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Yannis Chalkiadakis has been an editor of advertisements, shorts and feature films since 1993. His recent credits include Interruption (2015, Venice), A Woman’s Way (2009, Berlin) and L (2012, Sundance). He edited that last film for Babis Makridis, who returned to Sundance this year for his dark comedy Pity. Chalkiadakis speaks with Filmmaker below on the parallels between editing and sculpture, the influence of Hitchcock on his work and why, when it comes to editing, “it’s not the software that counts.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and […]...

Screen speaks to up-and-coming producers from Serbia, Greece, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink industry programme is in full flow. Below, Screen highlights five emerging producers from the region who are making waves.

Nataša Damnjanović (Serbia)

Serbian producer Nataša Damnjanović (pictured, top) started out as an editor, and since she founded the production company Dart Film together with Vladimir Vidić in 2006, she is still doing the editing on most of their films as well.

Damnjanović trained at Sarajevo and Berlinale Talents, Torino FilmLab and Eave, and first produced Nikola Ljuca’s short Sergeant in 2010 (which competed at Tampere), as well three shorts by Dane Komljen - A Surplus of Wind (2014), Our Body (2015), and All Still Orbit (2016), which screened at Locarno, Rotterdam, and Sarajevo.

Ljuca’s first feature Humidity world-premiered in Berlinale’s Forum in 2016 and won four national Serbian awards, including best film and best director. The same year, Komljen’s debut...

Screen speaks to up-and-coming producers from Serbia, Greece, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink industry programme is in full flow. Below, Screen highlights five emerging producers from the region who are making waves.

Nataša Damnjanović (Serbia)

Serbian producer Nataša Damnjanović (pictured, top) started out as an editor, and since she founded the production company Dart Film together with Vladimir Vidić in 2006, she is still doing the editing on most of their films as well.

Damnjanović trained at Sarajevo and Berlinale Talents, Torino FilmLab and Eave, and first produced Nikola Ljuca’s short Sergeant in 2010 (which competed at Tampere), as well three shorts by Dane Komljen - A Surplus of Wind (2014), Our Body (2015), and All Still Orbit (2016), which screened at Locarno, Rotterdam, and Sarajevo.

Ljuca’s first feature Humidity world-premiered in Berlinale’s Forum in 2016 and won four national Serbian awards, including best film and best director. The same year, Komljen’s debut...

Hedi won best film, while Matt Johnson won best director for Operation Avalanche.

The Tunisian-French-Belgian co-production Hedi by Mohamed Ben Attia has won the best film award, the Golden Athena, at the 22nd Athens International Film Festival (September 22-October 2).

The film was co-produced by Tanit Films, Nomadis Images and the Dardenne brothers production outlet Les Films du Fleuve.

Majd Mastoura stars in the lead role as a young man who tries to break loose from his dominant mother and some of Tunisia’s more conservative social norms.

The film debuted at Berlin Film Festival 2016, winning the best first film award and a best actor prize for Mastoura.

The Aiff awards were decided by a five-member international jury presided over by the BFI programmes curator Nicola Gallani. The jury included German film critic Julia Teichmann (Film Dienst), French producer Sylvia Perel and her compatriot film critic Bernard Nave (Jeune Cinema).

Matt Johnson won the best director trophy for [link...

Radu Jude’s Scarred Hearts among titles; In Focus strand also revealed.

Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20) has unveiled its competition and in focus titles ahead of the launch of its 22nd edition next month.

The eight features in competition include two world premieres: Ivan Marinović’s debut The Black Pin; and Lukas Valenta Rinner’s A Decent Woman.

The Black Pin, from Montenegro director Marinovic, centres on a priest who finds himself at odds with the other inhabitants of his small, rural parish when he opposes a large property sale. Serbian Vladimir Vasiljević is co-producing.

Austrian filmmaker Rinner, whose Parabellum won the special jury prize at Jeonju and was up for Rotterdam’s Tiger Award in 2015, returns with A Decent Woman, the story of a housemaid working in an exclusive gated community on the outskirts of Buenos Aires who embarks on a journey of sexual liberation at a nudist swingers club.

After winning...

