time to take a number of difficult decisions that permanently affect his future. Film Market Α violent dilemma. In Athens 2012, Kostas, a progressive ideologist, lives a regular life with his wife and their teenage daughter and son, until his home is ransacked by a hooded gang. The experience of extreme violence shatters the family’s peace, bringing his father’s hunting rifle violently into their lives. The story of a morally demolished man who used to be the pillar of his family and of his struggle to get life back to normal. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 120 The Enemy Within 107’ Yorgos TSEMBEROPOULOS, Greece 2013 Production Company Blackbird production Eleni Kossyfidou +30 6946 127 354 [email protected] Film Market Antonis arrives at a hotel in a seaside resort. It is winter time the hotel is closed and Antonis drifts around alone. He has a lot of time to kill. Until the TV announces the disappearance of the famous anchorman Antonis Paraskevas… 270 The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas 88’ Elina PSYKOU, Greece 2013 World Sales Company M-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Official Selection Paulo Virzì’s delightful romantic comedy has been a box-office hit in Italy and helped to establish Luca Marinelli as one of the country’s rising stars. Marinelli plays Guido, a shy, unassuming intellectual who works as a night porter in Rome. He is besotted with Antonia, a restless, unpredictable young woman who dreams of becoming a singer and works for a car rental company. Jobs and lifestyles mean they only see each other early in the morning as Guido returns from work and prepares breakfast. They are a perfectly happy couple until they decide that the one thing that would make their lives complete is a baby. A tender, touching comedy unfolds, made all the more appealing by its fairytale feel and talented cast. The story of a grim and authoritarian father living with three teenage daughters in an old flour farm in the state of Maranhão, far from the town. The family lives without a mother, who has allegedly disappeared, and deals with the strict orders of a strange taskmaster, who observes them while preying on the innocence of the girls, who are divided between the illusion of childhood and the cruel reality of their lives. While the family unity crumbles bit by bit, the fragile characters stand on the dividing line between reason and madness, chaos and faith. 229 Every Blessed Day 102’ Paolo VIRZI, Italia 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 068 077 252 [email protected] Film Market 204 The Exercise of Chaos 71’ Frederico MACHADO, Brasil 2013 Production Company Lume Filmes Mauricio Escobar +55 98 3235 4860 [email protected] Official Selection 79 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 326 The Film to Come 83’ René FERET, France 2013 Film Market Louis, 50 years old, is trying hard to break through to become a comedian. His brother Pierre, a film director, offers him the opportunity of playing the leading role in a comedy he plans to shoot. Family issues will soon emerge and prevent them from making it. It eventually gives birth to a totally different film – new and unexpected. World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 123 The Final Payoff 126’ Alexander LEONTARITIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Desmida Visual Creations Alexander Leontaritis +30 210 639 2074 [email protected] An ex-boxer, Greg, works for Markos, a powerful Athenian loan shark. He and his partner are assigned the difficult task of collecting back money and interest from borrowers. They both come across everyday people that have been affected by the financial crisis and they’ve taken out loans which they have to payoff by deadlines. Greg starts having moral concerns when things go bad and he has to choose between his job and starting a new life with an ambitious actress he falls for. But a well kept secret from his past will quickly make him reconsider his life and force him to clash with everyone and everything to make the final payoff. Film Market 142 Fine, Thanks 134’ Mátyás PRIKLER, Slovakia 2013 Production Company Mphilms Mátyás Prikler +421 944 201 190 [email protected] Three main stories, and an epilogue. The stories take place during the current financial crisis that affects the intimate lives of the characters and reveals a harsh picture of their twisted relations. The applied narrative method, which is based on observation and borders on documentary filmmaking, is also the key approach in portraying a world that is losing morals but has not yet lost all hope. Film Market 338 Fireworks 21’ Giacomo ABBRUZZESE, France-Italy 2011 World Sales Company La Luna Productions ANTHONY TRIHAN +33 320 283 864 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 80 For fifty years, Taranto has been home to Europe’s largest steel industry, an immense and hideous complex that occupies every economical, visual and imaginary horizon, making it the most polluted city in Western Europe. On New Year’s Eve, as the fireworks explode, an international group of ecologists decides to blow the entire factory up. Film Market A number of students have traveled to the Caspian region in order to participate in a kite-flying event during the Winter solstice. Next to their camp is a small hut occupied by three cooks who work at a nearby restaurant. The cooks are looking for some meat to cook and there’s no one around other than the young students. The film is based on a true story about a restaurant that served ground human flesh for food and is shot in a single take. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 199 Fish & Cat 134’ Shahram MOKRI, Iran 2013 World Sales Company Iranian Independents Mohammad Atebbai +98 912 319 8693 [email protected] Film Market It’s a story which befalls a woman, through a question she’s asked: “Are you pregnant?” She doesn’t know, and on the spur of the moment she leaves it hanging. However that doesn’t bode well for her boyfriend, who was planning on leaving her: he winds up believing it. Try as he will to tell he doesn’t want a child, she does nothing to terminate... because in fact she’s not pregnant. The only thing is, she can’t bring herself to tell him. She leaves things be, only to further stave off the dreaded moment of breaking that spell which draws him to her, comforts her very ill father and delights her entourage. Day by day, the fiction takes hold and nothing can seem to stop it. 283 A Foreign Body 115’ Claire SIMON, France-Canada 1997 World Sales Company France Télévisions Distribution +33 1 5622 9000 +33 1 5622 9084 www.francetv.com Official Selection Forgive Me is the heartbreaking story of a grown man with severe mental retardation, around whom his family’s life is molded. Selim’s disabilities arise from his severe mental retardation: his perception is slow, and though he recognizes family members and is filled with love for them, he cannot express himself in any way. He has to live his entire life dependent on his caretaker – something everyone except him knows. Here lies Neriman’s biggest fear in life: she cannot help but worry about what would become of Selim if anything were to happen to them. This is their reason for having a second child. 215 Forgive Me 85’ Cemil AGACIKOGLU, Turkey 2013 Production Company Yol Film Production Basak Kirac +90 533 212 3789 [email protected] Film Market Vincentas is the best employee at the emergency services station, whose passion is gambling in different games. Whenever he faces difficulties, the medic is forced to make radical decisions to repay his debts. An idea strikes Vincentas to create an illegal game related to his profession. Financial matters keep on improving, but Vincentas is going to make a fateful choice. Love, life and death will be at stake. 324 The Gambler 109’ Ignas JONYNAS, Lithuania-Latvia 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 81 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 284 Gare Du Nord 119’ Claire SIMON, France 2013 World Sales Company Doc and Film International Daniela Elstner +33 1 4277 8969 [email protected] Film Market Paris, the Gare du Nord, where anything can come along – even trains. We’d like to stay but we have to hurry on... Like the thousands of people whose lives intersect at the station, Ismaël, Mathilde, Sacha and Joan are going to meet there. Every day, Ismaël is dazzled, fascinated and exhausted by the place. He sees Mathilde for the first time on a suburban train platform. They gradually fall in love. They meet Sacha and Joan. Sacha is looking for his missing daughter while Joan spends her life in the station between Lille, London and Paris. The station is a world apart, frequented by everyone: the French, immigrants, emigrants, travellers, and ghosts. It’s an intersection where each life passes quickly and vanishes. Official Selection 281 God’s Offices 117’ Claire SIMON, France-Belgium 2008 World Sales Company Films Boutique, Germany Valeska Neu +49 30 6953 7850 [email protected] Official Selection 269 The Golden Cage 102’ Diego QUEMADA-DÍEZ, Mexico 2013 Djamila would like to be on the pill because her relationship with her boyfriend has become serious; Zoé’s mother gives her condoms but calls her a whore; Nejma hides her pills outside because her mother searches her bag; Hélène finds herself too fertile; Clémence is scared; Adeline wishes she could have kept it, and so does Margot. Maria Angela would like to know who she’s pregnant by, while Ana Maria has opted for love and freedom. Anne, Denise, Marta, Yasmine, and Milena are the councilors listening to each of these women who wonder whether “sexual freedom” actually exists. In God’s Offices, you laugh and cry and feel swamped. You dance there, you have a cigarette on the veranda, and you come anonymously to tell the commonplace or unbelievable story of your life. Juan, Sara and Samuel, three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala, travel to the US in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico, they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains, walking along railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality. World Sales Company Films Boutique, Germany Valeska Neu +49 30 6953 7850 [email protected] Official Selection 182 Goldfish 94’ Thanos TSAVLIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Thanos Tsavlis +30 6945 955 854 [email protected] Official Selection 82 Post-bankruptcy Greece: A man hides from his dark past. A girl in search of true love. Τwo down-on-their-luck brothers try to save their father’s business. They will cross paths with unpredictable developments. Bounty hunters, drachmas, noodles, assassins, roses and goldfish. Film Market Sylvain and Pierre have been running from the law ever since a custody battle with their mother pushed their father Yves into hiding ten years ago. But now that they’re older, the two brothers are roadweary and eager to take advantage of the perks of young adulthood. When the authorities discover their whereabouts, they are forced to move yet again and Pierre, the elder, disappears. Alone with his father on an island in the Loire River, Sylvain meets Gilda: his first girl, his first crush, and the first stop on his way to “the good life” – his own. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 238 The Good Life 93’ Jean DENIZOT, France 2013 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Official Selection Leigh’s 29th birthday party takes a sudden turn when she announces to her friends that the evening may be the last time her friends see her alive. A night of questions, coping and debauchery immediately follow. 207 Good Night 85’ Sean H. A. Gallagher, USA 2013 Production Company Fastbel Movie Company Sean H. A. Gallagher +1 512 662 2295 [email protected] Official Selection Good Friday. After many years, Christos sees his childhood friend Maria again and falls in love with her. Holy Saturday. Christos wants Maria. Between them: his best friend Vassilis, a robbery at their store, Aunt Vana’s bicycle, his brother-in-law’s club, the economic crisis in Greece and a piece of land turned into a strip joint. What happens on Easter Sunday is beyond imagination. 265 A Gospel According to Life 76’ Aris KAPLANIDIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Aris Kaplanidis +30 6975 711 612 [email protected] Film Market Gary is young, agile, and a quick study. He is one of those people to whom life promised nothing. From odd job to odd job, he finally finds himself employed in a nuclear power plant. There, near the reactors where the radioactive doses are the highest, he at last finds what he’s been looking for: money, a team, a family. But the team is also Karole, a married woman, with whom he falls in love. Forbidden love and exposure to radiation slowly contaminate Gary. Each day becomes a threat. 271 Grand Central 94’ Rebecca ZLOTOWSKI, France-Austria 2013 World Sales Company Elle Driver Adeline Fontan Tessaur +33 1 5643 4870 [email protected] Official Selection 83 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 268 Gravehopping 99’ Jan CVITKOVIČ, Slovenia 2005 World Sales Company Cinemania Group Goga Minja +386 1 524 4563 [email protected] Film Market A film about people from a small town in the Slovenian Karst region, it focuses on the basic force of the human existence: fear. Out of the fear of death stems the desire for security, warmth and love. Pero, the film’s protagonist, is an intelligent man in his mid-thirties. He uses his considerable talent as a writer for writing funeral speeches. These are not mere eulogies for the deceased, since Pero consciously or unconsciously entwines his own perception of the course of events and his life philosophy into them. He lives in his family home with his sisters, Vilma and Ida, his father, and his nephew Johnny. Pero’s neighbour, Shooki, Johnny’s father Dzeger, and Renata – the love of Pero’s life – also frequently cross his path... Official Selection 322 The Guide 94’ Zacharias MAVROEIDIS, Greece 2011 Production Company WESAW productions Zacharias Mavroeidis +30 210 346 0175 [email protected] Iasonas arrives in Athens το start his new ambitious career as an“architects’ guide”. His group consists of international students of architecture finishing their Erasmus program in Thessaloniki. Soon, Iasonas faces the contradicting wishes of the students who prefer a day-long coffee or a visit to a graveyard than a guided tour of the Acropolis. Meanwhile, he meets back with his once (more than just a) best friend Mirsini. Trapped between a friend who progressively sees him less and less as a friend and a group that sees him less and less as a guide, Iasonas will have to give an answer to all his personal questions regarding his sexuality and his career. Crossroads Previous Films 205 Hank and Asha 73’ James E. Duff, USA 2013 World Sales Company Recreation Media Juraj Barabas, Ariel Veneziano +1 310 305 1285 [email protected] In this charming romantic comedy, an Indian woman studying in Prague and a lonely New Yorker begin an unconventional correspondence through video letters - two strangers searching for human connection in a hyper-connected world. When their relationship intensifies, they must decide whether or not to meet face to face. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, Hank and Asha is a film about identity, longing, and the irresistible appeal of entertaining life’s what-ifs. Official Selection 144 The Happets in the Rainbow Forrest 75’ Álex COLLS, Spain-Brazil 2013 World Sales Company LATIDO FILMS Juan Torres +34 915 488 877 [email protected] Film Market 84 In this new and exciting adventure, The Happets travel to help the Rainbow regain its colors. The Earth’s pollution is causing it to fade and disappear... but The Happets won’t allow that to happen! Film Market Α film about a helpless man who is reunited with a childhood friend who helps him, creating a bond that goes beyond friendship. Martin seeks an odd job at Eugenio’s house. When Eugenio recognizes Martin as a childhood friend, and realizes his current situation, he decides to give him work for the summer. A game of power and desire begins and a strange relationship starts to grow, but it cannot flourish, mostly because of the social differences that have grown between them. This barrier, typical of Jane Austen’s novels, is resignified in a contemporary story of social class. