BFM 2019 Brochure

BFM 2019
3 rd EDITION
2-6 OCTOBER

TIRANA - ALBANIA 2-6 OCTOBER 2019

Qendra Kombëtare e Kinematografisë
Rr. “Aleksandër Moisiu”, nr.77, 1012, Tiranë, Albania
Tel. +355 4 2378 004
info@nationalfilmcenter.gov.al
www.nationalfilmcenter.gov.al

Under patronage of

FO
RE
ORD

Number “Three” is special. The Pythagoreans recognized
it as the first true number. The past couple of years, have
been much of a trial and error trying to find our stand. During
this year, the region has undergone changes of seismic
proportions. In politics, and not only. There were major
changes in film institutions management, airlines went bust
in the last moment, and even earthquakes hit. Yet, nothing
deterred us. We persevered and pushed forward leaner and
stronger.
On the third edition of Balkan Film Market, we build upon past
experiences and focus in our core values; striving to provide
what is most lacking to the community of creators by shedding
light on relevant projects and gutsy authors that deserve
visibility, but are facing hardship to gain momentum.
Our long-standing goal is to create a close-knit network of
filmmakers that share passion and concerns, a network well
spread through the region and into the broader Europe.
Our moto goes: “Once a BFM friend, always a friend”. More
than a network of professionals, we are aiming to put together,
a much-needed circle of friends that one can rely on, for advice
and guidance. Together, we intend to carry on supporting and
promoting bold and unique voices of diverse Balkan film scene.
A quality film is often confrontational and challenges the status
quo. We are aware that on a time of changes, the wind will not
always favor our daring sail, but we are convinced that it is our
duty to help bring the Balkan film at the forefront of European
film scene today.
ANDAMION MURATAJ
Director

FM
PRO
GRAM

PROGRAM
2 OCTOBER 2019
WEDNESDAY
18:00
OFFICIAL OPENING
CREATIVE BALKAN - the vision we share
A short presentation of Balkan Film Market 2019
themes and events.
Attending
Ministry of Culture of Albania, Ambassador of Italy,
Jérôme Spinoza Counselor for Cooperation and
Cultural Affaires of French Embassy, Chairman Albania
Center of Cinematography, Kosovo Cinematography
Center, Representative of Mibac, Rafaela Rica, Ilir
Butka, and Andamion Murataj etc.
20:00
ALBANIAN RECEPTION @ ROGNER HOTEL
3 OCTOBER 2019
THURSDAY
10:00
PANEL | Collaborating with France - Tips from the
insiders
Julien Ezanno, Laura Briand, Francois Margolin
A take from both sides – Applying at CNC with Balkan
Projects. Impact of Regional and bilateral agreements
on the multiple country co-productions.
Moderated by Francois Terrier
10:00
PITCH BALKAN | Rehearse with Agathe Berman
11:15
COFFEE BREAK
11:30
PANEL | Balkan Projects in France’s Film
Developing programs
CNC, Emilie Pianta Essadi, La Fabrique Cinéma /
Institut Français, Camille Ferrero - Less is More /
Le Group Ouest
Moderated by Julien Ezanno

13:00
LUNCH
16:00
PANEL | Future Projections of Regional Cinema Institutions
in an era of change.
Presenting new programs and recent incentive schemes across
Balkans
Eduart Makri, Sehad Cekic, Arben Zharku, Panos Thomaidis
17:00
PANEL | Shooting Locally Aiming Globally - Stories and
Locations
Sinne Mutsaers (Netflix) Clemens Erbach (filmmakers.de)
Discussion about the new directions on promoting Albania as a
film location for European productions. Designing an agenda to
attract foreign co-productions and empowering the next generation
of filmmakers. Workshops and professional training of locals with
the goal to create a sustainable film industry.
18:00
A CASE STUDY | THE VAN - A Successful French and
Albanian co-production.
Olivier Berlemont (Origine Films) Ermir Keta (Anima Production)
20:00
BFM FRENCH NIGHT @ KINO
4 OCTOBER 2019
FRIDAY
10:00
PANEL | Cross-border Collaboration, Filmmakers
Perspective.
Empowering the next generation of filmmakers. A discussion
about changes that creators wish for, in order to attract foreign
co-productions.
10:00
PITCH BALKAN | Rehearse with Agathe Berman (ongoing)
11:15
COFFEE BREAK

