Medimed2013-WelcomeP..

R EA
LI
TY
BI T
E S
The Euro-Mediterranean
Documentary Market
Sitges, October 11-13, 2013
www.medimed.org
MEDIMED is conceived and organized by
the International Association of Independent
Producers of the Mediterranean
c/ Girona, 20, 5 floor
08010 Barcelona
Tel. +34 93 556 09 91
Fax +34 93 247 01 65
[email protected] / www.apimed.org
facebook.com/Apimed Producers
004.
People
005.
Bios
006.
Announcements
009.
Schedule
011.
Benvinguts / Welcome
014.
Pitching Forum
Selected Projects
Speedy Pitch Projects
070.
Docs Gallery
Ready Made Medimed Projects
Ahmed Attia Award 2013
Kathryn Bonnici’s Choice
Docs Made in Turkey
Selected Programs
194.
Lists
Programs Index by Title
Companies by Countries
Photo Gallery
Profiles of the Commissioning
Editors, Buyers & Distributors
Participants
C ON
T EN
TS
people
TEAM
Sergi Doladé — Director
Marina Bayó — General Co-ordinator
Eloisa Williams — Director’s PA
Victor Burgués — Delegate’s Liaison Officer
Sandra del Río — One-to-one Meetings
Víctor Fenés — Producer
Setanta — Graphic design
Roberto Rodríguez — Cover & event photographer
Raül Buira — Web Master
Elisenda Soriguera — Press Officer
Gestart Assessors — Accounting services
PROJECTS SELECTION
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Khalil Benkirane — Doha Film Institute, Qatar
Vesna Cudic — Head of Sales and Acquisitions,
Dogwoof Global, UK
Lorenzo Hendel — Kuraj Productions, Italy
VII AHMED ATTIA’S AWARD FOR THE
DIALOGUE OF CULTURES - JURY MEMBERS
Mohamed Charbagi — Producer, Alif Productions, France
Marta Figueras — Producer, Promarfi Futuro 2010, Spain
Rima Mismar — Head of the Arab Fund for Arts
and Culture, Lebanon
Isona Passola — Producer, Massa d’Or Produccions, Spain
PERSONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OF THE DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bonnici — Java Films
Aritz Cirbián — Verkami
Ruth Diskin — Expert
Matthias Lavaux — TousCoprod
John Marshall — Pitching Moderator
Isona Passola — President of APIMED
Marijke Rawie — Expert
Agnès Tricot — CNC
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO
Mireia Azuara — Illy
Montse Comabella — Moritz
Maite Puentes — Bacardí
Josep Llop — Freixenet
Maris Lozano — Vichy Catalán
Elena Rue — Catalan Films&TV
Berta Rius — Aigua de Veri
Neus Sala — TVC
Josette Trilla
David Urgell — Gin Nut
bios / JURY & experts
khalil benkirane
LORENZO HENDEL
Grants Manager at the Doha Film
Institute — Doha Film Institute
Kuraj Productions, Italy — Born
in Florence, at the end of the
(DFI) is an independent cultural
organisation established to bring
Qatar’s film initiatives under one
banner. Through film funding, production, festivals and
year-round screenings, DFI aims to build a robust and
sustainable film industry in Qatar. Film Financing Grants
Manager oversees the DFI’s grants unit in relation to
achieving the company’s mandate to support regional
and international filmmakers and the creation of
sustainable film financing model in Qatar.
Vesna Cudic
Head of TV Sales and Acquisitions,
Dogwoof Global — Vesna holds
a First Class BA honours degree
in Film, and an MA in Fiction
Direction from the National Film
and Television School of Great Britain. She is a winner of
Royal Television Society Award and several film festival
awards. Her experience in the field of international
distribution in both, sales and acquisitions, combined with
her background in filmmaking, provides her with valuable
tools for identifying the demands of the international
marketplace, while working closely with the filmmakers.
ruth diskin
Managing Director of Ruth Diskin
Films — Founded in 2001, Ruth
Diskin Films Ltd. specializes in
the distribution of films with
distinctive content produced
for viewers worldwide. The company represents the
finest contemporary independent Israeli filmmaking
and filmmakers along with filmmakers from around the
world. With over 25 years of experience in marketing
and distribution in the international arena, Ruth Diskin,
along with her team ensure that films reach diverse and
varied audiences across the globe.
4
Seventies he moved to Perugia,
where he worked in RAI local
office for a documentation project
on the local social reality, without losing his interest
on research in television language and his activities in
theatrical and videotheatrical fiction. In 1988 he moved
to Rome, and kept working in RAI3 as television director.
Meanwhile his work as a documentary director, led
him around the world on travel. In 2005 he directed his
first feature film for cinema, “Quando i bambini giocano
in cielo”, completely shot in Greenland. It won several
awards. Since 2007 up to June 2013 he was in charge
of DOC3 (Rai Tre). He selects the documentaries to buy
and produce, and together with the authors he follows
all projects in their development. He took part in several
international juries, such as Idfa, Hot Docs, Mipcom,
Roma International Film Festival, and many others.
MARIJKE RAWIE
Managing Director at ExpertDocs
— Marijke Rawie specializes in
documentary (pitching) training
& consultancy for international
documentary coproduction.
She has an extensive knowledge of the international
documentary market, the financing possibilities and the
co-production possibilities. ExpertDocs helps filmmakers,
documentary companies and pitching forums to
understand the international documentary coproduction
world and advises them on the development and the
possible financing of their documentary projects for
the international market. ExpertDocs have worked for
various documentary festivals and pitching forums as
head tutor, script doctor, pitching coach, moderator, like
IDFA, HotDocs, Sunny Side of the Doc, Ex Oriente, EBU,
Istanbul Documentary Filmmakers Association, EDN,
Documentary Campus Master School (Munich), Italian
Doc Screenings, Artistoteles Documentary Training,
DragonForum, CoPro, MiradasDoc.
5
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DELEGATES REGISTRATION
MEDIMED RECEPTIONS
All delegates must register and pick up their
Delegate Badge and bag from the Front Desk on
arrival at MEDIMED venue. Your delegate badge
should be worn at all times and is required for
access to all MEDIMED events. Please, make
sure your badge is visible at all times.
MEDIMED cordially invites all participants to
attend the following receptions. Don’t miss the
chance to meet all delegates in a casual way
while having a drink, or two. Your accreditation
will be requested at the door for admittance.
DOCS library
MDMD TALKS
Located in the hotel’s ground floor, the
vidéothèque allows TV buyers, distributors, sales
agents and decision makers to watch the docs
of their choice.
It includes a selection of 450 titles aimed at a
market sales as well as a specially curated choice
by Kathryn Bonnici.
MDMD Talks is a series of conferences, round
table discussions, workshops and meetings
aimed at film and creative industry professionals
who attend MEDIMED. It is organized in close
collaboration with MEDIA Antena Catalunya,
with a focus on reaching a wide professional
audience with high quality content for crossindustry collaboration and knowledge exchange.
We invite you join the Master Class given
by TousCprod & Verkami on how to work on a
crowdfunding strategy for your project and make
sure your campaign is a big success.
All producers and guests are cordially invited
to attend. The presentation includes some
dedicated time for Q&A. The session will be in
English and there will be no translation.
The Docs Gallery is open for the duration of
MEDIMED (Friday to Sunday) from 10am to 7pm
Opening Reception
Friday, October 11 - 8:30 PM
FRONT DESK SERVICES
Club de Mar de Sitges
Located in the hotel’s lobby, the front desk is the
central contact point for all MEDIMED delegates.
MEDIMED invites you to the reception held at
the Sitges Sea Club in front of the venue.
Hours: 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sponsored by:
Message Service
An internal message service is provided by our
hostesses. Delegates may leave messages for
each other at the Front Desk. It is reserved for
personal messages only. It will be dismantled
Sunday, October 13, at 6:00 PM and any remaining
messages will be discarded.
Information Services & Assistance
Visit the Front Desk for help or advice about
anything. Make sure you book your 20 minute
meetings with MEDIMED experts & delegates
with the assistance of our Front Desk team.
Gin Nut Cocktail Party
Open to all MEDIMED delegates and guests.
Saturday, October 12 - 8:00 PM
Club de Mar de Sitges
NUT is an artisan gin distilled in the London Dry
method that guarantees the highest quality
ingredients in its production process. NUT has an
alcohol content of 45% ABV. NUT is produced in
the Catalan region of L’Empordà
Project Presentation Transcripts
(for Pitching Team Members)
For the benefit of the MEDIMED Project Team
Members, a member of our staff will take notes
of the feedback during each presentation. The
presentations transcripts are delivered at each
break at the Front Desk. Don’t forget to pick
them up.
Sponsored by:
Happymed Dinner Party
For MEDIMED delegates only.
Saturday, October 12 - 9:00 PM - Club de mar
ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS
The 1-2-1 is a meeting service arranged by
MEDIMED staff that takes place throughout
the three days of the market and is available
to all MEDIMED participants, as well as to
all buyers and distributors. If you’ve come to
MEDIMED with a selected program, you don’t
want to miss the opportunity to take part
in the 1-2-1 service. Our staff will facilitate a
series of meetings, matching producers with
appropriate participating buyers and distributors.
Due to demand, times and availability may be
limited. Pre-registration for 1-2-1 meetings is
mandatory at the Front Desk of the venue. On
site registration will not be available if all meeting
times have been fully booked with advance
applications.
Please, check the Calipolis Hotel internet
connection.
6
AHMED ATTIA AWARD FOR
THE DIALOGUE OF CULTURES
The four-member jury, consisting of filmmakers
and industry professionals will announce their
final choice, right after the dinner on Saturday.
The thirteen films in competition were once
pitched at MEDIMED Pitching Forum. They can
all be found in the Docs Gallery section of this
catalogue. Courtesy of APIMED, the winner will
receive 1,000 Euros cash prize, awarded to the
producer of the best documentary.
DIA SUD MED
A special Pitching Session for transmedia
projects developed by DIA SUD MED, a project
co-financed by Euromed Audiovisual III. All
projects have been developed by the students
of the film schools ALBA (Beirut), ESAV
(Marrakech) and ISAMM (Tunis), during the
last months and are ready for pitching. They all
look for international producers to support their
projects.
Sponsored by:
WI-FI
saturday, October 12 - 6:30 PM
Sunday, October 13 - 12:00PM at the Pitching
Room.
All producers are kindly invited to attend.
MEDIMED EXPERTS
MEDIMED is pleased to count on the
professional experience of reputed documentary
professionals who will be available for a
restricted number of one-to-one 20 minute
consultations. Meetings are to be held at the
Club Room and should be booked at the Front
Desk in advance. Our experts, Marijke Rawie and
Ruth Diskin, will provide a professional opinion on
how to pitch your selected project, an overview
on the market possibilities for your company.
Friday, October 11 - 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday, October 12 - 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
7
SCHEDULE
Friday 11
Saturday 12
Sunday 13
9:00am — 6:00pm
9:00am — 12:00am
10:00am — 1:00pm
On site Registrations
On site Late Registrations
Private Meetings 1-2-1
Frontdesk
Frontdesk
Sert Room
9:15am — 2:00pm
9:00am — 1:30pm
10:00am — 5:00pm
Private Meetings 1-2-1
Private Meetings 1-2-1
Buyer’s Screenings
Sert Room
Distributors & Buyers
Sert Room
Mestral Room
Buyer’s Screenings
10:00am — 1:30pm
“Distributing Your Doc”
Mestral Room
PITCHING SESSION 2
by Kathryn Bonnici (Java Films)
Pitching Room
10:00am — 7:00pm
11:00pm — 12:00pm
Pitching Room
12:30am — 2:00pm
WORKSHOP
10:00am — 7:00pm
12:00pm — 1:30pm
“Pitching Perfect”
by Marijke Rawie & John Marshall
Pitching Room
Pitching producers ONLY
Buyer’s Screenings
PRESENTATION
Dia Sud Med
Mestral Room
Pitching Room
1:30pm — 3:30pm
LUNCH
4:00pm
Welcome
3:30pm — 6:15pm
Pitching Room
PITCHING SESSION 3
See you next year!
Pitching Room
4:15pm — 5:45pm
PITCHING SESSION 1
ILLY coffee break
Pitching Room
6:30pm — 8:00pm
5:45pm — 6:00pm
ILLY coffee break
PRESENTATION
“TousCoprod vs Verkami”
Pitching Room
6:00pm — 7:20pm
PITCHING SESSION 1
Pitching Room
8:00pm — 8:45pm
Fresh Cocktail
Sponsored by: Gin Nut
7:30pm — 8:30pm
Private Meetings 1-2-1
9:00pm
Producers & CE
Pitching Room
Dinner party
HAPPYMED!
Sponsored by: Verkami
8:30pm
Opening Cocktail Party
VII Ahmed Attia’s Award
Sponsored by: Bacardí
9
benvinguts / welcome
Sergi Doladé
Director of MEDIMED
Welcome to MEDIMED’13, the annual meeting place for documentary makers who are
attentive to the trends set by European and Southern Mediterranean documentary
films and projects.
Our 3-day flagship event has been enhanced this year, and the Pitching Forum
will once again raise thousands of euros in international co-financing for independent producers and their market
partners. In this edition 187 projects from 26 countries, were reviewed to select these final 26. Together they cover
various conflicts, amazing characters and incredible realities.
We have selected 450 fabulous films that are available at the Docs Library for private viewing with a special look
at the newest Turkish documentary production.
Registration for the 2013 Forum is now closed, but the deal-making doesn’t stop here. You can still take
advantage of the one-to-one meetings, where we organize more than 600 individual meetings between filmmakers
and commissioning editors. Additionally, the Front Desk staff will answer your questions about doing business at
MEDIMED.
This year we are delighted to count on the expertise of Marijke Rawie and Ruth Diskin, who will be available for
some individual meetings with the producers.
We are also excited to learn more about the results of the second module of multimedia projects developed by
the Dia Sud Med Programme, which deals with training of young future professionals, and of course you are all
invited to attend the master class on crowdfunding strategies for indie docs hosted by TousCoprod & Verkami.
I want to address my sincere gratitude to all the institutional and private sponsors, for making it all possible,
and my personal thanks to Vesna Cudic, Khalil Benkirane and Lorenzo Hendel, members of the project selection
committee for involving themselves to an exciting and difficult task with excellent criteria, wisdom and great
competence.
Big thanks to the best MEDIMED core team: Marina Bayó, Eloisa Williams, Victor Burgués and Víctor Fenés,
who’ve made the preparations with efficiency and much care.
Our staff is happy to provide you with a host of delegate services including Registration, Guest Guidance and the
Docs Library. They will patiently help make the three days run smoothly for all.
Our very best for a productive time to all of you!
11
Isona Passola
Helena Moreno
President of APIMED
Head of MEDIA Antennae Catalonia
Note that when we speak about the Mediterranean today we use economics’
criteria, emerging markets, Mediterranean corridor, and that is not bad for itself, the
improvement of economic relations is in itself a good relationship, but we also use
terms of religious conflict and, unfortunately, very unfortunately, war.