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 287 Hawaii 102’ Marco BERGER, Argentina 2013 World Sales Company Media Luna New Films Carolina Jessula +49 221 510 91 891 [email protected] Official Selection Hide Your Smiling Faces vividly depicts the young lives of two brothers as they abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death. The event ripples under the surface of their town, unsettling the brothers and their friends in a way that they can’t fully understand. Once familiar interactions begin to take on a macabre tone in light of the tragic accident, leading Eric, 14, and Tommy, 9, to retreat into their wild surroundings. As the two brothers vocally face the questions they have about mortality, they simultaneously hold their own silent debates within their minds that build into seemingly insurmountable moral peaks. Hide Your Smiling Faces is a true, headlong glimpse into the raw spirit of youth, as well as the calluses that one often develops as a result of an unfiltered past. After more than a year in prison, Meir gets his first home leave. Three days on the outside. He hasn`t seen Ido, his son, since he was sent to prison. This time, however, he must see him. For one last time. 108 Hide Your Smiling Faces 81’ Daniel Patrick CARBONE, USA 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Official Selection 310 The Home Leave 29’ Amikam KOVNER, Israel 2008 Production Company Amikam Kovner +972 506 878 519 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films Τhe story of Irene, a 30-year-old woman who helps suffering people: terminal patients who want to make shorter the struggle with death; people whose illness has led to a loss of dignity. One day, a 70-yearold man in good health, who simply feels he has lived long enough, asks for her help. The meeting will put Irene’s convictions to the test and will provoke a forceful debate between the two of them. Their relationship gradually becomes full of implications and emotional ambiguities. 275 Honey 96’ Valeria GOLINO, Italy-France 2013 World Sales Company Cité Films, France +33 1 82 645 298 [email protected] Official Selection 85 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 141 Honeymoon 100’ Jan HREBEJK, Czech Republic-Slovak Republic 2013 World Sales Company Latido Films Oscar Alonso +34 915 488 877 [email protected] Film Market Honeymoon takes place over three days, during Radim and Tereza‘s wedding party. Secrets from Teresa’s past return to her life during her own wedding. The past suddenly breaks into the present in the shape of an optician from a neighboring town who surreptitiously mixes with the guests at the wedding ceremony. Tereza believes that he is an acquaintance of Radim – but Radim denies it. The uninvited guest introduces himself as Jan Benda and reminds Radim that they are acquainted from their secondary school days, revealing part of a tormenting past which will transform the party into a nightmare. Official Selection 241 The Hour of the Lynx 92’ Søren KRAGH-JACOBSEN, Denmark-Sweden 2013 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Forty-five-year-old priest Helen is approached by scientist Lisbeth with a desperate plea for help. A young man, who has been sent to a high security psychiatric ward after having killed an old couple, has attempted suicide while rambling on about God. Having been part of an experiment attempting to humanize inmates by assigning them pets, the young man has suddenly gone ballistic. Fearing that he will attempt suicide again, priest and scientist must now confront their mutual animosities while trying to grasp the truth. In a race against time, the two women begin a shocking journey deeper and deeper into the sick mind of a young man’s soul. What they are about to realize will change them forever. Official Selection 252 How the War Started on My Island 97’ Vinko BREŠAN, Croatia 1995 World Sales Company Mario Oreskovic Croatian radiotelevision (HRT) +385 1 634 4058 [email protected] A huge commercial success in its native Croatia, How the War Started on My Island is an affectionate comedy in the mode of Milos Forman’s The Fireman’s Ball. The film is set in 1991. Croatia has just conducted parliamentary elections and has decided to break away from Yugoslavia to form an independent state. Confusion reigns. Federal Yugoslav institutions scramble to deal with what this all means. On a small island in the Adriatic, a federal garrison of the military finds itself surrounded by local Croatians urging them to surrender. The garrison commander, Major Aleksa, refuses to take orders from anyone except Belgrade, but no orders come. Then, the elderly father of one of the conscripts in the camp arrives to take his boy away... Official Selection 223 The Human Factor 83’ Bruno OLIVIERO, Italia 2013 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market 86 After the death of his wife, inspector Monaco seems uninterested and tired of his work. Refusing to return to active investigating, he spends his days behind a desk at the office, checking documents, photographs, looking for evidence - anything to avoid human contact. One night, the murder of a rich entrepreneur Mr Ullrich, forces him back onto the streets. He finds himself facing his own daughter Linda, arrested for possessing a gun and suspected of being involved in the case. As a policeman and as a father, he decides to take part in the investigation along with Levi, his colleague and friend. It will be a long night of revelations and discoveries. Film Market This story of an unexpected encounter between a young boy and a wounded foreigner somewhere in the Romanian wilderness is a parable about the freedom of man in modern society. The film was made with non-professional actors, a minimal crew and no accompanying music. The plot is subdued, while emphasis is placed on the endeavor to probe the minds of the individual characters and to create a true sense of atmosphere. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 253 Hungry Man 70’ Philip MARTIN, France 2013 World Sales Company Eaux Vives Productions Xénia Maingot +33 1 7473 4472 [email protected] Official Selection Christos is coming home after three years. His mother is delighted but not his father and brother. His father, Dimitris, wants to know why he has come back to visit them after all these years. Christos does not answer clearly and his painful past with his family leads him to deal with them once for all. 181 Hyssopus 99’ Ioannis THOMAIDIS, Greece 2012 Production Company Ioannis Thomaidis +30 6932 392 346 [email protected] Film Market I Am Yours is a portrait of Mina, a young single mother living in Oslo with her 6-year-old son Felix. She is Norwegian-Pakistani and has a troubled relationship with her family. Mina is constantly looking for love and has relationships with different men, however none of the relationships last very long. Then Mina meets Jesper, a Swedish film director and they fall head over heels in love. Mina takes Felix with her to Stockholm to live with Jesper, but Jesper is not ready for a family life. Mina fights hard for their love, but finally she has to find out what love is on her own. 195 I Am Yours 98’ Iram HAQ, Norway 2013 World Sales Company Premium Films Kasia Karwan +33 1 4277 0639 [email protected] Film Market After meeting each other in a bike parking lot, Christina and Dolores fell in love with each other in the streets of Amsterdam, when suddenly the unexpected question appears: How long does a passion last and how far can it take us? 121 I Still Love You 5’ Henrique FARIA, Brazil 2012 World Sales Company Moro Filmes Diana Moro +55 413 013 4163 [email protected] Film Market 87 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 137 I Used to Be Darker 90’ Matt PORTERFIELD. USA 2013 World Sales Company New Europe Film Sales Jan Naszewski +48 600 173 205 [email protected] Film Market When Taryn, a Northern Irish runaway, finds herself in trouble in Ocean City, she seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore. But Kim and Bill have problems of their own: they’re trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter Abby, just home from her first year of college. A story of family revelations, people finding each other and letting each other go, looking for love where they’ve found it before and, when that doesn’t work, figuring out where they might find it next. Official Selection 276 Ida 80’ Pawel PAWLIKOWSKI, Poland-Denmark 2013 World Sales Company Porto Bello Pictures +44 20 7605 1396 [email protected] Official Selection 143 Ignasi M. 85’ Ventura PONS, Spain 2013 World Sales Company LATIDO Juan Torres +34 915 488 877 [email protected] Poland 1962. Anna is a beautiful eighteen-year-old woman. She is preparing to become a nun at the convent where she has lived since orphaned as a child, when she learns she has a living relative: her mother’s sister Wanda. Together, the two women embark on a voyage of discovery of each other and their past. Her aunt, she learns, is not only a former hard-line Communist state prosecutor notorious for sentencing priests and others to death, but also a Jew. Anna learns that she too is Jewish – and that her real name is Ida. This revelation sets Anna, now Ida, on a journey to discover her roots and confront the truth about her family. Ida has to choose between her birth identity and the religion that saved her from the massacres of the Nazi occupation of Poland, while Wanda must confront decisions she made during the War when she chose loyalty to the cause before family. Spanish director Ventura Pons returns to documentary filmmaking with this study of world-renowned museum expert Ignasi Millet. HIV-positive yet promiscuous, accustomed to opulence yet now struggling to endure Spain’s economic crisis, Ignasi is a fascinating set of contradictions — and Pons’ film is a portrait of both the man and his times Film Market 166 Illusion 96’ Savvas KARIDAS, Greece 2013 World Sales Company Greek Film Center Michalis Pannagiotopoulos +30 6944 933 280 [email protected] Film Market 88 “Illusion” is the name of a strip-joint in Athens. Around it unfolds a story of love, escape and deception. In the film, no one is utterly innocent, no one is absolutely free. Everyone is trapped in their own fallacies; the lies and misconceptions that promise them everything and blind them. Sotiris, a young financial reporter, sees everything around him falling into stagnation, but he thinks that he can change the rules of the game with the right throw of the dice. Manos, his older colleague, teaches him lessons in cynicism and competitiveness. Olga, a Russian dancer, a stranger in a dried up town, sells fantasy and love. Mimis, her boss, a local mobster, is looking for ways to get his dirty money out of the country. Deep down, each one of them is alone, and the world around them seems as though it is dipped in ink-black darkness. Film Market Sisters Lale and Yasemin are vacationing on the Turkish Aegean, reacquainting themselves with each other after a long silence. What starts as a pleasant holiday soon turns into a vicious trial as a man appears. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 219 The Impeccables 95’ Ramin MATIN, Turkey 2013 World Sales Company Giyotin Films Emine Yildirim +90 532 646 1907 [email protected] Film Market David is sad because his girlfriend, Martina, just left him. David is in bed and doesn’t want to get up. David has to write, but he just can’t. David takes a shower, cooks some food and tries to write. David visits his psychoanalyst and tries to understand a dream he had. What happened with Martina? David goes out and tries to clear his head. David asks himself a lot of questions, but is not able to find many answers. David is almost 25 years old and is afraid of the dark. 159 In Here 66’ Mateo BENDESKY, Argentina 2013 Production Company Sandwich Club Mateo Bendesky +54 11 4801 3606 [email protected] Official Selection In every moment we make choices that define our being; choices that create shapes and patterns and carve out our lives. Up until the pattern is broken – by faith, decision or coincidence. In Real Life is about such moments, where lives are drastically changed. As a multi plot drama, created out of 3 years of acting improvisations, In Real Life follows three story threads with characters woven together by internet dating and by their persistent search for some kind of meaning in life between love and sheer survival. 260 In Real Life 102’ Jonas ELMER, Denmark 2013 World Sales Company LevelK Tine Klint +45 4844 3072 [email protected] Official Selection Elisabeth is completely devoted to her faith, her two sons, and her work as a Catholic radio host where she evinces profound empathy for the sufferings of people around the world. After an unexpected family tragedy, Elisabeth summons an inveterate and unexpected strength that enables her to face her new situation in a way she never imagined. With intransigent determination she stands up against the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church whose obdurate silence introduces chaos into its flock. This new film from an original Belgian director, who seems to enjoy rousting viewers out of their comfortable cinema seats, is an absurd, genre-mixing thriller spiced with the blackest of humor. 227 In the Name of the Son 80’ Vincent LANNOO, Belgium 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 068 077 252 [email protected] Film Market 89 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 125 Include Women Out 87’ Vangelis SEITANIDIS, Greece 2013 Production Company More Wind Vangelis Seitanidis + 30 6972 236483 [email protected] Film Market A road movie. Two old schoolmates (a civil servant and a bankrupt businessman) go looking for their high school “beauty”. Allegedly, she has joined a convent somewhere in the south of Greece. What they discover makes them confront each other. For their lifelong friendship to survive, they must transcend a rift in Greek society dating back to the Civil War of 1947-49. Once that happens, a small miracle ensues. Film Market 173 India Blues 73’ George MARKAKIS, Germany 2013 World Sales Company Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting Patra Spanou +49 1520 1987294 [email protected] Film Market 236 Innocence 105’ Zeki DEMIRKUBUZ, Turkey 1997 Production Company MAVI FILM Basak Emre +90 312 466 3484 [email protected] Official Selection 294 It’s Αll So Quiet 93’ Nanouk LEOPOLD, The Netherlands 2013 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 53 10 33 99 [email protected] Official Selection 90 India Blues is an edgy, bold and passionate love story between two young men who are sometimes afraid to love each other. Through exploring their experiences and the trivial or important moments in their relationship in real time (their first kiss, their first sexual encounter, their awkward silences, their last hug), we are submerged in their universe of love and the feelings that come with it. Like Jean-Luc Godard once said, “a film should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But not necessarily in that order.” In taking full advantage of that challenge lies the unique element of India Blues: the feelings the characters experience are not presented to us in sequence, but in the “wrong” order – Pain, Lust, Happiness, Jealousy, Attraction, Peacefulness, Love and Anger, function as eight segments/chapters in the coming together and the tearing apart of two very different people. Yusuf has just been released from prison, after serving a ten-year sentence. Having nowhere else to go, he decides to go to his sister’s house in Izmir. Once there, he checks into a cheap hotel, where he meets Ugur, a night club singer, and Bekir, her pimp and lover. Ugur is raising a small child, and we also learn that she is keeping a secret concerning someone in prison. Yusuf soon becomes entangled in a romantic triangle. When Bekir dies, Yusuf takes his place, looking after Ugur and her child. One day, Ugur disappears, and Yusuf starts searching for her, going from one town to the next, along with the child. Innocence is about people under pressure, who are driven to destruction in their effort to defend their principles, their beliefs, and their human values. Helmer, a single farmer in his fifties, lives with his aged, bedridden father in the Dutch countryside. His working days are marked by the visits of milk collector Johan, a man of his own age for whom Helmer holds a secret fascination. One day Helmer decides to renovate the house, buying himself a new double bed and moving his father upstairs. His life gains even more momentum, when adolescent farmhand Henk comes to help him out at work in the farm. Film Market After twenty years, an old man, widowed by the recent floods, and his son, who has been living in Japan, see each other again for the first time. Their expectations run high and during this brief reencounter, both try to overcome the distance that has grown between them. When his son and his family have to part, they leave him a Japanese Robodog as a souvenir of their visit that will change his life forever. