CoPro introduces Screening Room
- The 25th edition of the Israeli co-production market shines a spotlight on a curated selection of eight local documentaries that are ready for distribution
CoPro – The Israeli Coproduction Market is an exclusive platform designed to showcase Israeli documentary projects, which are aiming to secure funding from international sources, to key players in the global documentary film industry. The 25th edition of the CoPro Market takes place in Tel Aviv from 5-8 June, featuring a series of industry events including lectures and professional panels accessible to all industry professionals and members of the creative community. The market attracts influential executives from the worldwide documentary film industry, with over 50 esteemed international figures in attendance.
CoPro Market is introducing its latest venture, the Screening Room, a dedicated section showcasing recently completed documentary films that are ready for distribution. This exclusive category highlights a curated selection of eight titles, many of which had their premieres during the 25th edition of Docaviv, the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival. These films will be prominently featured in the market's online catalogue throughout the month of June and will be available year-round on the Copro.Screen platform (previously known as DocuShuk). This service offers access to over 100 influential international decision makers, including TV buyers, festival programmers and sales agents who also have the opportunity to schedule online meetings with Israeli filmmakers during the market week.
Pnina Halfon Lang, CoPro’s executive director, underlined: “As CoPro expands its activities to assist filmmakers by developing a distribution and sales arm of the organisation, we are proud to be the go-to place for the international market and to create more networking opportunities for distribution, buyers and film festivals. We invite the international community to check out our renewed screening platform that is currently hosting the CoPro Market and find the most exciting titles from Israel.”
Indeed, for the past few years, CoPro has been running an online platform to showcase the Israeli catalogue of documentaries. Right after the CoPro Market ends, the renewed Copro.Screen platform will present over 100 completed films from the last few years.
The selection for the inaugural edition of the Screening Room includes the following documentary films: In the Name of the Father by Bat dor Ojalvo and Gal Goffer delves into the life of the son of Brooklyn's revered yet controversial Rabbi, who uncovers the truth about the extreme and secluded cult his father established. Kiki by Natan Rushansky focuses on 14-year-old Kiki and follows his journey just before he is sent to juvenile prison; however, his sister Gal manages to convince the authorities to grant him one last chance – a transformative, therapeutic trip to the desert. My Lover – The Clock Thief by Nili Tal is a detective-themed love story that unveils the biggest heist in the history of Israel, as told from the perspective of the lover of one of the thieves. My Project X [+see also:
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film profile] by Limor Pinhasov revolves around Michal, who opens up her personal archive of rare video tapes that contain her conversations with some of America's most notorious psychopathic criminals, including Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez and others.
Furthermore, the selection also includes Nora by Matan Ben Moreh, which follows the title character, who lives in a self-built shelter with 500 fruit bats and isolates herself from other people while rescuing any other animals she encounters; however, she soon discovers that no shelter can fully protect them. Silver’s Uprising by Dan Shadur offers a portrait of Amos Dov Silver, a former ultra-Orthodox individual who created the drug-dealing mobile app Telegrass. The Activist: Karl Marx by Benjamin Freidenberg delves into the life story of Karl Marx and his profound influence on Israeli activists, both Jews and Arabs. Finally, The Return from the Other Planet by Asaf Lapid follows the enigmatic writer Ka-Tzetnik, known for naming Auschwitz as "The Other Planet", which resonated with millions of readers worldwide; however, when an experimental LSD treatment brings the writer new understandings, his new message goes unnoticed.