ROSKINO / VFM PITCHING

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

For the first time ever ROSKINO awarded grants to support co-production with Russia.

ROSKINO is participating in the 72nd Venice International Film Festival (September 2 - September 12) and the 4th Venice Film Market (September 3 - September 8) with the support of Aeroflot Russian Airlines Public Joint Stock Company and the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation.

On September 6, a pitching session was organized by the Venice Film Market jointly with ROSKINO to present projects targeted at co-production with Russia to the expert jury. The list of finalists consisted of 8 feature films currently in pre-production with no less than 30% of consolidated budget secured.

The expert jury board included Andreas Eicher (producer, Cine Plus Filmproduktion GmbH, Germany), Raphaël Berdugo (President, CITÉ FILMS, France), Pascal Diot (Head of Venice Film Market, Italy), Andy Whittaker (Dogwoof Pictures President and Founder) Leonid Demchenko (Russia representative, Eurimages, Russia) and Katya Mtsitouridze (CEO, ROSKINO, Russia). The session was moderated by Lucas Rosant (producer, France).

The expert board awarded 4 grants.

‘Swing’, produced by Alexey Telnov and Max Efros, directed by Nicolay Dreiden, was awarded a ROSKINO grant of $5 000. The jury decided that this project has the highest festival and commercial potential. Moreover, Russia will support Swing’s application for Eurimages financing.

‘Loneliness on the Net’, produced by Vlad Ryashin and Galina Balan-Timkina, has also been recommended for Eurimages financing owing to its high international potential. The film is produced by Star Media, one of the leading Russian film and TV studios.

‘The Longest Birthday’, produced by Anna Dziembowska and Maxim Dashkin, earned a special mention of the jury for the screenplay. Andy Whittaker of Dogwoof Pictures will recommend the project to UK distributors. Katriel Schory, President of the Israel Film Fund, also took an interest in the film.

‘Censor’, produced by Nikolay Bunkin, Igor Fokin and Vladislav Pasternak, will receive a special Star Media $5 000 grant for post-production. German and Swedish distributors took notice of the project. At Katya Mtsitouridze’s invitation, the acclaimed Russian director Alexander Sokurov, a Golden Lion winner returning to the festival competition of 2015, welcomed the pitching participants.

Alexander Sokurov, director: ‘My life’s experience proves that you cannot achieve anything on your own. Which is why I am very grateful for those of you who are willing to support my colleagues. In my experience, no one works better than us Russians. We always stick to our word. So I am calling upon my international colleagues: we have to dare to support these young filmmakers. I am convinced that such partnerships will bring excellent results. My thanks go to the ROSKINO team and the festival organizers who have prepared this important and essential event in spite of the difficulties of today’s climate’.

Among other pitching finalists are ‘Fairy Tales Around the World’, produced by Lika Alekseeva and Maria Samoylova; ‘Matrioshka’, produced by Ulyana Kovalyova and Antonio Piccoli; ‘Terminus’, produced by Alexander Plotnikov, and ‘The Whistling Art Factory’, produced by Anastassia Razlogova and Andjei Petras. The producers of each project spent several days meeting with professionals from around the globe and drawing up lists of potential partners from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, UK, Israel and US.

Katya Mtsitouridze, expert jury member, CEO, ROSKINO, Russia: ‘Co-production is neither an end in itself nor a cure for all woes but rather an excellent opportunity for authors to expand their scope. Having carefully examined the scripts, interviewed the authors to

establish the degree of commitment and received financing confirmations, we were able to select 8 projects ripe for international co-production out of 42 submissions. The projects differ immensely in kind, genre and scale but they were all properly presented. The wealth of experience allowed the expert jury to appreciate their merits. The winners are several but it is now completely safe to say that no project went unnoticed and each one is bound to enjoy success.’

Andreas Eicher, expert jury member, producer, Cine Plus Filmproduktion GmbH, Germany: ‘I felt really honored to be part of the international jury that was to give an award to a Russian Project in order to encourage co-production with Russia. Especially in the current economical situation it is of a special importance to enhance co-production activities and work together on an international level. This first pitching event of Russian Cinema at the Venice Film Market jointly with ROSKINO is an important step to finding more international partners and building new relationships.’

Raphaël Berdugo (expert jury member, President, CITÉ FILMS, France): ‘I am really happy to touch base again with Russian cinema. I had a very good co-production experience with Russia in the past as I co-produced ‘The Thief’ by Pavel Chukhray which was screened in the official competition of the Venice Film Festival and subsequently nominated for the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Today I have met new generation of Russian producers and directors. And this is an important meeting.’

Pascal Diot, expert jury member, Head of Venice Film Market, Italy: ‘I was very happy to be a jury member of the first Russian Co-Prod Pitches because of the quality of the selected projects and also because I am a strong believer in international coproductions and today’s event presented the perfect opportunity to trigger such international cooperation."