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 176 The Japanese Dog 85’ Tudor Cristian JURGIU, Romania 2013 World Sales Company m-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Official Selection Jin is something of a Little Red Riding Hood, a teenaged girl aiming to cling to life and discover the world while stuck in the turmoil and conflict between two nations. She flees an armed organization in the mountains for an unknown reason. She spends solitary days in the mountains and forests hiding both from organization members and from security forces. Her aim is to get to the big city, to achieve her dreams of new and wider worlds unknown to her until now. Armed with a small but robust body and a fresh but powerful sense of resolve, she manages to create a space for herself in the dark and forbidding wilderness. But for Jin, the plains are more dangerous than the mountains, more threatening and more hurtful. She returns, deeply disillusioned, to her solitary existence in the mountains and reaches out mournfully to the natural world. After 15 years in prison, Jo returns to his former neighborhood Menilmontant, a collection of high rise estates on the gritty outskirts of Paris. What used to be his patch, has completely changed; new gangs and new codes now rule this place. Jo finds it difficult to settle back into life on the outside, especially when he discovers that the woman he used to love is the mother of a 14-year-old boy. Ultimately, Jo must come to terms with his shady past and the endless settling of scores. 212 Jin 122’ Reha ERDEM, Turkey 2012 Production Company Atlantik Film Claudine Avetyan +90 212 278 3611 [email protected] Official Selection 114 Jo’s Neighborhood 92’ Alain MINIER, France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market Joshua Tree, 1951 is a fearless, intimate portrait of James Dean on the cusp of becoming both a great actor and an outsider icon. Set in the early 1950s and focusing on Dean’s experiences as a rising star in Los Angeles, the film’s surreal and dreamlike vignettes blend biographical and fictionalized elements to present pivotal moments in his short yet remarkable life. 131 Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait Οf James Dean 93’ Matthew MISHORY, USA 2012 World Sales Company Film Republic Xavier Henry-Rashid +44 783 599 9112 [email protected] Film Market 91 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 293 Joy and Sorrow of the Body 149’ Andreas PANTZIS, Cyprus-Greece 2013 Production Company Famagusta Film Factory Ltd (Cyprus) and Curium Films (Greece) Andreas Pantzis +357 99 652 616 [email protected] Film Market Evagoras was sentenced to five years in prison because he was making counterfeit banknotes in collaboration with his Bulgarian friend Milen. He gets out of prison and travels to Varna, Bulgaria, to meet Milen. Socrates who lives in Varna, meets Evagoras and helps him. He introduces Evagoras to Dita, a beautiful and kind-hearted hooker. Evagoras falls in love with her but never touches her. In the meantime John, an Interpol officer, from Cyprus, in charge of the Evagoras-Milen case, arrives in Varna… Film Market 148 Jungle 83’ Alexander VOYTINSKY, Russia 2012 World Sales Company Latido Films Juan Torres +34 91 548 88 77 [email protected] Sergey and Marina’s relationship is going through a crisis. To try and improve things, they go on an exotic trip. Throughout the journey they argue with each other and end up on a desert island in the middle the ocean, inhabited by cannibals. Instead of fighting for survival, Serghey and Marina continue their showdown that turns into open fighting. Film Market 191 The Kampala Story 62’ Kasper BISGAARD , Donald MUGISHA, Uganda 2012 Production Company Dix Film & Deddac Film Kasper Bisgaard +45 28 917 329 [email protected] Apio, a 14 year old Karamojong girl and her mother run their household on money wired through a mobile money service from her father who works at a security firm in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. When her father all of a sudden stops communicating with the family at a time when Apio’s mother is pregnant and might need a costly medical operation, she travels to Kampala to find him so they can SMS money back home. Official Selection 315 Khoja 107’ Vahid Mustafa YEV, Azerbaijan 2013 World Sales Company “ANS Independent Broadcast and Media” Company Natavan Museibova +994 50 252 9036 [email protected] Film Market 92 In this story of love during wartime that blends comedy, action, and romance, a young couple are getting married and are told to come back in a month’s time. Gunel (Nigar Bahadirqizi) is the daughter of a wealthy city man, and Aliakbar (Ilgar Musayev) is an army officer from a rural region. The couple promises to come back, unaware of the overwhelming forces moving toward them which will shatter their world and alter history. In February 1992, war rages throughout Azerbaijan, but the word on fighting has yet to arrive at the capital Baku, where life continues to follow its own slow pace. Gunel’s father is arranging a lavish wedding party for his daughter. While Aliakbar is making his way to his wedding, his countrymen are waiting for promised reinforcements which never come. Film Market G. Andrianopoulos uses his camera to seduce an 11-year-old boy, Manolis. The cameraman buys Manolis a toy gun and thus they become more familiar with each other. Manolis brings G. Andrianopoulos into his house and the camera starts introducing the man into the world of kids, the world of Manolis and his sister, Roxani. G. Andrianopoulos tapes the games of the siblings; later on, a friend of his asks Manolis about his worldview. Years later, Manolis and Roxani have become adults and take their revenge on G. Andrianopoulos, at his house, by giving him the end he deserves – according to their opinion. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 274 Kids in Da Tape 62’ Giorgos PAPAGAROUFALIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Giorgos Papagaroufalis +30 210 322 4190 [email protected] Film Market Armand Lacourtade, 43, an agricultural equipment salesman, is sick of life as a single gay man. After meeting Curly, a brash teenage girl, he goes straight. With all kinds of people on their tail, they defy every danger to be together in their forbidden love. But is this really what Armand dreamed of? 245 The King of Escape 97’ Alain GUIRAUDIE, France 2009 World Sales Company Les Films du Losange Marine Goulois + 33 1 4443 8724 [email protected] Official Selection Sixty-five-year-old Mrs. Mirković’s husband has just died. It happened after a two-year long, painful and exhausting illness. Her neighbor, 75year-old Mr. Kolak, has been waiting for this moment. He has been in love with her for a long time. He dresses up, shaves, fixes his hair and knocks on her door to express his sympathy. But he’s actually going courting. Overwhelmed by his emotions, Mr. Kolak pours out his feelings for Mrs. Mirković as if they were both teenagers. Suddenly there is lightning and thunder, and the spirit of her late husband Peter, whose body was just taken from the apartment less than an hour ago, appears on TV and attacks Mr. Kolak for trying to seduce his newly widowed wife. Mrs. Mirković begins to argue with her husband, telling him all the things she didn’t dare tell him while he was alive. The spirit disappears from the TV screen and the strange and comical situations that ensue clearly suggest that this is the beginning of a beautiful love story. Liso, an upper middle class young man, has just finished a stay at a psychiatric institute. He goes to live at his parent’s house where he is treated as if he were a child. He begins a relationship of mutual complicity with Sonia, the Bolivian maid, who takes care of him and protects him. Liso tries to recapture old loves, but he is unable to pull his life together. Everything seems to be broken. The only things that seem to keep him going is his relationship with Sonia and the time he spends with his grandmother. 235 Kolak Mirković 23’ Nikola IVANDA, Croatia 2013 Production Company SvemIR.hr Ivan Rajković +385 99 815 3651 [email protected] Official Selection 161 La Paz 73’ Santiago LOZA, Argentina 2013 World Sales Company FiGa Films Alex Garcia +1 323 309 4856 [email protected] Official Selection 93 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 211 The Lament 30’ Aydın KETENAG, Turkey 2012 Production Company Aydın Ketenağ +90 533 475 2923 [email protected] Film Market A son, a father, a lover... This film is about the struggle of four people trying to reconnect with life after the death of a young man, who had been fulfilling these three different roles for them, each of which is more important than the other. The Lament has no dialogue. This film can be thought of as an investigative work which explores the relationship between man and nature. Official Selection 291 Le Demantelement 111’ Sébastien PILOTE, Canada 2013 World Sales Company eOne Films International Natalie Kampelmacher +1 416 646 2400 [email protected] Gaby owns a farm on which he raises lambs: the Bouchard & Sons Farm. But he has no sons. Rather, he has two daughters that he raised like princesses and who live far away, in the big city. One day, the oldest asks him for financial support so that she doesn’t end up losing her house. Gaby, for whom fatherhood has evolved to a point where it has become unreasonable, decides to dismantle the farm. Official Selection 332 Le Developpeur 15’ Liana KASSIR, Renaud PACHOT, France 2009 Perhaps you were wondering what Japanese tourists might be doing in Paris? Production Company ESRA [email protected] +33 1 4425 2525 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 118 Left Over 82’ Yamini Lila KUMAR. France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 94 Two couples meet for dinner on July 9th, 2006, the very night of the Final Football World Cup when France is playing Italy. Their conversations wander from intimate subjects to deep political discussions. During six years, their political attitudes evolve along with their relationship to each other. From the Socialist Party primary election in 2007 to the 2012 presidential election, the political scientist, the historian, the journalist and the comedian are facing their point of views up to the most dramatic ends in a time when faith and belief are reassessed. Film Market An actress is about to play the part of Marianna Alcoforado, a young nun from the convent of Beja who was writing fiery letters to her French lover, the officer Chamilly. The actress, being the perfect embodiment of Marianna, will take us on a journey beyond time and imagination. Adapted from the book Letters of a Portuguese Nun by Mariana Alcoforado. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 106 Letters of a Portuguese Nun 85’ Bruno François BOUCHER, France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market Maciej Pieprzyca recounts the true story of a man who battles a disability to retain his dignity and contact with the ones he loves in this moving feature inspired by a cerebral palsy patient. The protagonist in Life Feels Good proves he can function intellectually and form healthy relationships despite his condition. Dawid Ogrodnik plays Mateusz, a boy who grows up surrounded with the love and care of his parents, who see past his disability. He is bright, funny and capable of strong emotional connections. When fate takes him from his family home and he becomes a patient at a special care facility, Mateusz needs to fight for dignity. When he meets a young female volunteer and a doctor willing to try some experimental treatments, everything changes. Deep in the forest a group of five friends wander around like a lion herd. Lost in their word games, they play and seduce each other while going back and forth into adulthood territory, in a desperate search to avoid their predetermined story. 224 Life Feels Good 107’ Maciej PIEPRZYCA, Poland 2013 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market 189 Lions 82’ Jazmin LOPEZ, Argentina-France-The Netherlands 2012 World Sales Company Premium Films Kasia Karwan +33 1 4277 0639 [email protected] Official Selection A young farmer named Sasha stands at the beginning of a new, happy life. The state is buying up land from small landowners. For Sasha, this is a chance to escape the potato farm he has grown tired of, and return to the city, taking along his beloved Anna, a clerk in the local land administration department. But once the deal is closed and the farm is doomed, the local villagers suddenly rise up in protest. They convince Sasha, the “boss,” to come to their aid and save the farm – the village’s only means of survival. Sasha is touched by the villagers’ eagerness to cast him in the role of a local leader and object of their love and hope. He tries his best to help the villagers. But when he puts the brakes on the transfer of the farm to the state, local officials view it as a symptom of schizophrenia, and his girlfriend takes it as his refusal to share a life in the city with her. Sasha finds himself caught up in a fight which is not his, entangled in a web of passion, pride, and irreversible actions. 