Why don’t we ever talk about it in cultural terms, if only as the birthplace of the
great cultures, and of the “welfare society” which were the shores of our sea back in the ancient times?
At Medimed, for fourteen years now, and every year we do talk about clashing religions, human conflicts and
war, because we assume that the Mediterranean that we love is a compendium of all that, to share it with empathy,
generosity, compassion, - which comes from the Greek word Pathos - sharing the pain, through documentaries, a
mix of conflict and love, gets us closer to the original idea of hedonism, human relationships and above all a common
culture, that we do not want to renounce to.
Jordi Sellas
Miquel Garcia
General Manager for Creation and Cultural Industries
Head of Documentaries and New Formats, Televisió de Catalunya
MEDIMED, TRADITION AND INNOVATION OF CATALAN DOCUMENTARY
To open the cinematographic year with the selection of “Google and the World Brain”
at Sundance is a good proof of the level and the international projection of Catalan
documentary. This genre is one of the areas where innovation is letting in new languages
that are transforming the classical conception of media. This is the case of interactive
documentary and the use of animation techniques to narrate the truth, often very close to authorial creation.
Indeed, doc fiction, creative documentary or just informative, is a modality where Catalan professionals have been able
to show an exceptional mastery. Recent milestones are the Oscar nomination in 2004 for “Balseros” up to the premiere
of “The Plague” at the Berlin Film Festival 2013, to names of Catalan cinema documentary filmmakers like Joaquim Jordà,
José Luis Guerin, Lala Gomà and Pere Portabella. No wonder then that Catalonia has become an exceptional quarry of
outstanding new professionals, also largely due to the efforts and commitment of the Catalan universities.
We speak of generations of documentary filmmakers specializing in documentary with an international recognition
of their own, such as Isaki Lacuesta, Mercedes Alvarez, Carla Subirana, Neus Ballús, Alba Sotorra, among others. Their
work is also an example of the sort of unrest of this genre which has managed to adapt itself to the new technologies,
the treatment of new contents or the use of aesthetic alternatives to reach new audiences and distribution channels.
International meetings such as MEDIMED, the Euro-Mediterranean Documentary Market, give visibility and very
much position this creative modality. At the Catalan Ministry of Culture we want, once again, to contribute to its
success by offering all the support required at present and in the future. MEDIMED lets us discover how forms and
contents look for audiences that are more and more demanding, convinced that survival happens, among other ways,
by getting plural scenarios, diverse and international, where creation, industry and market sum up complicities and
mutual interests.
12
Once again we are pleased to welcome you to MEDIMED. The market is already an
established landmark in the calendar. In uncertain times we should give a special
value to the continuity of the actions but also to the capacity of consolidating the
events. Year after year, MEDIMED knows how to gather the Mediterranean family
in a milestone that nobody wants to miss is just another example of the value of the
contents of MEDIMED and the importance of this meeting point and the impact of this marketplace.
It is clear that in times of crisis is more difficult to get financing for projects. Co-production and international
distribution are not only an option but a necessity. The stories are taken care for from the very first moment of
development to ensure a journey that will help them reach as many audiences as possible. Within the DNA of MEDIA
there is the desire to connect industry, projects and European professionals with the rest of the World.
MEDIMED offers the guarantee of a common space where we can understand each other while doing business and
start relationships. In this sense, the MEDIA family highly values the results of MEDIMED and we contemplate with
delight that many of the projects pitched at MEDIMED become a reality right after their participation at the market.
MEDIMED has established itself as a market involving top professionals and offers a rigorous selection of projects
that is interesting for the delegates.
Congratulations to the MEDIMED team for a job well done and we wish you a fantastic market.
We are going through one of the most serious economic crises in recent history. It
is one that affects politics, the legitimacy of states, education, the family and life
values in general. But perhaps the most serious crisis we’re now facing is the crisis of
thought. A dictated line of thought is giving way to the greater danger of the absence
of thought. Today we have more access than ever to information on a global scale,
but we often lack information on the causes of problems and the larger context in which events unfold.
Within this larger picture the documentary film genre can serve as an extraordinarily efficient tool to offset the
dumbing down of news playing into the spectacular and the gratuitously emotional. Documentaries can effect social
change if they are able to alter people’s perceptions, to educate and to heighten awareness on issues of inequality
and social justice. They can also connect on an emotional level through human-interest stories touching on universal
values with which audiences can identify and empathize.
A documentary film is a public service and Televisió de Catalunya firmly supports its role as such. This is clearly
evidenced in its first-rate prime time documentary program “Sense Ficció;” in Canal 33’s role as a second channel
with a special focus on the documentary genre; in co-production agreements made with channels and producers
from around the world; in the support provided by the Catalan audiovisual industry; and in agreements with universities and festivals.
All of the Mediterranean countries are facing difficult challenges on a political, economic and social scale. These
circumstances offer important opportunities for telling documentary stories and finding effective ways of making
those stories heard. Medimed is a good means of consolidating this industry in order to promote the coproduction
and distribution of documentary works. The fact that this film market will, once again, be held in Catalonia is welcome news and we are pleased to continue participating in, and contributing to, this event.
13
SELECTED PROJECTS
016.
016.
018.
020.
022.
024.
026.
028.
030.
032.
034.
036.
038.
040.
042.
Selected Projects
A Family Affair
Blend
Egytp’s Modern Pharaos
Greece, the Historical
Reasons of Bankruptcy
I’m not
I Hear Music
If You’re Lucky, You
Won’t Need Us
Mali Blues
Monumentum
New Hands
Popenguine
Shaping Dancers!
Standing Man
Stories of Wolves
and Men
044.
046.
048.
050.
052.
054.
056.
058.
060.
062.
064.
066.
Tadmor
Teaching Ignorance
The Invisible City
The Jazira
The Lost Warriors
The Rise of the Gulf
- Beyond Black Gold
The Story of Arab
Feminism
Voices for the Peace
Waiting for Another
Beginning
Walls
Yorgos
Zero Tolerance
068.
Speedy Pitch Projects
pitch
i ng
f or
um
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
With the support of:
FILM STRUCTURE
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Mia Oikogeneiaki Ypothesi
Co-production / pre-sales largely in
Art slots, in Europe, and across the
Mediterranean.
The Xylouris Family is Greece’s most famous musical clan. The film
follows three generations of the family, which uphold the vibrant
tradition of Cretan music, to discover the electrifying power of
their music and the ties that bring the family together and apart.
Crew
GREECE
Producers — Yuri Averof & Rea
Apostolides
Director — Angeliki Aristomenopoulou
Greek & English | 26, 52, 70’ | HD | Stereo | Arts, music, culture
Looking for
Track record of producer
2013: “Kismet”
Co-produced by Al Jazeera, ARTE,
SVT, in association with YLE, RTS,
BTV, Channel 8 Israel, CYBC,
Croatian and Bulgarian Film Funds.
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (63.28 %) 109,042 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (36.72 %) 63,300 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,342 €
Financing Sources
Media Programme of the EU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,070 €
Kickstarter (crowdfunding) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,559 €
Anemon Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,413 €
ABC Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,000 €
2013: “Little Land”
Co-produced with ARTE, ERT. Also
broadcast on DR.
Production Company
Pitcher
Rea Apostolides — Producer
16
Anemon Productions
5 Stisishorou Street — 10674 Athens (Greece)
Tel. +302107211073 — [email protected] — www.anemon.gr
The Xylouris Family is
Greece’s most famous
musical clan. The film
follows three generations
of musicians who uphold
the vibrant tradition of
Cretan music, to discover
the electrifying power of
their music and the sacred
ties that hold the family
together.
This year, the family is
at a crossroads: fifty-year
old George must perform
non-stop in order to pay
back a loan on his home
and cover his children’s
tuition in Melbourne, while
his Australian wife and
manager, Shelagh, struggles
to keep the family together.
Their three children have
found new freedom abroad,
but they also struggle to
uphold and evolve the music
of their family, while finding
their own voice.
The film follows the changing lives of three generations of the Xylouris
family, across the period of two years. It captures how music is passed on
from father to son to daughter, exploring the unifying and encumbering
power of family and the inheritance of a unique art, rooted to the land.
Part I
The family is at a turning point. Shelagh, George’s Australian wife, is
unhappy on the Greek island of Crete. She spends her time knitting and
pacing an Olympic size swimming pool in Herakleion, a sprawling cement
city in the center of the island. She has not gotten used to the confines of
Cretan traditional society and does not get on with her parents in law.
This year, she sees less and less of her husband, who is constantly
away touring or performing at weddings. The family needs to repay a loan
on their home and their children’s tuition and George is being paid less and
less money for his performances, due to the financial crisis.
Their sons Nick and Antonis are away in Australia studying, but Nick
often travels to Europe to perform with his father.
After a performance in Brussels, Nick is accosted by an elderly Belgian
lady, who admires the respect he pays to his father. For her, the Xylouris’ are
an example of family that no longer exists in her country.
Back at home, Shelagh decides that her sixteen year old daughter,
Apollonia, must join her elder brothers in Melbourne. While George tours
across Europe, mother and daughter prepare for departure.
Part II
Nick and Antonis return to Herakleion for Christmas. The brothers spend
time with Apollonia, while their father plays at local feasts across the island.
In late January, Shelagh and her daughter arrive in Melbourne. George
and his father Psarantonis arrive in Melbourne two months later, to embark
on a grueling concert tour across Australia.
Psarantonis, a master of the Cretan lyra, a bewitching bowed string
instrument of medieval origins, performs with his son George on lute and Dirty
Three drummer Jim White, and the three grandchildren for the first time.
Part III
The entire family travels to Adelaide to perform at Womadelaide. It is
the first time the three children stand on stage with their grandfather, and
they are terrified. The family also reunites with their old friend Nick Cage,
who is a fervent admirer of Psarantonis.
At the end of the concert tour, George and Shelagh return to Crete.
Shelagh is alone without her children for the first time, as George leaves to
perform in France and Spain.
In the summer, the children arrive to perform with their father at local
Cretan weddings and village feasts. The film ends with the feast of the
Xylouris clan, on the island’s highest mountain, Mt. Psiloriti, near Anogia. It is
one of the few times that the family is together.
17
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
Synopsis
BLEND
Looking for
Co-producers and broadcasters.
Crew
Producers — Ben-Moshe &
Racheli Rusinek
Directors — Eyal Ben-Moshe &
Racheli Rusinek
Winemakers in the West Bank appropriate the land through the
roots of their vines. The wine they produce is ideologically tainted.
But as we follow three different stories, we discover that these
people are not only here for reasons of principal, but have a need
to escape their past lives.
ISRAEL
Hebrew | 52’ | DV CAM | Dolby | Human rights
Track record of producer
Budget
2004: “The
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28.99 %) 40,694 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (71.01 %) 99,667 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140,361 €
Escape Artists”
Jerusalem International Film
Festival, Palermo Film Festival
Chaplin Documentary Film Festival,
Ljubljana.
Financing Sources
Blend tells the story of the
winemakers in the West
Bank who try to appropriate
the land through the
vine roots and produce
ideologically-tainted wine.
As it unveils, it appears that
the protagonist’s story is
a less one of ideology, and
more of attempts to escape
past lives.
Winemakers in the
West Bank appropriate the
land through the roots of
their vines. The wine they
produce is ideologically
tainted. But as we follow
three different stories, we
discover that these people
are not only here for reasons
of principal, but have a need
to escape their past lives.
In a remote outpost, five kilometers from Nablus, Shmuel (60+), a retired
weapons expert, surveys his newly built winery. He wants to create a
perfect BLEND, the same wine his Biblical forefathers made for the Jewish
Temple in Jerusalem. On his way to his caravan Shmuel passes through his
vineyards where his grapes grow. Inside the creaking caravan, he makes a
call, but there is no answer. Over the past eleven years, he has waited for
his wife to join him, but she refuses to live on occupied land. It is difficult
for him to be alone and wants to propose they get back together. South
of there, at ‘Rechelim’ Settlement, Vered (36) looks in the mirror and fixes
her religious headdress. Her beautiful face is covered with blemishes. The
dust and sand are unkind to her Dutch skin. In her living room stands an old
grandfather clock. Vered, who is Dutch, had a Nazi grandfather who stole
it from a Jewish home. It was her other grandfather, a Jewish Holocaust
survivor, who taught her that it is always good to have a foreign passport,
just in case. Vered goes to greet guests for wine-tasting in an old military
barrack converted into their winery – Tura Winery. Vered is terrified living
in this area, but her husband Erez (37), who grows most of the Jewish
vine crops in the West Bank, will never give up on his dream of settling on
the hill, nor will he ever give up on the social status involved. Evangelist
Christians who come to help him harvest the grapes consider him a saint.
Only a stone’s throw away from the Palestinian city of Nablus, on Mount
Blessing, Nir (40) and Mack (29) prepare the ground for the vines. After
years of drugs and surfing in Australia, Nir was enlightened and embraced
Orthodox Judaism and went up on the mountain. He is about to make his
dream come true and be blessed by the mountain. Vered, Erez, Nir and
Shmuel are not connoisseurs, nor are they farmers by vocation. They have
chosen to produce wine simply because planting grapes is the easiest way
to occupy Palestinians’ lands. Through the process of wine production in the
West Bank the film documents this unusual blend of people trying to strike
roots – a mixture of wine and occupation, creeds and ideologies, blindness
and reality, the political and private.
The New Foundation for TV and Cinema, Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,694 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Eyal Ben-Moshe — Producer &
Director
18
2Team Productions
PO Box 7153 — 91071 Jerusalem (Israel) — Tel. 972 2 672 4256
[email protected] — www.ruthfilms.com
19
SELECTED PROJECTS
12
pitching forum
Story line
EGYPT’S MODERN PHARAOHS
Looking for
Financial support in Euroep,
America, Asia & Africa.
An autopsy of Egypt’s contemporary history including its role
on the international stage. Political, military and religious key
characters, and personalities from the civil society, will provide an
in-depth understanding of how revolution became inevitable.
Crew
Producer — Benoît Juster
Director — Jihan El-Tahri
Script — Jihan El-Tahri
france
Arabic & English | 3x52’ | HD | Stereo | 16/9 | History
Budget
Track record of producer
2009: “Behind
the Rainbow”
Awards from FESPACO, Real Life.
2007: “Cuba, an African Odyssey”.
Awards from PAFF, FICLUANDA,
FIFAI, Vue d’Afrique en Montreal.
