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Berlinale Talents

Fest Chief, Dieter Kosslick at Dine & Shine Dinner, copyright Peter Himsel, Berlinale 2017Pity for all you upcoming filmmakers who might be eligible to further your careers through the Berlinale Talents because now the 2018 application period is closed, but come next July 2018, you should plan to apply!Talents, copyright Peter Himsel, Berlinale 2017

Berlinale Talents is aimed at film and television professionals in the first 10 years of their careers. To find out if you are eligible to apply for Berlinale Talents or one of their project labs: Doc Station, Talent Project Market, Script Station and Short Film Station; and to get a quick overview of the application process, check out the information Here.

One in five contenders for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Berlinale Talents alum. An impressive 17 films by Berlinale Talents alumni have been nominated as their countries’ contenders for the 2018 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

European Film Promotion highlights 28 European films for the 90th Academy AwardsPutting a spotlight on a record number of 28 European Oscar® entries, Efp (European Film Promotion) offers additional screenings of the films in L.A. for Academy members, journalists, U.S. distributors and international buyers. With the special support of the Efp member organizations, the event helps the productions to stand out among a record number of 92 submissions for the 90th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

This year the Efp Screenings Of Oscar® Entries From Europe were held from November 2–15 at the state of the art Dick Clark Screening Room. The campaign is financially supported by the Creative Europe — Media Programme of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations.

Many of the European Oscar submissions feature European Shooting Stars or were made by Efp-related filmmakers. Notably four films were realized by participants of this year’s edition...

A single mother looks after a bedridden elderly lady in Tirana in Daybreak (Dita za fill), the Albanian entry in this season’s foreign-language Oscar race. Uncompromisingly downbeat, this story of a woman who goes to increasingly great lengths to protect herself and her baby from utter destitution isn’t an easy watch. Debuting director Gentian Koci demonstrates an impressive — if also somewhat monotonous — formal rigor and Ornela Kapetani’s committed lead performance interiorizes a world of anguish and resentment that should appeal to audiences on the more hardcore end of the arthouse segment. After its world premiere in Sarajevo, this unembellished...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said today that a record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film race at the 90th Academy Awards. The long is is followed by a nine-film shortlist, ahead of Oscar nominations day January 23. Here’s the list: Afghanistan, "A Letter to the President," Roya Sadat, director; Albania, "Daybreak," Gentian Koçi, director; Algeria, "Road to Istanbul," Rachid Bouchareb, director; Argentina…...

The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.

Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)

The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.

Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.

The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.

Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)

The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.

Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.

Albania has selected Gentian Koci's feature debut Daybreak as its candidate for best foreign-language film Oscar consideration.

The movie tells the story of a young mother who moves with her 1-year-old son to work as an in-home caretaker for a bedridden elderly woman after being kicked out of her home for failing to pay the rent. Leta (Ornela Kapetani) must keep the sick older woman alive at any cost.

Daybreak had its world premiere last month at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where Kapetani was named best actress for her role.

An Albania-Greece co-production, the film was developed at Sarajevo's Cinelink...

Golden Bear winner Semih Kaplanoglu to present new feature.

The 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 11-18) has unveiled its competition line-up.

Three world premieres and four regional premieres will compete for the festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo.

Golden Bear-winning director Semih Kaplanoğlu will compete with his latest feature Grain, which has its world premiere in Sarajevo. The film is his first feature since 2010 drama Honey, which won Berlin Film Festival’s top prize and was nominated for three prizes at the European Film Awards.

His new film is a dystopian story set in a world where a genetic crisis leads to massive crop failure. The Match Factory is handling sales.

Also having world premieres in Sarajevo are two debut features: Emanuel Pârvu’s Romanian feature Meda Or The Not So Bright Side Of Things and Gentian Koçi’s Albanian-Greek feature Daybreak.

Among the regional premieres are Rezo Gigineishvili’s Hostages, which premiered...