133 A Long and Happy Life 77’ Boris KHLEBNIKOV, Russia 2013 World Sales Company Films Boutique Valeska Neu +49 30 6953 7850 [email protected] Official Selection 95 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 127 The Longest Distance 113’ Claudia Pinto EMPERADOR, Venezuela 2013 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market Two sides of the same country: a chaotic and violent city contrasting against a natural paradise where the oldest mountains on the planet can be found. Two main characters that find each other at a crucial moment. Two fearless journeys, one that begins as a childlike adventure and ends up on the other side of the country and a oneway journey, free and determined. The same destiny will inevitably bond a woman with her grandson. Without knowing it they are part of an unbreakable family circle that deeply unites them. Second opportunities will arise while individual freedom of choice will become imposing. Everything comes together to tell us: there is only one destiny, the one you choose for yourself. Film Market 151 Love Me 90’ Maryna ER GORBACH, Mehmet BAHADIR ER, TurkeyUkraine 2013 World Sales Company Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting Patra Spanou +49 1520 198 7294 [email protected] Cemal has agreed to an arranged marriage, when his uncle and cousin drag him to a sex holiday in Ukraine on the occasion of his bachelor party. The rather shy Cemal stumbles upon the beautiful Sascha - an independent and confident girl with an agenda of her own. Despite the language barrier, the chemistry between them is undeniable. In an adventurous night through the snowy streets of Kiev, they will experience affection, respect and love. Sprinkled with hilarious notes of cultural clashes and an endearing display of the kindness of strangers, this idiosyncratic “comedy drama” will warm hearts in the most unexpected way. If there would be a Kiev episode on Night on Earth this would be it! Film Market 266 Love Me or Leave Me 95’ Mariana ČENGEL SOLČANSKÁ, Slovak Republic 2013 Production Company JMB Film & TV Production Soňa Javorská +421 2 5920 4611 [email protected] Sixteen-year-old Mira falls in love with her stepfather. She seduces him by sexual provocation and uses him as the lightning rod of her frustrations – those of a child neglected by her mother. Zuza only sees the surface of things; she has pushed aside her difficult and non-conforming daughter and instead, focuses on her younger child from her second marriage. With her friends – two women similarly unloved as herself – she sets out on a trip to a remote house in the countryside. There, they will try to discover the meaning of their lives. Film Market 124 Loving 106’ Slawomir FABICKI, Poland 2012 Production Company Odeon Film Studio Marek Rudnicki + 48 22 380 40 50 [email protected] Film Market 96 Maria and Tomek are in their thirties and have been married ten years. They live in a small town. Both find professional fulfilment in their jobs – he in a design company, she at the town hall. They are working together on the decoration of their apartment and are expecting a baby. It seems that nothing is capable of disturbing their peaceful lives. But one day the mayor, who has long lusted after Maria, rapes her. She decides not to report this to the police. Nor does she tell her husband. From that day forth, their love is put to the test. Film Market During a stormy night, Ann is all alone in her villa. An intruder breaks in. Ann, in absolute terror, has to fight this mysterious creature, as well as to confront her husband and her own demented mind... 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 158 Lurk 87’ Vassilis KATSIKIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Vassilis Katsikis + 30 6979 110 143 [email protected] Film Market Jimmy is a wealthy high-school student, about 17 years old. Mary is a trainee lawyer in her 30s. Makis is a fifty-year-old family man and the owner of a mini-market. Three very different people. In the frame of their conventional life that pressures them, when everything seems so still and predictable, these three people find their own way out. 321 Luton 100’ Michalis KONSTANTATOS, Greece 2013 Production Company Horsefly Productions Yorgos Tsourgiannis +30 6932 415 705 [email protected] Film Market Marjoram is a psychological suspense drama about a mother-daughter relationship. Anna (11) strives to be the perfect daughter to please her mother, Mary. However, Anna suddenly starts behaving in strange ways, putting herself in danger and driving Mary to her limits. Why is a child who seems happy on the surface, acting so unpredictably? 184 Marjoram 88’ Olga MALEA, Greece 2013 Production Company Malea Productions Olga Malea +30 6944 301 715 [email protected] Film Market When the sugar mill is shut down, the village of Melaza is devastated, and soon seems completely lifeless. Monica and Aldo, a young married couple hidden among rusted machinery in a desolate sugar mill, struggle for survival in an attempt to save their world without losing their faith – even when the police impose a fine for inhabiting the mill without authorization. 188 Melaza 80’ Carlos LECHUGA, Cuba-France-Panama 2012 World Sales Company Habanero Film Sales Alfredo Calvino +55 22 9972 8481 [email protected] Official Selection 97 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 231 Midwinter Night’s Dream 95’ Goran PASKALJEVIC, Serbia and Montenegro 2004 World Sales Company Bavaria Film International, Germany +49 89 6499 2686 [email protected] Official Selection 249 Milk 102’ Semih KAPLANOGLU, Turkey 2008 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Film Market Serbia, Winter 2004. Lazar returns home after ten long years of absence. He is a different man today: having regained his liberty, he has decided to free himself from the heavy burden of his past and to start a new life in a country that also seems to want a better future. The apartment where he formerly lived is now occupied by Jasna, a single mother who is raising her autistic 12-year-old daughter Jovana. Refugees from Bosnia, they have been squatting in Lazar’s apartment for some time now. Jasna, whose husband never accepted their daughter’s autism and abandoned them, also wishes to turn the page on a difficult past. Since mother and daughter have nowhere else to go, Lazare doesn’t have the heart to make them leave. Little by little, among these three beings marginalized by society, a special kinship will develop… Young Yusuf, 18-years-old, is disconcerted when he learns that his mother Fatma, 40-years-old, is having a secret affair with the town’s railroad stationmaster. Should he behave in accordance with the traditional male-dominated culture and traditions of the town or should he develop a new perspective that goes along with the new modernization process that is on-going in the area? Official Selection 186 Miracle 78’ Juraj LEHOTSKY, Slovak Republic-Czech Republic 2013 World Sales Company Negativ Zuzana Bielikova +42 06 0814 1437 [email protected] Official Selection 313 Mirage 103’ Svetozar RISTOVSKI, FYROM 2004 World Sales Company EastWest Filmdistribution GmbH (Austria) Maja Zaric +43 1 524 9 310 [email protected] Official Selection 98 The girls are fourteen and fifteen years old and have already experienced more than most adults. Truancy, escapes from home, prostitution, drugs, life on the streets and misguided loves, even though they are still children. They have incomplete families and botched up lives. Re-education centers are full of them. Ela has a child’s face, but her body is very feminine despite her age. The first evening after her mother drives her to the re-education centre, she has to stand on an impromptu stage where she is subjected to a so-called public confession. We learn that she had a thirty-year-old boyfriend Roby, whom she met regularly and lived with when she ran away from home. Ela loves him, but she is not allowed to contact him. She decides to run away from the center during the New Year’s Eve disco. Inspired by Tarkovski’s Ivan’s Childhood, the film tells the story of a pupil who is led to violence and revenge when he is robbed of all hope for a better life. Living within a broken down social and family environment, twelve-year-old Marko pins all his hopes on a poetry competition that his teacher has suggested he participate in. But when that same teacher betrays him and things around him just keep getting worse, Marko will take his fate into his own hand and put into practice the lessons he was taught by a lone desperado. Film Market After an argument with her lover, a young woman recklessly gets into the parked car of a mysterious stranger. Their brief encounter will lead to mutual attraction, insight and fatal accomplishment, during a journey to the end of the night. Through a maze of colorful flashbacks, intricately related to the main character’s painful past, the destiny of the young woman is inevitably connected to that of an imaginary fish. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 168 Miruna 20’ Piotr SULKOWSKI, Poland 2013 World Sales Company The Polish National Film, Television and Theater School Andrzej Bednarek +48 661 589 805 [email protected] Film Market Set in the dunes near the North Sea, a small circus company is suffering from a serious lack of audiences for their shows, leading the most desperate ones of the troupe to call on magic and spells. Angele (Natacha Regnier), the diaphanous ballerina, her clown lover Elliot (Denis Lavant) and the circus ringmaster (Tcheky Karyo), full of cruelty and disturbed by fits of schizophrenia on the one hand, and Zohra (Béatrice Dalle) in love with Elliot, haunted by an uncanny conscience (Iggy pop), on the other. Secrets, jealousy, and envy will progressively take hold of them and trigger some irreversible acts. 110 Morning Star 100’ Sophie BLONDY, France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 12-year-old Raimonds does what he can to make his strict mother proud – he even plays the saxophone in the school band instead of riding his kickboard in a skate park. When he tries to cover up a bad note at school, a spiral of lies is started, which soon spins out of control. Thanks to his friend Peteris, whose mother is a cleaner, Raimonds gets hold of the keys to a fancy apartment and wants to spend the night there. Unfortunately, the owner comes back home with a girl, who not only robs him but also takes Raimonds’ saxophone. The boy has to venture into nighttime Riga to get the instrument back. When Peteris is accused of robbing the flat, Raimonds has to decide whether to save his friendship or to save face with his mother. An exciting story about the healing power of truth. Dipus is a man torn between his desire to love and his immense fear of loving. Seeking the origin of his fear and trying to find a way of loving, he digs deep into his memory and retraces, scene by scene, the story of his family, as he experienced or as he imagines it: They fall in love. In order to make their love last, they get married. In order to make their marriage last, they have a child, Dipus. But when Jo realizes that Dipus will eventually be gone one day, she convinces herself that without Dipus’ fresh blood, the family structure she created will collapse. So, in order to keep the three of them forever together, she decides to tell Laius that the boy suffers from a rare disease and if he ever opens his eyes, he will die. Dipus will meet Niovy. She is the one who forces him to open his eyes and see the truth. Dipus wants to love her, but is he ready to eliminate the sick way of loving that runs in his blood and make a new start? 333 Mother, I Love You 83’ Janis NORDS, Latvia 2013 World Sales Company New Europe Film Sales Jan Naszewski +48 600 173 205 [email protected] Official Selection 175 My Blood 85’ Diamantis KARANASTASIS, Greece 2012 World Sales Company Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting Patra Spanou +49 1520 1987294 [email protected] Film Market 99 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 202 My Dog Killer 90’ Mira FORNAY, Slovak Republic-Czech Republic 2013 Film Market Eighteen-year-old Marek lives near the Slovak-Moravian border with his dad and his hooligan pals, although Marek’s best friend is his dog. Alienated from everyone, he is on his own in the racist circle that surrounds him. His life is shaken up when he discovers the secret of his lost mother Marika. World Sales Company m-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenaric +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Official Selection 304 Night 92’ Leonardo BRZEZICKI, Argentina-Colombia-Norway 2013 World Sales Company Rendez-vous Pictures Philippe Tasca +33 9 5070 7830 [email protected] Official Selection 221 Nina 80’ Elisa FUKSAS, Italia 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market 250 No Rest for the Brave 108’ Alain GUIRAUDIE, France 2003 World Sales Company Coproduction Office, France Philippe Bober +33 1 5602 6000 [email protected] Official Selection 100 Six friends return to the place where their friend Miguel spent his last days, a colonial farmhouse in the middle of a subtropical landscape. They are here to pack boxes and collect things Miguel left behind. Turntables still connected to speakers, cables lying on the floor, his clothes and random belongings still spread around the house... Miguel used to record sounds compulsively and his recordings are now playing continuously through speakers inside and outdoors. Pedro was Miguel’s boyfriend and he’s having a hard time coping with his absence. He splits from the group, neglecting his new boyfriend, Juan. The sounds continue invading the space the group inhabits, pervading their thoughts and affecting their actions, creating a fine line between artifice and reality. It’s night time and Pedro loses himself deep in the forest, where the past will haunt the present. The fascist architecture of Rome is at the heart of this handsomely produced romantic drama, which is named for a pixie-ish twenty something singing coach who spends the summer dog sitting in her friend’s swanky apartment and resisting the advances of a handsome young cellist. Although Nina is almost 30, she still hasn’t figured out what to do with her life. While waiting, she motors her Vespa through sun-bleached suburban Rome, eats pastry and practices calligraphy. Michele D’Attanasio’s striking cinematography evokes Nina’s indefinable anxiety. A preoccupation with colonnades and arches and a fixation with composition betray the 31-year-old director’s background: she is the daughter of two leading Italian architects and studied architecture herself before finding an outlet for her creativity in film. Basile Matin dreamed of Faftao-Laoupo, man’s “final resting place.” Tonight could be his last night. To rule out mortality, he decides to go for a ramble and never to sleep again. Film Market After her husband’s death, Nurcan is left alone with her grown up daughter Feride and two young children, İlker and Özge. The eldest child, Feride has to take up the role of the father. Already in great need, Nurcan embraces this situation, almost replacing her late husband with Feride, imposing all responsibilities on her. Devoted to his father as the only son, İlker fiercely reacts when authority is given to Feride, and is alienated from the family. As a teenager in need of her family more than ever, Özge is unable to reach her mother or her sister, ignored by both who are too caught up in the family drama. She tries to make herself noticed, tries to be a part of the family, to “belong”... The status quo at home is disrupted when Feride, fed up with her burden, accepts Gülağa’s proposal and decides to marry him, as a way out. The story of four characters who cannot manage to become a family again after a loss and who are destroying themselves day by day... Northwest is one of the most impoverished multi-ethnic areas of Copenhagen. Living here with his mother, younger brother and little sister is 18-year-old Casper, who struggles to make ends meet based on selling stolen goods to one of the neighbourhood pack leaders. When organized crime hits Nordvest, the hierarchy of the neighbourhood shifts and Casper is offered a chance to climb the ranks. Soon he’s hurled into a world of drugs, violence and prostitution and as things escalate his childhood playground becomes a battlefield. Consequently Casper finds himself and his family dead centre in a conflict that threatens to destroy them. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 279 Nobody’s Home 81’ Deniz Akçay, Turkey 2012 World Sales Company Mars Production Marsel Kalvo +90 212 244 8252 [email protected] Official Selection 305 Northwest 91’ Michael NOER, Denmark 2013 World Sales Company Trustnordisk Susan Wendt +45 60 298 466 [email protected] Official Selection Myrto is an opera singer. She’s rehearsing for the role of Medea. Her boyfriend, Dimitris buys her a sculpture. He adores it, as if it was their child, but she finds it repulsive. The sculpture understands Myrto’s negative emotions and hopes they will change in the future. Michael is a puppeteer. Due to financial difficulties, he decides to put aside his puppet and work as the assistant of a magician called Midas. 