29-01-2021
The success of the New Horizons Association industry events. Films developed during the NH and AFF festivals in the program of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival
Prime Time, reż. Jakub Piątek, fot. Tomek Kaczor
Prime Time, Jakub Piątek s debut film produced by Kuba Razowski (Watchout Studio), will have its world premiere in the feature film competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was developed as part of the international programme New Horizons Studio+ 2019 organized by the New Horizons Association and Creative Europe Desk Polska. In the summer of 2020, right after the shooting began, fragments of the film were presented to the international industry at the largest industry event in Poland – Polish Days (project organised by NH Association and Polish Film Institute). The film aroused great interest and received one of the main awards – the Screen International Award.
Art Film Fest offers the opportunity to watch great movies online
Dear Fans of Art Film Fest,
the cinemas remain closed for the time being and there are still a good few months until the June date of our festival. Therefore, we decided to make it easier for you to wait and allow you to enjoy two great films right in the comfort of your own homes. Through the online platform Kino doma you will be able in early February to watch a pair of films that competed in the international competition of feature films in 2019, the last time we saw each other at the festival screenings.
Ivan Barnev in The Father by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
SOFIA: Bulgarian admissions decreased by 72%, while the box office fell by 73% in 2020, due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Total admissions were 1,337,951 and total box office was 6,485,835 EUR, compared to total admissions of 4,801,045 and total box office of 23,895,950 EUR in 2019. US films had 5, 074,515 EUR gross, European titles had 651,014 EUR gross, and domestic films had 596,640 EUR gross.
Aa total of 169 films were theatrically released in 2020, according to Bulgaria’s NFC. Those included 63 US films, 2 European films, 29 domestic films, and five films from other countries. Total admissions for US films were 1,024,215, admissions for European films were 143,003, and domestic films got 135,984 admissions.
collective by Alexander Nanau
BUCHAREST: Romania has been seriously affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, which shut down film production and cinemas for several months. The closing of cinemas and the decrease of TV advertisement resulted in a significant decrease of the amount of money for the national Film Fund and, as a consequence, no production grants were allotted for 2020 and most likely won t be allotted for 2021 as well.
Although officially re-launched in January 2020, when it was taken over by the Ministry of Economy, the cash rebate scheme didn t function in 2020, and at the end of 2020 most of the projects already shot since the scheme opened in 2018 were waiting for the rebate.
Georgian/French Coproduction Beginning Acquired by MUBI
TBILISI: Dea Kulumbegashvili’s film
Beginning has been acquired by the streaming platform Mubi for the USA and UK (Svod Release). This Georgian/French coproduction was selected for Cannes 2020 Official Selection. Paris-based Wild Bunch International is handling the sales. The release date is 29 January 2021.
In a sleepy provincial town, a Jehovah’s Witness community is attacked by an extremist group. In the midst of this conflict, the familiar world of Yana, the wife of the community leader, slowly crumbles. Yana’s inner discontent grows as she struggles to make sense of her desires.