The main event at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival draws attention – films from Oscar-nominated Bosnian director Denis Tanovic and more my late summer The film is having its world premiere, with Hollywood A-listers Alexander Payne, Meg Ryan and Paul Schrader on hand this week – and the wheels of business are turning behind the scenes .
The CineLink Producer Lab of the third SFF gathered 15 Southern European producers with 2 to 5 years of experience to carry out immersive industry training and network programs. The goal of the program is to help producers address common issues facing contemporary film while “enabling participants to understand and understand changes in the digital supply chain and the evolving film distribution landscape.”
The Producers Lab “aims to stimulate the personal and professional growth of Southeast European film professionals,” organizers said. “Within this framework, the program makes a significant contribution to the continued development of the local and regional film and audiovisual industries, providing world-class training opportunities and facilitating access to markets and networks.”
The event, which concludes on August 20, is centered around a series of masterclasses, panels, screenings and discussions led by experienced industry professionals, including some of the festival’s heavyweights this year. During his masterclass, Payne offered this little gem to industry hopefuls: “To make a movie, you have to sit down and start writing and spend 5,000 to 10,000 hours crafting a story. Without the chair there’s nothing Movie.
CineLink comes as the European film industry is slowly returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic box office and production levels. In May, the European Commission’s annual industry report found that box office returns in Europe last year grew 22.3% from 2022 to about $7 billion, but were still 12% down from pre-pandemic figures. There’s good news on the production front, too: The 2,347 films produced last year were the second-highest on record (after 2019), but that excitement is tempered by the fact that European films only accounted for 26.4% of the local box office. The movie’s ratings reached a record 70%.
Still, films are being made, and this year’s Sarajevo co-production market offers young CineLink producers plenty of examples to follow. Like the feature being developed Selflessproduced by Algerian filmmaker Meriem Mesraoua, who was born in Qatar and raised in France, and French producer François d’Artemare, through Netflix’s partnership with the European Women’s Audiovisual Network’s first series accelerator program.
The CineLink Works in Progress section continues this year to showcase the work of some of the region’s rising stars, including nine feature films (including one documentary). These include the latest from Georgian writer-director Ana Urushadze, who made her feature debut terrible mother The film won the Locarno Award for Best Debut and was nominated by Georgia for an Academy Award. of Ulushade supporting role (Zazafilms, Allfilm, Enkeny Films, Zeyno Film, Cinetrain, Melograno Films) tells the fictional story of an aging Georgian film star who stumbles upon the most important role of his life.
“In the ever-evolving film industry landscape, resilience and diversity help bring new voices to the ongoing work of our CineLink division,” said newly appointed CineLink head Ishak Jalimam. “Each film embodies a unique narrative and visual style that showcases the richness of the human experience. The selection includes projects developed through CineLink workshops as well as newly discovered projects, ranging from deeply personal stories to war-torn Regionally based narratives. Collectively, these films examine the place of the individual in contemporary society, exploring new perspectives based on diverse themes and creativity.