Andy Whittaker, expert jury member, President of Dogwoof Pictures (UK): ‘As national grants become harder to attain, co-production is becoming increasingly important. Co- production is one of the key strategies to pursue for national cinemas in an increasingly international market. Many producers are unaware of the benefits and possibilities of co- production which is why this initiative between ROSKINO and Venice Film Market is encouraging. Co-production is an important avenue through which Russian producers can tap into international financing and talent to create their film.’

Leonid Demchenko, expert jury member, Russia Representative at Eurimages: ‘Aspiring filmmakers should grasp at every chance to present their projects while they are at the development stage, especially when it comes to films with an evident international component, be it the script, the talent attached, or production requirements. Eventual cooperation with other countries allows for an expansion of distribution networks. The pitching session we have witnessed today was incredibly exciting, and it was not an easy job to select the winner.’

Lucas Rosant, pitching session moderator, producer, France: ‘The pitching was truly interesting and intense. It included projects of all genres, from drama to comedy. I have got the impression that exciting and relevant stories abound in contemporary Russia. It was wonderful to look into the Russian universe, and I am totally sure of the international potential of all these stories.’

Additional information:

Elena Barkova

ROSKINO Media Relations Officer [email protected]

+ 7 985 428 48 48

*** LUCAS ROSANT, producer, France Born in 1974 in England, Lucas Rosant now lives and works in Paris. After graduating from a French Business School he soon became involved in short film production and sales with the New York University. He then worked for the organization and programming of different Film Festivals, among others the Directors’ Fortnight (Cannes), Marrakech International Film Festival, Premiers Plans d’Angers (France), and Paris Cinema. For seven years he also headed Paris Project, the co-production platform of Paris Cinema IFF. In parallel, he has for many years been and is still consulting or matchmaking for different co-production forums and festival markets, such as Crossroads - Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Dubai Film Connection - Dubai International Film Festival, Open Doors – Locarno International Film Festival, Producers Network – Cannes Film Market, Produire au Sud - 3 Continents Film Festival, HAF (Hong Kong Film Financing Forum), Durban Filmart, Berlinale Coproduction Market and Cinemart, Rotterdam.

*** ANDREAS EICHER, producer, Cine Plus Filmproduktion GmbH, Germany Since 2013 Producer IRIS Productions Deutschland GmbH Since 2009 Production consultant and freelance producer at Rat pack Filmproduktion GmbH, Wüste Film GmbH, Cine Plus Filmproduktion GmbH, DCM Productions GmbH, BLS Business Location Südtirol, Universal Music 1998 – 2009 CEO and shareholder of box! Film GmbH and box! Film Hamburg GmbH 1994 – 1995 Participation in the EAVE advanced training program for young producers – MEDIA program 1994 Training at the CEFPF (Centre Européen de Formation à la Production de Films) in Paris Was a jury member at “Max-Ophüls-Preis” Saarbrücken (Germany), International Film Festival Finale Plzen (Czech Republic), International Film Festival Ischia (Italy), a member of the European Film Academy and the German Film Academy and European Producers Club.

*** RAPHAЁL BERDUGO, President, CITÉ FILMS, France, has more than 30 year experience in the movie business, especially in production and international sales. He has co-produced around 25 movies through various production companies, mostly arthouse films that have been selected by prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto, winning numerous awards. He was previously manager/owner of ROISSY FILMS for more than 15 years, a well-known French independent production and sales company. He sold this company to EUROPACORP (Luc Besson) in 2008. He was also President of the France’s Association of Film Exporters (ADEF) for six years. He now focuses on production and international sales of his own coproductions through his new company, CITÉ FILMS.

*** PASCAL DIOT, Head of Venice Film Market, Italy Head of the Venice Film Market (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) Managing Director of Le Pôle Image de Liège (2014, 2015) Advisor to the TIFFCOM (Content Market of the Tokyo Film Festival- 2015) and to the FIFB (International Film Festival of Brussels, 2015) European Commission Media Expert (2014, 2015). Previously spent 28 years in international sales and co-productions departments of multimedia groups (TF1, HACHETTE, UGC, CANAL+, PATHE) as well as in its own companies production and sales company (ONOMA, IDPL) and has been Head of the Dubai International Film Festival Market (FILMMART) (2011, 2012, 2013) and Market Manager of the first European genre films market FRONTIÈRES in Brussels (2014, 2015).

*** ANDY WHITTAKER, Dogwoof Pictures President and Founder, established Dogwoof as the leading film distributor of documentary films. Dogwoof started as a UK all rights distributor and in 2011 became a global sales agent. Its portfolio includes films like ‘Dior and I’, ‘Blackfish’ etc.