2005: “The House of Saud”,
Award from BANIFF in Canada;
nomination for the Emmy Awards.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (41 %) 517,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (59 %) 758,169 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,275,169 €
Financing Sources
ARTE France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450,000 €
ARTE Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
Doha Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
DR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000 €
VPRO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000 €
”Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs” is a 2x 75 minute documentary that will unravel
the political and social history of Egypt from the day demonstrators burnt
down Cairo thus triggering the end of centuries of colonial rule until the
day the people rose and marched to Tahrir square demanding the end
of President Hosni Mubarak regime. Four major themes will constitute
the pillars upon which the documentary is built: The Army, The Moslem
Brotherhood, International relations and the role of Civil Society in Egypt.
These themes will be interweaved in a way to allow us to follow them
through from 1952 until 2011. In the process we will unravel the specific
style and character of each President and the manner with which he has
dealt with the main themes.
“Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs” will explore themes like how the Moslem
Brotherhood developed and how their role has evolved from the 1950’s until
today. How centuries of Christian/Moslem harmony was thwarted and its
contribution to religious strife in the country. Other themes like how Egypt
was caught in the cold war and the implications of going from a pro-Soviet
Socialist bastion to a Capitalist ally of the USA.
“Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs” also traces how during 60 years of
autocratic rule, every President since the 1950’s has used external threats,
religious strife and the danger of militant Islam to maintain martial laws
that have restrict all freedoms. The series will trace that process, or the
mechanism that has turned our liberators into our oppressors.
The documentary will use first hand accounts to provide an intimate
understanding of how the promises and principles of the 1952 revolution
were thwarted and those same principles denounced at Tahrir Square in
2011. The Timeline of the documentary will use specific events, mostly
internationally known, to illustrate and concretize the four major themes.
Interspersed through these accounts will be the personal stories of ordinary
Egyptians caught in the clutch of growing oppression leading to the
inevitability of a people’s revolution.
The renowned Egyptian cinema and its feature films that date
back to the 1930’s will provide us with an additional tool to visually and
atmospherically tell this story. We will use Egyptian feature films to narrate
and illustrate some of the film’s sequences. This additional layer of visual
narration will add the flavor and atmosphere of the specific eras and thus
visual demonstrate the evolution in both the narrative and the content of
the sequencesa.
Production Company
Pitchers
Laurence Uebersfeld — Producer
Jihan El-Tahri — Director & Script
20
big sister
4, rue Lacepede — 75005 Paris (France) — Tel. +33 1 4331 98 70
[email protected] — http://jihaneltahari.com/
21
SELECTED PROJECTS
With the support of:
pitching forum
NOTE OF INTENTION
Greece, the historical reasons
of bankruptcy
La Grèce ou les raisons historiques d’une faillite
How could such a little country as Greece – a sick country, full of lazy people – manage to contaminate the whole rest of Europe? Why is it that the media frenzy that followed the Euro Zone’s debt crisis
sealed the fate of Europe in the hands of the Greeks? Today, while the Greek ‘prescription’ is applied
to the rest of Europe and the collective emotional trauma has largely been overcome, it is increasingly
fascinating to analyse the current phenomena in the light of history and understand how one of the
European Country Member has managed to reach a state bankruptcy of such magnitude.
Looking for
GREECE
Coproductions with international
broadcasters.
Greek | 2 x 52’ | HD CAM | 16/9 | History
Budget
Producer — Olga Abazoglou
Director — Angelos Abazoglou
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (41.8 %) 365,500 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (58.2 %) 508,500 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874,000 €
Track record of producer
Financing Sources
2012: “Mustafa’s
ARTE France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000 €
Media Development/Cyclope Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 €
Les Films du Tambour de Soie/Procirep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,500 €
Crew
Sweet Dreams”
Selected at Berlinale 2012; TIFF San
Francisco, California; SEEfest L.A.
The proposed two one hour documentaries wish to highlight the
particularities of the Modern Greek nation, in an attempt to explain why
Greece is now immersed in such a devastating crisis.
The first film will present ‘The Years of Dictatorship’ (1945-1975)
while the second will deal with ‘The Years of Democracy’ (1975 till
today). By repositioning the recent events within a historical context, the
documentaries explore the mechanisms involved between the Second
World War and the present that led the country to her current debt crisis.
The films show on what bases the country was rebuilt after World War
II: how it developed, what collaborations it agreed on, what agreements
were passed with the other countries and how the State imposed a form of
complicity upon the entire population.
Throughout history, the Modern Greek state has closely cooperated
with the major ‘protecting powers’: the United Kingdom, the United States,
Germany, till now with the European Community as a whole. Its size, its
geo-strategic and geopolitical positioning leaves the country no option.
To such degree that after the WW2, Greece formed an elite keen to
work with its ‘protectors’ to seize power and ultimately, collaboration.
For the Greek State has been synonymous with failure and injustice.
It is a State whose relationship with its citizens is a far cry from the rule
of civil agreement; where everyone engages with cronyism and clientelism
as they believe it is the only way out. On a daily basis, this complicity has
shaped the mindset of the entire population.
We will examine the political storytelling that the various governments
– whether dictatorial or democratic – fed the population with to justify their
policies and legitimise their political decisions. Stories that have shaped the
people and their society, that created traditions and values embraced by all,
both rural and urban areas alike. Political narratives that the Greek political
and economic elites have used and disseminated throughout.
Our journey through the events that have marked the history of
Modern Greece during the last 65 years – far from the hotchpotch of ideas
and the inaccuracies – will allow us to understand why within the current
melting pot of a Europe in search of itself, Greece is in such a state of
political and economic disarray.
Production Company
Pitchers
Olga Abazoglou — Producer
Alexandre Cornu — Producer
22
cyclope productions
Evzonon 9 — 11521 Athens (Greece) — Tel. +30 210725812
[email protected] — www.cyclopsproductions.com
23
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
Oren is a teenager who was
born in Guatemala, grew
up in an adoptive family in
Jerusalem and diagnosed
as a child as suffering from
Asperger’s Syndrome.
Oren sets out on a crosscontinental, cross-cultural
journey, at the end of which
he meets his biological
parents, learns how easy it
is to hug and feels confident
more than ever.
I’M not
Looking for
75,000 Euro co-production,
pre-buy for available territories.
Crew
Ani Lo
Oren was adopted in Guatemala. Aged six, he was diagnosed with
Asperger’s and has since been on psychiatric medication. Following
suicide attempts and involuntary hospitalization, Oren was finally
sent to a boarding school. Here, he discovers himself anew, and
sweeps hisfamily off on a moving journey to his birthplace.
Producers & Directors — Tomer
Heymann & Barak Heymann
Camera — Itai Raziel
israel
Track record of producers
Budget
2013: “Families” (24
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (59.4 %) 110,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (40.6 %) 75,473 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185,473 €
episodes
documentary series).
2013: “Before the Revolution”.
Presented MEDIMED’13.
2011: “The Queen
Has No Crown”.
‘Official Best of Fest’ Award at Best
of Fest 2012 (USA).
Hebrew & Spanish | 52’ & 70’ | HD | Stereo | Human interest
Financing Sources
Channel 8 Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,000 €
ARTE France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
RAI 3 (pending) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
New Israeli Film for Cinema & TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 €
2010: “I Shot my Love”. Co-produced
with WDR/ARTE.
Production Company
Pitcher
Barak Heymann — Producer &
Director
24
HEYMANN BROTHERS FILMS
2 Barzilat st. — 65113 Tel Aviv (Israel) — Tel. +972 3 5602701
[email protected] — www.heymannfilms.com
Synopsis
Oren is a 19 year old boy who grew up in Jerusalem, surrounded by a stable
and loving family. But Oren’s life is in no way simple. It is not easy to cope
with a syndrome called Asperger’s,(part of Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD), combined with a borderline personality disorder. All this is further
complicated when Oren gets ready to open his adoption file and perhaps to
meet in Guatemala his biological parents, who gave him up as a baby.
Oren’s adolescence is full of hardship and anger. He’s angry at Dvora
and Ehud, his loving and despairing parents. He is angry at his sister Michal,
who is also an adopted child from Guatemala with problems of her own. But
he is mainly angry at himself – for going up a bridge and threatening to kill
himself, for trying to grab a weapon from a police officer, for being sent to
a rehabilitation home as a result; and for possibly messing up his own life,
which already has limited opportunities.
Oren is aware of his condition and can clearly describe it what it’s like.
This is what makes his dealing with it so complex. He struggles to find his
place in a world divided into ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ people’, not belonging
to either group. Oren feels it is more accurate to define him as ‘a happy and
complex person’; but he doesn’t really know what he is, rather what he is
not.
Oren’s ambivalent personality possesses so much charisma, intelligence
and humor, to the point where you can’t help but wonder is his “difference’
really a psychological disorder? Does he really need such strong medication?
Or perhaps it is just society’s need to tag anything different and try to “fix”
it?
Oren’s daily routine is broken by his cross-cultural journey to Guatemala.
Accompanied by his parents and sister and equipped with a camcorder,
Oren arrives to his birthplace, not speaking the native language. Looking
around, he cannot help but imagine what his life would have been like if he
hadn’t been sent for adoption. What kind of person would he have become
in a society that doesn’t brand him an Asperger sufferer?
In the following days, Oren’s emotional barriers come down. He hugs,
touches people, and expresses his feelings, which is no trivial matter for
Oren. He gets to know his mother and siblings better; he falls in love with
his niece and learns how easy it is to touch.
At the end of Oren’s journey, he feels that he belongs more than ever
– both to the family he has only just met and to the old family he grew up
in. The film “I’m not” is a personal coming-of-age story of a very special,
lovable boy. It is also a story about society and its attitude to “the other”.
Above all, it’s a story about how this delicate link between nature, family,
society and culture - shapes us into who we are.
25
SELECTED PROJECTS
TV broadcasting (Europe),
financing and support (Europe).
Crew
Producer — Marc Guidoni
Director — Giulia Fratia
france
Point of view
Turkish | 52’ | DV CAM | Stereo | 16/9 | Human interest
2011: “Roma Fantastica”, 60’,
by Luigi Cozzi, for Canal+ Group,
France.
Budget
2007: “Comoedia,
a rebirth”, 60’,
by Eric Guirado, for Canal+ Group,
France.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (44 %) 88,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (66 %) 112,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000 €
Financing Sources
Al Jazeera English. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 €
Rhône-Alpes Regional Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,000 €
France 3 Via Stella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Marc Guidoni — Producer
26
SYNOPSIS
“I Hear Music” unveils Istanbul’s struggle to preserve its cultural
vibrancy as it hurtles towards modernity. Part lyrical, part social
advocacy, the film is a character driven story following the daily
lives of Halit, Sahin and Yasimina who are all street vendors in
Istanbul. Over the four seasons we experience the evolution of the
city and of their lives.
Track record of producers
2008: “Warsaw, the fortress forest”,
60’, by Jean-François Robin, for
Canal+ Group, France.
Street vendors and their
chants are part of Istanbul’s
DNA: they are not only
providing goods, but also
social and human glue.
Should they disappear
because of the fast
transformation of the City,
it’s a whole harmony that
could collapse.
I HEAR MUSIC is an
intimate portrait of the
cultural shift in Istanbul
from traditional to modern
through the stories of three
street vendors whose lyrical
sales chants have suddenly
become illegal.
I Hear Music is a character driven story about resilience in a world
where change can imply loosing everything if you’re not on the right side
of the track. Over the four seasons, we follow the daily lives of HALIT,
who sells stuffed mussels, SAHIN, a milkman and YASIMINA, who sells
bridal trousseaux in the streets of Istanbul. In the face of the city’s rapid
modernization, we witness their struggle and their strong survival instincts
as it becomes more and more difficult for them to sell their goods on the
streets. Urban regeneration plans for many small downtown neighborhoods
have been announced, and HALIT has already received an eviction notice.
He lives in a small house on prime real estate and within a few years, the
skyline will be full of new high-risers and office towers. Until now, the street
vendors have lived in small bustling quarters where their familiar voices
announce what is being sold and by whom. Every day, HALIT chants “Midye
dolma, midyeci geldi!” (Stuffed mussels, the mussel man has come!). SAHIN
and YASIMINA also chant for their customers with their own unique and
musical tones. They stand out like solo singers from the urban cacophony
that surrounds them. But when a new law makes these songs a disturbance
to the public peace, the street vendors’ very livelihoods are suddenly at risk.
They are loosing their voices and they are fighting not to loose their homes,
as their districts are all slated for urban regeneration. The city is modernizing
rapidly, and the street vendors’ songs are an ode to the old ways and an
inspirational anthem of perseverance.
I HEAR MUSIC
Looking for
pitching forum
Fondivina/Faut Voir
9, Allee de la Sante — 69005 Lyon (France) — Tel. +33 6 88 24 92 51
[email protected] — www.fondivina.com
I Hear Music raises the question of what happens to the people who
live on the wrong side of the tracks in the big cities of our world that are
getting bigger almost overnight. How are we going to manage such big
agglomerations of people in the future? Whom are we building these big
cities for?
Through their work, the street vendors crisscross Istanbul every day;
on their routes they can see houses being torn down from one day to the
next and new buildings rising up in a matter of months. They witness the
gentrification happening all over the city. They eP-I Hear Musicxperience
it first hand when their own neighborhoods are affected. Their houses and
their jobs are swept away as they no longer fit in the modern style of living they are the best placed to tell this story. They will voice their concerns and
their hopes through our film.
Modernity and change are always thought to be for the better. I Hear
Music stops to think about the social and cultural cost we need to pay for it.
27
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
Characters and background
If you’re lucky, you won’t need us
Looking for
Financing and support from Holland,
Mediterranean area, worldwide.
Crew
Producer — Margus Õunapuu
Director — Jaak Kilmi
They are not sailors. They get paid for helping the ships with their
crew and cargo safely past the West African pirate coast into
peaceful waters. They carry weapons, because it’s their job. They
are just one part of a large international piracy business. Big money
moves around on both sides of the “front line”. New Nigerian
pirates and business around.
Estonia
Track record of producers
Best graduate film
in Fairleigh Dickinson University
2013.
Estonian, English & Dutch | 60’ & 8’ | HD CAM | Stereo | Current affairs
2013: “Drought”.
2011: “El Medico – The Cubaton
Story”. Best Documentary at New
York International Latino Film
Festival 2012.
2011: “Kosmos 68’”. Festivals in
Kaunas, Kinolitopys Kiev, Istanbul.
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (16.78 %) 39,100 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (83,22 %) 194,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233,100 €
Financing Sources
Estonian Film Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,500 €
Cultural Endowment of Estonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 €
ETV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,600 €
Film Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Margus Õunapuu — Producer
28
Film Tower
Kaera 16-10 — 10318 Tallinn (Estonia) — Tel. +3725651654
[email protected] — www.filmtower.com
They are not sailors. They
get paid for helping the
ships with their crew and
cargo safely past the West
African pirate coast into
peaceful waters. They carry
weapons, because it’s their
job. They are just one part of
a large international piracy
business. Big money moves
around on both sides of the
“front line”.