Seven Croatian features comprise the main competition, while Independence Day: Resurgence and Ghostbusters play in the international strand.Scroll down for the full list of titles

Croatia’s Pula Film Festival has revealed the line-up for its 63rd edition, which will take place July 9-16.

Croatian titles

Receiving 105 submissions from Croatian film-makers, festival president Hrvoje Pukšec and artistic directors Mike Downey and Tanja Miličić have selected 16 features and 18 shorts for the Croatian programme.

In competition will be Ivan–Goran Vitez’s second feature Shooting Stars [pictured], after his debut Forest Creatures premiered in Pula in 2010, and Berlinale premiere On The Other Side, the latest feature from Zrinko Ogresta, who has received multiple accolades at Pula for previous features including 1995’s Washed Out and 1999’s Red Dust.

The festival will also host the out-of-competition world premiere of Rade and Danilo Šerbedžija’s Second World War drama The Liberation Of Skopje.

Minority Croatia co-pros selected to play include Mirjana Karanović...

Alexis Alexiou’s neo-noir drama triumphed at an event dominated by the refugee crisis, with honorary award recipient Vanesa Redgrave speaking out against border policies.Scroll down for full list of winners

Alexis Alexiou’s sophomore directorial outing Wednesday 04.45 [pictured] swept the Hellenic Film Academy (Helfiac) Awards (aka the ‘Iris Awards’) on Monday evening (March 28) winning nine awards out of the 13 categories in which it was nominated, including best film and director.

The film, which played in the Tribeca, Karlovy Vary and Jeonju festivals, was also awarded best editing, music, cinematography, production design, sound, special effects and actor for Stelios Mainas.

The Greek, German, Israeli co-production backed by Eurimages, is a neo-noir style drama where a club owner, faced with the 2010 recession and unable to repay a loan secured from a thug, tries to avoid bankruptcy.

Handled locally by distribution powerhouse Feelgood Entertainment and in Germany by the Neue Visionen Filmverleih, and sold internationally...

It is often said that it takes talent and luck to land a role. Today, proactivity and grace are added to this list of skillsets. In contemporary times, recognition seems less of a far-fetched notion than before thanks to the state of the art technology and interconnectivity. However, film festivals of the likes of Berlin play a substantial role as the gridiron for the discovery of new European talent as well as the creation of new roles and new relations, prompted by the ever so popular and widespread practice of co-productions on European turf. Among these relations is the one between actors and casting directors.

European Shooting Stars

Every February, for the past 18 years, European Shooting Stars, a unique pan-European initiative, takes place at the Berlinale, shining a little light on Europe’s most prominent up-and-coming young actors and placing them at the top of the busy film program that unfolds year after year at the festival. These ten emerging acting talents, hailing from across the Old Continent, are selected by a jury of experts who hand-picks them among a long list of potential candidates nominated by the member organizations of the European Film Promotion (Efp).

During the craze of the festival’s first weekend, the Shooting Stars connect and network with casting directors, talent agents, directors and producers with the objective of broadening and strengthening industry alliances. They are involved in a wide range of activities that include presentations to the film industry and the press as well as one-on-one meetings with international casting directors, a reception and an Awards Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.

The Shooting Stars program kicked off in 1998 during the Berlin International Film Festival. But, why the Berlinale? The project finds unique support in this particular festival. Moreover, its director, Dieter Kosslick is especially enthusiastic about the initiative as well as supporting young talent. According to Karin Dix, the project director of the European Shooting Stars, the Berlin International Film Festival “is an ideal platform for Shooting Stars,” pointing out that the Efp would not receive such exposure anywhere else.

Bridging Cultures Through Actors

Behind the glamour of film festivals, is a world, unknown to audiences, where films are made and discussed by the movers and shakers of the industry. Everyone sees the actors’ and directors’ work during the production of a film. But, very few people are aware that before the shooting even starts, casting directors have already dove deep into the script and spent hours, days and months researching the right people for a specific role. This demands intrinsic skills and gut instincts. The important work is felt behind the scenes, indeed, but when it comes to the public presentation it is often already forgotten.