165 Not Medea 70’ Dimitris KARAKASIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Dimitris Karakasis +30 6948 826 206 [email protected] Film Market Bucharest, 1988. Nela, a young schoolteacher, takes care of her father, a former colonel with the “Securitate” (the Department of State Security in Communist Romania), as he dies. His wish is for his remains to be used by medical science. However, no one wants his body as the refrigerators at the university aren’t working. Nela leaves for a teaching job in a provincial town. There she meets Mitică, a doctor at the local hospital, who, like Nela, refuses to compromise and is full of dreams and optimism. They disturb everyone by their attitude but they survive the harshness of reality, as if touched by a kind of grace. 340 The Oak 105’ Lucian PINTILIE, France-Romania 1992 World Sales Company MK2 Juliette Schrameck +33 1 4467 3018 [email protected] Official Selection 101 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 239 October November 114’ Götz SPIELMANN, Austria 2013 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Official Selection 282 On Fire 111’ Claire SIMON, France 2006 Film Market In a small village in the Austrian Alps there is a hotel, now no longer in use. Two sisters grew up here. Sonja now lives in Berlin. She has become an actress, very successful, a TV star. She made a career for herself very quickly: she is still only in her early 30s. She has achieved a lot in this short time – but something seems to be missing from her life. Her sister Verena, who is a little older, has never left the village. After their mother died in an accident she, her husband and her little boy moved into the former hotel, which is much too big for them. The father of the two sisters also still lives in the former hotel. Still a patriarch, he has grown old and surly. Then a major heart attack brings him close to death. He survives, but from now on he is a sick man. And for Sonja it is high time to visit her family once again, and the scenes of her childhood. A new chapter begins; old relationships are reconfigured. The reunion slowly but relentlessly Fifteen-year-old Livia recovers from a nasty fall from her horse thanks to the help of a fire fighter, 37-year-old Jean, married and a father of two. Livia falls in love with him. The teenager will do everything in her power to conquer the older man for whom she feels an increasingly burning passion. World Sales Company Films Distribution, France Sanam Madjedi +33 1 5310 3399 [email protected] Official Selection 164 One Last Joke 84’ Vasilis RAISIS, Greece 2013 Four young scientists have a strange “hobby”: they play pranks on psychics, mediums etc., in order to expose them. One of the scientists joins the group of a pseudo-therapist so as to reveal he is a fraud. Things will not go as planned, though... Production Company Digi dv productions Diamantis Tassis +30 6944 707 070 [email protected] Film Market 109 One O Οne 94’ Franck GUERIN, France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 102 Abbas and Clara live together in a French mountain village, cut off from the world and deserted by its population. The couple survives under the constant threat of a devastating virus that has left the world in an apocalyptic state.People becoming infected with the pandemic are suffering from disturbing behavior. One day, in the woods, Abbas discovers a child who is hiding her mother affected by the disease. After the young girl disappears under mysterious conditions, Abbas will start looking relentlessly for her, leading him to travel to the city of Taipei. An obsessive quest will begin… Film Market Arafat, a thirty-year-old Arab New Yorker, lives at home with his parents who are desperate to find him a Muslim bride. Horny and lonely, he tries the New York dating scene with zero luck. Then he meets Kenny, a smooth talking single New Yorker who becomes his wingman. Kenny helps Arafat score a beautiful woman on their first night out, but he is caught by his parents having sex with her. According to Kenny the only solution for Arafat is to move out of his parents’ house. With no money or job, Arafat can’t afford to move out. Then Kenny proposes an idea – a Green Card marriage for money! But, with an Israeli girl... 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 105 Only in New York 95’ Ghazi ALBULIWI, USA-France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 53 95 04 64 [email protected] Film Market Niki lives in Athens with her husband and her seven-year-old son, Orfeas. The young woman, trapped in a dull marriage, meets and falls in love with Giannis, a young bohemian city guy. They both feel the strong attraction that dominates their body and soul, and decide to take a trip to the Greek provinces. The return to the big city will bring changes and will signal new unforeseen developments. Orfeas will disappear and Niki will be forced to return abruptly to reality. Always in the background of the story, a country plagued by an economic, political and emotional crisis. 170 Orfeas’ Path 72’ Kostas KOLIMENOS, Greece 2013 World Sales Company Mediascope Kostas Kolimenos +30 6945 296 469 [email protected] Film Market Sergio, Ruben and Alicia are caretakers of a countryside estate in Tucumán, a northern province in Argentina. When the estate owners are absent, the sneaky workers secretly occupy the house and emulate the owners’ lifestyle. They sleep in comfortable beds, watch movies on a big screen TV and eat food that they could never afford. When the owners of the estate, Pía and her sister Lourdes, show up unexpectedly for the weekend with their husbands, Manuel and Gabriel, the workers are left out to their own humble abode and daily duties. But it’s difficult to stay away from the comfort to which they have grown accustomed. The owners have secrets of their own, and soon everyone is wondering who will end up running the house. In a small village in Moldova, an old woman dies, leaving her son Petru and her granddaughter Anişoara behind. According to their tradition, the whole village mourns and bids farewell. The women sing and pray at the open coffin. Petru and the men drink and philosophize about the life. They are observed by curious Anisoara until she falls asleep, the storm calms down and the morning sun rises. On the coming day, everybody starts the way to the cemetery. The old men carry the heavy coffin over stony paths up to the sacred hill. The sun is high and the way seems endless. In this landscape of heavenly beauty, joy mixes with sorrow on the final journey and in the end, life stands above death. 240 The Owners 95’ Agustín TOSCANO, Ezequiel RADUSKY, Argentina 2013 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Official Selection 237 Panihida 61’ Ana-Felicia SCUTELNICU, Moldova-Germany 2012 Production Company Weydemann Bros. Jonas Weydemann +49 30 6792 8270 [email protected] Official Selection 103 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 136 Papusza 131’ Joanna KOS-KRAUZE , Krzysztof KRAUZE, Poland 2013 World Sales Company New Europe Film Sales Jan Naszewski +48 60 017 3205 [email protected] Film Market The true story of Papusza, the first Roma woman who put her poems into writing and published them, thus going against the traditional female image in the gypsy community. The film follows Papusza’s life from birth to old age: an arranged marriage as a small girl, her life in a gypsy tabor before, during and after World War II, then forced settlement in communist Poland and urban life in poverty. Her meeting with the Polish poet Jerzy Ficowski, who discovered her great talent for poetry and published her works led to a tragic paradox: a famous poet lived in poverty, rejected by the Roma community for betraying their secrets. Official Selection 233 The Particle 80’ Erdem TEPEGOZ, Turkey 2012 Production Company Kulefilm +90 312 241 9341 [email protected] Film Market 160 Party of Eight 93’ John KOLYA REICHART, Germany 2013 Production Company Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Tim Krüger +49 160 2841584 [email protected] In a city full of unemployment, people, their troubles and lives – are they like mundane, haphazard and tiny as myriad dispersed particles? What about Zeynep, clinging onto life with her little daughter and mother, how much space does she take up in this immense Universe? A family of three tries to survive in the dusty and dim atmosphere of the abandoned apartments evacuated for destruction… The existence of her elderly mother and disabled daughter is bound to Zeynep’s(Jale Arıkan) struggle… Under these compulsive circumstances and pressure from her landlord Kudret (Ergun Kuyucu) for the rent, Zeynep has to take a job offer and move out of town where even finding an ordinary job is impossible… Eight people come together on a farm in the middle of nowhere. All of them are related by blood, friendship or love to Anton, who escaped his old life and disappeared some years ago and who has now invited them to celebrate his 30th birthday. Anticipating the reunion with their lost son, they put old grievances and injuries aside at first; however, as time passes without Anton showing up, frustration and anger resurface among the waiting. With old conflicts rising from the dead at every turn, the eagerly awaited party turns into a boiling family battle... Film Market 138 Penumbra 98´ Eduardo VILLANUEVA, Mexico 2013 Production Company Eduardo Villanueva Independent Filmmaker Eduardo Villanueva +52 312 315 6372 [email protected] Official Selection 104 An experienced old hunter shows us his captive world within a rural Mexico lost in time. A place where suspense and mystery atmospheres will be very present, creating in his mind a fascinating and illusory world, together with the spirits of the forest. Film Market Jan, a guy in his twenties, and his friend Cracker are involved in several crimes in their neglected suburb of the city. After meeting the “golden youth” beauty Sabina, he looks for a fresh start in downtown circles, but only finds contempt. His hopes for love, compassion and opportunity are dashed by the even more ruthless rules of the bourgeoisie, and he comes to realize that the only one he can count on is himself. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 115 People Οut Τhere 90’ Aik KARAPETIAN, Latvia 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 16-year-old Adam discovers an old photograph of his pregnant mother, looking very happy with an unknown man. He begins to doubt his family and sets off to find his supposed real father. He experiences his first love, true friendship and finally unveils a secret from the past. 174 The Photograph 82’ Maciej ADAMEK, Poland-Germany-Hungary 2012 World Sales Company Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting Patra Spanou +49 1520 198 7294 [email protected] Film Market We will not give even a button - so many of them said. Young and beautiful. Polish elite in the early 1940s, ready to defend their homeland. They believed that they wouldn’t leave for long. Everyone said it would be a quick war, which would end in a few days. They didn’t realize, however, that when they said goodbye to their wives, mothers, sons and sisters, they were seeing them for the last time. Death awaited them, and to meet again in the spring in Warsaw remains an unfulfilled hope. 163 Pre Mortem 33’ Konrad LECKI, Poland 2013 Production Company Lidia Sadowska +487 935 25 141 [email protected] Film Market Convinced that he is behaving in a righteous manner, because “even the Pope is against the use of condoms”, Don Fabijan, a Catholic priest in a small town on a Dalmatian island, starts puncturing condoms which the God-fearing newsstand salesman Petar then sells at his kiosk. Don Fabijan and Petar are soon joined by Marin, a local pharmacist, who starts secretly planting vitamin pills instead of contraceptives in his pharmacy. Thus, by controlling the sexual lives of men and women, they practically abolish contraception on the island. As the unwanted pregnancies start occurring, Don Fabijan does all he can to marry such couples in a proper Christian way, even against their will. But soon, the trio’s action starts influencing the lives of local people who stop being the masters of their own faith... 311 The Priest’s Children 93’ Vinko BREŠAN, Croatia-Serbia 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Official Selection 105 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 264 The Prophet 100’ Demetrios POULOS, Greece 2013 Film Market In the midst of the world’s most harrowing war, a young soldier arrives at an abandoned monastery in search of his father. However, he soon suspects that the monastery’s guests might know where his father is. Production Company Poul Over Demetrios Poulos +30 6972 762 714 [email protected] Official Selection 145 Puppy Love 85’ Delphine LEHERICEY, Belgium-Switzerland-France-Luxembourg 2013 World Sales Company Latido Films Juan Torres +34 915 488 877 [email protected] At 14, Diane is an enigmatic teenager and a loner. She is busy bringing up her little brother, Marc, and has an intense relationship with her father, Christian. The appearance of Julia, a young charismatic and emancipated English girl, in her neighborhood turns Diane’s everyday life upside down. Diane, who wants to break out of the confines of childhood at any price, goes through the most dramatic experiences of her life in the space of six months. The closer she is to Julia, the more she turns her back on morality, paying no attention to the consequences or the limits of her desires. Film Market 330 The Quispe Girls 83’ Sebastian SEPULVEDA, Chile-France-Argentina 2013 Based on a true story that occurred in 1974, The Quispe Girls is the tale of the sisters Justa, Lucia and Luciana Quispe, shepherds on the Chilean Plateau, who lead a solitary life. The recent death of a fourth sister and news from abroad, forces the sisters on an existential quest that will bring them to a tragic end. World Sales Company Swipe Films, UK +33 1 401 305 86 [email protected] www.swipefilms.com Official Selection 286 Rabbitland 7’ Nikola MAJDAK Jr., Ana NEDELJKOVIC, Serbia 2013 Production Company Film House Bas Celik Jelena Mitrovic +38 111 303 4441 [email protected] Official Selection 106 Brainless Rabbits live in Rabittland, a perfect world ordered according to the most successful examples of war zones, ghettos and slums. They are intensively pink, have holes in their heads instead of brains, and they are happy regardless of what happens to them. They are the highest stage the evolution has ever reached. Their everyday life is completely fulfilled. The Rabbits spend days voting in free and democratic elections, which take place in Rabbitland once a day, because Rabbitland is an ordered democracy. Nevertheless, it is revealed that the elections are organized by the Evil Girls, just for their entertainment. Film Market After escaping years of incarceration, a nameless man tries to find his way home in a Cairo turned upside down by the protests of the January 25, 2011 Egyptian Revolution. As he revisits the family and country he has been separated from for so long, he finds that everything about life as he knew it has irrevocably changed. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 242 Rags and Tatters 87’ Ahmad ABDALLA, Egypt 2013 Production Company Visit Films, USA Aida Lipera +1 718 312 8210 [email protected] www.visitfilms.com Official Selection In a city that has revolted, with heavy metal music haunting the heroes and the voice of Maria Callas being broadcast from the rooftops, an elderly homosexual, former terrorist, and cross-dresser known as “Red Maria”, lives in the margins of society, hiding in the shadows, working as a prostitute and performer, dancing to old-fashioned tunes on the streets for passers-by who give him money. He meets a young boy, a street urchin at death’s door, a victim of an attack by Neonazis. The boy, an alcoholic, listens to the voice of Maria Callas coming from the sky, and talks to the dead diva and to his mother whom misses. On a drug overdose, he dreams of the perfect world. Red Maria rescues the boy and they stay together. In order to survive, they storm into cafés, giving performances about a new, political God. They become the magicians of the tribe, the holy fools, the rebels. But a series of murders will transform them, from idealists into serial killers... On the outskirts of the Civil War, a boy is sent north by a bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man. 306 The Rebellion of the Red Maria 95’ Costas ZAPAS, Greece 2011 Production Company Minus Pictures Gregory Athanasiou +30 210 364 1652 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 139 The Retrieval 94’ Chris ESKA, USA 2013 World Sales Company September Morning Releasing Chris Eska +1 512 925 9787 [email protected] Official Selection Lorenz Meran, (40) a successful gay author suffering acute writers’ block, has to leave Berlin and return to eastern Switzerland to provide care for his aged mother, Rosie. When he finds himself confronted with the fact that fun-loving Rosie refuses both outside assistance and a care home, he discovers that he is stuck fast in his small home town of Altstätten. But it is not only his mother’s battle against being dictated to and losing her dignity that he is struggling with. It’s also his own midlife crisis. And when long-kept secrets are suddenly revealed under the tensions of family dynamics, Lorenz almost fails to notice that love is knocking on the front door of his parent’s house… 128 Rosie 106’ Marcel GISLER, Switzerland 2013 World Sales Company Film Republic Xavier Rashid +44 783 599 9112 [email protected] Official Selection 107 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 167 Rough Night 90’ Film Market A dramatic story of a family from a small conservative village in Greece and their experiences with drugs and trafficking in Athens and Rome. George PAPATHEODOROU, Greece 2013 Production Company ikonfilm George Mouzakitis +30 6974 966 694 [email protected] Film Market 217 Runaway Day 86’ Dimitris BAVELLAS, Greece 2013 World Sales Company Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting Patra Spanou +49 1520 198 7294 [email protected] A black and white allegory with 60s b-movie elements trying to depict how desperate the new Greeks feel in modern-day Athens. Both the city and the general situation create an uncontrollable urge in all residents to run away. Maria and Loukas decide at the same time to run away from their personal issues. Both of them begin wandering around Athens. They come across a series of controversial events and meet with strange characters. Furthermore, various people seem to be on their tail. Maria is followed by two policemen. Loukas is followed by Iossif, a weird stranger dressed in black, who desperately wants something from him. Film Market 226 Russendisco 96’ Oliver ZIEGENBALG, Germany 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Berlin 1989. A rumour is being spread just after the wall came down: Jewish citizens from the Soviet Union are now accepted in the German Federal Republic. Young Vladimir and his lifetime friends Andrej and Mischa seize their chance to leave Moscow for Berlin, blending into this lucky wave of immigration. Berlin in the early nineties is one of the most exciting places on the globe, a place where everything seems possible. Wladimir and Andrej get a permanent residence permit, but Mischa, who is Russian but not Jewish, only gets a three-month visa. Film Market 201 Salvo 103’ Fabio GRASSADONIA , Antonio PIAZZA, Italy-France 2013 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 5310 3399 [email protected] Official Selection 108 A hitman for the Sicilian Mafia, Salvo is solitary, cold and ruthless. When he sneaks into a house to eliminate a man, he discovers Rita, a blind girl who powerlessly stands by while her brother is assassinated. Salvo tries to close those disturbing eyes, staring at him yet unseeing. Something impossible happens. Rita's eyes see for the first time. Salvo decides to spare her life. From then on, these two beings, both hunted by the world they belong to, are linked together forever. Film Market A father has killed a man and will shortly be arrested and sent to prison. His young daughter will be taken into care. She is his everything, and he, for all his failings, is the ground under her feet. They are inseparable and have nothing but each other. Unwilling to give up their freedom, they escape into the woods. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 288 Sanctuary 88’ Fredrik EDFELDT, Sweden 2011 Production Company Bob Film Sweden AB Anna Croneman +46 855 693 090 [email protected] Official Selection The human mind is the most explosive mixture of the universe. Love is the fastest detonation wick. Helen and James are two youngsters in love. Can they survive the unknown called human intelligence? 183 The Scholars 100’ George BAKOLAS, Greece 2013 Production Company George N. Bakolas +30 6977 732 771 [email protected] Film Market Α contemporary fable about 13-year-old Arbor and his best friend Swifty. Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two boys meet Kitten, a local scrapdealer – the Selfish Giant. They begin collecting scrap metal for him using a horse and cart. Swifty has a natural gift with horses, while Arbor emulates Kitten – keen to impress him and make some money. However, Kitten favors Swifty, leaving Arbor feeling hurt and excluded, driving a wedge between the boys. Arbor becomes increasingly greedy and exploitative, resembling Kitten more and more. Tensions build, leading to a tragic event which will transform them all. 277 The Selfish Giant 91’ Clio BARNARD, UK 2013 World Sales Company Protagonist Pictures David Bartholomew +44 20 7734 9000 [email protected] Official Selection “My wretched life has passed like a deep sleep, like the shadow of a cloud, withering like a wildflower. And the joints of my limbs have begun to weaken, to twist and shake in my body. And my evil deeds have surpassed the countless grains of sand in the sea” (fragment from a prayer). On a torrid summer day in Bucharest, the priest Florin Florescu is called to a dying woman’s side to say a prayer. 258 Shadow of a Cloud 30’ Radu JUDE, Romania 2013 Production Company Hi Film Productions Ada Solomon +40 21 252 4867 [email protected] Official Selection 109 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 197 Shallow Yellow Sky 80’ Film Market As a young couple reviews memories of their life in order to improve their relationship, a new and influential event takes place. Bahram TAVAKOLI, Iran 2013 World Sales Company Iranian Independents Mohammad Atebbai +98 912 319 8693 [email protected] Film Market 327 Shanghai Belle 100’ Jean Louis DANIEL, France 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Shanghai Belle portrays Xin, a beautiful and quiet Chinese girl, propelled from the slums of Shanghai to the glittering world of Paris, discovering the wild and carefree lifestyle of a photographic model. Her life is a whirlwind of drugs, money, sex and love. Paris, the famous “City of Light,” is also a giant meat market, producing and discarding young hopefuls at a terrifying speed. Film Market 187 Sheep 100’ Marianne PISTONE, Gilles DEROO, France 2013 It was said that Mouton lived a simple life as a worker at the seaside restaurant for three years and that he was snatched from this life after a tragic night at the Sainte-Anne ball. This is the story of his friends, who stayed in a town now inhabited by dogs and by the hope that is contained in tiny gestures. Production Company BOULE DE SUIF Production Gilles Deroo +33 06 2428 9475 [email protected] Official Selection 209 Shirley - Visions of Reality 92’ Gustav DEUTSCH, Austria 2013 World Sales Company EastWest Filmdistribution GmbH Miriam Kienberger +431 524 9310 [email protected] Official Selection 110 Thirteen of Edward Hopper’s paintings are brought alive by the film, telling the story of a woman, whose thoughts, emotions and contemplations lets us observe an era in American history. Shirley is a woman in America in the 1930s, ’40s, ’50s, and early ’60s. A woman who would like to influence the course of history with her professional and sociopolitical involvement. A woman who does not accept the reality of the Depression years, World War II, the McCarthy era, race conflicts and civil rights campaigns as given, but rather as generated and adjustable. A woman whose work as an actress has familiarized her with the staging of reality, the questioning and shaping of it. A woman who cannot identify with the traditional role model of a wife, yet longs to have a life partner. A woman who is infuriated by political repression yet not driven to despair, and who has nothing but disdain for betrayal. Shirley, an attractive, charismatic, committed, emancipated woman. Film Market The young Eastern European woman Csilla and her little brother Isti are traveling together without a clear destination, looking for a better life. One day Csilla wakes up inside a crashed car, in the middle of nowhere, not knowing where her brother Isti is. He has vanished without a trace. Upset and alone, without saying a word, Csilla leaves aboard a cargo ship heading to Western Europe. At sea, Gábor, a self-proclaimed businessman who convinced her to work for him on the ship, turns out to be a brute and a drunk. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 113 Silent Ones 97’ Ricky RIJNEKE, The Netherlands- Hungary 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market Gili is a teenager who decides to change schools. She is determined to improve her lame social status. Over the course of a few weeks she hooks up with several different boys, all from her new school. Their encounters get more and more sexual, each time exploring their limits a little further. The boys are eager to take what is so generously offered, and Gili is thrilled with the attention. Gili is trapped in the zone where it’s not certain if she is giving her consent to what is happening... 312 Six Acts 96’ Jonathan GURFINKEL, Israel 2012 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 5310 3399 [email protected] Official Selection The film depicts the life of a family living in a typical Turkish town, as perceived by the children of the family. In the first part it is winter; the family’s eleven-year-old daughter is in school, and we are shown the difficulties she encounters in adapting to her social environment. The second part is set in spring. The girl and her younger brother walk through the countryside, towards a cornfield where their parents await them. As they walk along, they encounter the mysteries of nature. In the third part, the children reach the cornfield where their family is gathered. As their elders talk into the night, the children witness the paradoxical adult world, with its complex interaction of recrimination and understanding, conflict and tenderness. The fourth part takes place in the home. The child learns to sublimate its amoral, natural instincts and become a compassionate human being. Tel Aviv, Summer 1989. Boaz, a beautiful and alluring linguistics student, receives anonymous, male written love letters, which undermine his sexual identity and interfere with his peaceful life with his beloved girlfriend. Based on a short story from the book The Garden of Dead Trees (Zmorah Bitan 1995) by Yossi Avni Levy. 248 The Small Town 85’ Nuri Bilge CEYLAN, Turkey 1997 World Sales Company NBC Film, Turkey +90 212 249 6962 [email protected] www.nbcfilm.com Official Selection 104 Snails in the Rain 85’ Yariv MOZER, Israel 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 111 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 200 Snow on Pines 96’ Payman MAADI, Iran 2013 World Sales Company Iranian Independents Mohammad Atebbai +98 912 319 8693 [email protected] Film Market Roya (40) is a piano teacher in Tehran. Following 14 years of marriage, her husband Ali (50) leaves her for another woman who happens to be Roya’s young student. Subsequently, she has to face an entirely new perspective of life and survive on her own. After six months, when the regretful husband returns home and seeks the forgiveness of his former wife, Roya surprises him with a revelation of her own regarding her new experience. Sometimes the only thing that can save a branch from breaking in the winter is to wipe the snow off of it. Film Market 336 So Much Water 102’ Ana GUEVARA, Leticia JORGE, Uruguay 2013 World Sales Company Alpha Violet Keiko Funato +33 1 4797 3984 [email protected] What could be worse than being fourteen years old and on holiday with your father? Taking your children on holidays under constant rain. Since his divorce, Alberto does not see Lucía and Federico very often. They set off for the hot springs one stormy morning; holidays are short and they want to make the most of them. Alberto is full of enthusiasm; he does not want anything to ruin his plans. But the swimming pools are closed indefinitely and his children keep giving him reproachful looks, so he loses his temper. Soon, everyone’s mood grows touchier and the weather gets stickier. Film Market 190 Soldier Jane 79’ Daniel HOESL, Austria 2013 World Sales Company Premium FIlms Kasia Karwan +33 1 4277 0639 [email protected] Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves the farmer – one needle in the hay. In this new game, Fanni rolls the dice while Anna doesn’t think twice: she knocks down all the pins. Together they raise their voice and shape one mutual tune. Differences attract each other, and happily they move on – together on their distinct journeys, where their dreams are set – towards a new found liberty. Official Selection 290 Soubresauts 22’ Leyla BOUZID, France-Tunisia 2011 Production Company La Fémis Geraldine Amgar +33 1 5341 2116 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 112 In those huge houses of the Tunisian bourgeoisie, when a tragedy occurs, we do everything to hide it. Film Market The film follows an unnamed character through three seemingly disparate moments in his life. With little explanation, we join him in the midst of a 15-person collective on a small Estonian island; in isolation in the majestic wilderness of Northern Finland; and during a concert as the singer and guitarist of a black metal band in Norway. Marked by loneliness, ecstatic beauty and an optimism of the darkest sort. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 172 A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness 98’ Ben RIVERS, Ben RUSSELL, France-Estonia 2013 Production Company Rouge International & Thomas Lambert +33 9 51 493 844 [email protected] Official Selection Sara is a young girl raised in a family of goat farmers. Her parents homeschool their twelve children, rigorously following the precepts of the Bible. Like her sisters, Sara is taught to be a devout woman, subservient to men while keeping her emotional and physical purity intact until marriage. When Sara meets Colby, a young amateur bull rider, she is thrown into crisis, questioning the only way of life she has ever known. In a stunning portrayal of contemporary America and the insular communities that dot its landscape, the film is an exploration of adolescence, family and social values, gender roles, and religion in the rural American South. 