Raivo is 38 years old. He has the background of a professional military
career – services in Afghanistan, Iraq, and military intelligence. A few
years ago he was hired to guard ships working at crisis regions in Panama,
Singapore and the Gulf of Aden at the coast of Somalia. The risks were
great, but so was the money. At first he served on vessels owned by Belgian
company Jan de Nul. Since then, Raivo has good connections with Belgian
and Dutch shipping companies.
Raivo spent two years, with small breaks, in international waters near
the coast of Somalia, employed by an East European security operator J.R.,
placing together defence teams for different cargo ships, tankers or patrol
boats. “I learned that with youthful bravery you couldn’t do anything in this
business. Here it was all about experience and nerves of steel”.
There are not many possibilities for ships to pass safely probably the
world’s most dangerous waters from the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean – to
travel in convoy of warships, to order a patrol team from a private company or
to ask God Almighty for protection. The first two services are not cheap. But
in case of bad luck, the third possibility may be even more expensive.
Raivo’s task was to put together and manage a team. Usually with very
short notice period. The pirate-protection teams, which Raivo put together,
usually included 4-6 men. Usually ship companies don’t bear to order larger
teams – the day fees of pirate patrol are not at all small and the number of
days is large.
This is how the system worked - Raivo put together a team in Estonia,
then he flew to Malta, where he selected armament, after that he flew
to Oman, where he met his team. From there they were taken with the
armament to the ship they were about to secure. Raivo’s second task was
to create a defence plan for the ship and to advise the captain – in reality it
meant building shooting bases, bulletproof barriers and citadels on ships.
Raivo developed an effective method to protect large ships with small
armed group. This means reconstructions on ship’s deck, establishing
strict discipline on board, zero tolerance for alcohol, obedience to all his
commands and requirements from everybody on board and complete
concentration and focus.
Four-member armed guard team has to protect up to 300-meter and
longer tankers from any attack by pirates. This is done in two shifts. Every
shift lasts exactly eight hours. Then they sleep and go back on duty. Two
men on deck, eyes on horizon during days, staring into darkness at nights.
Raivo has given orders to turn off all lights after dark and move on full
speed ahead. Tankers or big cargo ships protected by his team race through
the night like ghost ships. Raivo looks constantly at the radar and listens to
the radio. But the radars don’t record small plastic boats and in the shade
of night they may sneak quietly next to big ships and send pirates with
machine guns on board.
29
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
A Film about the unifying Power of Music
MALI BLUES
Looking for
Financing and co-production
partners.
Crew
Producers — Kerstin Meyer-Beetz
& Christian Beetz
Director — Lutz Gregor
Script — Lutz Gregor
Following Fatoumata Diawara, the young shooting star of global
pop, MALI BLUES is a musical road movie discovering Mali’s
rich musical culture, home of Blues and Jazz. We meet various
committed musicians, threatened by the Sharia, who are fighting
for peace and their freedom to express themselves through their
music.
germany
English & French | 90’ | HD | Dolby | 16/9 | Music, Culture, Human Rights
Track record of producer
Budget
2013: “Open
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (25 %) 85,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (75 %) 255,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340,000 €
Heart”.
Academy Award Nominee Best
Documentary Short 2013; Best
Documentary Short at Boulder IFF.
Financing Sources
2012: “Shakleton
Captain”. Best
Script 2012 at Torelló Mountain FF.
ARTE / ZDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,000 €
VPRO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000 €
2010: “My heart of Darkness”,
Best Documentary at FIC Luanda
IFF; IDFA, Brighton Doc Festival.
“This land is for the sons
and daughters of Mali,
not for Al Qaeda or any
militants. This land is for
peace and beauty, rich
culture and tolerance.”
Vieux Farka Touré
MALI BLUES is a musical road movie illustrating Mali’s rich musical culture.
Alongside Fatoumata Diawara - the young shooting star of the global pop
scene - we travel through breath-taking landscapes and discover Mali’s
agitated heart from Bamako in the South-West to the “Festival au Desert“
in northern Timbuktu.
Fatoumata Diawara symbolizes a young generation of African women:
energetic, strong-minded, confident and politically engaged. She is
dedicated to unify all artists spread throughout Mali who feel threatened
by sharia and want to defend their right to music as a human right against
religious militants. Her idea is to arrange a “Mali All Stars Orchestra” which
would play a concert at „Festival au Desert“ in Timbuktu. They would unify
their voices and reconquer Mali‘s North, ideologically and musically.
Some say, an “African spring” is approaching. The idea is not farfetched:
Many other famous musicians such as Salif Keitá, Oumou Sangaré, Rokia
Traoré, Bassekou Koyaté, Amkoullel or the young Tuaregband Tamikrest fear
they will not be able to practice their passion of music in crisis-ridden Mali
if Islamic fundamentalists take over. All of these artists, may they originate
from different parts of the country, belong to different ethnic groups and
represent different musical styles and traditions ally in one single motive:
Protecting Mali’s unique musical and cultural heritage.
For 10 months in 2012, Mali was under the rule of Islamic
fundamentalists. The artists were silenced and - in the North - foreign
music and dance were abolishes all together. Instruments were destroyed
and musicians menaced. The world-renowned “Festival au Desert“ was
banished. Wanting to take power over Mali, the religious extremists first
went after the country’s culture. Even though the militants have retrieved,
the awareness and memories remain.
In 2013 Fatoumata Diawara initiated the project “Malian Musicians
United” assembling nearly 40 of the country’s most prestigious musicians.
In their globally noticed clip “Mali- Ko” they sing about their human right
to music. They pray for peace, decry corrupt politicians, the danger of the
sharia and the possibility of a tolerant Islam. International personalities such
as Bono, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder support their movement.
MALI BLUES also depicts the roots of Afro-American blues and jazz.
Through the songs, we get to know the artists’ hopes and dreams as well as
their daily sorrows. Whoever tries to take the music from Mali rips out this
country’s heart.
Production Company
Pitcher
Christian Beetz — Producer
30
gebrueder beetz filmproduktion
Heinrich-Roller-Str. 15 — 10405 Berlin — Tel. +49 3069566910
[email protected] — www.gebrueder-beetz.com
31
12
pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
The film aims at building
people’s awareness of the
historical and political
issues by using poetical
links which will give
meaning to the topic
making it unique.
MONUMENTUM
Looking for
International TV pre-sales and
international sales company.
Crew
As new governments are put in place in the Arab world, the
statues, symbols of the old regimes are toppled making room for
the writing of a different page of history. Monumentum questions
the public space and its appropriation by the political, the private,
and the citizens, in this troubled area.
Producer — Farida Fdani
Director — Fadi Yeni Turk
Script — Fadi Yeni Turk
France
Track record of producer
Budget
2005: “Zarafah”,
animation feature
by Rémi Bezançon & Alexander
Abela for Blue Eye Films.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (26.21 %) 51,540 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (73,79 %) 145,106 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,646 €
2003: “Souli”, a feature fiction by
Alexander Abela for Blue Eye Films.
Financing Sources
Arabic & French | 52’ & 90’ | HD | Stereo | Current Affairs
AFAC Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
OIF Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
New Tree Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,540 €
Production Company
Pitchers
Farida Fdani — Producer
Fadi Yeni Turk — Director
32
New Tree Productions
57, rue Clisson — 75013 Paris (France) — Tel. +33 6 23 95 40 26
[email protected]
purpose
It is only when things disappear from the scope that they appear to the
eye.
That’s what I feel with memorials. It has been so, anyway, when I
was a photo reporter on all the regional conflicts which led to the fall of
so many statues in the Arab countries. Their history, from the setting of
borders in the colonial times up to now, has come across religious, ethnical,
social and cultural issues at the crossroads of which the idea of a nation
has always been problematic. Therefore, all those in place, up to now, have
been, repeatedly and continuously, staging the legitimacy they were lacking,
via public memorials, to embed that legitimacy in the collective memory.
Nothing was left out, re-appropriation of the myths, of the artistic and
political outstanding figures, filiations traced back to the prophet and so on.
In societies with patriarchal structures associating the natural family to the
national family and so, relating social life to domination and dependence,
Lebanon is the playground for all regional disputes; It’s a country where the
notion of public space is almost if not totally absent. The identity issues
which took over are those of private firms: banks, insurance companies and
others of the kind. It is a country where no awareness of a common destiny
seems to emerge, which makes of Lebanon a country without any Arab
spring.
The desire to make this film sprang from these findings. Now that
history is on the move again, in societies where common welfare has never
been brought to the forefront of the political agenda, how can one consider
a common future? How can one consider a future which will not only be
the addition of all the communitarian particularities forming the complex
Lebanese pattern? How to write in the visible of our towns a history where
every one could recognize himself? Is it only possible? Especially in Lebanon
where the conflictual past of the country will not precisely go away?
Today, the Arab world is undergoing a radical upheaval which is
reshuffling the cards after over 40 years of political lock up. Most of the
symbols of old powers as statues and megalomaniac memorials, are now
knocked down or waiting for a decision about their future.
The new balance of power is imposing on the governments in place,
to reinvent a new way of telling history in the public space if they intend to
have any kind of future. What will be the new political order in the region
for the next coming months or years ? What new scenario will the new
powers write? How will they establish their legitimacy? Whose legacy will
they claim? Is a new image of the power only possible? So many questions
remain to be answered!
On the other hand, what will be the impact of these tectonic
movements agitating Lebanon? Could new memorial carrying a different
way of living in society be created?
33
SELECTED PROJECTS
With the support of:
TREATMENT
NEW HANDS
Looking for
Coproduction financing, and letters
of commitment from broadcasters.
A man who lost his hands in an accident, gets a new pair from a
corpse - the first time one of the shoulder joints is also be grafted
on the patient. This is a miracle story about a man who decides to
take matters into his own… hands.
Crew
Producers — Heather Millard &
Gudberger Davidsson
Directors — Thorkell Hardarson &
Orn Marino Arnarson
Track record of producer
2013: “Ash”
Just released, screened at
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
2011: “Balance”
2010: “The Iron Cross at Mýrar
Cemetery”
ICELAND
English | 52 & 90 | HD | Stereo | Science, education
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (73.55 %) 144,491 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (26.50 %) 51,899 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,390 €
Financing Sources
RUV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,678 €
Icelandic Film Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,535 €
MEDIA Development support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,000 €
DR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 €
Iceland tax rebate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,278 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Heather Millard — Producer
34
pitching forum
Markell Productions & Spier Films
Selvogsgrunn 29, 104 — Reykjavik (Iceland) — Tel. +354 693 5698
[email protected] — www.spierfilms.com
After a series of unfortunate miscommunication in the command center
of the Icelandic Power Company, a young electrical engineer, Mr. Felix
Gretarsson, was sent up a high-voltage mast to repair a power line in
1998. When he reached the top of the mast, he was struck with lethal
high-voltage of 11.000 volts (A normal household currency is 120-240
volts). Mr. Gretarsson only survived because he had not connected the
mandatory safety line at the moment of the accident. His hands burned off
in a split second and he fell to the ground, broke his spine and all his ribs
disconnected from the spine, due to the high voltage electrical shock. In
an instant, he went from being a healthy young man in the prime of life - to
being an invalid with charred stumps where his hands were minutes before
and multiple broken and dislodged bones as well as severe internal organs
damage.
He was rushed to the hospital where he was kept in a medically
induced coma for more than 90 days. He underwent serial operations to
save his life and what was salvageable of his hand stumps. All the while he
was aware what had happened and was trying to come to consciousness
to tell his loved ones that he was OK. The doctors fought his will to wake
up and steadily increased the medicine portions. Mr Gretarsson describes
this period as a never-ending nightmare with constant hallucinations - all
the while he is trying to will himself to consciousness. He had the feeling he
was being sawed into pieces and describes how he heard the saw roar while
dismembering him and cutting off parts of his head. When Mr.Gretarsson
finally wakes up, three months after the accident, and realizes only his
hands are missing from his body he is so happy that the rest of his body is
there that he cries with relief.
In the end we will have a clear picture of a man who did everything he
had to in order to be able to hug his children again. Hopefully the operation
will succeed and Mr. Gretarsson will be able to contribute to society. If the
operation fails - we will still have witnessed a man going the distance for
his dream. We will have learned to do the right thing by Mr. Gretarsson’s
example, and that in itself is worth a lot in a world where the easy way
is constantly being offered to people in exchange for some part of their
spiritual or material freedom.
Hopefully we will end the film on a shot of a man, raising his hands
towards the sky in triumph. A fellow human being who took back his life
in his hands with the help of complete strangers who recognized the
greatness of being able to help a fellow man anonymously. Seeing a man
rise from his ashes like the Phoenix is enough for anyone’s belief in life to be
reaffirmed. That is our aim as filmmakers with this film - to make a film that
promotes a positive outlook to life, even if your circumstances are bleak and
more than hopeless.
35
35
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
“At Popenguine, religion no
longer exists. There are only
people who have faith.”
Antoine Sfeir
POPENGUINE
Looking for
Co-producer’s investment and
other funding for 18,000 euros.
Crew
Producer — Sandrine Bagarry
Director — Ludovic Lang
Script — Anne-Sphie Reinhardt
Pilgrims from all over West Africa converge in Popenguine,
small Senegalese fishing village to celebrate Pentecost. This is a
Christian pilgrimage that could not exist without the support of the
village’s Muslim community. The monumental scale of this annual
event testifies to Muslim-Christian fraternity and the mindset of an
entire population.
France
French | 52’ | HD | Stereo | 16/9 | Human interest
Track record of producer
2013: “La jeune fielle à la Pie Rouge”,
by Sylvie Habault & Guy Faucon
2013: “La Vendue”, by Samuel
Toutain & Philippe Priéto
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (82.1 %) 82,721 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (17,9 %) 17,279 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,280 €
Financing Sources
2013: “Ombres
et Lumières”, by
Valérie Deschênes
Proposed by its authors, Popenguine is a documentary that is particularly
important to us. Big Bang Films strives to produce films that allow people to
see the world differently. This documentary, which highlights a peaceful and
joyful Africa, a serene Islam, religions that accept each other, dialogue with
each other, and live together, fully attains this goal by spreading a precious
message. A message that is even more striking for it comes to us from
Africa…
Therefore, we instantly wished to produce “Popenguine” for its
humanistic content but also for the impressive images it spontaneously calls
up: continuous stream of pilgrims, small seaside village invaded by crowds,
organized chaos of housing and meals, rituals of African Christians…
This subject also holds a surprise: this African pilgrimage was created
by a French priest. He fell in love with Popenguine’s cliffs, which reminded
him of those of his native Normandy. So the pilgrimage was modeled on
that of Douvres-la-Délivrande, in Calvados. The black virgin is a copy of the
Norman one. The different atmosphere of the two pilgrimages today will for
sure illustrate our cultural and ritual differences…
The film will be made without voiceovers. It will suggest things rather
than pushing them, allowing the viewer to draw his own conclusions. The
authors’ viewpoint will be expressed subtly, without proselytism or heavyhanded moralism. The narration will follow the chronology of the pilgrimage,
the preparations and then the event itself. It will allow the viewer to guess,
little by little, the Muslim identity of the host village, without forcing the
issue or pointing out the religions of each participant.
