Following two years of remote attendance and one hybrid edition, the 20th iteration of Sofia Meetings will unfold as a full-scale version. The renowned industry platform with a strong focus on Central and Eastern European film projects will return to its regular slot during the Sofia International Film Festival, and it will take place between 22 and 26 March. Over the course of five days, directors will have the chance to pitch their first, second or third feature-length fiction projects, to aid them in their search for future co-producers, sales agents or distributors. Industry professionals will also attend closed screenings of projects at various stages of post-production, whose teams will be attempting to attract the attention of key decision makers.

(L'article continue plus bas - Inf. publicitaire)

As part of the Feature Films Pitching side of the event, 32 projects have been selected across the three strands, most of them hailing from Central and Eastern Europe. Four of them are Bulgarian, and others include production countries of the likes of Brazil, Colombia and India. The films in the Plus Minus One section are either first or third features, comprising ten in total. Five features will be presented under the Second Fiction Feature rubric, and a further eight make up the selection of First Films First. Rounding up Projects In Bank, the only strand that’s not presented publicly, there are nine titles, including some from Turkey, the UK and Ukraine.

The Work In Progress selection encompasses 24 features and three short films, including new titles by Lech Kowalski, Raul Garcia and Andrey M Paounov. As things stand, 13 of all the projects are either Bulgarian productions or co-productions, making up half of the total WIP count.

The Bulgarian capital will turn into the industry hotspot for the week, welcoming hundreds of film professionals to pitching sessions, workshops and talks. Alongside the usual distribution-centred workshops led by Europa Cinemas and Europa Distribution, Sofia Meetings will carry on with its collaboration with Thessaloniki’s Co-Production Forum/Agora Market, set up last year to deliver a programme of industry talks, supported by ACE, EAVE, MIDPOINT and the MFI. One of the highlights is a session on fluid creativity and the untapped potential of European cinema, led by director Kate Cragg and cinematographer Daniel Landin (Under the Skin [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jonathan Glazer
fiche film]), who are premiering their film Atomen at the Sofia International Film Festival.

A full list of the projects taking part in this year’s edition of Sofia Meetings is as follows:

Second Fiction Feature Film Projects

Dream Bird – Murat Pay
Producer: Halil Kardaş – Film Code Production (Turkey)

Jaune et bleu – Giulia Grandinetti
Producers: Riccardo Neri, Vincenzo Filippo – Lupin Film (Italy)

Jugoslava – Ivan Bakrač
Producers: Ivan Bakrač, Nikolina Vucetic Zecevic, Guillaume de Seille – Quadrifolium Films (Montenegro), Arizona Films (France), Biberche (Serbia)

Drowning Dry [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Laurynas Bareiša
fiche film] – Laurynas Bareisa
Producers: Klementina Remeikaite, Matiss Kaza – Afterschool (Lithuania), Trickster Pictures (Latvia)

The Last Slap – Matteo Oleotto
Producer: Miha Černec – Staragara IT (Slovenia/Italy), Spok (Slovenia), Propeler Film (Croatia)

Plus Minus One Film Projects

Dissonance – Eliza Petkova
Producer: Veselka Kiryakova – Red Carpet (Bulgaria), Wood Water Films (Germany)

Mario – Guillem Miró
Producer: Ana Inés Fernández – Somera Films, Corte y Confección de Películas (Spain) (in partnership with the MFI)

Resonance – Yordan Petkov
Producers: Victoria Mitreva, Vanya Raynova – Garti Films, Portokal (Bulgaria)

Słońce – Anna Zamecka
Producers: Klaudia Smeja, Bogna Szewczyk – Skupien/Madants (Poland)

The Hostess – Eric Nazarian
Producers: Eric Nazarian, Panos Papahadzis, Maria Laskaridou – Argonauts Productions SA/Voyager Pictures (Armenia/Greece/Turkey)

The Last Summer – João Nuno Pinto, Fernanda Polacow
Producer: Andreia Nunes – Wonder Maria Filmes (Portugal), Grifa Filmes (Brazil)

The Road Less Travelled – Tyagi Pallava
Producer: Viktoria Petranyi – Proton Cinema (Hungary)

Travellers – Pierre Filmon
Producers: Pierre Filmon, Sonal Sehgal – Almano Films (France), Sonal Sehgal Films (India)

Worker – Giorgi Kobalia
Producers: Nika Gugushvili, Vako Kirkitadze – Film Asylum (Georgia)

Y – Maria Popistașu, Alexandru Baciu
Producer: Anamaria Antoci – Tangaj Production (Romania) (in partnership with Crossroads)

First Films First

40, Maria Louisa Boulevard – Kristina Spassovska
Producer: Maya Vitkova – Viktoria Films (Bulgaria)

Beasts – Maja Križnik
Producers: Vlado Bulajić, Lija Pogačnik – December (Slovenia)

Before I Fall Asleep – Senka Domanović
Producer: Marija Stojanovic – SENSE Production (Serbia)

Nothing Will Be Named After Me – Đorđe Vojvodić
Producer: Miljan Vučelić – Bitter Frames Production (Montenegro)

Lionfish – Thanasis Trouboukis (Greece)

Long Weekend – Katarina Koljević
Producers: Natasa Damjanovic, Vladimir Vidic – Dart Film (Serbia)

Shibboleth – Alexandra Matheou
Producer: Tonia Mishiali – Bark Like a Cat Film (Cyprus)

