POLA/A Crowdfunfing Seminar
The Istrian Film Commission and the Istrian Cultural Agency have organized a crowdfunding seminar for filmmakers as a part of the Pula Professional program within the 63rd Pula Film Festival.
The aim of the event is to gather together national filmmakers and enthusiasts who have had an opportunity to create, lead and successfully finance films through group funding in order to present the results to interested professionals.
Many independent filmmakers have managed to raise financial resources for their works through crowdfunding (over ten million Kuna have been raised in Croatia so far) but this has also helped them build their audiences. Over one hundred different campaigns have been launched at Kickstarter and half of these projects involve films. Although more established filmmakers, such as Spike Lee or Zach Braff, manage to raise millions for the production of their own films, there are many other campaigns that make their films with more modest budgets.
BELGIUM
BRUSSELS/Two important Sets
Two important TV productions were filmed in Brussels this summer: the BBC production “The Missing 2” following the return home of Alice Webster, a woman who had been missing for 11 years, and the Dutch/ Flemish TV-Series “Brussel», produced by Endemol Nederland and FBO/Woestijnvis in Belgium: 10 episodes custom-made for the Dutch digital platform KPN, to be released on the internet in December 2016. Shooting ran from 23 February until the end of August.
GERMANY
BAVARIA/FFF supports “Euphoria”
The Swedish director Lisa Langseth is shooting her next film in Bavaria. The drama “Euphoria” is the first project from the production company that has been newly founded by Oscar®-winner Alicia Vikander (who is the lead actress along with another Oscar®-winner, Eva Green).
The story is about two estranged sisters who, facing death, travel to a magical place in the mountains.
FFF Bayern is providing support to the project amounting to € 750,000 within the framework of the special program for international co-productions and digital image design. “Euphoria” is a co-production between B-Reel Features Film Stockholm, Vikarious Production Ltd. London and Dancing Camel Films Munich in cooperation with Wild Bunch Germany and Dorian Media Limited. The line producers include Patrik Andersson (B-Reel) and Christine Ruppert (Dancing Camel Films). Shooting took place in the first week of August, entirely in Bavaria, in Munich and the surrounding area, the Allgäu region and the Bavarian Forest.
Other projects such as Oliver Stone’s theatrical feature “Snowden”, Mark Palansky’s “The Jester” and Rupert Everett’s “The Happy Prince” have also received support within the framework of the special program for international co-productions and digital image design. All grants are decided by a subcommittee. More information about this area of support is available here.
FRANCE
ILE DE FRANCE/Summer on the set
Two big international productions chose to shoot in Ile de France this summer: the Indian movie “Befikre” (“Les Insouciants”) directed by Aditya Chopra, with Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor, produced by the Indian Yash Raj films, with Firststep (Raphael Benoliel) as line producer, and the big Hollywood production “50 Shades Freed” directed by James Foley, starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
The line producer is Peninsula Films. Shooting took place at the Opéra Garnier and the Musée du Louvre. Both movies benefited from the new French international tax rebates aimed at boosting the territory’s attraction.
CZECH REPUBLIC
A Crowded Summer
The first season of the “Genius” series for National Geographic Channel, an anthology about the world’s most brilliant innovators, started shooting at the end of the summer and will continue until February 2017. Albert Einstein is the protagonist of the first 10 episodes based on Walter Isaacson’s book “Einstein: His Life and Universe” and adapted for TV by Noah Pink. Ron Howard will direct the series’ opening episode. Fox 21 Television Studios, Imagine Television, OddLot Entertainment, EUE/Sokolow and Czech Stillking Films are producing.
Another two epic period TV series have recently chosen the Czech Republic: “Britannia” filmed with Czech crews on location and in the studio for 145 days.
The 10 part series is set in the 1st century AD and tells the story of the Roman invasion of the territory of present day Great Britain.
Rick McCallum from the Czech production company Film United is one of the producers.
After a few days of shooting in the Croatian Dubrovnik, “Knightfall” began its Czech shoot on 7 July and will continue through to December.
The production is based at the Barrandov Studios and will also be using their stages and exterior backlot where a large set of Paris is being built.
The story of “Knight- fall” takes place between the 13th and 14th centuries and chronicles the events leading up to the persecution and fall of the Knights Templar. The series is a co-production between A+E Studio and Midnight Radio at The Combine (USA). Stillking Fims is line producing in the Czech Republic.
“Alongside these large TV productions, several feature and television films are currently being shot or prepped. It is standard now for various German TV channels to shoot most of their period costume projects in the Czech Republic. At the moment “Die Vergeltung” is being shot for ZDF and “Zuckersand” for ARD is in pre-production. The Scandinavians are coming back as well, “the Swedish film “Borg vs. McEnroe” will start shooting in August,” says Czech film commissioner Ludmila Claussová. “The Czech Republic will also be hosting a few Asian pro- ductions: closest in time is the Hong Kong production “Adventurers” with French star Jean Reno and the Bollywood pic “The King” starring Shah Rukh Kan”, she adds.
SERBIA
Seven years of Cash Rebate
This July marked 7 years since the establishment of the Serbia Film Commission and the Film in Serbia brand which promotes Serbia’s locations and professional services to international producers. With a network of 90 industry members and over 500 locations available online, Film in Serbia provides sound professional support to international clients interested in filming in Serbia.
This year also marks the first year of implementation of the national film incentive. The program offers a 20% cash rebate for features, TV series, documentaries, post-production and even high budget TV commercials, with total budget of € 3.3 million allocated to support projects in 2016.
It is designed on a roll out basis and so far 4 US projects have benefitted by tapping into the incentives leaving room for more projects to apply before September 30th even if their shooting is scheduled for early 2017. www.filminserbia.com