11:30
PANEL | Apulia Film Commission and New Cross-
Adriatic Initiatives.
Interreg CIAK and CIRCE projects in filmmaking that
involve Italy, Montenegro, Albania and Greece. Scouting
new talent and developing new projects. A first step to
build upon.
13:00
LUNCH
16:00
PANEL | Producing and Distributing Italian
films in Balkans and vice versa. Experiences and
Suggestions
Paola Corvino, Genc Përmeti
17:00
FACES OF WOMAN OF BALKAN CINEMA
Presentation of the successful women in Balkan
Cinema.
18:00
PANEL | European Film Sales and Distributions
from low output Balkan countries.
Laura Briand, Bujar Kabashi, Robert Budina
20:00
MONTENEGRO RECEPTION @ PEPPER LOUNGE
5 OCTOBER 2019
SATURDAY
10:00
PITCH BALKAN | Presentation of Projects
Moderated by Agathe Berman
11:15
COFFEE BREAK
11:30
PITCH BALKAN | Presentation of Projects
Moderated by Agathe Berman

13:00
LUNCH
16:00
PITCH BALKAN | ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS
19:00
PITCH BALKAN | AWARDS CEREMONY
20:00
ITALIAN RECEPTION @ SALT
6 OCTOBER 2019
SUNDAY
10:00
MORNING ROUND TABLE | Mobile Cinema and Youth
Presentation of new imitative: Taking advantages of Smart
Phones and High Speed WiFi-Networks for media content
creating and distribution. Making Films Making Statements!
WRAP PARTY

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PIT
CH
BAL
KAN

THE BAY
COUNTRY
MONTENEGRO
Logline
Three faiths, two islands and one world war.
Short Synopsis
A powerful love story between two people resists the subversive energy
of the war and hatred.
Returning to the beginning of the Great War, THE BAY is a film that
explores the motives and relationships still alive in the contemporary
Europe. Multi ethnic relations, conflicts, war threats and war itself are
counterpointed with the beauty of a peaceful bay where it seems these
agonies could and should not exist.
The two have once and for all fallen apart until the emerging great
social unrest and conflict reunites them, causing them to make a noble
sacrifice.
This proves that there is one thing which is in harmony with natural
beauty, that is LOVE.
Short Bio of the Director
DRAŠKO ĐUROVIĆ
DIRECTOR
Drasko Djurović is born in 1962 in Titograd He graduated 1993,at
Belgrade at the Faculty of Drama Art-Group Film and Tv Directing. He
worked as a film advisor for the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro. He
post graduated at Faculty of Visual art at Cetinje and now he is lecturer
at Faculty of Drama. He worked as a director for Tv Serbia, Tv Politica,
Studio BI TV Montenegro music and eductational videos.
His film ACE OF SPADES is Montenegro’s first Oscar entry in history.
filmsector@t-com.me

Director`s Statement
Today, one can ask the question whether any generation can
live in peace or is it all just a cyclical pause between wars. Here,
near a little invincible nation, down the mountain, towards the
sea, in Perast, which was at that time under the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy, two men of similar perception, surrounded by
Mediterranean beauty, are enjoying peace. One of them is an officer
and the other one is a local broker. Oto and Ivo.
Secured Budget
150 000 €
Total Budget
608 875 €
Funding Body
Film Center of Montenegro
That is a small, quiet town, where people do some trading, some
smuggling, but most of all they are enjoying the sun and every-day
things on the coast. Suddenly, Ela, who is Jewish and ex-lover of Ivo
(main character), shows up. and amidst it all the murder of Prince
Ferdinand happens somewhere far away and comes as a warning
that the war will get everywhere.
From this first part of the pastel-color, diffuse light that symbolizes
peace and hedonozam, treated normally and with teleoptics, we
slowly move to the contrasting, dangerous world of intrigue and
hatred through larger movements of the camera and wide optics
with a color that is becoming colder, monochrome, as an anticipation
of tragedy. This is a visually driven story that settles in this small
town near the mountain, with leaning towers towards the sea...
Sharks are advancing through the passage, through this narrow
passage, through the Verige bay, to which we all flock, not knowing
if it is a rescue or a total destruction.
PREDRAG KARLO KALEZIC
PRODUCER
filmskoudruz@t-com.me