Pietà – Andra Chiriac Hera (Romania)

Projects in Bank

Animal – Milada Těšitelová
Producer: Julie Žáčková – Unit and Sofa Praha (Czech Republic)

End Point – Maria Dauza
Producer: Michael Sarantinos – Steficon (Greece)

Because I Love Bad Weather – Yana Lekarska
Producer: Kalin Kalinov – Invictus Ltd (Bulgaria)

Julio’s Vision – Raul Garcia
Producer: Raul Garcia – Solaris Dreams Films (Colombia)

Memento Non Mori – Şeyhmus Altun
Producer: Fevziye Hazal – Jurnal Kolektif Production (Turkey)

Potion – Natalka Vorozhbyt
Producers: Iryn Kostyuk, Sergiy Demidov, Anna Eliseeva – FILM.UA PRODUCTION (Ukraine)

Radical – Kenneth Mercke
Producer: Maarten D'Hollander – Krater Film (Belgium) (in partnership with EAVE)

The Violation – Kate Cragg
Producer: Daniel Landin – Art Practice (UK)

Things Washed Ashore – Janis Abele
Producer: Marta Romanova-Jekabsone – GESTA FILMS (Latvia)

Works In Progress Selection

Axis of Life – Atanas Hristoskov
Producers: Kalinov Brothers – Invictus Ltd (Bulgaria)

Blazing – Balázs Dudás
Producer: Gábor Kovács – CineSuper (Hungary)

Breathers – Lech Kowalski
Producers: Maison Mariou – Revolt Cinema (France) and David Dávila Herrera – Living On Film (Mexico)

Dad – Dimitris Georgiev, Mariy Rosen
Producers: Lyubo Yonchev, Rosen Savkov, Elena Doroshenko, Teodora Mladenova – Four Elements (Bulgaria)

Die Like a Man – Eric Nazarian
Producer: Eric Nazarian – Voyager Pictures, Confluential Films, Mucho Mas Media (USA)

Dyad [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Yana Titova
fiche film] – Yana Titova
Producers: Vanya Rainova, Aleksandar Aleksiev, Nikolay Stoichkov – Portokal, NoBlink (Bulgaria)

Everybody Dies on the News – Victor Ivanov
Producer: Konstantin Vasilev – B2Y (Bulgaria/Croatia)

Love Off – Ivaylo Hristov
Producer: Orlin Ruevski – Moviemento (Bulgaria)

Medium [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Christina Ioakeimidi
fiche film] – Christina Ioakeimidi
Producers: Yorgos Noussias, Louizos Aslanidis – Ekso Productions (Greece), Red Carpet Films (Bulgaria)

Nothing New Under the Sun – Murad Zaloğlu
Producer: Halil Kardaş – Film Code Production (Turkey)

Plague – Ivan Vladimirov
Producer: Mila Voinikova – Miramar Film (Bulgaria)

Rescuers – Ilina Perianova
Producers: Ilina Perianova, Mila Voinikova – Uga Buga Art, Miramar Film (Bulgaria)

Nobody Like Me – Tomas Weinreb, Petr Kazda
Producer: Guillaume de Seille – Arizona Films (Czech Republic/Slovakia/France)

Scirocco/The Pliarica Adventure – Yassine Marco Marroccu
Producer: Andrea Taschler – Mirage Film, Eclipse Films (Hungary/Morocco)

Enough for Now [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] – Marko Đjordjević
Producer: Miloš Pušić – Film Center Serbia (Serbia)

The Answer to All Questions – Dimitar Kotzev-Shosho
Producers: Alexander Stanishev, Dimitar Kotzev-Shosho – Kontraplan (Bulgaria)

The Circus Fantasy – Raul Garcia
Producer: Raul Garcia – Solaris Dreams Films (Colombia)

The Backstage – Hovhannes Galstyan
Producers: Hovhannes Galstyan, Laura Clever – Anso Films, Parallels Film Production, Clever Production, Wady Films, One Man Studio Production, GreyMark-45 Studio (Armenia/Germany/Luxembourg)

The Platform – Nikolay Sotirov
Producer: Nikolay Mutafchiev – Premierstudio Plus (Bulgaria)

Trophies – André Chandelle
Producer: Vera Chandelle – Fabrikata (Bulgaria/Belgium)

Wedlock – Magdalena Ralcheva
Producers: Magdalena Ralcheva, Pavlina Jeleva – Nuance Film (Bulgaria)

Windless [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Pavel G. Vesnakov
fiche film] – Pavel Vesnakov
Producer: Veselka Kiryakova – Red Carpet Films (Bulgaria)

Wiesenwood – Jannis Alexander Kiefer
Producers: Philipp Kreuzer, Katja Kuhlmann, Chris Degenhart, Lotte Ruf – Maze Pictures (Germany)

Yasmeen’s Element – Amman Abbasi
Producer: Kamen Velkovski – Alaz Film (Portugal/Pakistan)

Short Film Selection

Two Times Two – Andrey M Paounov
Producers: Andrey M Paounov, Elitza Katzarska, Herbert Schwering, Samuel Finzi – Chicken Milk Farm, Coin Film (Bulgaria/Germany)

Across the Naked Hills – Dimitar Kutmanov
Producer: Veselka Kiryakova – Red Carpet Films (Bulgaria)

The Engineer – Jordan Chichikov
Producers: Y Seu Castor (Jordan Chichikov), Irmena Chichikova – Old School Gemini Productions (UK/Bulgaria)