*** LEONID DEMCHENKO, Russian national representative at Eurimages, Russia Russian national representative at the European Cinema Support Fund Eurimages, Head of Documentary and Animation Desk at the Ministry for Culture of the Russian Federation, member of the national Filmmakers’ Union. Leonid graduated from the Film Production department at the State Film University (VGIK) and took an MA in International Relations at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations. He started his career in film in 1997, specializing in international audiovisual cooperation and co-production. In 2000-2001 Leonid represented Russia at the Audiovisual Eureka, or the Executive Council of the European Audiovisual Observatory in Brussels.

*** KATYA MTSITOURIDZE, CEO, ROSKINO, Russia is head of ROSKINO, Channel One film expert, Variety Russia Editor-in-Chief, SPIMF concept developer and general producer. Katya graduated from the Tbilisi State University with an MA in history and film studies. She is the author and narrator of This Is Cinema, a regular show on Russia’s Channel One. She is ROSKINO CEO since 2011. Her portfolio includes diplomas of the film festivals in Cannes and Venice and the AFM market in LA. In June, 2001, she was a member of the FIPRESCI jury at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival. In May, 2002, she was a member of the FIPRESCI jury at the 55th Cannes International Film Festival. In June, 2003, Katya was on the jury for debut films at the 25th Moscow International Film Festival. In May, 2008, she was a member of the jury of the Un Certain Regard section of the 61th Cannes International Film Festival. In the same 2008, she initiated the creation of the Russian Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival which she presently is still heading. From September, 2010 to January, 2011 Katya provided PR support in US and Canada for The Edge (Krai), a film by Alexey Uchitel, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the HFPA Golden Globe awards. In September, 2011 she was in charge of the international PR and advertising campaign of Alexander Sokurov’s Faust which won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. In June, 2012 she held the first DOORS International Traveling Film Market of Russian content within the framework of the 34th Moscow International Film Festival. In November, 2012, Katya reached an agreement with HULU, one of the leading US digital platforms, for the VOD release of 12 contemporary Russian titles. In May, 2014 she reached a further agreement for the distribution of CTC Media TV Content through HULU platforms. In October 2014 Katya held the first edition of the Saint Petersburg International Media Forum of which she was the concept developer and general producer. Katya is a member of FIPRESCI, the Russian Filmmakers’ Union, the Russian and International Unions of Journalists, the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Russia. She also holds an MA in History.

*** PITCHING PARTICIPANTS:

CENSOR Producers Nikolay Bunkin, Igor Fokin, Vladislav Pasternak Budget in USD: 60.000 Countries for coproduction: Russia, Germany, France, UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Scandinavian countries Synopsis In the not so distant future computer game industry reaches its peak. Virtual reality is indistinguishable from real life. To control sex and violence in game space, the government institute a C Department. Censors delve into games and try to take the process beyond the forbidden level. Any game where they succeed must be banned. One of the Censors is a good guy who hates his bloody job. The other one is a creep. At some point the Censors lose their ability to distinguish the game from the real world.

FAIRY TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD Producers Lika Alekseeva, Maria Samoylova Budget in USD: 550.000 Countries for coproduction: Russia, Portugal, Italy Synopsis Everyone has a fairytale. In the closed little world of the Russian Embassy in Portugal Anna Severyanova, a staff interpreter of 32 years, lives like a princess in a tower. After her husband's betrayal, her world collapses and she has to reassemble the mosaic of her life anew. Starting a strange sensual relationship with the Ambassador's advisor Alexander, Anna will follow her own path to womanhood. Sonia, a cheeky illegal, will teach her not to be scared of men. A captain of the Portuguese police, a real macho, will get her next to the clue, and the young student Joao will find the key to her mystery.

LONELINESS ON THE NET Producers Vlad Ryashin, Galina Balan-Timkina Budget in USD: 3.000.000 Countries for coproduction: EU countries, Russia, USA, China Synopsis The movie is an adaptation of ‘Loneliness on the Net’, a bestselling novel by the Polish writer Janusz Wisniewski. It has already been translated into dozens of languages and printed in more than a million copies. The plot is centered around a love story between a famous scientist and a business lady, both suffering from loneliness and seeking escape in the virtual reality where they can be their true selves, share their problems, finding support and understanding that they lack in their everyday life. This is a story everyone can relate to. The film can be set in the US, Poland, Germany, Ireland, France, or Belgium. The main characters can be citizens of any of these countries and many others. ‘Loneliness on the Net’ has never come off bestselling lists for over 10 years and the number of its fans keeps growing. Today the issue of hundreds of virtual friends and lack of real ones is more pressing than ever.

