BUDAPEST: The spy series
Balaton Brigade produced by Gábor Krigler for Joyrider won the Berlinale Co-Pro Series on 2 March 2021. This was the first time that a Hungarian project has been invited to the pitching forum. The Series Mania Project Exchange Award also includes an invitation to present the series at the Séries Mania Forum, which runs 20 August and 1 September 2020 in Lille, France. Thanks to the invitation to the Berlinale, the interest was already high for the series. It grew even higher because of the award; 36 meetings have been organised with potential partners so far, and we are receiving new inquiries regularly, producer Gábor Krigler told FNE.
The festival is normally held in the first week of July.
“Our decision to take this step was made after consulting with experts and upon a careful consideration of the current situation. We hope that the coming months will see a significant increase in vaccinations, thanks to which the pandemic will be brought under control, thus allowing us to hold the Karlovy Vary festival in a form that will be maximally safe for guests and visitors. Naturally, we are ready to observe all applicable regulations,” KVIFF’s executive director Kryštof Mucha said in a statement.
KVIFF s artistic director Karel Och said, “Moving the dates of the 55th festival does not mean a long-term change in the Karlovy Vary festival’s traditional slot, the festival’s 56th edition will return to its usual time, meaning from 1 to 9 July 2022.”
Lithuania Wins Best European Film Location in 2020
credit: Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex
VILNIUS: The Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex was awarded Best European Film Location in 2020 at an online Berlinale ceremony on 2 March 2021.
The Location Award nomination is organised by EUFCN (European Film Commissions Network). A record number of 28 European film locations and regions were nominated for the awards in 2020. The Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex was introduced to the Commission by Kaunas Film Office. In 2018 it was used in the four-part TV miniseries by HBO and Sky
Catherine the Great, starring Helen Mirren.
Lithuania continued to attract numerous foreign film productions in 2020 due to the Lithuanian Film Tax Incentive, including: the 4th season of the Netflix series
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival opens a year-round online cinema
Opening this month, Tallinn Black Nights (PÖFF) launches an online cinema where films can be watched all year round throughout Estonia s territory. The kick-off event will screen five films of the Women s Nights Film Festival, followed by films from the programme of the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival. Due to the pandemic, we screened a large part of our programme online during last year s PÖFF and it turned out to be very popular. For the first time, those who live far from the cities Tallinn and Tartu had the opportunity to take part in the festival and this is what really inspired us, said the festival director Tiina Lokk.