EAVE project NORD EXPRESS is in production
Production News December 2024
In production
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EAVE project NORD EXPRESS by Karlis Lesins, producers: EAVE graduates Elina Gedina-Ducena, Gints Grube, Inese Boka-Grube, Pille Rünk, Malgorzata Staron is in production. In this documentary, the Latvian writer-director becomes a “citizen investigator” and goes on the road to find out why, after 30 years and with only a few years to go before the intended launch of the Rail Baltica railway line, the construction of this EU-funded project is significantly behind schedule and over budget and may never be finished at all. NORD EXPRESS adopts the tone of a detective film, looking into the construction of an 870-kilometre-long high-speed railway line that started with a dream to connect the Baltic states to the rest of Europe when, in 1991, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence from the Soviet Union. Lesins follows the trail of the Rail Baltica project, trying to get some answers – what has happened, and what is happening? Travelling through all the countries involved, he meets officials, military personnel, investigative journalists, people whose land will be expropriated, employees implementing the project, and potentially benefiting entrepreneurs, who open up to him with their versions of the story. There are also lots of rumours and theories. Is it the Russians, the Chinese or just the banality of bureaucracy that has led to this situation where the project is so behind schedule and at risk of losing EU funding? What happens if this high-profile showcase project goes awry at a time when there is an ongoing war in Europe and the EU itself is under great scrutiny? The cost to the EU could be more than just money. “This journey began for this group of countries with the simple idea that it would be great to have a train connection through Germany, Poland and the Baltic states, from Amsterdam all the way up to Helsinki. A clean and effective way of travelling and of exchanging goods and services. Instead, what we find is this idealistic image has collided with a complicated history of shifting power spheres, stalled development and Russian espionage,” reads the official press release. NORD EXPRESS is a co-production between Latvia’s Mistrus Media, Germany’s Gebrüder Beetz, Poland’s Staron-Film and Estonia’s Allfilm for LTV and MDR/ARTE, with backing from the National Film Centre of Latvia, the Polish Film Institute, the Estonian Film Institute, Latvia’s Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
- PUENTES project IL CILENO by Sergio Castro San Martin, producer: PUENTES graudate Pablo Calisto, PUENTES and EAVE SLATE graduate Alessandro Amato, co-producer: EAVE graduate Daniele Segre is in production. The Italian portion of filming on the Italian-Swiss-Chilean co-production directed by the El Salvador-born filmmaker, has now wrapped in Turin. Produced by dispàrte, EQUECO (Chile) and Cinédokké in association with Redibis Film, the movie focuses on the story of Aldo Marin, a young socialist who fled Pinochet’s Chile in 1976 and found refuge in Italy, in the turbulent city of Turin, which was marred by the political tensions of that decade. Shooting will continue in Switzerland and then for several days in Chile, until early January. IL CILENO is a story described by the director as a coming-of-age tale with noir undertones, which aims to depict a young survivor’s forced transition to adulthood. It’s set in Turin in 1976. Young socialist Aldo Marin and his best friend El Chapa escape the Chilean army and find refuge in Italy. They arrive in the turbulent city of Turin, which is marred by political and social tensions reminiscent of their homeland. While El Chapa soon adapts to living on his wits, forging relationships with the local underworld, Aldo dreams of a different future. He finds work in a factory, convinced that, over time, he’ll manage to earn enough to bring his wife and son to Italy. It’s the hot autumn of terrorism in Italy and Aldo’s destiny sees him cross paths with Luciana, a young university lecturer committed to the fight for women’s rights, and with her brother Enrico, a militant with extra-parliamentary powers. Luciana is prepared to risk everything for her ideals, while Aldo must face up to a past which doesn’t seem to leave him in peace. With an eye on the past and a reflection on present-day challenges the film guides us through the life of a young man torn between two worlds, both of which marred by violence and ideals. IL CILENO is being made with the support of the Film Commission Torino Piemonte - Piemonte Film Tv Development Fund (December 2020), with backing from the 2021-2027 Piedmont European Regional Development Fund (FESR) - Piedmont Film TV Fund Call (2024) and the Italian Ministry for Culture’s Film and Audiovisual Department, together with Ibermedia, Creative Europe MEDIA, FFA - Coproducción Minoritaria, CORFO, OFC – Minority Co-Productions, Ticino Republic and Canton – Canton Fund for Cinematography, and RSI, with sponsorship from the City of Turin.