Therefore, in 2005, the Efp acknowledged that the art, craft and business of casting should not only be incorporated in its activities but also better transmitted to the international industry. That is how and why the International Casting Directors Network (Icdn) was founded during the Berlinale, that year, by fifteen casting directors from seven countries. Today the network counts seventy-four casting directors from twenty-four countries world-wide. They meet annually on occasion of Shooting Stars in Berlin.

These casting directors come to the Berlin International Film Festival to “shop” for new talent, collaborate, and meet their fellows. Some will also meet the Shooting Stars who have already sent them tapes, like for instance María Valverde, for whom the human interaction is an important factor, “I think it’s a nice thing to just be yourself talking to them, not as a character in a certain role”, she remarks. On the other hand, for Londonderry Entertainment’s Sheila Wenzel, who works with top young female stars and holds a strong and well-respected deal-making reputation, “the world has gotten so much larger”. And, in that larger world, she is constantly looking for new talent anywhere.

In that regard, apart from offering support and publicity to these fresh faces of the big screen as they step from national fame into the international spotlight, the endeavor also highlights the vital role new actors can play in the marketing of European films. And, this year’s Shooting Stars are very well aware of that.

For Daphné Patakia, the Greek star of "Interruption" (Yorgos Zois), it is a “great opportunity to open in a European way and meet people from all over Europe,” adding she hopes to find work in different languages. The international cooperation and linguistic dimension of Shooting Stars are something that fellow Dutch Shooting Star Reinout Scholten van Aschat and former Shooting Star and this year’s jury member, Anamaria Marinca, also share, “…everyone is involved in co-productions so there is place for someone from Croatia or France or Spain in an international production spoken in English, or Spanish or another language and because they have these aptitudes and they can act in another language, not only speak it,” the latter observes. Scholten van Aschat, a fan of European film, and in particular the Danish film industry, is especially sensitive to the aforementioned aspects. Not only does he have great respect for casting directors but he also feels the need to improve his language skills (German and English) and believes that the Dutch still have to learn from the Danes, “and the way to do that, of course, is to work together,” he admits.

Impactful and Inimitable

With the recognition as a Shooting Star, the impact is often instantaneous. For Anamaria Marinca, it has given her the opportunity to meet French casting director Nicolas Ronchi who offered her her first French script, which led her to being represented by French talent agent Annabel Karouby, and thereby “facilitated a possible career in France”. Her time in Berlin as a Shooting Star “kind of started these other possible languages [she] could work in.” Former Shooting Stars include such talent as Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Alicia Vikander, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Brühl, Mélanie Laurent or this year’s Berlinale International Jury member Alba Rohrwacher.

What’s more, the Shooting Stars initiative is inimitable and unique. Indeed, many have tried to copy the concept but no one has the expertise of the Efp’s member organizations, according to Dix who also concedes that the fact that each country nominates one actor is a guarantee for the high quality of the selected actors and actresses from Europe.

On the European film market where co-productions are common practice today, familiar actors help the audience relate to a particular “foreign” film. As harsh as it sounds, bankability is the key of the film biz. In that, actors are the faces of the films. They move the audiences, create their enthusiasm and need for films and are the personalities that promote them. Casting directors stand right behind them and make it happen. They bridge the gaps between cultures and open new horizons and possibilities. They help actors speak the European language of film. They are its unsung heroes.

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) has announced its line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions competition and Modern Masters. Films from 60 countries, including 54 premieres (7 World, 17 North American and 30 U.S.), will unspool at the Festival, running from January 1-11, 2016 in Palm Springs, California.

“The line-up this year, while full of unexpected surprises, vividly reflects what is going on in the world around us,” said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald. “There’s a particular focus on stories about displaced people – immigrants, emigrants, refugees, those seeking asylum or shelter. There’s a concurrent trend toward stories revolving around new beginnings and escaping the shackles of the past, whether sexual, cultural, societal or self-imposed. Balancing all of these is a focus on family and romance, along with films involving a healthy dose of magic realism or absurdist comedy, and a plethora of exceptional films dealing with the usual obsessions – music, food, sex and art. All in all, it’s about as well-rounded, as thoughtfully chosen, and as provocative as it’s possible for a smartly curated lineup of new international cinema to be.”