The documentary has been pre-acquired by KTO. As a result, the
version delivered will be religious. Nonetheless, we also plan to finalize a
more general version which will address spirituality and fraternity more than
religion. This version will have an international aim, because we think that
this inter-confessional message of peace deserves to be widely broadcast.
To this end, we are seeking international partners in order to finance
the additional cost of the second editing and also provide international
markets opportunities to this documentary.
Big Band Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 €
KTO TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,521 €
CNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,000 €
Procirep-Angoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,200 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Sandrine Bagarry — Producer
36
big band films
36, boulevard de la Bastille — 75012 Paris — Tel. +33 1 43 07 18 42
[email protected] — www.bigbangfilms.fr
37
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
SYNOPSIS
A documentary that shows
for the first time the
educational methods of
Maurice Béjart of forming
apprentices dancers.
Shaping Dancers!
“Bèjart’s art of forming dancers”
International broadcasters
(pre-sales) or co-producers
(postproduction).
The documentary reveals the passionate two-year journey of
five international teenagers immersed in the eclectic universe of
Maurice Béjart of the Ecole-Atelier Rudra Béjart, and striving to
become professional dancers.
Crew
Switzerland
Producer — Laura Elena Cordero
Director — Laura Elena Cordero
French, Spanish & Italian | 85’ & 4x45’ | Full HD 1920x1080 | Dolby
Arts, music, culture, performance
Track record of producer
Budget
2005: “City
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (76 %) 269,967 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (24 %) 85,253 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355,220 €
Looking for
of Diversity”
Second Prize at ITB Berlin
2004: “Eine Frage der Zeit” (Una
cuestion de tiempo), for Colorvivo
Films.
Financing Sources
Ernst Goehner Stiftung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,151 €
Fluxum Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,038 €
OFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,378 €
Vivace Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209,400 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Laura Elena Cordero — Producer
38
Vivace FILMS
Rue du Centre — 1131 Tolochenaz — Tel. +41 (0) 21 53 55 193
[email protected] — www.vivacefilms.com
Every year, more than 120 young dancers, between 15 and 20 years old,
come from around the world to l’Ecole-Atelier Rudra-Béjart in Lausanne
(Switzerland) to train to become professional dancers! Only 25 are selected
to begin an arduous and eclectic training for two years, according to the
methodology of Maurice Béjart. The training is free of cost for them,
according to the altruistic desire of the founder. The teenagers dancers
receive the most varied artistic techniques with art masters (Martha
Graham, Kendo, Indian Dance, ballet, acrobatics and even Commedia dell’
Arte and African Percussion). As a condition to remain in the school, they
need to assimilate the new techniques, but also need to keep up with the
intense rhythm. The documentary focuses on 7 international dancers from
Spain, France, Japan, Italy and Switzerland. The viewer discovers the Béjart
method of shaping dancers.
NOTE OF THE DIRECTOR
I wanted to portray the process of becoming a professional dancer
according to Maurice Béjart through the eyes of teenagers. “Shaping
Dancers” is about the transformation and evolution of adolescents.
I was captured from day one by the extreme sensitivity and passion of
the young apprentices. Despite all the effort and discipline, sacrifices and
work, their joy at being able to do what they love most is evident, touching
and inspiring. I wanted to understand their way of thinking and their world. I
wanted to get closer to their vulnerability and capture their thoughts. Each
protagonist revealing his/her personal challenge.
The world of the school - Atelier Rudra-Béjart leaves no young
dancer indifferent. The Rudra School in Lausanne is an exceptional place,
not only because of the originality of the programme, which embodies
the multicultural spirit of Béjart, or because it is free for all international
teenagers, and allows them to enter into unconventional artistic territories,
but mainly because the young international dancers strive together with
heart, body and soul to achieve a dream that will change their life and open
career in the world of dance.
Rudra is a place of human transformation. During their training, Rudra
students transform their bodies, their minds and their perception of the
world before spreading their wings. The art of forming dancers according to
Béjart has never yet been portrayed in a documentary.
To give a real place to art is essential in our society. The art of dance
explained by youth in the process of becoming professional dancers is
rare, necessary and refreshing in our days. The documentary film promise
inspiration, reflection, entertainment ... light for the arts!
39
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
STanding man
- Beat him?
- Why? He’s just standing
there.
- Leave him alone? Then he
wins, doesn’t he?
Standing Man
Looking for
Co-production agreements
and/or possible sales.
Crew
Producer — Didem Ayberkin
Director — Aziz Alaca
Camera — Çaglar Çakan
Duran Adam
On May 2013, Turkish police fired tear gas into a peaceful protest
held to save Gezi Park. This set off the biggest civil uprising in the
history of the Turkish Republic. After 17 days of demonstrations,
where all the hopes were shattered, something remarkable
happened. A single man showed up and stood silently for 8 hours.
Erdem Gündüz, a performance artist quickly gained him the
nickname “Standing Man” and inspired the entire world.
turkey
Track record of producer
Son Doctor”.
In pre-production.
Turkish | 80-90’ | HD | Stereo | Arts, music, culture
2013: “My
Founded in 2012, Ankara Movie
House aims to be productive in all
fields concerning motion picture,
such as future lenght movies,
documentaries, short films, music
movies and corporate movies.
With two shorts films and a
documentary, Ankara Movie House
is also passioned for new talents and
projects.
Pitcher
Didem Ayberkin — Producer
40
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (51.8 %) 113,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (48.2 %) 105,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218,000 €
Financing Sources
K2 Medya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,000 €
Ankara Movie House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,000 €
On Friday, May 31, Turkish riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray into
a peaceful protest held to save Gezi Park, one of the last green areas in
central Istanbul. This set off the biggest civil uprising in the history of the
Turkish Republic.
The unrest has spread like wildfire to more than 60 cities where
protests are still ongoing. This is not about a park. It’s about not being
heard, the abuse of state power, the media being censired, the minorities
not being protected... Overall it’s about democracy.
On June 17th, the police didn’t let the group who gathered together
after the call of the trade unions to wal toeards Taksksim Square. Tasksim
Square was now closed even to the tourists.
Then, something remarkable happened. A single man showed up and
stood silently for 8 hours. Erdem Gündünz, a performance artist quickly
gained him the nickname “Standing Man”. Within hours this courageous and
inspiring act had gone viral. Hundreds joined him in a silent vigil. The news
spread through social media, becoming the top twitter trend worldwide.
The duran adam (‘standing man’) protest was subsequently replicated
across the country and beyond – in Ankara, Izmir, Amsterdam, London,
Sydney, Atlanta, New York, Seoul, Berlin, Paris, etc. This was an exemplary
show of passive resistance – singular, silent, stationary and symbolic.
This documentary focuses on “Standing Man”, his life and perspective
on gezi park demonstrations and the real reason of his worldwide
reputation. At the same time, Alaz Kuseyri, tries to examine the censorship
towards media and its relation with the demonstrations.
The documentary will try to answer questions such as “How a single
man inspired Turkish protesters in Istanbul? How a single artistic movement
shaped a mass cib¡vil resistance? What was the attitude of media and what
influence had this attitude on citizens?
The combination of existing footage and projected shootings will
be mounted in a humorous way and editing, integrated with animations,
regarding the intelligence and humour shown in the protests. And also
footages from a film named ‘Vatandas Riza (1977)” stroying a man standing
still in a square for his freedom will be used as a reference.
Aziz Alaca, Writer - Director
Production Company
Ankara Film Evi (Ankara Movie House)
37/2 Kucukesat/Cankaya — 06690 Ankara — Tel. +90 312 419 80 16
[email protected] — www.ankarafilmevi.org
41
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
The wolf is bad. It is
diabolic. And lastly, it is
heretic. Although the wolf
is a creature of this world, it
is translated to a symbolic
plane, and thus loses its
original traits and acquires
new ones.
[G.Ortalli, Lupi genti culture
(Wolves peoples cultures),
Biblioteca Einaudi, 1997]
stories of wolves and men
Looking for
TV broadcasting (Europe),
financing and support (Europe).
Crew
The return of wolves brings disarray to the Alpine villages. As
researches and park rangers follow their tracks to study their
behaviour, shepherds start organizing in order to take them on, and
inhabitants are somewhat divided as to their prsence. Very few
have seen these creatures, but everyone talks about them.
Producers — Babydoc & ICTV
Directors — Alessandro Abba
Legnazzi & Andrea Deaglio
italy
Track record of producers
Budget
2010: “Il
futuro del mondo passa da
Qui – Cuty Veins”. Joris Ivens Award
at Cinema du Réel 2010.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (26 %) 26,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (74 %) 74,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,000 €
2010: “Pietro” (feature film). Locarno
Film Festival. Distributor: Lucky Red.
Financing Sources
2008: “Rata Nece Biti”. Best
documentary 2009 at David di
Donatello Award.
Italian & French | 52’ & 90’ | XDCAM | Stereo | Human interest
RAI Valle d’Aosta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000 €
Film Comission Torino Piemonte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,000 €
Film Comission Valle d’Aosta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 €
STRUCTURE & STYLE
‘Stories of men and wolves’ is a choral film, with different characters, and the
central theme emerges from points of view that vary greatly, sometimes in
complete contrast, with a dialectic intention. Most of these characters appear
just once; occasionally they return to the fray a second time.
We will not resort to naturalistic documentary techniques, but the wolf
will be treated as if it were a “ghost”, its story told by material coming from
different sources, and fulfilled by the protagonists themselves.
The documentary will in fact include:
- infra-red films recorded by video traps
- films and/or photos fulfilled by shepherds and characters
- films of scientific nature created by Park Authorities and Science
Research projects
The prevalent style will be that of a creative documentary. There will
be no author-interviewer present. Instead the viewer will be led through the
various situations solely by the characters.
The use of wide shots will be frequent, also when portraying
characters, also to the purpose of leaving a lot of room to the surroundings
(the mountains, the villages, the alpine countryside, the stables, the woods,
the open stretches of land, and in contrast, the urban areas) and therefore
the context will take on a particularly active role. Long sequence shots will
be used and shots without continuity, able to give an idea of the passing of
time concerning the places and the lives of the characters. There is also
the possibility of two or three moments of animation, whereby through
illustration one may recreate evocative situations tied to the ancestral and
fable-like dimension of the wolf.
These people recognize the wolf as a symbol of this changing of the
times, of the ever-advancing woods, which have already begun to eat up
small pastures and agricultural ledges. The wolf moves onwards and causes
houses to be abandoned, the wolf clears out the mountain population and
chases the people back to their metropolis.
Yet the first great obstacle for Mariano could well be his own people.
He defines it aptly on a phrase in his book: “The crumbling of society has
produced an atomization of what remains of society in the mountains:
individual interests have taken over.” Mariano knows full well that in
order to increase their power and standing, the mountain people need to
begrudgingly form alliances and agreements with the people of the planes.
Production Company
Pitcher
Michael Noll — Producer
42
BABYDOC FILM
Via Artisti 30 — 10124 Torino (Italy) — Tel. +30 011 8179192
[email protected] — www.babydocfilm.it
43
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
‘Tadmor’ tackles the issue of
human capacities in the face
of barbarism, resistance and
termination. The film is an
ode to the human ability to
survive. A story of hope and
survival.
TADMOR
Broadcasters, world sales agent,
private funding, distribution (France,
Switzerland, Lebanon excepted).
Ten Libanese men recall their long, painful years in Syria’s notorious
‘Tadmor Prison’. As words cannot fully describe the torture, pain,
fear and humiliation they experienced, they reenact their narratives
physically through the film. Tadmor is a story of hope and survival.
Crew
FRANCE
Producers — Philippe Avril, Gabriela
Bussmann, Serge Gordey, Monika
Borgmann & Lokman Slim
Directors — Monika Borgmann &
Lokman Slim
Arabic | 90’ | HD | Stereo | Human Rights
Looking for
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7.9 %) 35,182 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (92.1 %) 405,818 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441,000 €
Track record of producer
2012: “The Fifth Season”. Arca
Cinema Giovani Jury Award &
Green Drop Award at Venice IFF
2012; Special Prize of the Jury,
Fipresci Award & Youth Jury Prize
at Valladolid IFF, Seminci 2012.
2011: “Chatrack” & “The End of
Silence”, both offical selection,
Director’s Fortnight, Cannes 2011
Pitcher
Monika Borgmann — Director
44
Financing Sources
UNLIMITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11,110 €
UMAM PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,000 €
GOLDEN EGG PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,072 €
Broadcast-guarantee: TSR (Switzerland)
Production Company
UNLIMITED
5, rue de Champagne — 67300 Schiltigheim (Fr) — Tel. +33 88194202
[email protected] — www.unlimited-films.net
Synopsis
Why Tadmor?
I have spent many years covering the world of violence, first as a
journalist and author, and later as a filmmaker. In doing so, the questions
always remain the same: What drives a human to commit inhuman acts?
How can someone overcome his own inner defenses and become able to
commit such heinous crimes?
In covering the subject of individual violence, I conducted hours of
interviews with a former sniper in. I wrote about Eyal Sivan and Rony
Brauman’s Eichmann film A Specialist, which for me served as an example
of administrative violence. I published a book that included interviews
with Algerian journalist and writer Said Mekbel, a man who foretold his
own assassination and even named the person who would ultimately be
responsible. This I refer to as invisible violence. And finally, I directed the
film Massaker, which was a journey into collective violence.
After Massaker, I felt I had somehow reached a culminating point.
Through the NGO I co-direct (UMAM Documentation and Research),
I came into close contact with a number of former Lebanese political
detainees in Syria. It was as if I had never done Massaker,as all of the
questions had returned. This was how Tadmor began.
I gained the men’s trust. Thus, when I proposed the film to them, they
agreed to accompany me on this journey. They are ready to exorcize the
specter of Tadmor from their lives.
Tadmor will be structured organically along three axes. These
narratives will be intermingled during the editing process.
– The Assessment
A hospital examination room staffed by a general practitioner. The area
is “clinically white” and clean, the scene almost overexposed.
The men of Tadmor will undergo a complete physical checkup during
which their bodies will testify to the years they spent in prison.
– The Speech
Light cascades from above to brighten several cubic meters of space
in which a comfortable, black chair has been placed. One after another, the
men of Tadmor will sit in that chair to offer their testimonies of the prison.
Though the chair will serve as an anchor, the men will be free to gesture,
stand and move about, but every action will take place in that confined
space–as was the case during their incarceration.
The men of Tadmor will do their best to describe the daily routine that
ruled their existence while they were shut away in the desert prison. When
they are unable to find words that will allow them to continue, the men will
shift to a spontaneous reenactment of the time they spent as prisoners.
– The Action
An open, abandoned space. Words absolutely fail to describe the
horrors of Tadmor. Reenacting Tadmor propels the men into the past,
which enables them to obliterate memories of its horrors. In doing so, they
are given a choice of roles to play: the victim... or the victimizer.