- FORÊT IVRE by Manon Coubia, co-producer: Interchange graduate Charlotte Vincent is in production. The unusual film is set in a mountain refuge and is being filmed over the course of four seasons. The shoot, which kicked off a few months ago, will wrap in April next year, with a few final scenes to be shot to round things off. The mountains, and particularly those in Haute-Savoie, are at the heart of the filmmaker’s cinematic creations, taking pride of place in many of her films. This time around, she follows the overlapping paths of three women who take shifts taking care of a mountain refuge. As the seasons go by amidst the immensity of nature, they have more and more encounters, and bonds are made and broken. Through these three intimate portraits, captured over the course of one season each, the movie observes these women who have chosen to escape from the world down there, at ground level. FORÊT IVRE is being produced by The Blue Raincoat and Manon Coubia, co-producer on the French side is Charlotte Vincent for Aurora Films. The film has received lightweight production support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation as well as production backing from the Brussels Audiovisual Centre. It has also received support from France’s CNC.
- KALUNYO by Iglika Triffonova, producer: EAVE graduate and Romanian National Coordinator Ada Solomon is currently in production. The story, based on the best-selling novel by G. Bozhinov and set during the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire, deals with questions like: Why is our enmity towards the different ones so infatuating? Do our Gods wish us to die or kill in their name? What can a strong, dignified man do in times of bloody harvest? To stop the herd is impossible. To stand aside is unthinkable. “In KALUNYO Iglika Triffonova stays true to her deep interest in the existential questions her characters are facing. The moving emotional story is beautifully interpreted by Oleg Mutu’s camera. The authentic style of talented young production designer Andrea Popova, of Elena Stoyanova (costume designer in all Triffonova’s films) and of renowned make-up artist Petya Simeonova, contribute to the mesmerising atmosphere in each shot,“ the producer says. Rossitsa Valkanova is producing through Bulgarian KLAS Film in co-production with Petra Goedings through the Netherlands’s Phantavision and Ada Solomon through Romania’s microFILM. Тhe project has received financial support from the Bulgarian National Film Center (development and production grants), the Bulgarian cash rebate scheme, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Dutch Incentive scheme, Romania’s Avanpost, as well as from private investors and sponsors. The 32 shooting days are divided into two periods: 11 days in November 2024 on set in Sofia’s NU Boyana Film Studios, and 21 days in May - June 2025 in the Rhodope Mountains and the Kovatchevitsa village. The final postproduction will be completed in October 2025 in the Netherlands as well as in Romania.
In post-production
- MOTHER by Teona Strugar Mitevska, producer: EAVE graduate Sébastien Delloye, co-producer: EAVE graduate and Macedonian National Coordinator Labina Mitevska is in post-production. In mid-November, shooting wrapped on the seventh feature film by Brussels-based Macedonian filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska, with Swedish actress Noomi Rapace playing the mythical figure of Mother Teresa. Fascinated for several years with the complex figure of Mother Teresa, who like Mitevska was born in Skopje in Macedonia (then still the Ottoman Empire), she has chosen to focus on a brief period of her life, a few weeks after the end of the Second World War, before the nun founded her own congregation, the Missionaries of Charity. The film begins in Calcutta in 1948. Time is of the essence; Mother Teresa must prepare the convent for her imminent departure and designate her successor. She chose the only possible candidate for her: Sister Agnieszka. But very soon, Agnieszka admits she must refuse this offer because she is pregnant from a brief love affair. Agnieszka wants an abortion and, in her mind, only Mother Teresa can help. Torn between her beliefs and her compassion, will Mother Teresa be able to carry this heavy secret? The film is produced by Sébastien Delloye for Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), and co-produced in Macedonia by Sisters and Brother Mitevski, which as its name indicates, brings together the siblings, therefore Teona, as well as Vuk Mitevski and Labina Mitevska, which just received the International Co-Production Eurimages Prize. MOTHER is also co-produced in Sweden by Rainy Days, in Denmark by Frau Film, and in India by Raging Film.
Page published 19 December 2024. Updated 14 January 2025.