154 Stop the Pounding Heart 100’ Roberto MINERVINI, USA-Belgium-Italy 2013 World Sales Company Doc & Film International Hannah Horner +33 1 4277 5687 [email protected] Official Selection In Athens, Amir, an Iranian immigrant, has a modest flat which has become a place of transit for migrants who like him have chosen to leave their country. But Greece is only a stop-over, all of them hoping to reach other Western countries. They find themselves stuck at Amir’s, hoping for ID documents, contacts and the smuggler to whom they might entrust their destiny. 153 Stop-Over 100’ Kaveh BAKHTIARI, Switzerland 2013 World Sales Company Doc & Film International Hannah Horner +33 1 4277 5687 [email protected] Official Selection Casanova hires a new servant to be the witness of the last moments of his life. Leaving a gallant and libertine French castle with a typical atmosphere from the 18th century, he spends his last days in the poor and dark lands of northern Europe. There, his casual society life and rational thoughts are collapsing against a new, esoteric, romantic and violent force, represented by Dracula and his eternal power. 299 Story of My Death 148’ Albert SERRA, Spain-France 2013 World Sales Company Capricci Films Farid Lounas +33 240 892 059 [email protected] Official Selection 113 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 149 The Strange Little Cat 72’ Ramon ZURCHER, Germany 2012 Production Company Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin - dffb Laure Tinette +49 30 25759 152 [email protected] Film Market Siblings Karin and Simon are visiting their parents and their little sister Clara. That evening, other relatives will be joining them for dinner. This sequence of family scenes in a Berlin flat creates a wondrous world of the everyday: Coming and going, conversations, all manner of doings, each movement leading to the next, one word following another. It is a carefully staged chain reaction of actions and sentences. And, in between, silent gazes and anecdotes about experiences. Putting the absurdities of daily life on display, the film assembles seemingly unspectacular details and snippets into an exciting choreography of everyday life. Film Market 244 Stranger by the Lake 97’ Alain GUIRAUDIE, France 2013 Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel, an attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway. World Sales Company Les Films du Losange Marine Goulois + 33 1 4443 8724 [email protected] Official Selection 292 Strangers in the House 90’ Dilek KESER, Ulas GUNES KACARGIL, Turkey 2012 World Sales Company Biz Film Dilek Keser +90 55 4941 9394 [email protected] Film Market 261 The Summer of Flying Fish 87’ Marcela SAID, France-Chile 2013 World Sales Company Alpha Violet Keiko Funato +33 1 4797 3984 [email protected] Film Market 114 Strangers in the House is a film based on a house that cannot be shared, that silently witnesses the intersecting lives of a woman in search of her past and a man trying to look out for his future. An autumn in the 1990s… An Aegean seaside town in Turkey… A Greek woman (Agapi) in her 80s, born and brought up in this town, having left to immigrate to Greece during the struggle, is now back to find her childhood house. She’s accompanied by her granddaughter (Elpida) who is in her 20s. Agapi’s house now belongs to a young Turkish man in his 30s (Yasar). Agapi wants to buy the house back, but Yasar is determined not to sell. The old woman and young man are both stubborn and have trouble sharing the house. These three strangers begin to share a house together. Manena is a very determined teenager, and the darling daughter of Pancho, a rich Chilean landowner who devotes his vacations to a single obsession: the extermination of carp fish that invade his artificial lagoon. As he resorts to more and more extreme methods, Manena experiences her first love and deception, and discovers a world that silently co-exists alongside her own: that of the Mapuche Indian workers who claim access to these lands… and who stand up to her father. Film Market Sang-won, Seung-jun and Min-wook are high school best friends. However, after graduation, they are in three different stages of life: Sang-won is a college student, Seung-jun needs to study one more year before he can enter college, and Min-wook is carrying out his military service. One day, the two friends visit Min-wook at military amp. Seung-jun has an added reason for the visit: he is delivering a letter from Min-wook’s girl friend, Esther, ending their relationship. Once the three boys reunite, they spend one night of carousing devoted to the poor military boy and try to decide when to give him the letter. Before they separate, will the Dear John letter be delivered successfully? 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 208 Sunshine Boys 85’ Tae-gon KIM, South Korea 2012 World Sales Company Indiestory Inc. Kate WON +82 2 722 6051 [email protected] Official Selection Well it was the story of a young unemployed hairdresser who wanted to meet shepherds. It was also the story of a run-away bandit who wanted to leave his country... A young woman and a shepherd, both from different worlds, meet and spend a day criss-crossing the Causse’s high plains looking for some of the shepherd’s animals that have wandered off. While they walk, the talk about life, work and love. They occasionally cross paths with a minor local bandit who wants to go to Montpellier, but who has difficulty making his mind up to leave. 272 Sunshine for the Scoundrels 55’ Alain GUIRAUDIE, France 2000 World Sales Company Les Films du Losange Marine Goulois +33 1 4443 8736 [email protected] Official Selection The story of a destiny: Suzanne’s and her family’s. The ties that bind them, keep them together, and the love she pursues... to the point of leaving everything behind. 273 Suzanne 94’ Katell QUILLÉVÉRÉ, France 2013 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 5310 3399 [email protected] Official Selection A phlegmatic swimming instructor, a teenage girl who is missing a leg, a boy with Down’s Syndrome, another one with defective legs and one with no apparent physical disability but who refuses to speak, spend a day at the swimming pool. The five outcasts inevitably struggle, clash, separate – and in the end reunite thanks to their imperfections. 178 The Swimming Pool 66’ Carlos MACHADO QUINTELA, Cuba-Venezuela 2012 World Sales Company m-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Film Market 115 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 259 Talea 75’ Katharina MÜCKSTEIN, Austria 2012 World Sales Company Filmdelights Christa Auderlitzky +43 1 944 3035 [email protected] Film Market Fourteen-year-old Jasmin longs to be near her biological mother, Eva. Following her mother’s release from prison, an excursion into the country together becomes a first test for the fledgling motherdaughter relationship. They smoke, dance and stroll together – the mood is promising. But time and again, it is revealed that their needs and expectations are light years apart. For the moment, neither Eva nor Jasmin seem up to the task of fulfilling each other’s need for identity and support. (Talea is Italian for scion, a detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting.) Official Selection 122 Tate Parade 9’ Sharon Tate is back from beyond to avenge her death and save her baby, after being brutally murdered by Charles Manson. Marja CALAFANGE, Brazil 2013 World Sales Company Moro Filmes Diana Moro +55 41 3013 4163 [email protected] Film Market 243 A Teacher 75’ Hannah FIDELL, USA 2013 World Sales Company Visit Films Aida Lipera +1 718 312 8210 [email protected] Part psychological thriller and part provocative character study, A Teacher explores the unraveling of a young high-school teacher, Diana, after she begins an affair with one of her teenage students, Eric. What starts as a seemingly innocent fling becomes increasingly complex and dangerous as the beautiful and confident Diana gets fully consumed by her emotions, crossing boundaries and acting out in progressively startling ways. A descent into the mind of an adult driven to break taboos against her better judgment. Official Selection 132 The Tears 66’ Pablo Delgado SANCHEZ, Mexico 2012 Production Company Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica Boris Miramontes +52 55 41 55 00 90 ext 1813 [email protected] Official Selection 116 Fernando and Gabriel are two brothers living in a broken home. The anger and sadness that fill the house forces them to escape for a weekend into the woods. Gabriel will witness his eldest brother’s self-destruction. Film Market Roberto Bermudez is a specialist in Criminal Law whose life is thrown into chaos when he becomes convinced that Gonzalo, one of his best students, has committed a brutal murder right in front of the Faculty of Law. Determined to uncover the truth, he begins a personal investigation that will soon become an obsession. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 146 Thesis on a Homicide 102’ Hernán GOLDFRID, Spain-Argentina 2013 World Sales Company Latido films Juan Torres +34 91 548 8877 [email protected] Film Market They Are the Dogs tells the story of Majhoul, an old man that has been taken away in 1981 during a massive demonstration asking for reforms and change in the kingdom. He has been released in 2011, 30 years later, and has to come to terms with the new reality of things, the evolution of society and technology as well as his place among this “new” state of things. 156 They Are the Dogs 88’ Hicham LASRI, Morocco 2012 World Sales Company Zaza film distribution Houda Lakhdar +212 6 61 40 38 85 [email protected] Film Market Gary has arrived in Beijing to make it big, but after failing to impress his Chinese investors he soon takes up teaching English and gets life lessons from Frank, an incompetent mentor. Gary’s real reasons for staying become apparent when his son and Chinese ex-wife enter the picture. Can Gary outsmart the city of cynics and repair his relationship with his family? Or will he have to fly home in disgrace as Frank predicted all along? 196 This Is Sanlitun 95’ Robert I. DOUGLAS, Iceland 2013 World Sales Company Premium Films Kasia Karwan +33 1 4277 0639 [email protected] Film Market In a small Anatolian town, life goes on. Cemal is an assistant referee in football matches, Yasemin works in an egg factory, Defne is a street vendor who sells books, and Doctor Irfan is busy with his patients. In this town with two suns and three full moons in the sky, Cemal – who can see through walls – has no expectations out of life and is looking for a way out with Yasemin – who can move objects with her fingers – as he tries to deal with the distress that has taken hold of him. However, Defne, who can freeze time, will muddle things up. The actions of Yasemin’s immortal boss will contradict the advice of the invisible elementary school teacher, who is trying to eliminate Cemal’s worries. Α story about the ordinary sorrows, worries and troubles of a group of townspeople with extraordinary abilities. 210 Thou Gild’st the Even 107’ Onur UNLU, Turkey 2013 World Sales Company CinemaVault John Dunstan +1 416 363 6060 [email protected] Official Selection 117 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 296 Time Has Come 92’ Film Market A social, political and economical fable taking place in a not so imaginary country, in which people exploit one another, betray one another, look for love by all means. Alain GUIRAUDIE, France 2005 World Sales Company Films Distribution Sanam Madjedi +33 1 5310 3399 [email protected] Official Selection 214 Times and Winds 111’ Reha ERDEM, Turkey 2005 Production Company Atlantik Film Claudine Avetyan +90 212 278 3611 [email protected] The people of a poor mountain village struggle to cope with a harsh life. They make their living from the earth and their animals. In child raising, the grownups follow the practices they know from their parents. Ömer, Yakup and Yildiz are three children about 12-13 years old. Ömer, the son of the imam, wishes desperately for the death of his father and searches for childish ways to kill him. Yakup is in love with his teacher. He hides his guilty feelings. When one day he sees his father spying on the teacher, he too dreams of killing his father. Yildiz learns about the secrets of the relationship between men and women. Official Selection 152 The Tree and the Swing 107’ Maria DOUZA, Greece-Serbia 2013 World Sales Company Greek Film Centre Iliana Zakopoulou +30 210 367 8506 [email protected] Film Market 107 Two Hundred Thousand Dirty 89’ Timothy L. ANDERSON, USA 2013 World Sales Company Wide Yaël Chouraqui +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market 118 Eleni Karapanos, a professor of cardiology in London, has been estranged from her father Kyriakos for over fifteen years, ever since she left Greece to relocate to England. Kyriakos, who had been a refugee child in Serbia after the war, has never forgiven her for leaving her country. One day, Eleni’s British husband Harry loses his job in a big corporation and is posted to China indefinitely. Faced with a tough personal and professional dilemma, Eleni decides to visit her homeland and make amends with her father. On the pretext of responding to one of his calls, she takes her daughter Anna, and comes to Greece for Easter. But when she reaches home, nothing she finds is as she expects. A Serbian woman, Nina, is living with Kyriakos, looking after his large estate. Kyriakos has been harboring a few secrets of his own. Welcome to the monotonous, oppressive modern American by-product of suburban sprawl: the urban strip mall. Native to this environment and products of outdated pop culture are Rob (Mark Greenfield) and Manny (Coolio), the unsuccessful, unrefined and uncouth sales force behind Affordable Mattress. When new employee Isabelle (Rocío Verdejo) is hired in hopes of improving dismal sales, some things do change and, after recruiting fellow strip mall burnout Martin (C. Clayton Blackwell), she’s got everyone working together to split a common goal – 200,000 dollars. Film Market When Katja and Isabella, happily married, decide to have a child, they are confronted with unexpected obstacles: most of the fertility clinics don’t offer treatment for homosexuals. After months of wearing and pricey procedures in one that does, they find a trader who sells utilities for an insemination at home. A casting for potential donors begins. As weeks pass by, Katja starts having doubts and discovers that Isa is willing to betray their relationship in order to fulfil her wish of becoming pregnant. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 177 Two Mothers 79’ Anne Zohra BERRACHED, Germany 2013 World Sales Company m-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Film Market Ida, porcelain and kind-hearted, gets a new job at a school. She almost instantly catches the eye of seemingly shy but determined Krister, who doesn’t hesitate to defend her in class when she, as a newcomer, comes up against problems with her students. Everything happens quickly – the first date, the moving in together, the promises of eternal love. Their passion is evident, just like the, albeit still distant, gray cloud approaching them. Gradually, he starts revealing his repressive side: he becomes jealous and unpredictable in his reactions, and even tries to isolate her from her family and best friend. She – weak, insecure and prone to lying – uses sex in order to avoid the bumps and truths. Feeding off of each other, they develop a mutually obsessive dependence. The city is a permanent construction site. At the feet of skyscrapers, a small house and its garden remain. Above the roar of excavators, neighbours raise their voices. And soon a rumour arises: the end is near, but when? 329 Us 92’ Mani MASERRAT, Sweden 2013 World Sales Company The Yellow Affair Chris Howard +46 8 645 1212 [email protected] Official Selection 331 Vertical Village 38’ Liana KASSIR, Renaud PACHOT, France 2012 Production Company Renaud Pachot +33 6 8715 0934 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films Victoria, an ex-convict in her sixties, wants to start new life in a remote sugar shack. Under the supervision of Guillaume, a young, sympathetic parole officer, she tries to get her life back on track along with Florence, her former cellmate with whom she shared years of intimacy in prison. Stalked by ghosts of the past, their new life together is unexpectedly jeopardized. 