EAVE project VICENTA B supported by Sørfond
In Development May 2021
Film Fund Luxembourg
Film Fund Luxembourg supports sixteen film projects, among them:
- AUX SOURCES DE LA FANTASY by EAVE graduate Stephan Roelants
- BACHMANN & FRISCH by Margarethe von Trotta, producer: EAVE + graduate Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu
- BOSS by Bogdan Mirica, producer: EAVE graduate Gilles Chanial
- FLOATING WITH SPIRITS by Juantia Onzaga, producer: EAVE graduate Emmy Oost
- LOTRENGEN by Rui Eduardo Abreu, producer: EAVE graduate Gilles Chanial
- MOTHER MARA by Mirjana Karanovic, producer: EAVE graduate Paul Thiltges
- SAVING MOZART Gérard Corbiau, producer: EAVE graduate Alexandra Hoesdorff
Norwegian Sørfond
The Norwegian Sørfond has granted support for six international co-productions with Norwegian minority producers. Among them:
- THE NIGHTS STILL SMELL OF GUNPOWDER by Inadelso Cossa, producer: Creative Producer Indaba participant Thomas Kaske
- EXCURSION by Una Gunjak, producer: EAVE graduate and National Coordinator Bosnia-Herzegovina Amra Baksic Camo
- EAVE project VICENTA B by Carlos Lechuga, producer: EAVE graduates Dag Hoel, Claudia Calvino
- THE PASSION OF STEFAN by Alexandru Maftei, producer: EAVE graduate Iuliana Tarnovetchi is in preparation. The film will explore one day in the life of Stephen the Great who ruled Moldavia between 1457 and 1504. The screenplay centres on a day in the life of Stephen the Great, a military leader who fought against the Ottoman invasion and who has since become known as one of the greatest rulers in Romania’s history. The project was granted by the Romanian National Film Center. The shoot will take place in the second half of 2021 and at the beginning of next year, both in the studio and on location in various areas within the Romanian region of Moldavia.
- TIGER by Andrei Tanase, producer: EAVE graduate Anamaria Antoci is in preparation. EAVE graduate Alexa Rivero is co-producing through Altamar Films (France) together with EAVE graduate Konstantina Stavrianou from Graal (Greece). The screenplay, written by Tanase, and inspired by a real event that took place in 2011 in the city of Sibiu, centres on Vera, a veterinarian working for a provincial zoo. Following a personal tragedy, Vera has become more and more estranged from her husband, Toma, and when she realises that he has been cheating on her, her distress leads to the escape of Rihanna, an adult tiger that has just been bought by the zoo. As the entire town hurries to take part in the desperate search for the tiger, Vera will go through various misadventures that will challenge her entire view on life. The film is supported by the Romanian National Film Center. The shoot is scheduled over 26 days, in July and August, in Bucharest and the city of Targu Mures. Producer Anamaria Antoci says that the most challenging aspect of her project is working with a real tiger.
- WINDLESS by Pavel Vesnakov, producers: EAVE graduates Veselka Kiryakova, Alessandro Amato is in pre-production. Through the relationship between a grandfather, a father and a grandson, Vesnakov’s second feature portrays three Bulgarian generations and their attitude towards roots, memories and the past. The plot revolves around a small town where a major investor is buying up people’s land – even the local graveyard. The only one who opposes the deal is Kaloyan, the oldest protagonist. His stubbornness sparks a conflict within the community, as well as within the family. WINDLESS, co-produced by Bulgaria’s Red Carpet and Italy’s Disparte, participated in the Les Arcs Coproduction Village and is now receiving supervision from the Sam Spiegel Jerusalem Film Lab’s script consultants. Financial support secured so far comes from the Bulgarian National Film Center and the MiC minority co-production fund in Italy. The film will be shot entirely in Buhovo, slated to start in November 2021.
http://redcarfilms.com | www.disparte.com
- DECONSTRUCTION by Pavel Vesnakov, producer: EAVE graduate Veselka Kiryakova is in development. In the meantime, Vesnakov is developing his third feature, centring on a 50-year-old astronomer working in the biggest observatory in Southeastern Europe. When he learns that the state intends to close down the observatory, the protagonist decides to preserve its giant lens, which he believes he has photographed God with. Although the project has sci-fi elements, Vesnakov claims that ever since the conception of the idea, he has wanted to realise the film in the most intimate and simplified way possible. Once again, Red Carpet is the production company behind the project, and it has already secured financing for development from the Bulgarian National Film Center. DECONSTRUCTION participated in the Sofia Meetings co-production market, where it was given the FOCUSFOX Award for Best Project.
- REMAINS OF LIFE by Sevda Shishmanova, producer: EAVE graduate EAVE graduate Veselka Kiryakova is in development. After directing several TV documentaries on hot political topics, experienced Bulgarian TV reporter and journalist Sevda Shishmanova is developing her first feature, based on the circumstances surrounding an explosion on a bus carrying Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in 2012, which resulted in seven deaths. The project is a co-production between Bulgaria’s Red Carpet and German outfit 42films GmbH, which are currently negotiating with a third partner from Israel, since shooting will take place partly there. So far, funding has been secured from the Bulgarian National Film Center. The plot is fictional; however, it does reflect actual events to a significant degree. In parallel, it narrates the personal stories of the seven victims, including the murderer. In particular focus is the story of the Bulgarian bus driver of Muslim origin who died in the attack, while emphasis has also been placed on the dramatic clash between a photographer and the lead investigator in the case. While working on the script, co-writers Shishmanova and Berlin-based scriptwriter Milena Petrova made use of interviews with the victims’ loved ones, the surviving passengers and the individuals involved in the investigation, as well as records of interrogations of witnesses, photos, and footage from the investigative analysis of the planning and execution of the attack.
- MOTHER MARA by Mirjana Karanovic, producer: EAVE graduate Snezana van Houwelingen, co-producers: EAVE graduates Paul Thiltges and Adrien Chef is in development. Mara (50), a successful businesswoman and single mother, suddenly loses her son Nemanja (18) to a heart attack. Incapable of dealing with the loss of her only child, she shuts herself out from her family and friends. She buries the trauma deep inside and when she meets Milan (25), she agrees to a no-strings-attached physical relationship with him. MOTHER MARA is produced by Snezana van Houwelingen through Serbia’s This and That Productions in co-production with Paul Thiltges and Adrien Chef through Luxembourg’s PTD, Vladimir Bulajic through Slovenia’s December, Nemanja Becanovic through Montenegro’s VHS and Damir Ibrahimovic through Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Deblokada. The project has received production grants from Film Fund Luxembourg, Film Center Serbia, the Slovenian Film Centre, Film Centre of Montenegro, the Sarajevo Film Fund and the MEDIA - Creative Europe programme. Shooting is expected to commence in the spring of 2022.
Page published 31 May 2021.