The camera will capture the violence they reenact as well as the
emotions they display — which range from terror, fear, pain and despair.
45
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
synopsis
TEACHING IGNORANCE
Looking for
Pre-buy and co-production
with international broadcasters
(worldwide) and MG from
an international sales agent
(worldwide).
How do the Palestinian and Israeli education systems teach
about the history of the conflict? Through portraits of teachers
in school classes in both sides, the film traces the conscious
and subconscious narratives that are transmitted to the next
generations of this long lasting conflict.
France
Crew
Producers — Tatiana Bouchian &
Oury MIilshtein
Director — Tamara Erde
Script — Tamara Erde
Hebrew, Arabic & English | 80/90’ | HD | Stereo | Education
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (49 %) 92,200 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (51 %) 98,461 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,661 €
Track record of producer
2007: “Trivial”, directed by Sophie
Marceau”. Released in the USA,
Japan, and in approximately 20
countries worldwide.
Financing Sources
France 3 Via Stella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,000 €
CNC COSIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
Procirep-Angoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,200 €
Why Not Productions (Fr distribution / dvd) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000 €
Grant Brot für die Welt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,000 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Tatiana Bouchian — Producer
46
This documentary film
traces the history of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
as it is presented and
taught in the different
public education systems:
The Israeli (national, Arab
and religious) and the
Palestinian systems (west
bank and Gaza strip).
Through portraits of several history teachers and educators filmed in
their class, during 2012-2013, the film reveals the different narrations and
approaches for teaching the complex and charged history of the conflict.
The chosen schools are set in locations which emphasis as well the
changing everyday life of the conflict - The schools are set in Jerusalem,
The North of Israel, Nablus, Ramallah and a colony near Hebron.
Teaching a nation’s history, when it comes to controversial and painful
events, is always a delicate issue. History in itself, is forever a subject of
interpretations, deformations, selective choices - which facts are told and
which aren’t. When it comes to Teaching it, those questions are even more
present. Then, if we look at a situation in which the history is still in its
writing stages, everyday, in which the conflict and state of war between
two nations is an on-going matter, these questions and dilemmas about
history classes and civil studies, are even more problematic. Such is the
case in the Israeli and Palestinian educational systems.
Since its establishment, Israel has been in a state of war. Its schools
have been functioning under this “war mentality” from the beginning and on.
This has had countless influences on the teachers, the themes, the norms
of this system. This influence is so strong, that it seems that today, very few
teachers are aware of it. It has become part of the habits, the obligations
that are unquestionable. Some of those teachers are very surprised at first
to hear this questions – “Why should we teach the history of the other
side?” Their reality is clear and unquestionable. In the few cases, that were
done to change this situation, to try and teach the conflict from both sides:
for example – mentioning the Nakba* (the Palestinian disaster) in parallel
to the Israeli Independence Day, teachers were fired, school principals were
threatened. On the other side, the Palestinian education system is facing the
difficulties of a new system, officially formed only after the Oslo Agreements
(1993), and functioning under the restrictions of the occupation which
influences not only its practical aspects but also the perceptions and moral
of the teachers and students, when coming to discuss the conflict and its
history as well as democracy issues and civil rights.
The film interlaces the story of the six schools and teachers in parallel,
constructing for the viewer the different and sometimes opposing universes
of the teachers in the various schools. The film reveals this tendencies,
norms and myths that are on the basis of the education systems, through
interviews with teachers, following their classes in schools, as well as by
revealing and documenting the censorship held by the ministry, which forbid
interviewing teachers that hold different views then the norms.
ILIADE & FILMS
7, rue Arthur Groussier — 75010 Paris (France)
Tel. +33 6 66 85 24 70 — [email protected]
47
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
With the support of:
treatment
The Invisible City
(Paradise in Hell)
THE INVISIBLE CITY
Neredzama pilseta
Broadcaster, co-producer from the
Nordic countries, Germany and
other countries.
Our film will be about the paradise we have found in a place which
is supposed to be the hell. We will take you into a journey to a
forbidden area to show that heart is the only place one should look
for the paradise.
Crew
Latvia
Producer — Guntis Trekteris
Director — Viesturs Kairiss
Russian | 52 & 70’ | HD | Stereo | Human interest
Looking for
Budget
Track record of producer
2008: “My
Mother’s farm”
IDFA Silver Wolf Competition,
Norwegian Best Television
Documentary.
2002: “Flashback”
Russian National Film Award Nika,
Telaviv International Documentary
Festival, Jury Diploma.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (66 %) 88,940 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (34 %) 45,214 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134,154 €
Financing Sources
Media Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,500 €
National Film Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,657 €
Culture Capital Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,143 €
Ego Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,640 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Guntis Trekteris — Producer
48
Ego Media
Baznicas iela 8-20 — LV 1010 Riga (Latvia) — Tel. +371 67291720
[email protected] — www.egomedia.lv
Our film will be about the paradise we have found in a place which is
supposed to be the hell. We will take you into a journey to a forbiddenarea
to show that heart is the only place one should look for the paradise.
We were fascinated by an old Russian legend about the Invisible City.
When enemy approached the city its inhabitants did not defend it; they just
prayed. And suddenly the city disappeared; it became invisible. The enemy
took to flight in panic. Thus the city with all of its inhabitants was saved
from destruction. By disappearing. It is still situated on the same place and
people go on living happily but we simply do not see them any more. Almost
nobody is able to find the way to this city. Only the ones who are pure in
their heart and soul will find a way to the invisible city.
This invisible city is a paradise. The paradise found instead of the
intended destruction.
Thus we decided to look for this invisible city, this paradise where
people could live happily in harmony with nature and in isolation from the
rules dictated by civilization.
And we found a place like this. This is a place you cannot find in any
maps, a place GPS does not show. And this place is hardly visible within the
landscape. It is a civilization grown into nature. Once people lived there; now
nature has overgrown them. And in this place we found happy people who
are living there in peace and happiness and who are almost invisible to the
rest of the world. A colony of old people live there. They live in overgrown
houses, surrounded by nature and primordinality. Almost like in paradise.
This place is Chernobyl Zone of Alienation. This is a place shut down for
living since it still has a peril of high radiation level.
Old people are living in Chernobyl Zone of Alienation – despite the
danger of radiation they have returned to their homes in abandoned villages.
Who could be this human being, so clean and innocent in the heart and
soul that he or she can find a way to this paradise, see the might and the
beauty of this place, hidden to the rest of us? Who could be this Parsifal,
Kaspar Hauser and Dostoevsky’s Idiot?
And we found a man like this by accident in a forest of Chernobyl.
IGOR, our main character, is a man in his thirties with two university
degrees who has found his escape in Chernobyl as he cannot survive in a
modern city mentally and physically.
Igor is very handy; he is fishing, hunting and producing electricity himself.
Surviving in almost wild nature is very difficult; it is a hard work lasting
all day long, 7 days a week. But probably the most challenging is the
loneliness as you are your only friend and enemy.
Will he succeed in finding his paradise in Chernobyl or will he, by
reasons depending on himself or enforced from outside, break and leave the
Zone? This will be the core of our story.
49
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
Synopsis
The Jazira
Looking for
Commissioning editors, buyer’s,
sales agent and documentary
distributor.
Crew
Producers — Malik Menai, Karim
Aitouna & Thomas Micoulet
Director — Anna Roussillon
La Jazira
A village near Luxor, on the western bank of the Nile: a cluster
of small buildings seemingly heaped on top of one another,
surrounded by endless fields and deserts. In early 2011, when the
revolution broke out, nothing seemed to be changing for Farraj,
his family, and his neighbors. Now, everyone is talking about a
constitution, rights, elections, and hopes for change – the way,
back in the old days, they used to talk about bread, the wheat
harvest, or a wedding.
FRANCE
Track record of producer
of the Carribean” by
Jean Christophe Ribot, with ARTE
France, CNC, MEDIA, ZED.
Arabic | 90/52’ | HD | Stereo | Current affairs
2012: “Primates
2011: “Robots at War” by Jean
Martial Lefranc. Broadcasters:
France 5, RTBF, TV5 Monde,
Terra Noa.
2010: “The great Invasion” by
Stephane Horel., with France 5,
Media, Procirep.
Summer 2013, late June.
Egypt was suspended after the announcement of new massive
demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood politics. Faraj is completely
absorbed by his mill on the eve of Ramadan, which gives him more works
than usual. But he signed the petition “Tamarrod” (Rebellion) calling for
early elections, following the movement of 22 million Egyptians. And
he complains like everyone does here: water and power cut are daily
occurrences, petrol and gas are in short, the tourists have disappeared
even more than before. The concrete sense that the country is not doing
well. The corruption has not yet packed its luggages. Nothing has really
changed, or even worse. Arrive the June 30th and the images of places
in the country came into rebellion. More protesters than in January and
February 2011. Faraj watches TV, amazed. The next day he goes to his first
demonstration in Luxor, chanting the slogans that he had previously heard
on the television. In the village, children wave their flags and organize in the
evening between them the demonstrations and sing the songs of Tahrir
Square: “ The people want the fall of the regime.” On July 3rd, Faraj riveting
on the TV at his friend al-Tohami’s, waiting the army’s declaration, they are
happy to enjoy together their political reconciliation. A silence moment, then
cheers and horns, welcome the news of Morsi’s dismissal, followed by a
long inflamed debate with al-Tohami’s nephews who support Morsi. On July
24th, the discourse of al- Sisi, army chief and new strong man, surprises
everyone: will the army form the government? With military medals,
sunglasses, he calls on Egyptians to protest in support of his fight against
the terrorism. Suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, the TV, the light turn
off: a power cut. A sudden return to everyday reality, as a way to cut off
his whistle. And loud laughs of Faraj in the dark softened with a flashlight.
Obviously: now we will no longer let ourselves be pushed around.
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (31 %) 69,500 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (69 %) 138,913 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208,413 €
Financing Sources
CNC development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,500 €
Champagne Ardenne Regional Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 €
Institut français . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,500 €
Scam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,500 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Karim Aitouna — Producer
50
hautlesmains productions
13 bis route de Vienne — 69007 Lyon (France) — Tel. +33 668175187
[email protected] — www.hautlesmainsproductions.fr
51
12
pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
A fascinating tale of robbery
and violence, greed and
deception – and of the
desperate efforts to stop
the sell-out of Cambodia’s
unique cultural heritage.
The LOST Warriors
Looking for
Co-productions, pre-buys.
Crew
Producer — Tristan Chytroschek
Director — Wolfgang Luck
Der Raub der Dschungelkrieger
How does Cambodia’s most famous temple statue end up in
Sotheby’s auction catalogue? This film tells the story of a spectacular
case of art robbery. We follow the route of an iconic warrior sculpture
looted from a Khmer temple to a posh auction house in New York.
An investigative journey into the murky world of the antiques trade.
GERMANY
Track record of producer
2012: “Cannibalised”.
Nominated for Prix Europa, official
selection FIGRA 2012, sold to 16
countries.
2011: “Songs of War”
International Emmy Award, sold to
25 countries.
2008: “Collective
Minds”
Best Science Documentary, Green
Screen Award, Golden Dragen, sold
to 11 countries.
English | 52’ | HD CAM | Stereo | 16/9 |
Current affairs, investigative journalism
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (57 %) 87,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (43 %) 58,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145,000 €
Financing Sources
SWR/ARTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,000 €
Java Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 €
Synopsis
When he leafed through Sotheby’s auction catalogue last year,
archaeologist Simon Warrack couldn’t believe what he saw. With a starting
bid of two million dollars a life-sized, 500-pound warrior statue dating back
to the Cambodian Khmer dynasty was to be auctioned in New York. The
catalogue boasted: “If one could choose only one sculpture to symbolise the
glory of the Khmer art, this figure could fulfil such a challenge.”
What the catalogue doesn’t say: The spectacular fighter watched
over the temples of Koh Ker for more than 1000 years, before Khmer
Rouge looters cut him and his twin brother off their pedestals in the early
1970s. By selling scores of ancient artefacts like these to international art
smuggling cartels, the communist terrorist group financed their bloody war
in Cambodia, which ended with the massacre of two million people.
Simon Warrack works as an archaeologist on the restoration of the Koh
Ker temples and he knows only too well where the two famous warriors
once stood. He points at two empty pedestals. Foot stumps are the only
thing left to see. “Sotheby’s must be aware of the bloody history of these
statues. If this deal isn’t stopped, it’s a carte blanche for art smugglers
around the world.”
Sotheby spokeswoman Jane A. Levine’s response is not very
convincing: “Well, art theft is hard to define as it’s perceived differently
by everyone. Our expertise gives us the certainty that in this case, we are
operating under the highest ethical standards.”
The last battle of the two warriors will take place at a courthouse in
New York. The auction has been suspended because of protests by the
Cambodian government. The final decision is expected later this year.
Several U.S. museums are nervously awaiting the outcome, because in the
wake of the Sotheby’s scandal it transpired that statues looted by the same
gang can be found in museums in New York, Denver and Pasadena. The
Metropolitan Museum in New York has now responded to the revelations
and returned two life-sized Khmer statues to Cambodia. The other
museums are unwilling to back down, and Sotheby’s are determined to fight
for their right to auction off the warrior.
This story reveals the workings of the international antiques mafia.
And it raises questions about the moral responsibility of museums and
the credibility of supposedly reputable auction houses. The court case in
New York is expected to set a precedent for the regulation of the trade in
antiquities and artefacts.
Production Company
Pitcher
Wolfgang Luck — Director
52
a&o buero
An der Alster 18 — 20099 Hamburg (Germany)
Tel. +49 40 2800 6881 — [email protected] — www.a-o-buero.de
53
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
synopsis
The Rise of the Gulf - Beyond Black Gold
Looking for
Still required 88,277 Euros
Crew
Producer — Olivier Mille
Director — Frédéric Compain
Script — Frédéric Compain
Two films to tell the incredible tale of the metamorphosis of the
Gulf’s emirates. Once villages, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have
hoisted themselves into the highest ranks of international finance,
culture, education and diplomacy, and have become the Middle
East’s most dynamic centres.
France
English, Arabic & French | 2x52’ | HD CAM | Stereo | 16/9 | History
Track record of producer
2012: “Lebanon, of Wars and Men”
(3x52’), FIPA 2013.
2012: “Indian Summer” (90’/58’),
Dada Sahed FF 2013, FIPA 2013,
Thessaloniki IFF 2013.
2012: “Mussolini-Hitler,
the Killer’s
Opera” (90’), SEMINCI 2012.
2011: “Farewell Comrades!” (6x52’),
Focal Award 2012, category “Best
Use of Footage on Non-Television
Platforms”, London 2012
Pitcher
Olivier Mille — Producer
54
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (71.47 %) 394,600 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28.53 %) 152,277 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546,877 €
Financing Sources
ARTE FRANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280,000 €
RTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,400 €
CNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,000 €
Doha Film Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,200 €
Artline Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000 €
Production Company
How the Gulf’s top cities
became global players.
