15/03/2023 - Taking in 18 territories and three continents, and targeting audiences aged between 2 and 99, the m:brane pitching sessions kick off today

With Grace by Julia Dahr and Dina Mwende, one of the documentary projects being pitched (© Differ Media)

A shy 14-year-old boy decides to win the heart of his classmate through online gaming. A 12-year-old girl decides to save the local playground from being turned into a car park. Another 12-year-old girl, again a gamer, is projected into the game itself. A seven-year-old lad finds a stray cat, which messes up his holiday plans. An eight-year-old girl finds out that an old washing machine is a portal to a parallel world inhabited by sock-eating hamsters. A six-year-old lass prefers going to faraway fantasy lands with her imaginary friend, rather than eating her veggies or cleaning her room. Six ten-year-old girls, all sharing the same name, live very different lives across different continents. There’s a tiger and a bear with a zen-like outlook on life, a stubborn donkey foal travelling around Europe and a passionate fly, fighting for the climate.

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These are just some of the protagonists present among the works in progress at various stages of development – and looking for backers, broadcasters, buyers, distributors, sales agents and, in some cases, a director – which are being presented in the 2023 m:brane’s Pitch Projects strand, kicking off today, 15 March. For two full days, a total of 25 projects from 18 territories are being presented, encompassing Northern and Central Europe, South Africa and Latin America, and covering live-action, animation, documentary and series formats for audiences aged between two and 99 – but mainly between four and 18. As is tradition at the forum, all participants are given a crash course in sharpening their presentation skills; there’s also a €2,500 award given to the best pitch, chosen by an international jury of experts – an incognito one, at that, to make things extra interesting.

The 2023 m:brane Pitch Projects take place on 15 and 16 March. All m:brane information is available here.

Here is the full list of projects:

Fiction projects

Anna LOL – Ivars Tontegode (Latvia)
Producer: Guna Stahovska (Mojo Raiser Production, KIB Kultivators)

Apple Hills – Lowe Haak (Denmark, series)
Producer: Thomas Borch Nielsen (Nice Ninja)

Avatar Lover – Kristian Sejrbo (Denmark, series)
Producer: Maria Stevnbak Westergren (Toolbox Film ApS)

BFF – Urte Oettinger (Lithuania, series)
Producer: Agne Adomene (Art Shot)

Block 5 – Klemen Dvornik (Croatia/Czech Republic/Serbia/Slovenia)
Producer: Barbara Daljavec (A Atalanta d.o.o.)

Bug City – Jøran Wærdahl (Norway, series)
Producer: Kjersti Greger (Klipp og Lim)

Game Girl – Marina Andree Skop (Czech Republic)
Producer: Julietta Sichel (8Heads Productions)

Ghoul Friends – director TBC (UK, series)
Producer: Reece Cargan (Bombito Productions Ltd)

Gloria and the Dragon – César Heredia (Colombia)
Producer: Daniela Echeverri

Jukli – Marco Gilles (Germany)
Producer: Corinna C Poetter
Main production company: eitelsonnenschein GmbH

Koschka – Bernd Sahling (Germany)
Producer: Meike Martens (Blinker Filmproduktion GmbH)

Land of Lost Laundry – Christian Lo (Norway)
Producer: Nicholas Sando (Filmbin AS)

Lula’s Gift from the Ocean – Yolanda K Mogatusi (South Africa, series/multiplatform)
Producer: Yolanda K Mogatusi (1000 Hugs Films)

Markus Will Win – Kira Richards Hansen (Denmark, series)
Producer: Pelle Folmer (Asta Film ApS)

My Amazing Transition – Julie Bezerra Madsen (Denmark, series)
Producer: Puk Lodahl Eisenhardt (GotFat Productions)

Princesses? – Cecilia Amado Costa (Brazil)
Producer: Tiago Mello (Boutique Filmes e Produções Ltda)

Puck – director TBC (Sweden)
Producer: Caroline Drab (BCD Film AB)

Secrets of the Great Bog – Linda Olte (Latvia)
Producer: Gaile Antra, Lïga Gaisa (Air Productions)

Stormchasers – Kristina Elsikova (Czech Republic)
Producer: Jitka Kotrlova (Frame Films)

The Unreal World of Alda – Tóki Jansson (Faroe Islands, series)
Producer: Jón Hammer (Kykmyndir)

Tiger and Bear – director TBC (Germany, series)
Producer: Sebastian Wehner (Wolkenlenker)

Ursa - The Polar Bear – Natalia Malykhina Bratli (Norway, series)
Producer: Arild Halvorsen (Fabelaktiv AS)

Documentary projects

Anna’s World – Tijs Torfs, Celine Vanhoutte (Belgium, series)
Producer: Buedts Jurgen (Las Belgas)

Imaginary Youth – Gubernat Ruxandra (Romania, series)
Producer: Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan (Manifest Film)

With Grace – Julia Dahr, Dina Mwende (Norway/Kenya)
Producer: Natalya Sarch (Differ Media)