19/09/2013 - The HFA’s two-day set of workshops and seminars will focus on funding, production and distribution in the EU and the global environment.

“A networking event, providing Greek filmmakers with opportunities to connect with European professionals and get their work across borders”, is how HFA president Katerina Evangelakou dubbed the Academy’s two-day set of seminars, titled Riding the Greek Wave (28 – 29 Sep).

Last year, RGW’s first run helped 3 features make it into the Berlinale, and pushed 5 projects into the Torino Film Lab, noted Evangelakou, who went on to emphasize the educational importance of the event, where “young filmmakers will get a package of distilled knowledge first-hand”.

Revolving around four axes, the RGW’s schedule starts with Training, where EAVE’s head programmer Jani Thiltges, ACE’s president Simon Perry, and SOFA’s founder and director Nikolaj Nikitin will present training and networking programmes for upcoming and established producers and film agents.

Funding will be another focus, where Eurimage director Roberto Olla, Venice’s Biennale College-Cinema head Savina Neirotti, ZDF commissioning editor Holger Stern and former French Film Centre director Eric Garandeau, will be discussing European funding techniques.

Co-productions will be approached via Element Pictures’ Ed Guiney, Arizona Productions’ Guillaume de Seille, Twentytwenty Vision’s Thanasis Karathanos and Unafilm’s Titus Kreyenberg, who will present a rundown of their co-production experiences with Greek filmmakers, as well as analyze future plans concerning co-productions with local talent.

The challenges and dynamics of Greek film distribution in the international market will be tackled by Emilie Georges of Memento Films International, Kasia Karwan of Premium Films, Marie Pierre Macia from MPM Film and Federica Tremolada from the Greek and Italian branches of Google’s Youtube.