How pearls and oil made
them the world’s wealthiest
nations. How yhey now want
to change the whole Arab
world.
Our two documentary films will tell the incredible tale of the metamorphosis
of the Gulf’s leading cities through the last century until today.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha... Once villages, now metropolis, they have
hoisted themselves into the world’s highest ranks of international finance,
transport, industry, and diplomacy. They have become experts in “soft
power”, and even managed to stay away from the turmoil of the region. Will
they also outlive the oil era?
The first film will focus on the historical background of the exponential
growth of the Gulf’s city-states. As we explore their more distant past,
we will discover how they had already become flourishing and globalized
centers of trade in the time of the pearl trade. The sudden collapse of
the “white gold” market was a terrible blow. The Gulf’s Arabian coast only
recovered with the miraculous discovery of oil. Then history accelerated
amazingly: “A century in 30 years”, says one observer of the time, “We could
see a time coming when there wouldn’t be enough sand in the desert to
build all our dreams”. As early as the 1960s, the Sheikhs start imagining a
post-oil world: how will they survive this time, when their main source of
wealth will disappear once again?
Our second film unveils the Sheikhs’ dreams for the future. The multisecular ruling dynasties of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates share the
same assets: a small population, huge oil and gas reserves, political stability,
religious moderation. Contrary to Bahrain and Kuwait, they have avoided
uprisings and invasion. They have followed the same development path:
massive investments at home and abroad, diplomatic activism on all of the
Middle East’s conflicts. Using visibility and influence to promote their own
safety, they have become indispensable players in many key sectors of the
global economy: finance, sports, green technologies, air transportation,
contemporary art… For Western and Asian powers, they are not just
suppliers anymore, but partners. In the Arab world, they are no longer just
builders; they project to become role models.
But huge challenges are ahead, that jeopardize the Gulf’s amazing
growth. The welfare-state has reached a critical size. Energy consumption
skyrockets, lowering hydrocarbon revenues. Citizens are increasingly
worried by the alignment with the West’s customs. Ambitious investments
abroad are met with caution by recipient countries. The threat of terrorism
is at the door. And relations with the big neighbors, Iran and Saudi Arabia,
are overshadowed by complex religious and economic issues. Will the
Middle East’s most spectacular success stories keep away from the Arab
Spring?
ARTLINE FILMS
101, rue Saint-Dominique — 75007 Paris — Tel. +33 1 45 55 14 19
[email protected] — www.artlinefilms.com
55
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pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
the film
The Story of Arab Feminism
Histoire du féminisme Arabe
International pre-sales & Films
Funds such as AFAC, Sanad Fund,
Enjaaz Fund, Screen Institute
Beyrouth,...
Arab feminism has existed for over a century. From Tunis to
Casablanca, from Algiers to Cairo, the film recounts the main
stages of a story still largely unheard of and unknown to Arabs
and Westerners alike and questions whether it can survive in the
present geopolitical context.
Crew
FRANCE
Producer — Virginie Adoutte
Director — Feriel Ben Mahmoud
Arabic & French | 52/60’ | HD CAM | Dolby Stereo | 16/9 | History
Looking for
Budget
Track record of producer
2011: “Luis
Sepulveda, l’écrivain du
bout du monde”. Grand prix festival
international documentaire de
Vébron (France).
2011: “Tunisie,
année zéro”.
Festival Ecrans du Réel (Beyrouth),
Carthage Film Festival,
2006-2008: “Visages
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (61 %) 172,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (39 %) 112,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284,000 €
Financing Sources
The long progression of women’s emancipation begins in the streets of
Cairo and Tunis at the beginning of the 20th century. Its evolution adopts
the hopes and contradictions of an Arab world whose struggle has
often been trapped by revolutionary ideologies and demands for identity,
incompatible with the assertion of individual freedom.
From Tunis to Casablanca, from Algiers to Cairo, the aim of my film
is to tell its History and to question whether it can survive in the present
geopolitical context.
Juxtaposing archive images and contemporary elements, the film
alternates between excerpts of interviews and characters, as close as
possible to the men and women of the Arab streets, creating a movement
between the past and present.
The film recounts the main stages of a story, still largely unheard of and
unknown to Arabs and Westerners alike.
In Egypt, we will recount the birth of Arab feminism which asserts
itself at the beginning of the 20th century, when Cairo is the centre of a
movement of an Arab political and cultural revival, the Nahda. At the same
period, another movement is created, one that today has gained power
through the ballot box – the Muslim Brotherhood.
In Algeria, and in North Africa, we will talk of the ambiguities of
colonialism concerning women. While France portrays itself as an
emancipating power, it stages public ceremonies of the lifting of the veil –
like in Algiers in 1958 – and organises the enslavement of an entire race.
In Tunisia, we will recount how, from the moment the country becomes
independent in 1956, President Bourguiba succeeds in creating this other
direction, thanks to the Code of personal status. Women are given a unique
status within the Arab world, and the traditionalists are obliged to progress,
which would probably be impossible in the present context.
In Morocco, we will show how in a very conservative country King
Mohammed VI managed to help the status of women to evolve between
the years 2000 and 2010, raising hopes for a positive evolution of women’s
rights in other Arab countries.
FRANCE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130,000 €
CNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,000 €
d’Europe”
Production Company
Pitcher
Virginie Adoutte — Producer
56
DRÔLE DE TRAME
7, rue Commines — 75 003 Paris (France) — Tel. +33 1 81 29 20 28
[email protected] — www.droledetrame.fr
57
12
pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
Documentary TV series on
the Culture of Peace. Each
of its 12 episodes is about
a subject directly related to
Peace.
VOICES FOR PEACE
Looking for
European and worldwide TV’s
broadcasters.
International Distributors
Crew
Producer — Fernando Acuña
Director — Susana Guardiola
Voces por la Paz
Mai, a 12-year-old Chilean girl, asks herself the same questions
as many other kids her age: Why is there so much war, poverty,
pollution, people without food or drinking water? Is it possible
a World of Peace? This series will offer possible answers and
solutions to these questions, through 3 main narrative vehicles:
Current Stories, Historical Landmarks, and Testimonies, men and
women of worldwide relevance, architects of change.
SPAIN
Track record of producer
Filmmaking Graduate,
Executive Production specialty,
U. Valparaíso.
2008:
2007: Editor
of the book “The First
50 Years of Chilean TV”.
1994: Executive Production, funding
and film projects development,
Media Business School, European
Union MEDIA Program, Spain.
Spanish & English | 12 x 52’ | Full HD | Dolby | 16/9
Human Rights, Current affairs, investigative journalism
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (70 %) 230,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (30 %) 535,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765,000 €
Financing Sources
(BE 360) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230,000 €
Production Company
Pitchers
Susana Guardiola — Director
Fernando Casado — Producer
58
GLOBAL CAD PRODUCTIONS
C/ Muntaner, 180 — 08036 Barcelona (Spain) — Tel. +34 93 4950383
[email protected] — www.cad-productions.org
TREATMENT (STRUCTURE, STYLE POINT OF VIEW)
This series does not intend to be a copy of reality, but a subjective
interpretation, which gives us more freedom to creatively transform reality,
creating our own language. It will be comprised of different layers, meaning
very diverse audiovisual materials (documentary following, interviews, a 12
year old hostess, animations, stock footage, sound footage, still pictures,
etc.), which means we’ll have a great image and sound richness, and will
require a thorough editing work in order to create one only film unit with all
these ingredients..
The Different Layers
1. The Tale: Mai’s Voice. We’ll see her in her bedroom, writing ideas on
her notebook; at school, interacting with her teacher and classmates; and at
different places in the city, doing things which create symbolic associations
with the subjects of each episode. Her glance and voice will be reflexive and
sensitive. At any moment she can transform into a hand drawn animation, to
express the ideal world she imagines and proposes to us. The questions and
thoughts she writes on her notebook will also transform into animations.
2. The Today’s Stories: The Characters’s Voices. A true, close, pure, not
overloaded portrait, since the intrinsecal potential is powerful enough.
The camera will shift between the spontaneous following (handheld, steadycam), and the mise-en-scène, more planned, with a more
cinematographic language (shot-countershot, fixedcamera shots, subtle
movements). Each character will be interviewed indepth, so that we can use
their voice-overs, talking about their lives or dennouncing situations, therefore
enriching the images. The cinematography will reinforce the visual poetry,
creating a photographic, colorful atmosphere. Most situations will be shot
with sunlight. We will use the Canon 5D camera, due to its great image quality
(FullHD), freedom of movement, chance to use different lenses, excellent
reproduction of colors and subtle gradaion of shades. The ambient sound and
the voices in each place will provide us of a great richness of sound.
3. The Historical Landmarks: The Voices of the Past. Composed of
stock footage and recent interviews. It’s not about a rigorous reconstruction
of the past, but rather about how we see that past today. Rather than
persuading with arguments, these voices will intend to move and touch.
That’s why we’ll use all the potential of the audiovisual storytelling: the
proximity of the human face, the quick juxtaposition of dissimilar images
(stock footage, photos, graphs, newspapers, reconstructions)), the power
of music and sound. We will look for materials which have been filmed
with cinematographic intention. In order to achieve the narrative, dramatic
structure, an essential element will be the voiceover, omniscient, the voice
of History, which will tell some facts along with the voices of the characters
and the testimonies of the sages. We will also include sound footage of the
period, which will mix together with the stories.
59
SELECTED PROJECTS
pitching forum
Treatment
Waiting for Another Beginning
Looking for
Co-producers & broadcasters.
Crew
Producer — Otaku Digital Film
& Eka3 organization
Director — Essam Esmail
Script — Randa Abo el-Dahab
A film focusing on teenagers who represent the majority
participants in the Egyptian revolution. The film captures, at
different stages, the moments of them going out to the streets
demanding freedom, justice and human dignity. They now wait
under a new corrupt regime that claims to be with the revolution.
Egypt
Arabic | 52’ | Digital HD | Stereo | Politics & Society
Track record of producer
Budget
2013: “Experimental
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (83,64 %) 32,014 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (16.36 %) 6,260 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,274 €
Summer”,
work in progress.
Essam Esmail is an independent
Egyptian director. He worked as an
editor in several documentary and
fiction projects. In 2011 he was the
director of “The Hio Hop Culture”
a six episodes documentary series
for the Turkish TV, that covered the
Hip Hop culture in Jordan, Lebanon
and Egypt.
Financing Sources
Essam Esmail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,032 €
Otaku Digital Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,140 €
Eka3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,842 €
Production Company
Pitcher
Essam Esmail — Director
60
Otaku Digital Film & Eka3 organization
10 Huda shaarawy st. Downtown, Cairo (Egypt)
Tel. +212 02 2390 6580 — [email protected]
Chapter one: “The Beginning”
A group of teenagers trying to break down one of the barriers built to
block the streets where clashes took place. The barriers separate between
the SCAF [Supreme Council of Army Forces] and the Muslim Brotherhood
on a side, and protesters and revolutionaries on the other side.
Parallel to this event we see interviews with teenagers among them
the main characters of the film. They talk about their views about the
revolution, what the revolution means, who is their enemy, and if they think
they are effective or not. Then we see footage of the group of teenagers
failing to break the barrier.
The film starts with a strong argument between three out of our four
main characters in the film [Amina, Seefy, Kenzy].
One of them asks Amina if she was in the last clashes. Amina replies
that she is afraid to die in vain like those who died during the first two years
of the revolution. Kenzy says: “the Muslim Brotherhood are there now and
no one know how to deal with them! Frankly, tell me Amina, what should
we do with them? Can you think of anything?”Amina insists that Mubarak’s
regime didn’t fall neither the military rule.
In front of a computer monitor we see Dina watching her photos during
the revolution. Then her voice rises cheering in one of the demonstrations
“Breed, Freedom, Social Justice… Breed, Freedom, Social Justice”
A photo montage of Seefy walking on the streets of Downtown Cairo;
confirming that the revolution is still continuing, although Mubarak is
responsible for killing innocents and there was no fair trial for him. And now
we are facing the Muslim Brotherhood who took over the regime and made
a deal with the SCAF, but the day will come when everyone gets punished
for their deeds.
While Amina isn’t hiding that she is happy the Muslim Brotherhood
are on the scene now so everyone could know their reality. “And when our
country needs us we will be there” Amina.
Kenzy is drawing graffiti in the streets about boycotting the presidential
elections on 2012. Kenzy “ when we wrote the graffiti [Froget all what
happened and go after the elections] people hated us because they wanted
everything to remain the same”.
We watch Dina distributing fliers in the street to support the campaign
for boycotting the elections. Dina “The elections is a scenario to trick the
Egyptian people and the SCAF should be in prison not holding elections.
It doesn’t work that we ask the regime to change the regime for us.. How
would they change it? The SCAF is the old regime. It will never change. And
no good will come out of it”.
Footage of the of the youth volunteering in the boycotting campaign;
some of them giving away fliers to cars and others sitting on the ground
holding signs and flags against the elections.
61
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pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
SUBJECT
WALLS
Muros
Coproduxtion at USA, Mexico,
France, Germany; distribution
worldwilde amd private sponsors.
When the Berlin Wall fell we shelved the idea of separation walls as
part of the past. reality is the opposite. Never before have so many
walls been built. There are millions of kilometres of fences, railings,
barbed wire and walls in different parts of the world.
Crew
spain
Producer — Pablo Iraburu
Directors — Pablo Iraburu &
Migueltxo Molina
English & Spanish | 90’ | 4K | Dolby | Human interest
Looking for
Track record of producers
2012: “Pura Vida” (The Ridge).
Serbitzu Award in San Sebastian,
Genziana d’Or in Trento, Best Film in
Barcelona Soprts Films. Presented
at MEDIMED’13.
2006: “Nömadak TX”, Special
Mention in San Sebastian, Audience
Award at New European FF, Best
Doc at Belfast FF, Cope de Cur at
FIFE (Paris).
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (60 %) 439,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (40 %) 291,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730,000 €
Financing Sources
MEDIA Program (submitted) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 €
ICAA (submitted). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000 €
Basque government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,000 €
Arena Comunicación Audiovisual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,000 €
We want to make this film to
discover the terrible reality
of the walls in the world
and, with it, transmit and
celebrate two very positive
ideas. The first comes from
a personal emotion: we are
all humans. The second
is an irrefutable fact: one
day those walls will fall
down.
This film starts from a reality with unquestionable topicality and of great
geopolitical interest. However, our aim is not to make a strategic or moral
analysis of the walls we are going to portray. What we want to do, from a
reality with enormous dimensions and huge dramatic character, is to talk
about something that affects all of us, wherever we are from. We want to
spark off debate and inform to generate discussion, yes, but we are more
interested in the film being an intense and global celebration of the most
essential part of the human being. As in the most intimate and authentic
part of each of us is recognising the person on the other side as an equal.
