30/06/2021 - Eight films will take part in the second session of the programme at KVIFF Eastern Promises Industry Days, with a number of acclaimed advisors having been confirmed to participate

Director Michael Koch, who is taking part with his second feature, A Piece of Sky (© Locarno Film Festival/Massimo Pedrazzini)

The second annual edition of First Cut+, the programme that aims to boost the competitiveness and marketability of feature films that previously participated in the First Cut Lab (FCL), is all set to continue during the upcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Eastern Promises Industry Days (see the news). This edition will take place online during the summer, and at the end of it, a works-in-progress session will be presented on 3 August during the online edition of Eastern Promises.

The complete portfolio of First Cut+ consists of 16 feature-length fiction films that are currently in post-production and hail from countries with a low production capacity (for at least 75% of the films). There is also a special focus on Central and Eastern European projects. The first session has already run during Trieste’s When East Meets West (see the news) and featured eight more projects.

Slovak director-producer Mátyás Prikler (Fine, Thanks [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) is coming along to First Cut+ at KVIFF Eastern Promises with his sophomore effort, the political thriller Power [+see also:
film review
film profile], produced by Zora Jaurová and Prikler for MPhilms. Latvian documentarian Uģis Olte (Liberation Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) is presenting his first fiction effort, Upurga [+see also:
interview: Uģis Olte
film profile], which is set in a wild forest where a rafting instructor is fighting to find his missing clients, produced by Uldis Cekulis (VFS FILMS). Swiss actor-screenwriter-director Michael Koch is presenting his second feature, A Piece of Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile], which is set in a remote mountain village where a couple tries to preserve their love (see the news), produced by Christof Neracher for Zurich’s hugofilm.

Five years after his debut feature, Blue Bicycle [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Turkish filmmaker Ümit Köreken returns with his sophomore fiction film, A Hope, about an actor who tries to keep his troubled past hidden from his wife, produced by Nursen Çetin Köreken (Drama Yapım Film Medya). Finally, Israeli director-screenwriter Michal Vinik (Blush [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) is invited to attend with Valeria Is Getting Married [+see also:
film review
film profile], which follows a Ukrainian woman who goes to Israel to marry someone she met online, produced by Ayelet Kait and Amir Harel (LAMA FILMS).

As for the first-time filmmakers, the selection includes Polish helmer Grzegorz Mołda with The Hatcher, a film that revolves around a troubled youngster and his hope for a fresh start, produced by Izabela Igel (Harine Films) (see the news); Croatian filmmakers Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević with their debut feature, Have You Seen this Woman? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluš…
film profile], about a middle-aged woman who tries to escape from her skin, produced by Čarna Vučinić (Non-Aligned Films); and Dutch director Martijn de Jong with Narcosis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], about a woman who can communicate with the spirit world and who is looking for her husband, produced by Trent (OAK Motion Pictures).

Over the course of its four days, the event offers three days of consultations with established film-industry experts on promotion, marketing, press, trailer-making, festival launches and sales strategy. The confirmed advisors will be marketing specialist Boris Pugnet, digital marketing specialist for L’Avventura Studio Alexis Hamaide, international publicists and PR specialists for WOLF Laurin Dietrich and Michael Arnon, senior executive at Heretic Outreach Ioanna Stais, and head of First Cut+ and former Pyramide International festival manager Ilaria Gomarasca, who will handle festival strategies. Furthermore, Romanian editor Catalin Cristuțiu will be tutoring the attendees on what excerpts are best to choose for the launch of the film.

The eight projects selected for the Karlovy Vary session of First Cut+ are as follows:

A Hope – Ümit Köreken (Turkey/Germany/Slovenia)
Main producer: Nursen Çetin Köreken (Drama Yapım Film Medya)
Co-producers: Lightburst Pictures, Perfo.d.o.o

A Piece of Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile] – Michael Koch (Switzerland/Germany)
Main producer: Christof Neracher (hugofilm features)
Co-producer: Pandora Filmproduktion

The Hatcher – Grzegorz Mołda (Poland)
Main producer: Izabela Igel (Harine Films)
Co-producers: TVP SA, Polish Film Institute

Have You Seen this Woman? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluš…
film profile] – Dušan Zorić, Matija Gluščević (Serbia/Croatia)
Main producer: Čarna Vučinić (Non-Aligned Films)

Narcosis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Martijn de Jong (Netherlands)
Main producer: Trent (OAK Motion Pictures)

Power [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Mátyás Prikler (Slovakia/Hungary/Czech Republic)
Main producers: Zora Jaurová, Mátyás Prikler (Mphilms)
Co-producers: Proton Cinema, Negativ

Upurga [+see also:
interview: Uģis Olte
film profile] – Uģis Olte (Latvia)
Main producer: Uldis Cekulis (VFS FILMS)
Co-producer: Raitis Ābele

Valeria Is Getting Married [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Michal Vinik (Israel/Ukraine)
Main producer: Ayelet Kait, Amir Harel (LAMA FILMS)
Co-producer: Vladimir Yatsenko (ForeFilms)