ĐINA
COUNTRY
MONTENEGRO
Logline
Đina brings both personal and political story about a Montenegrin
woman, who had survived the hell of rocks called the Naked Island –
what she has to say about it is yet to come...
Short Synopsis
This Feature Documentary Film brings us the political and personal
story of Ms. Ðordina Ðina Markuš (1920 – 1993), a young Montenegrin
woman who had been arrested during the IB resolution and sent to the
“Naked Island” to serve her sentence – she has spent three years of her
twenties on the Island.
The documentary is based on Nataša Nelevic discovery of the
unpublished diary od Ðina’s, which is mainly based on her time spent
on the Island. I have conducted thorough research, following Ðina’s life
journey up to the time in Belgrade where she committed suicide due to
many psychological problems she had after leaving the hell of rocks.
Ðina’s diary the only document of women in camps’ of the 50s
Yugoslavia, and through the vivid description the documentary film,
will give us an insider’s perspective on the “Naked Island..
Short Bio of the Director
SARA STIJOVIĆ
DIRECTOR
saras.6657@gmail.com
Sara Stijović (Podgorica, 1997) is a senior in college studying Film
and TV directing at Faculty of Dramatic Arts Cetinje, specializing
in Documentary film. She had directed several short fiction and
documentary films. Her film “Bars, walls” won an award for the Best
documentary film at the 17th Hyperfest Film Festival and was selected
in: HNFF/ MNE Film Festival, MicroFAF, Krajina FF, DUFF, Sombor
FF, Document Vranje 2018, First Frame Sarajevo, Motovun FF,
etc. She holds Al Jazeera Ambassador certificate from investigation
documentary training. She has been selected for an Artist residency in
the city of Campobasso, region Molise, Italy where she independently
created short documentary film. Now, she is developing a feature
documentary film with the work title Djina.

Director`s Statement
One of the feelings that is pushing us to tell this story is the fact that
maybe by telling this story some justice would be, post scriptum,
given to all 140 Montenegrin women who have been sent to the
Island. In general, women’s memories have not been released in
public until the 90’s. Shortly after, few female researchers have
started talking about the ‘female’ and ‘feminine’ side and experience
of the time at the Island. Sadly, this practice of speaking out loud
hasn’t happen in Montenegro.
Secured Budget
25 000 €
Total Budget
52 886 25 €
Funding Body
Montenegrin Film Centre
Also, the motive to tell a story of Đina is to show dramatic and
tragic experience that women had to go through in order to barely
survive. Some documents show that the practice of showing
women that they are less worthy then men had been crucial tool
used at the Naked Island/ St. Gregory, which we are coming face
to face reading Đina’s memories. Females had become victims of
oppression and all of the ideas of female emancipation which had
been promoted by the regime had come to the point that they have
been contradict and unauthentic – most of all, unfair and wrong.
Using the texture of the materials, deep field of depth, perspective in
the space, illusion of the three dimensions, we would try to proceed
the emotion of the places where Đina has lived in...
BRANIMIR ŽUGIĆ
PRODUCER
zugamn@yahoo.com