The subject is not geopolitical but rather human. The tone is dramatic, but
looking for the positive catharsis.
SynopsiS
When the Berlin Wall fell the end of History was proclaimed. We shelved the
idea of separation walls as part of the past. Reality is exactly the opposite.
Never in the history of humanity have we built so many walls. There have
never been so many fences, railings, barbed wire, ditches and walls. There
are millions of kilometres, in the most far off and different parts of the
world.
This film narrates real stories of people who live on both sides of
very different walls. The one that divides North Korea and South Korea,
the barbed wire that is being built between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the
separation wall between the United States and Mexico, the fence that in
Ceuta and Melilla is used as a border between Europe and Africa.
The visual and narrative approach is centred on the wall concept, not
entering geopolitical analysis or the strategic or moral assessment of the
situation. The fact is that the wall exists. The fact is that there are human
lives on both sides. When we discover the day to day life of seven specific
personal stories, the wall allows us to talk about something much deeper.
The close and intense portraits of real people, approaching their real and
intimate life lets us see that, on both sides, we all share the same dreams,
fears, thoughts and emotions.
We use the drama represented by each wall, a drama that needs to
be told, to transmit and celebrate an emotion that does not understand
borders and that, unlike the walls, is immune to time: we can use the
absurd symmetry of each wall as a mirror and it offers us an opportunity to
celebrate that we are all human beings.
Production Company
Pitcher
Pablo Iraburu — Producer
62
ARENA COMUNICACION AUDIOVISUAL
C/ San Blas, 2 — 31014 Pamplona (Spain) — Tel. +34 948 315336
[email protected] — www.arenacomunicacion.com
63
SELECTED PROJECTS
With the support of:
This is the tale of the
Yorgos, the true heirs of
the Rapa-­Nui culture, in
their constant search for
their own identity. A history
about film colonization…
YORGOS
Looking for
Post-Production finance or support
(TV Pre-Sales for example).
Crew
Producer — Esteban Bernatas
Directors — Paco Toledo &
José Domingo Rivera Villegas
In 1994, a Kevin Costner-produced Hollywood film would forever
change the life of the people from Easter Island. Blockbuster
Rapa-Nui attracted millions of dollars to the tiny island and offered
a job to every resident, but strongly modified their traditions
and the image many of them held of their own ancestors and
themselves.
SPAIN
Spanish & Rapa-Nui | 90’ | HDV. Human rights, human interest and travel.
Track record of producer
2009: “La Casa”
Leipzig, DocsBarcelona and others
2009: “L’ Encirclement”
World Premiere Berlinale (Forum).
Budget
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (74 %) 144,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (26 %) 50,000 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,000 €
Financing Sources
2010: “Apaga
y vámonos”
Hotdocs, Docupolis, Sheffield,
Human Rights Watch, MiradasDoc
and others.
pitching forum
Andoliado (Spain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,000 €
Nómade DocFilms (Chile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,500 €
MEDIA Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
ICIC (Catalonia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 €
Talatala (Spain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 €
Synopsis
Easter Island is home to the most isolated human population on Earth. A
small volcanic land where little more than 4.000 people live, known around
the world for its monolithic stone statues, the moai.
Tutuma has been adopted by the Rapa Nui. Born in France, he travelled
the world as an aerospace engineer before his insatiable curiosity led him
to Easter Island in 1989. There he met his wife Piru Hucke. An incontestable
Rapa Nui leader, Piru has been fighting to revindicate her people’s forgotten
past for decades, working to conserve the scattered remnants of Rapa
Nui heritage. They have been exceptional witnesses of the massive
transformation that has swept the island during the past 20 years. Through
their eyes we will discover the conflict between development and identity
that rages on Easter Island today.
Ever since Kevin Costner brought the Hollywood juggernaut to the
island and put Rapa Nui on the big screen, this remote society has been
thrust inexorably towards modernity.
The leap from agricultural self-sustenance to an economy based on
a flourishing tourism industry has generated more money and ambition on
Easter Island than ever before.
Individualism and increasing competition are splintering the island.
Most Rapa Nui today long for material goods: new cars, bikes, houses or
businesses.
Alex Tuki is amongst them. A businessman at heart, he distributes the
fish caught locally across the island and to the continent. He has doubled
the price of fish in just four years. He believes it is a fair game – if he
doesn’t profit someone else will.
Pinki and Chico have chosen to return to the land in an effort to
preserve their freedom and identity against encroaching materialism. They
are what the islanders know as Yorgos. Land has been until recently a
common good. The Yorgos occupy and enclose land to cultivate and breed
livestock, even if it is part of the National Park declared a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO, due to its exceptional archaeological wealth.
Our documentary reflects the contemporary nature of the Rapa Nui
island as a small, largely isolated social nucleus which helps us to reflect
on what looks like one of the universal conflicts of modern times: the
clash between preserving culture and indigenous values and economic
development of society.
Production Company
PitcherS
Esteban Bernatas — Producer
Paco Toledo — Director
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Talatala Filmmakers
C/ València, 72, entr. 4ª — 08015 Barcelona (Spain)
Tel. 935327056 — [email protected] — www.talatala.net
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pitching forum
SELECTED PROJECTS
SYNOPSIS
ZERO TOLERANCE
Looking for
The remaining 23.86% of the
budget financing, with an emphasis
on the North American market
Why are children as young as five being arrested in schools across
the USA? In a misguided attempt to avoid another Columbine,
a policy of Zero Tolerance has detained, fined and incarcerated
hundreds of childrens and their parents. Have American schools
become a pipeline to prison?
Crew
Producer — Sara Gibbins
Director — Sara Gibbins
Camera — Craig Hastings
spain
English | 60’ & 90’ | HD | Stereo | Human interest
Budget
Track record of producers
2013: “Be
Fit Barcelona Fit”,
online TV documentary series.
2010: “Catwalk Kids”. Co-production
with RTVE & TVC. Best Doc and
Best Eiting at Tenerife IFF 2011.
Confirmed Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (76.14 %) 75,000 €
Financing Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (23.86 %) 23,500 €
Total Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,500 €
Financing Sources
RTVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 €
Padi Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 €
2008: “It Dansa: Following the
Footsteps”. Co-produced with
Chello Multicanal.
When Arnold
Schwarzenegger played an
undercover police officer
interrogating toddlers in the
1990 movie “Kindergarten
Cop”, audiences across
the world laughed at the
absurdity of the set up;
a school treating little
children like criminals?
It would never happen in
the real world, right?
Wrong.
For the last two decades, thanks to a policy of Zero Tolerance, several US
States, including Texas, Florida, Idaho and California, private police forces
armed with guns, pepper spray and dogs have been patrolling hallways,
monitoring playground activity and enforcing classroom discipline, issuing
fines to students and their parents and booking “offenders” of such
grievous activities such as spraying perfume or talking back to a teacher of
Class C misdemeanours.
As a result, each year hundreds of thousands of school-age children are
absorbed into the criminal justice system, their records forever tarnished,
their future prospects forever diminished. The schools have become a
pipeline to prison.
Proponents of the system claim, quite simply, that police in schools
not only improves the educational experience for students and faculty, but
actually saves lives; bullies are deterred, drug dealing on campus is shut
down, and incidents with firearms are, for the most part, averted. Nobody
wants another Columbine.
However, critics claim that the school cops go too far, that instead of
dealing only with genuine criminal behaviour, they have criminalised normal
childlike behaviour in cynical money-making move. Statistics regarding the
income derived from the fines issued to students and parents, lawyer’s and
court fees are hard to come by, but the amount is in the tens of millions of
dollars. In addition, Civil Rights groups claim that children who are detained
by the school resource officers (SRO) are rarely, if ever, read their Miranda
rights, and as such, any proceedings should be deemed unconstitutional. A
Supreme Court ruling in June 2011 partially upheld this argument.
And of course there are horror stories. The good student mistakenly
shot by an SRO, an SRO implicated in the drunk-driving death of a student,
the handicapped student who failed to understand instructions issued by
an SRO and was violently arrested. Not to mention the scores of teenagers,
mostly black males, who fail to get into college due to their high school
record.
In this 90 minute documentary we travel across America, going behind
the scenes at some of the country’s most heavily policed school campuses.
We investigate why it has been deemed necessary employ such a
level of force, which groups are most affected, who is getting rich off the
system, and who is losing out. Finally, we look at what the consequences
are for the local communities and American Society at large.
Production Company
Pitcher
Sara Gibbins —
Producer & Director
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PADI PRODUCTIONS
Consell de Cent, 383 — 08009 Barcelona — Tel. +34 935285555
[email protected] — www.padiproductions.com
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SPEEDY PITCH PROJECTS
speedy pitch projects
After The Mist
ELECTRIC Pastorales
Noise
Roms Catalan, the Game
CINETICA PRODUCCIONES — Spain
Human interest — Sigfried Meir was a German Jewish
child that survived two years in death camps. The camps
was liberated and Siegfried was adopted by one of is
Spanish friends Saturnino Navazo. Sigfried wanted to show
his stepfather that it was worthy to save him, he wanted to
succeed and he did.
LARDUX FILMS — France
Human interest — ‘Electric Pastorales’ tells
modernization of the Maroccan mountains, the rural exodus
of high altitude villages and electrification in parallel. In these
isolated areas where people live by candlelight for centuries.
The film questions the interaction between the arrival of
thispower line and the people.
MINIMAL FILMS — Spain
Current affairs — Noise pollution is a major world
problem for which we have still not raised enough global
awareness. The problem is not just about health, it is also
about the environment and, above all, it leads to major
social stress. Why do we have this cult of the decibel? This
documentary reveals the keys to the problem and analyses
some possible solutions.
UDOL DE LLOP MANAGEMENT — Spain
Music, Interactive — The main objective is to develop a
fun and accessible videogame in order to publicize a cultural
documentary series. The proposal can be divided in two
main points: 1) It will be a hidden object adventure where
the hero must live and resolve various situations. 2) And this
also includes the real Catalan story in the plot.
African River
Every time iT rains
LES FILMS DU BALIBARI — France
Human rights, Antropology — Sailors engaged in
today’s merchant navy are travellers in an isolated world, cut
off from our own, one of infinite oceans and inward-looking
ports. The monotonous and interminable rhythm of the
sea weather alternates with the intensive moments spent
at dock, where the sailors will usually pay fleeting visits to
particular places: the docks, the “malls” or MacDonald’s. Their
personal, private life is compressed into virtual conversations
with their families, which take place in the Seamen’s Clubs
which welcome them in each port. This film accompanies
Andreï, Michael, Wendel, aboard the AFRICAN RIVER, on
their journeys from African to European shores. Taken off
to sea by our globalized economy, notably absent from their
family lives, how do they manage to remain grounded?
BaRaERa SL — Spain
On the Wings of Mantras
Human interest, Nature, wild-life — A trilogy that
TENGOTWO — Spain
shares emotions, doubts, fears and experiences, with both
scientific investigation and everyday people’s personal
stories, which carries us through three environments
interconnected by the change in the coastline: the descent
of the water through flood creeks and canals, its path over
the beaches, and into the sea itself.
Arts, music, culture — ‘On the Wings of Mantras’ is
a feature length music documentary exploring the rapidly
growing yoga music boom. We will follow the main hrtists
in this genre who focus on Sanskrit mantrqs and tour the
world filling concert halls with thousands of people singing
mantras togethpr to find inner peace.
Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life
One Man Band – The Documentary
HEYMANN BROTHERS — Israel
Human interest — Jonathan Agassi, a young man, is
one of the most successful gay porn stars in the world. He
chose his surname at random from the phone book and
hasn’t looked back since. With dozens of prizes, a plump
bank account and thousands of fans following him on
Facebook, his life in Berlin seems a dream – the nightclubs,
the steady flow of cocaine, the fancy restaurants. Standing
by her son, through the means of Skype, is his mother, Anna
Langer. She is an extraordinary woman that supports her
son’s every move, providing him with all the love he needs.
PRIMITIVE FILMS — Spain
AMATI
ARPA FILMS — Spain
Arts, music — ‘Amati’ is a creative documentary, a love
song for cello and violin instruments, the music they do, the
people who plays and constructs them, to their soul, the
wood and the forests. Driven by the Passacaglia, a musical
theme only for these instruments, we will dance around the
instrument and their soul.
Let the latinos sleep
WHAT’S UP PRODUCTIONS — France
Human Rights, Sociology, Current affairs — We are
Beyond The Velvet Curtain
ALAN ROSENTHAL — Israel
Art, music — A social history of opera in six parts, looking
at it from an economic, cultural and social paint of view,
and going from 17th century till today. It will be shot in five
countries, and incidentally show excerpts and singers from
the greatest opera so the past and today.
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in Mexicali, a suffocating town in the middle of the desert,
north of Mexico. Here, the US expels the “illegals” more
than anywhere else on the border. The day following their
expulsion, Rogelio, Jesus Alberto and Victor are starting a
long walk in order to meet their families and feed their hope
for a better life in an America where the political class is
more and more interested in the Latinos’ demands.
The Back of Beyond
Arts, music, performance — Eccentric people
wanting to start a band’s career without such a band
appear worldwide since centuries ago, banging all kind of
instruments simultaneously in any corner, showing vast
knowledge in their own personal way.
Pavlvs The Shipwreck 60 A.D.
PAVLVS 60 AD — Malta
Science, History, Educational — A Maltese diver
discovers a 2000 year old ship’s anchor. This anchor
is unique because of the inscriptions ISIS ~ SARAPIS
embossed on it. These Egyptian gods date the anchor
between the Roman and Egyptian eras. Further study
reveals more underwater artefacts and which all point to a
famous shipwreck in 60 A.D.
EL TERRAT PRODUCCIONS — Spain
ARTS, Music, Interactive — One fine day, three months
after his Late-night show is cancelled, Andreu receives a
letter from a fan that would change everything for him…That
email makes Andreu think about why he’s dedicated his life
to comedy, ehy he’s never considered leaving this profession
after 30 years and most importantly, what it is about getting
a laugh that is so captivating you just can’t stop doing it. All
this is the starting point of a trip that will take Andreu deep
into the very heart of comedy.
To Fast to be Fair – (The trouble with
European fast-track extradition)
MEDIA 3.14 — Spain
Human rigths — Over a dozen European cirizens have
fallen victims of judicial mistakes caused by the turopean
arrest warrant, a fast-track extradition applied since 2004.
Designed to fight international crime, it creates situations
in which innocent people have been jailed in deplorable
conditions. This film reveals the EAW faults and the
alternatives suggested by experts to do away this “fasttrack injustice”.
The Interpreter
INICIA FILMS — Spain
ARTS, Music, Interactive — Silvia Mira is the interpreter,
the person who conveys the death of a foreign person to
his family and who, at the same time, tries to get them
to donate the person’s organs to save other lives. She is
the start point to show the reality of the Spanish Organ
Donation System.
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