134 Vic+Flo Saw a Bear 95’ Denis COTE, Canada 2012 World Sales Company Films Boutique Valeska Neu +49 30 6953 7850 [email protected] Official Selection 119 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 254 Viola 63’ Matias PINEIRO, Argentina 2012 World Sales Company Matias Pineiro [email protected] +1 917 664 9951 Official Selection 222 Viva Belarus 98’ Krzysztof LUKASZEWICZ, Poland 2012 World Sales Company Intramovies Srl Jef Nuyts +39 06 807 7252 [email protected] Film Market 255 The Voice of the Voiceless 85’ Maximon MONIHAN, USA-Guatemala 2013 Production Company Bricolagista! Sheena Matheiken +1 718 788 8002 [email protected] Official Selection 155 Wajma - An Afghan Love Story 85’ Barmak AKRAM, France-Afghanistan 2013 World Sales Company Doc & Film International Hannah Horner +33 1 4277 5687 [email protected] Film Market 120 Film Market Cecilia is a young actress who spends her days rehearsing Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Nightin a small theater in Buenos Aires. Viola, meanwhile, spends her days on a bicycle, delivering pirated movies throughout the many districts of the same city. And, lastly, Sabrina is the one who brings these two stories together. While, on the one hand, she has decided to separate from her boyfriend Agustin, on the other, her coactress in the play, Cecilia, tries to convince her otherwise with dubious theories of love. And while Agustin already belongs to her past, he insists on sending her films purchased from Viola, the pirate saleswoman. Thus, an encounter between Viola and Cecilia becomes inevitable, and the change in partners inescapable. Violainterweaves different theories of desire with dreams, verses and fiction in a world of Shakespearean women, where the mysteries are rarely solved, but where love flows without restraint. Belarus has been under the dictatorship of Lukashenko for 15 years. Despite his congenital heart disease, Miron is conscripted into the army for 15 months as punishment for “fomenting political unrest among young people.” In his military unit, Miron has to deal with abject conditions which do not meet basic human needs and the absurdity of Soviet-inspired indoctrination. Via a contraband mobile phone, Miron starts secretly dictating to his girlfriend, Vera, his diary of “a conscript soldier”. The diary posted by Vera on an internet blog shows the army as a miniature version of the social and political relations in Lukashenko’s Belarus. Miron combines fragments of the blog into satirical songs “in honour of the army and the regime”, and they soon become actual hits among young people. The regime hatches a plot to discredit and crush Miron… A radically different vision of filmmaking. A silent film that tells the story of modern-day slavery, using non-actors, Brechtian edits, a brutal subway landscape, and the isolation of deafness. Somewhere in this manic plot is also a magic penguin. Inspired by a real New York story, the film follows Olga, a hearing impaired teenager from Central America. Lured to New York City under the false promise of attending a Christian sign language school, she finds herself a slave to an international criminal syndicate. Forced to sell “I am deaf” trinkets on the subway, Olga is trapped inside a nightmare that will not end – and we, the audience, are trapped with her. Based on the true story of a crime ring that was discovered by New York police in 1997, The Voice shatters our ideas of film, storytelling, and sound. It’s snowing in Kabul, and gregarious waiter Mustafa charms a pretty student named Wajma. The pair begin a clandestine relationship. They’re playful and passionate but ever mindful of the societal rules they are breaking. After Wajma discovers she is pregnant, her certainty that Mustafa will marry her falters, and word of their dalliance gets out. Her father must decide between his culturally held right to uphold family honor and his devotion to his daughter. Film Market The Mahmoodis live in a large, old house, and observe traditional values and beliefs. They have decided to renovate the building. Mrs Mahmoodi’s niece arrives with her architect husband to see to the renovation. Disagreements about the renovating spill over into their relations and connections. It is gradually revealed that the people in the house are torn between traditional and modern viewpoints and so are the guests. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 198 The Wedlock 82’ Rouhollah HEJAZI, Iran 2013 World Sales Company Iranian Independents Mohammad Atebbai +98 912 319 8693 [email protected] Film Market Fitri, 20 years old and blind, lives in a school for young people with special needs. She is in love with a ghost doctor, who turns out to be just a regular man, named Edo, who is deaf. If Fitri could see and Edo hear, would their love survive? Fitri’s classmate Diana, a myopic, falls for Andhika, a new student who lost his eyesight in an accident. Diana thinks they are in love, but is Andhika still attached to Gadis, his beautiful ex-girlfriend? 179 What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love 104’ Mouly SURYA, Indonesia 2013 World Sales Company m-appeal world sales UG Katja Lenarcic +49 30 6150 7505 [email protected] Film Market Jordan, 1967. Τhousands of refugees pour across the border from Palestine. Having been separated from his father in the chaos of war, Tarek, 11, and his mother Ghaydaa, are among this latest wave of refugees. Placed in “temporary” refugee camps made up of tents and prefab houses until they are able to return, they wait, like the generation before them who arrived in 1948. With difficulties adjusting to life in Harir camp and a longing to be reunited with his father, Tarek searches a way out, and discovers a new hope emerging with the times... Τhe story of people affected by the times around them, in search of something more in their lives. A journey full of adventure, love, humor, and the desire to be free, but above all this is a story about that moment in a person’s life when he wakes up and finds the whole world is open and everything is possible. It is a journey of the human spirit that knows no borders. Following the loss of her parents, Giulia hs difficulty coping with the harsh reality she has to face. The fragility of a young child in the aftermath of a traumatic experience and a personal journey towards acceptance. 256 When I Saw You 95’ Annemarie JACIR, Palestine-Greece-Jordan 2012 World Sales Company The Match Factory Michael Weber +49 221 539 709-0 [email protected] Official Selection 220 The Whistle 15’ Lamberto SANFELICE, Italy 2012 Production Company ANG Film Damiano Ticconi +39 06 321 1960 [email protected] Crossroads Previous Films 121 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 194 White Shadow 115’ Noaz DESHE, Italy 2013 World Sales Company Premium Films Kasia Karwan +33 1 4277 0639 [email protected] Film Market Since 2008, albinos in Tanzania have become human targets. Witch doctors offer huge sums of cash for their body parts to be used in magic potions. From 2008 to 2010, more than 200 witch-doctor inspired murders occurred. As a local saying goes: “Albinos do not die, they just disappear.” This is the story of Alias, an albino boy on the run. After his father’s murder, his mother sends him to the city. His uncle Kosmos, a truck driver, takes care of him. Alias learns fast in the city. Selling sunglasses, DVDs and cell phones, it won’t take long before the boy experiences at first hand the difficulties of life and of being different. Film Market 126 Wild Duck 88’ Yannis SAKARIDIS, Greece 2013 Production Company Athens Filmmakers’ Coop Yannis sakaridis +30 210 991 5036 [email protected] Unable to cope with his excessive debts, Dimitris, a bankrupt telecom engineer, closes down his business. His ex-boss hires him and a former colleague Nikos, also a telecom engineer, to investigate a phone-hacking operation at a big corporation. Their rigorous search of mobile phone antennas leads them to a suspicious flat in a tower block in Glyfada, a suburb by the sea in the south of Athens. Panayota, a tenant who lives in the flat above, attracts Dimitris’ attention. He starts spying on her and listening in on her phone conversations. Her story is the reason why Dimitris ends up feeling trapped into paying off either his economic or his moral debts. Film Market 335 Will There Be a Theater up There? 55’ Nana JANELIDZE, Georgia 2011 Production Company N7N, STUQO Nanuka Khuskivadze +995 599 576 406 [email protected] The main character of the film is one of Georgia’s most popular actors: Kakhi Kavsadze. But this film is not about just an actor. The film depicts the chronicle of the Kavsadze family; a family of great folk singers and their life’s ordeal, which reflects the lives of millions who lived in the former USSR. These people participated in World War II, ended up in Nazi concentration camps and afterwards in Soviet concentration camps in the USSR. Despite a tragic fate, Kakhi became a great actor and now he is loved and well known not only in Georgia but beyond its borders. His love story is also full of romantic and dramatic details and is known in Georgia as the “Legend of Love and Loyalty.” Crossroads Previous Films 213 Winds 117’ Selim EVCI, Turkey 2012 Production Company Evci Film Production Mediha Didem Turemen +90 212 249 5835 [email protected] Film Market 122 Murat records sounds for movies, then records some voices he hears and takes pictures of Gökçeada (Imbros), wishing to hold a photography exhibition of the island. He meets Mrs. Styliani during that time and they become friends. Murat starts to record life and memories of Mrs. Styliani as she tells him her story. Film Market A romantic young Greek writer struggling financially in London escapes to the rural mountain town where his father died under mysterious circumstances. Haunted by the past and a suspect in the eyes of the village, he must choose between a normal life or an escape to his inherited world of fantasy and madness. 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 - Agora Industry Manual 218 The Winter 101’ Konstantinos KOUTSOLIOTAS, Greece-UK 2013 Production Company Melancholy Star Elizabeth E. Schuch +44 753 213 6112 [email protected] Film Market Janko returns to his deserted, godforsaken village after several years of living in Belgrade. He is ready to do anything to leave for Switzerland and find his place under the sun – even sell his fathers grave. 247 Withering 109’ Milos PUSIĆ, Serbia-Switzerland 2013 Production Company Hit and Run Branislav Trifunović +381 63 834 8067 [email protected] Official Selection Three children are living in a futuristic world where life is completely programmed. One night, looking for more reward points for school, they get lost in space and discover an infinite universe, forgotten in a small circus. After lots of playing and trying new experiences, the programmed world sends someone special to get them back. It’s time for them to choose their own path... 119 Worldturner Circus 75’ Alê ABEU, Brazil 2013 World Sales Company Wide House Anais Clanet +33 1 5395 0464 [email protected] Film Market How much do we value life and to what extend do we truly enjoy it? In a world where everyone dies before they reach thirty due to a virus, a team of young people tries to bring back the old way of life and live until they get old. However, their quest won’t be easy. Young people have turned the world into an unstable and violent environment. It’s not just the gangs that lurk in the wastelands; the members of the team will personally struggle to understand whether they truly deserve to live until they get old. 289 Years of Youth 97’ Michail CHARALAMPIDIS, Greece 2012 Production Company Iakovos Charalampidis +30 6932 268 490 [email protected] Film Market 123 Agora Industry Manual - 54th Thessaloniki IFF-2013 257 Yozgat Blues 92’ Mahmut FAZIL COSKUN, Turkey-Germany 2013 Production Company Hokus Focus Film Halil Kardas +90 532 235 9806 [email protected] Film Market Yavuz (58) sings popular songs from the 70s, but his career has sunk to irregular performances in a shopping mall and teaching music at free courses held by the municipality. Neşe (30), one of his students, has a real talent for music, but earns a living by giving out sausage samples at supermarket stands. When Yavuz is offered a singing job in Yozgat, he asks Neşe to accompany him. Before long, Yavuz and Neşe meet Sabri (30), a barber who has two ambitions in life: to get married and to open a women’s hairdressing salon. A friendship begins to grow between Neşe and Sabri, throwing Yavuz into a state of anxiety. The choice that Neşe now faces is between two different men and two different lifestyles. Film Market 234 zilo 17’ Ulku OKTAY, Turkey 2010 Production Company Gezici Film Başak Emre +90 312 466 34 84 [email protected] Seven-year-old Zilo, who lives in Kars, has just one friend: a chick. The two are inseparable. Zilo is out of place with her chick both at home and at school, but one day finds herself deeply impressed by what her teacher has to say about Ankara. Setting herself the goal of going to the capital, Zilo needs to find the money to make her escape. Crossroads Previous Films 319 zoran, My Nephew the Idiot 104’ Matteo OLEOTTO, Italy-Slovenia 2013 World Sales Company Slingshot Films Manuela Buono +39 34 7627 3390 [email protected] Official Selection 124 Paolo spends his days at Gustino’s, who runs a tavern in a small village close to Gorizia. A 40-year-old misfit, Paolo is cynical and misanthropic, a true drinking professional and a compulsive liar, who reluctantly works at a retirement home cafeteria and is still unsuccessfully pursuing the dream of winning back his ex-wife Stefania. But things are about to change when Zoran shows up: a 15year-old kid with big glasses, whom Paolo “inherits” from a distant Slovenian relative, who speaks in a weird way and seems a little bit retarded. Paolo finds himself being an uncle, and that to him is just sickening. Only when he notices that his nephew Zoran is a true phenomenon at playing darts does he change his mind. Every year the world darts championship grants a top prize of 60 thousand euros and Paolo has no intention of letting this opportunity go by... Festival Director: Dimitri Eipides General Coordinator: Eleni Rammou AGORA INDUSTRY Coordinator: Marie-Pierre Macia Head of Market: Yianna Sarri Services Coordination: Angeliki Vergou Market Coordination: Denise Andreola Market Assistant: Nikos Smpiliris Crossroads: Marie-Pierre Macia, Angeliki Vergou Agora Industry Production: Panagiotis Galios Agora Industry Production Assistant: Nikos Bozanis Films Digitization Coordination, Translation, and Film Market Technical Assistance: Neaniko Plano Subtitles Copy editing and translations: Denise Andreola, Nikos Smpiliris Design-Production: Andreas Remountis Acknowledgements Bulgaria: Mira Staleva (Sofia Meetings) France: Jerome Paillard, Julie Bergeron (Cannes Film Festival), Isabelle Fauvel (Initiative Films) Greece: Yorgos Kalogeropoulos, Apostolia Papaioannou, Dimitris Emmanouilidis (MFI Script 2 Film Workshops), Pola Bousiou 10 Aristotelous Sq., 54623 Thessaloniki, Greece Τ. +30 2310 378400 F. +30 2310 285759 7, Dion. Areopagitou st., 11742 Athens, Greece Τ. +30 210 8706000 F. +30 210 6448143 [email protected] www.filmfestival.gr © 2013, Thessaloniki International Film Festival