THE ENTERTAINMANT SYSTEM IS DOWN by Ruben Östlund is in production
Development, Production and Post-Production News February 2025
In development / pre-production
Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Film- und Medienstiftung NRW supports 29 projects in its first round of funding for 2025. The selection includes six feature films, three television series, one film for television, three documentaries, three projects for script development, two projects for pre-production funding, eight projects for sales funding and three cinemas.
- INVASIVE ARTEN by Alejandro Mathé, producer: EAVE graduate Eva Blondiau
- MORGEN MEHR by Felix Stienz, producer: EAVE graduate and TTB group leader Jonas Weydemann
- WESTEND GIRL by Pola Beck, Stefan Schaller, producer: EAVE graduate Martin Heisler
Film Center Serbia
The Film Center Serbia announced production grants for feature films, long doumentaries and minority co-productions. Among them:
- JEZA by Sinisa Cvetic, producer: EAVE graduate and Serbian National Coordinator Milan Stojanovic
- KRATKO LETO by Nastia Koria, producer: EAVE graduate Miroslav Mogorovic
In production
- THE ENTERTAINMANT SYSTEM IS DOWN by Ruben Östlund, co-producers: EAVE graduates Jon Nohrstedt, Dan Wechsler, Viktoria Petranyi, executive producer: EAVE graduate Alex C. Lo is in production. The contemporary satire takes place during a long-haul flight where the entertainment system stops working. The passengers are forced to confront their own thoughts – and each other – which leads to unexpected and dramatic consequences. Through his satirical lens, Östlund promises to explore “human behaviour and society’s dependence on constant distraction”. The film promises to deliver Östlund’s signature blend of sharp social commentary and compelling storytelling, reads the official press release. “With his unique imagery and incisive social analysis, he will continue to challenge and engage cinema audiences around the world,” it continues. Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Brühl and Vincent Lindon are in the cast. THE ENTERTAINMANT SYSTEM IS DOWN is being produced by Sweden’s Plattform Produktion, Germany's Essential Films and France's Parisienne de Production, in co-production with Sweden's Film i Väst, Sveriges Television and SF Studios, UK's BBC Films and Good Chaos, Germany's ZDF/ARTE, France's ARTE France Cinéma, Norway's Eye Eye Pictures and Denmark's Paloma Productions, and in association with Hungary's Proton Cinema, Switzerland's Bord Cadre, UK's Sovereign Films and USA's Cinema Inutile and Gold Rush Pictures, with backing from, among others, the Danish Film Institute and the Norwegian Film Institute. The feature is slated to hit Nordic cinemas in the autumn of 2026.
- MATA by Rachel Lang, producer: EAVE graduate Benoit Roland is in production. The spy-thriller promises to be a dynamic addition to the French spy genre, combining intense action with psychological depth. MATA follows the story of a French secret agent, played by Eye Haïdara, who is wounded during a covert mission in Niger. During this operation, her colleague Antoine is captured, leaving her both physically and emotionally scarred. Upon her return to France, Mata volunteers for a counter-espionage mission in the Alps. She suspects that this new assignment is somehow linked to her traumatic experience in Africa. As she delves deeper into the mission, Mata becomes increasingly convinced that her superiors are concealing critical information from her. Determined to uncover the truth, she operates outside official channels, risking her career and her personal safety. The screenplay has been penned by Lang, whose expertise in crafting emotionally resonant narratives is expected to bring a unique perspective to the film, particularly with its focus on a female protagonist navigating the traditionally male-dominated world of espionage. MATA is a French-Belgian co-production, highlighting the collaborative efforts of multiple production companies. It is being produced by Chevaldeuxtrois, Nolita Cinema, Wrong Men and Marvelous. Warner Bros France will handle the theatrical distribution, while Netflix has acquired the local streaming rights, ensuring broad accessibility for audiences.
- FJORD by Cristian Mungiu, co-producers: EAVE graduates Jussi Rantamäki, Katrin Pors, TTB graduate Mikkel Jersin is in production. The tense family drama will be shot over 40 days in Ålesund in the picturesque Møre & Romsdal region of Norway. The plot revolves around two families living in a small, remote Norwegian village. One family is Romanian and has moved to the village where the mother was born, while the other is Swedish-Norwegian. Their children, of similar age, attend the same school, and the families initially bond over their shared experiences as parents. However, their seemingly harmonious relationship begins to unravel as differing cultural perspectives on family life, education, and societal values emerge, especially when suspicions arise that the newly arrived couple is harming their own children. The film explores the challenges of reconciling personal beliefs with societal norms in an increasingly globalised world, diving deep into cultural differences, the boundaries of personal privacy, and the limits of tolerance within a close-knit community. FJORD is produced by Cristian Mungiu and Tudor Reu through Mobra Films (Romania), with co-producers including Why Not Productions (France), Eye Eye Pictures (Norway), Snowglobe Film (Denmark), Aamu Film Company (Finland), and Filmgate Films (Sweden). The film has already secured substantial support from key industry bodies, including the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), Creative Europe - MEDIA, Film i Vast, and the Western Norway Film Commission.
