Another New Title For Woodley

Berlinale Co-Production Market: Exciting New Projects for Co-Producers and Investors - and Another Film in the Competition
At the fifth Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 10-12, 2008), a selection of 35 film projects from 25 countries will be presented. Their producers are looking for international investors and co-production partners.

This year’s new projects include works by such renowned directors as Deepa Mehta (e.g. Fire, Earth and Water), Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Goraczka and Copying Beethoven) and Andrei Zvyagintsev (The Return, The Banishment). Two new Romanian projects have also been chosen, Outskirts by director Anatol Reghintovschi, based on a screenplay by Cristian Mungiu (4 Weeks, 3 Months and 2 Days); and Aurora by Cristi Puiu. Philip Gröning (Into Great Silence) is participating from Germany with his new project My Brother Robert.

Meanwhile 59 projects from the first four years are already in production or have been completed. “In the meantime, the Berlinale Co-Production Market is going into its fifth year, and almost monthly movie-goers can discover a new finished project from one of the previous years. We are also very pleased that Feuerherz (Heart of Fire) another project from last year’s Co-Production Market, has been invited to the Berlinale Competition,” comments project manager Sonja Heinen.

The budgets of the feature films selected for the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2008 range from 1 to 12 million euros, of which at least 30% has to be already in place. Within the framework of the official selection, for which there were 378 submissions from all over the world, three projects will be presented at the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express in partnership with the CineMart Rotterdam. One other project, The Hunter by Rafi Pitts (It’s Winter-Zemestan), will take part in the World Cinema Market section. The Hunter was selected for funding by the World Cinema Fund in November and is now seeking international partners.

At this year’s Talent Project Market, a well-established cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, 10 promising newcomer projects - picked from 172 entries by an international jury - will be presented.

The producers of the selected projects will meet in Berlin with potential co-producers and financial backers at individual prescheduled talks. Case studies on current possibilities for financing films, Country Tables at which producers can gain insight from experts on co-production strategies and options for specific countries, informal Speed Matchings, as well as other programme highlights will all come together to ensure an attractive framework for participants. And the Producers’ Lounge will offer a setting for informal exchanges.

Together with the Frankfurt Book fair, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will also be organizing an event on February 12: at “Breakfast & Books” interested producers can meet with representatives of the publishing world who will suggest a selection of literature for screen adaptations.

Once again the Berlin House of Representation will be the Co-Production Market’s partner and venue. Since it lies directly opposite the European Film Market, it will provide the best possible logistics for professionals who want to visit both events.

The main partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the MEDIA programme of the European Commission.


Official selection of projects for the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2008
(listed alphabetically by production company)

* The Hecatomb (Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev), A-One Films, Russia/MACT Productions, France
* Carpet Boy (Director: Deepa Mehta), Arsam International & Lucid Pictures, France/UK
* The Last Mission (Director: Agnieszka Holland), Bow and Axe Entertainment, Poland
* Blanco (Director: Christophe Van Rompaey), CCCP, Belgium
* The Visitor (Director: Aaron Woodley), Creative Engine Pictures, Canada
* The Famous and the Dead (Director: Esmir Filho), Dezenove Som e Imagens, Brazil
* Lake Erie (Director: Jeremiah Chechik), Echo Lake Entertainment/New Real Films, USA/Canada
* Bad Faith (Director: Kristian Petri), Eight Millimetres/St. Paul Film, Sweden
* Nuclear Family (Director: Melanie Rodriga), Factor 30 Films/Washington Square Films, Australia/USA
* Four Corners (Director: Ian Gabriel), Giant Films/Moonlighting Films, South Africa
* Overboard (Director: Constantine Giannaris), Highway Productions, Greece
* Between Two Fires (Director: Agnieszka Lukasiak), Hob AB, Sweden
* Mr. Nice (Director: Bernard Rose), Independent Film Productions, UK
* City Island (Director: Raymond De Felitta), Lucky Monkey Pictures, USA
* Plastic Sheets and Cardboard Boxes (Director: Michal Aviad), Metro Communications, Israel
* Salt (Director: Priscilla Cameron), Mosquito Films, Australia
* My Brother Robert (Director: Philip Gröning), Philip Gröning Filmproduktion, Germany
* The Girls of Alburquerque (Director: Anna Di Francisca), Pixstar, Italy
* Outskirts (Director: Anatol Reghintovschi), Saga Film, Romania
* Eternal Forest (Director: Katsumi Sakaguchi), Supersaurus, Japan
* Play Off (Director: Eran Riklis), Topia Communications, Israel

Rotterdam-Berlinale Express

* Rhapsody (Director: Gillies MacKinnon), Grand Pictures, Ireland
* Man in Tears (Director: Fran Torres) Ikiru Films, Spain
* Aurora (Director: Cristi Puiu), Mandragora, Romania

World Cinema Market

* The Hunter (Director: Rafi Pitts), AMA Media Productions, Iran

Talent Project Market
(listed alphabetically by artists)

* Field of Blackbirds (Producer: Ewa Borowski), Germany
* Carribean Chronicles (Producer: Jean des Forets), France
* English Rose (Author/Director: Hope Dickson Leach, Producer: Jennifer Westin), UK/USA
* Squire Musa (Author/Director: Othman Karim), Sweden
* The Scream of the Butterfly (Author/Director/Producer: Kirsi Marie Liimatainen), Finland
* Black South-Easter (Author/Director: Carey McKenzie), South Africa
* Susa (Producer: Rusudan Pirveli), Georgia
* The Conqueror (Author/Director/Producer: Alka Raghuram), India
* Arches (Author/Director/Producer: Maria Laura Ruggiero), Argentina
* Tony Ten (Producer: Marleen Slot), Netherlands

Related Links

• Find The Visitor details here