“I am thrilled at the breadth and depth of this year’s program,” said Festival Artistic Director Helen du Toit. “While Modern Masters showcases such widely acclaimed filmmakers as as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Barbara Kopple and Terence Davies, our New Voices/New Visions program is evidence that new masters are emerging around the world. The range of approaches is extraordinary. Highlights include Raam Reddy's 'Thithi' (India), which skillfully juggles myriad characters in a delightful low key comedy; Yorgos Zois’ 'Interruption' (Greece), which challenges the audience with a complex and highly compelling narrative; and Maris Curran's 'Five Nights in Maine' (USA), featuring David Oyelowo's nuanced and heartbreaking performance as a widower reconnecting with his estranged mother-in-law.”

Showcasing the diversity of international cinema, Festival premieres will include:

World premieres: "50 Days in the Desert" (Luxembourg) directed by Fabrizio Maltese, "Agnes" (Germany/Belgium), the documentary "Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age" (Us) featuring Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, "The Carer" (Hungary/UK), "Going Going Gone" (UK), "Searchdog" (Us) and "Set the Thames on Fire" (UK).

North American premieres: "Banat" (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), "Death By Death" (Belgium/France), "A Decent Man" (Switzerland),"Departure" (France/UK),"Fly Away Solo" (India/France), "Interruption" (Greece/Croatia), "A Korean in Paris" (South Korea/France), "The Memory of Water" (Chile/Spain/Argentina/Germany), "Moor" (Pakistan), "On My Mother’s Side" (Canada), "Paradise Trips" (Belgium/Croatia), "Rosita" (Denmark), "Spy Time" (Spain), "Tanna" (Australia/Vanuatu), "Thithi" (India/Us/Canada), "Utopians" (Hong Kong) and "When a Tree Falls" (Spain).

U.S. premieres: "1944" (Estonia/Finland), "3000 Nights" (Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon), "Atomic Falafel" (Israel/Germany/New Zealand), "Belgian Rhapsody" (Belgium), "Beyond My Grandfather Allende" (Chile/Mexico), "Born to Dance" (New Zealand), "Closet Monster" (Canada), "Enclave" (Serbia/Germany), "The Endless River" (South Africa/France), "Endorphine" (Canada),Exotica, "Erotica, Etc." (France), "Fire Song" (Canada), "Five Nights in Maine" (Us), "A Heavy Heart" (Germany), "Home Care" (Czech Republic/Slovakia), "Let Them Come" (Algeria/France), "My Big Night" (Spain), "My Internship in Canada" (Canada), "The Other Side" (Italy/France), "Our Everyday Life" (Bosnia, Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), "The Paradise Suite" (Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria), "Parched" (India/Us/UK), "Parisienne" (France), "Sabali" (Canada), "Sleeping Giant" (Canada), "Summer Solstice" (Poland/Germany), "Trap" (Philippines), "The Violin Teacher" (Brazil), "Wedding Doll" (Israel) and " Zubaan" (India).

The New Voices/New Visions competition showcases 12 Us premieres from top emerging international directors marking their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution. The winner is selected by a jury of U.S. distributors which include Gary Rubin of Cohen Media, Dan Berger of Oscilloscope and Ryan Kampe of Visit Films/Monument Releasing. The winner will receive use of a $60,000 Panavision camera package and a glass sculpture designed for the Festival by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Films selected for this year include:

"Banat" (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Director Adriano Valerio "Death By Death" (Belgium/France), Director Xavier Seron "Departure" (UK/France), Director Andrew Steggall "Five Nights in Maine" (Us), Director Maris Curran and starring David Oyelowo "A Heavy Heart" (Germany), Director Thomas Stuber "Home Care" (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Director Slávek Horák "Interruption" (Greece/Croatia), Director Yorgos Zois "Let Them Come" (Algeria/France), Director Salem Brahimi "Our Everyday Life" (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), Director Ines Tanović "Paradise Trips" (Belgium/Croatia), Director Raf Reyntjens "Sleeping Giant" (Canada), Director Andrew Cividino "Thithi" (India/Us/Canada), Director Raam Reddy

The Modern Masters section features 10 films from international directors who set the standards for contemporary cinema. Films selected for this year include:

