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FESTIVALS Greece

Balkan Fund nominates 12 films

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The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the selection of this year’s Balkan Fund projects, which will be presented during the 47th edition of the festival, held from November 17-26.

Twelve projects will be presented by their directors, producers or even writers to an international five-member jury during a three-day workshop (November 18-20), after which four of them will be awarded €10,000 each for further script development. The Balkan Fund jury, headed this year by European industry professionals such as French-Bosnian film producer Cedomir Kolar and Peter Carlton, FilmFour’s Commissioning Executive, has always had an eye for a talent.

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Jasmila Zbanic’s 2006 Berlinale Golden Bear winner Esma’s Secret [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Barbara Albert
interview: Jasmila Zbanic
film profile
]
(Grbavica) was one of the projects awarded financial help in the initial Balkan Fund of 2003, as was Slovenian director Igor Sterk’s Tuning, also a later hit at European festivals.

But participating is what really matters for the nominees in what has fast become the region’s most important such initiative. Except for the proceedings of the Fund itself, applicants have the opportunity to meet producers, distributors and sales agents who are invited to Thessaloniki specifically for the Fund. And deals are usually struck.

Dusan Milic’s now completed Gucha – Distant Trumpet found most of its producers – Karl Baumgartner of Pandora Films, Thanassis Karathanos of Twenty Twenty Vision, Stefan Kitanov of Arts Films Bulgaria and Emir Kusturica – at the 2004 Balkan Fund.

The 2006 Balkan Fund projects are:

The Boy by Dimitris Athanitis, Greece
Cairo by Stergios Niziris, Greece
Circus Fantasticus by Janez Burger, Slovenia
The Deepest Scar by Stefan Mavrodiev, Bulgaria
Firefly Season by Miroslav Mandic, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Fish Out of Water by Maria Douza, Greece
A Heart Shaped Balloon by Catalin Mitulescu, Romania
Here and There by Darko Lungulov, Serbia
Lara by Blaz Kutin, Slovenia
Lodos by Didem Erayda, Turkey
Principles of Life by Radu Jude, Romania
Tilt by Viktor Viktorov Chouchkov, Bulgaria

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