Youth Film Festival Sarajevo opens submissions for the third OFF Pro Film Market
by Cineuropa
- From 21-24 July, the market will focus on the development and distribution of short films; calls are open for auteurs, producers and distributors, with the deadline set for 15 April
The OFF Pro Film Market (21-24 July) is the only market for short films in the Balkan region, and with a prize fund of €15,000 in cash and in-kind prizes, it is certainly one of the most significant for young auteurs in Europe.
The OFF Pro Film Market is an international event intended to support the expansion of short films primarily in the Balkan region and Europe, including regional co-productions. It provides professional young filmmakers up to 35 years old with the opportunity to network with decision makers from the Balkans and Europe, and to help secure funding for European works, as well as supporting their production, distribution, screenings and international sales.
First of all, the OFF Pro Film Market, part of Youth Film Festival Sarajevo, is looking for projects whose teams are seeking funds in order to start or finish their films. The event will be divided into four days, featuring the official opening on the first day. The subsequent two days will be followed by various sessions: daily market workshops, production and distribution talks, partner presentations, and full-day acting workshops for young talents.
The third day of the programme will be reserved for the main market activities: the OFF Co-pro Market, pitching of works in progress, “Let’s Produce” one-to-one talks, Looking4Distributors and the OFF Pro Alumni Screening. On the last day of the market, the winners will be announced, followed by the official co-pro party.
However, the OFF Pro Film Market is not only an initiative for filmmakers with work-in-progress projects and young professionals. Distributors and producers (whether independent or production companies) can apply without a project, and request one-to-one meetings with representatives of selected projects through the Let's Produce or Looking4Distributors programme. Industry accreditation can be requested right away, through the festival portal. This accreditation is free of charge.
The Looking4Distributors programme will present over 20 films looking for a distributor or sales agent, and these titles are from the official selections of the festival. OFF Co-pro will present ten projects in development. The call for industry accreditations is open until 1 June 2024.
A large number of short-film distributors and producers have already confirmed their attendance at the 2024 OFF Pro Film Market. The call for work-in-progress submissions for OFF Co-pro is open until 15 April, and the selected projects will be announced in mid-May. The best projects that will be co-produced and financed by OFF Pro are decided on by an international commission.
“So far, we have confirmed Zdenka Gold (a producer from Croatia and a member of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre), Faruk Loncarevic (a film director from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the dean of the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo) and Ozana Ramljak (from the VERN Film School in Zagreb) as the first three commission members. In the next few weeks, we will announce three more members of the commission, among them well-known directors and producers from France, Italy and Germany,” said Hanis Bagashov, head of industry at OFF Sarajevo.
In addition, as part of this year's OFF Pro Film Market, a new platform and industry initiative will be presented. “OFF Pro Film Market is proud to be growing so fast and to serve as a base for further projects. Moreover, we are proud to already be in a position to create a new network of film markets from the Mediterranean region. We are in the process of finalising the details of a unique film market that will bring together the best of all partners, and I am happy to announce it will take place this September on the island of Hvar in Croatia. It’s called the Mediteran Film Market,” said Kenan Musić, executive director of the festival.
Further information, as well as the terms and conditions for participation in the OFF Pro Film Market, are available here.
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