"Cemetery Of Splendour" (Thailand/UK), Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul "Dheepan" (France), Director Jacques Audiard "Miss Sharon Jones!" (Us), Director Barbara Kopple "Mountains May Depart" (China/France/Japan), Director Jia Zhangke "My Golden Days" (France), Director Arnaud Desplechin "My Mother" (Italy/France), Director Nanni Moretti "Our Little Sister" (Japan), Director Hirokazu Kore-eda "Sunset Song" (UK/Luxembourg), Director Terence Davies "Sweet Bean" (Japan), Director Naomi Kawase "Women He’s Undressed" (Australia), Director Gillian Armstrong

Other Festival films with notable talent and directors include: "45 Years" (UK) directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, "Anomalisa" (Us) directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman with the voices of David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Chronic" (Mexico/France) starring Tim Roth, "Closet Monster" (Canada) with Connor Jessup and Isabella Rossellini, "Eisenstein in Guanajuato" (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France) directed by Peter Greenaway, "February" (Us/Canada) starring Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts, "Hello, My Name is Doris" (Us) starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs and Stephen Root, "Hitchcock/Truffaut" (France/Us) directed by Kent Jones and featuring Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher and Richard Linklater, "The Invitation" (Us) starring Logan Marshall-Green and Michiel Huisman, "The Lady in the Van" (UK) directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent and James Corden, "Louder Than Bombs" (USA) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert, "Men & Chicken" (Denmark) starring Mads Mikkelsen, "Papa (Cuba)" directed by Bob Yari and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson and Minka Kelly, "A Perfect Day" (Spain) starring Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko, "The Seventh Fire" (Us) executive produced by Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman and Chris Eyre, and "Where to Invade Next" (Us) directed by Michael Moore.

The complete line-up will be available on December 18 at www.psfilmfest.org.

Top brass at the 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) on Monday announced the Premieres, New Voices/New Visions competition and Modern Masters programmes.

Films from 60 countries, including 54 premieres (seven world, 17 North American and 30 Us), will screen during the festival, which runs from January 1-11, 2016.

World premieres include: 50 Days In The Desert (Luxembourg) by Fabrizio Maltese; Agnes (Germany-Belgium); documentary Broadway: Beyond The Golden Age (Us) featuring Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford; The Carer (Hungary-uk); Going Going Gone (UK); Searchdog (Us); and Set The Thames On Fire (UK).

New Voices/New Visions

Twelve Us premieres from emerging international directors marking their feature film without Us distribution. The winner is selected by a jury of Us distributors comprising Gary Rubin of Cohen Media, Dan Berger of Oscilloscope and Ryan Kampe of Visit Films/Monument Releasing. The winner will receive use of a $60,000 Panavision camera package and a glass sculpture designed...

The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (November 6-14) offers busy industry programme including works in progress and Crossroads co-production strand.The 56th Thessaloniki International Film Festival kicks off today with the Berlin prizewinner Victoria by Sebastian Schipper.

The festival closes Nov 14 with the Cannes awarded My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse) by Arnaud Desplechin, who receives an homage, enjoys a full retrospective of his films and will deliver a masterclass.

Also receiving homages are veteran Romanian director Mircea Daneliuc and Greek master cinematographer Nikos Kavoukidis, accompanied by tributes to the 70 years of Greek animation and to the recent Austrian cinema.The late Belgian director Chantal.Akerman is receiving a special homage with the presentation of her 2011 film Almayer’s Folly (La folie Almayer).

The competition program includes 15 first and second films (the full list is below). The five members of the international jury set to award the Golden, Silver and Bronze...

Yorgos Zois: 'I wanted to create an original cinematic world that the viewer could use all his senses and experience a journey to an unmapped world that blends the limits between life and art, fiction and reality, logic and absurdity' Yorgos Zois' debut feature Interruption is set within the confines of an Athens theatre and stars Alexandros Vardaxoglou, Maria Kallimani, Alexia Kaltsiki, Christos Stergioglou, Maria Filini. Midway through a performance, a group of gunmen take the stage and bring members of the audience up alongside them. They begin to direct a different sort of action, so that the lines of fact and fiction start to blur, both for those who have come up onstage and the others who remain watching in the auditorium. We spoke to Zois after his film had premiered in the Orrizzonti section of Venice Film Festival, where it is also available online as part of the Sala Web.