MATRIOSHKA Producers Uliana Kovaleva, Antonio Piccoli Budget in USD: 2.100.000 Countries for coproduction: Russia, Italy, Germany Synopsis This is an adaptation of the famous novel ‘The Norm’ by the cult Russian author Vladimir Sorokin. In 1959 Anton, a young gentleman who has long lived in Germany, decides to return to his native Russia in search of a box buried next to their old estate which supposedly contains family treasures. He hunts up the box only to discover that it contains a pack of yellowed paper. Thus he discovers he is a great grandson of the great Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev. Anton travels down a memory lane.

The second part is set in the late 1940’s. District committee secretary Kedrin and district law enforcement officer Mokin inspect a remote collective farm, kolkhoz. Thishenko, the collective farm’s chairman, is trying to purge himself of suspicions, having recently failed to prevent a massive loss of cattle. The visitors inspect every building at the farm; waste and decay is all they see. The inspectors ruthlessly burn down the administrative building, the workshop, the warehouse, and the cattle yard where each pen contains men and women accused of being public enemies. This place is burned down as well. Kedrin delivers a rousing speech to the farm workers and Mokin, acting with their approval, commits the to flames the very chairman, dishonoured and ousted from power. Both stories are written by the author in our days, in his modern Moscow apartment. He reads the chapters to his girlfriend who disapproves both the affectation of the first one and the horrors of the second one. They decide to bury the text.

TERMINUS Producer Aleksandr Plotnikov Budget in USD: 900.000 Countries for coproduction: Russia, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Hungary, Romania Synopsis Late in the evening Kostya, a young manager who is in a hurry to get back home to his pregnant fiancee, is hit by a car at a bus stop. He blacks out. Culprits flee the scene. After a while another car passes by the victim, and another one, and another… However, none of the people in those cars stop to help Kostya. Everyone has a different reason, shedding some light on the diseases of our society: corruption, heartlessness, reluctance to take up responsibility, indifference. Kostya, barely alive, still seeks safety in the infrequently passing cars with an enviable persistence. Meanwhile the fates of all the people who abandoned the injured man start to entwine in a strange way: they all become victims of their choice.

THE LONGEST BIRTHDAY Producers Anna Dziembowska, Maxim Dashkin Budget in USD: 2.050.000 Countries for co-production: UK, Israel, Russia, EU countries Synopsis When Olivia (29) learns that her son Fishy’s (7) clinical trial failed to improve his cancer condition she makes a risky decision and takes him out of hospital without his doctor’s approval to make his last birthday the happiest day of his life. The Longest Birthday is an inspiring story of a mother who breaks with the conventions of the world around her to create a happier reality for her son.

THE WHISTLING ART FACTORY Producers Anastasia Razlogova, Andjei Petras Budget in USD: 1.250.000 Countries for coproduction: Russia, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France. Synopsis This musical parable is set in the conventional 1960s in a fictitious country of an imaginary fairy-tale world. On different floors of an old apartment building there live the Officer, the Girl Reporter and the Composer. Their lives are full of lies, to one another and to themselves. They have a neighbor, a nerd of an autistic boy known as the Whistler. He perceives the world through music and communicates through amazingly beautiful whistling. His only dream is to find friends. But the neighbors fail to notice the boy and his music. They do not realize that such neglect will seal their fate.

SWING Producers Alexey Telnov, Max Efros Budget in USD: 1.000.000 Countries for coproduction: Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Russia, Germany Synopsis Our delirious world is exhausted. It is certainly due for well-deserved rest before the need for forced euthanasia becomes imminent. But probably the time is not that close, since we are all still in the same boat and have not forgotten what love is? Five novels intertwined the manner of jazz improvisation, to the accompaniment of a taciturn cruise ship pianist. Five stories in five different languages tell of human passions, love and choices in different languages — a cinematographic parable of the threads that we weave to tie all of us together. They are barely tangible, as is the melody that determines the fate of our wondrous world.

*** ROSKINO is the only Russian state institution promoting Russian cinema internationally. Since its foundation in 1924 ROSKINO facilitates the integration of the Russian filmmakers into the world industry. In 2014 the company celebrated its 90th anniversary. The company promotes Russian cinema at major film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto), markets (AFM in Los Angeles, EFM in Berlin, Marché du FIlm and MIPCOM in Cannes), and awards (The Oscars, Golden Globes, EFA Awards). It supports distribution of Russian cinema and solicits international investments and co-production partnerships. One of the most prominent initiatives of ROSKINO is the DOORS international traveling film market that allows the company to present national cinema at various markets around the world. Since 2012 ROSKINO operates the Russian Film Commission USA based in Los Angeles. In 2014 ROSKINO launches a London office, ROSKINO-UK. In October, 2014 ROSKINO organized the Saint Petersburg International Media Forum, a high profile event uniting three types of content markets dealing with film, TV and new media that generated a considerable attention in the national and international media industry.

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