In post-production
- APART FROM HER by EAVE graduate Stelana Kliris, producers: EAVE graduates Stelana Kliris, Ioanna Bolomyti is in post-production. The story: In 1974, a young woman flees war-torn Cyprus for apartheid South Africa through an arranged marriage but as an unlikely friendship with a local woman unfolds, her hidden truth surfaces, forcing love and prejudice to collide. “This is a deeply personal project where we see the parallel histories of Cyprus and South Africa embodied by one woman’s experience. It’s a story that is still very relevant today, more so than ever perhaps, and a topic that has been treated with the utmost respect. In terms of production, a project of this scale with multiple international cast members is further proof of Cyprus’ capabilities as a world-class filming destination”, Stelana Kliris said. Meraki Films (Cyprus), Over the Fence Films (UK) and Atalante Productions (Greece) are producing the film in partnership with Jupiter Peak Productions (USA) and Copper Island (Cyprus), with the support of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme, the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center, Creative Greece, European Union, Next Generation EU through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan GREECE 2.0, Creative Europe and the SEE Cinema Network. The producers of the film are Susan Simnett, Jamie Harvey, Ioanna Bolomyti and Stelana Kliris. EAVE graduate Antoine Simkine is associate producer. The film was shot entirely in Cyprus between the village of Pera Oreinis and the capital city of Nicosia over 25 shooting days. The postproduction is currently taking place in Greece, and the film is expected to be delivered by July 2025.
- KURAK by Erke Dzhumakmatova and Emil Atageldiev†, producer: EAVE graduate Alexandra Hoesdorff , co-producer: TTB graduate Johann Chapelan is in post-production. The team behind a new Kyrgyz-European co-production is now putting the finishing touches to this drama helmed by directorial duo Erke Dzhumakmatova and the late Emil Atageldiev. Dzhumakmatova, a producer, writer-director and actress with over 25 years of experience in the film industries of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, chairs the Kyrgyz Association of Film Producers, serves as vice-chair of the Union of Cinematographers of Kyrgyzstan, and has been active at the Bishkek International Film Festival since 2023 as a committee member and CAF PITCH programme coordinator. Atageldiev, an an award-winning musician, graduated from VGIK’s Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in 2010, joined the Union of Cinematographers in 2014 and became a professor at the American University of Central Asia in 2018. Recognised as an Honoured Worker of Cinematography in 2020, he passed away in 2024 from osteosarcoma shortly after completing filming on the project. Shot in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, the plot of KURAK follows a young woman who works secretly as a webcam model in a closed studio and becomes the target of blackmail by a law-enforcement officer. Terrified of public exposure, she is coerced into an intimate relationship with him. Meanwhile, a mother is devastated when her daughter, after being drugged and assaulted, takes her own life when photos and videos of the attack are shared online. The assailant, the son of a powerful politician, evades justice despite the mother’s desperate attempts to hold him accountable. In a moment of despair and outrage, she decides to take drastic action. Interwoven with these stories are real-life news reports highlighting systemic violence and injustice against women. A news presenter, delivering these stories and pleading for justice, serves as a symbolic figure for the silenced voices of women in Kyrgyzstan left ignored and unanswered. The script was penned by Dzhumakmatova herself – for the first time in Central Asia, a woman director is making a film about violence against women, positioning it as an important social drama railing against the patriarchal environment and mentality. KURAK is set to be the biggest ever co-production in Central Asia in terms of the number of countries involved. It is being staged by Dzhumakmatova for Kyrgyzstan’s Studio Oymo, Kairat Birimkulov for Switzerland’s KBP, Katerina Tarbo-Ignatenko for France/Serbia’s Spirito Libero LLC, Pavel Feldman for the Netherlands’ Human Films and Alexandra Hoesdorff for Luxembourg’s Deal Productions. Co-producing are Milos Djukelic for Serbia’s Red Art Workshop, Paolo Maria Spina for Italy’s Revolver and TTB graduate Johann Chapelan for France’s Girelle Production. The project’s backers include the Department of Cinematography of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Central Swiss Film Specialist Group IFFG.
Page published 27 February 2025. Updated 28 February 2025.
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Development, Production and Post-Production News February 2025
THE ENTERTAINMANT SYSTEM IS DOWN by Ruben Östlund is in production
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Festivals February 2025
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