18/01/2012

Berlin’s 9th Co-production Market (February 12-14 2012), organised within the framework of the EFM-Film Market in partnership with the regional fund MDM and the European Union’s MEDIA Programme , and led by Sonja Heinen, will allow the producers of 39 film projects from 30 countries to present them to 450 potential partners and investors in the course of 25 meetings each – which represents around a thousand meetings in two days, on top of the programme’s other networking events and various informative meetings.

These projects, which vary between comedy (very present this year) to pure arthouse, include 25 feature films (chosen among 311 candidates) presented by producers with some international experience and at least 30% of their budgets (from one to seven million euros) in place. Seventeen of these are European productions, such as the next films by Germany’s Marco Kreuzpaintner (Heirs of the Night, produced by Bavaria Pictures and Hamster Film) and Florian Cossen (Coconut Hero [+see also:
trailer
film profile], produced by teamWorx Television & Film), or by Norway’s Hans Petter Moland (The Bible II, produced by Monster Film) or by his fellow countryman Arild Fröhlich (Doctor Proktor's Fartpowder, prod. Maipo Film). France is also represented by two projeccts, as is Ireland (notably with the production house Element Pictures Ten Dates with Mad Mary [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] de Darren Thornton), Poland and Finland.

Three projects chosen within the framework of the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express initiative will take part in the Dutch festival’s CineMart and to Berlin’s Market, in particular Tourist by Sweden’s Ruben Östlund (Play [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Ostlund
film profile]), a co-production between Plattform Produktion (Sweden) and Essential Film (Germany). The eleven remaining selections (of 247 applications) are part of the Talent Project Market, which allows potential partners to take up a project from the beginning of its development.

One of the novelties of this year is the collaboration of the Co-production Market wih the Festival Scope platform, which allows participants and other potential partners to arrange their meetings by viewing other works by the authors selected.

Since it was set up, Berlin’s co-production Market has promoted the creation of 120 films. The rate of success of the meetings it helps to set up is of an impressive 40%.

(Translated from French)