FACE OF HONOR
COUNTRY
MONTENGRO
Logline
A boy in the war puts honour and destiny of his family above his own
life. The film reexamines the price of an individual human sacrifice
through a story about promise, love and growing up.
Short Synopsis
During the WWII, a boy runs away from a paramilitary fascist unit
which killed his parents and finds a secure place in the home of WWI
Albanian hero Nur Doka. Nur’s house is surrounded by the Albanian
paramilitary which demands that the boy be taken out and killed. If he
does not obey, the army will kill all of his family. Soon, Nur will have to
make a choice between the child, his honor and the lives of his family.
Before the final decision, Nur goes to talk with the army commander
to ask for the forgiveness for the boy, and also goes to the village
judge to ask for help from him according to common law. Finally, Nur
realizes that no other authority can help him, and makes the decision
to not hand over the boy, because honor is more important than life.
Then, Nur’s son Mehmed, pretending to be the fugitive boy, decides
to sacrifice himself by changing places with the boy who entered their
house. With this act he gives a timeless response to the value of honor
and ethical principles.
Short Bio of the Director
NIKOLA VUKCEVIC
DIRECTOR
vukcevic.nikol@gmail.com
Nikola Vukcevic is filmmaker and professor of Film directing at the
University of Montenegro, a delegate of the Federation of European film
directors; directed two fiction films: A View from Eiffel’s Tower (2005)
and The Boys from Marx and Engels Street (2014); Artistic director at
City Theatre Podgorica (2003-2010); conducted more than 25 projects;
he participated in International visitors leadership program of State
department in 2006. (Los Angeles, New York, Washington). He took
part at many international seminars and workshops. His film The Boys
from Marx and Engels Street was a Montenegrin candidate for the
Oscar in the category of the Best foreign film in 2014.

Director`s Statement
The Term of SACRIFICE:THE ISSUE OF COLLECTIVE VS.
PERSONAL INTEREST
Through the story of sacrificing - our intimist historic drama about
the value of honor reexamines the difference between collective and
personal interests. The characters readiness to pay the most expensive
price, will raise an antique question about the price of a single human
life and measurability of ethical principles. From the aspect of film
directing, I strive for the balance between Authentic and Divine in
acting with a strong emotional answer based on love! Although set
in the past of Montenegro, this narrative strongly corresponds with
the current times: it is universal, relevant and suitable for the viewers
identification regardless of their place or social background. It is equally
understandable and meaningful for all as it deals with the best part of
us: dignity, principles and ethical values which must not be forgotten.
Secured Budget
244 500 €
Total Budget
585 000 €
Funding Body
Film Center of Montenegro
Ministry of Culture
of Montenegro
Film Center of Serbia
Center for the Preservation
and Development of Culture of
Minorities of Montenegro
Galileo production investment
From the point of view of directing, the film is based upon three
postulates:
- AUTHENTICITY: Specific characteristics of the customs with all the
details contained in “Besa” (Pledge of Honor), “tranquility of blood” and
“Canon”, shooting at authentic locations and insistence on authenticity
of the whole, reflexivity, and general expression.
- DURABILITY: questions which deal with confrontation of personal and
collective interest, family, and love. The characters, according to the
principles of their dramatic task – striving to belong to something bigger
than existence, are in quest for the timeless answer, ready to pay the
highest price.
- ATTRACTIVENESS: Apart from the film norms (ideas, characters,
conflicts), we believe that the directing of the film as a whole will for sure
be interesting both to the viewers and festival curators.
MILORAD RADENOVIC
PRODUCER
office@galileoproduction.com

GIANNIS IN THE CITIES
COUNTRY
GREECE
Logline
A Greek civil war child grows up in Childcare Cities where cold war
propaganda and feelings of abandonment, make him lose his inner self.
He struggles to heal his wound.
Short Synopsis
On the aftermath of the Greek Civil War, Giannis (8 years old), the son
of a rebel, is entrusted by his grandmother to the Childcare Cities within
the period 1949-1955.
Torn between the feeling of abandonment and the cold war
propaganda, the boy is in search of his identity, ending up believing
that his father, who he hopes is still alive, is not a rebel but a soldier of
the National Army. It’s only after leaving the Childcare Cities that he
discovers what the real world is like and succeeds, through internal
struggle, to redefine his sense of identity and his personal political
convictions. But in his heart persists a hidden anger and sorrow towards
his father, who has been absent from his life. Only at the age of 35
Giannis manages to overcome his internal denial and travels to Varna to
finally meet the absent father he has always longed for ...
Alongside this narrative, other people share similar fates, by testify their
experiences of lost childhood widespread during the second half of the
20th century.
Short Bio of the Director
ELENI ALEXANDRAKIS
PRODUCER &
DIRECTOR
elenialexandrakis@gmail.com
Eleni Alexandrakis, born in 1957 in Athens, studied film at the Sorbonne
University, Paris I and at the National Film and TV School of England.
She has written, directed and produced fiction films and documentaries.
Her films received prizes in Greece and abroad. Since 1986 she has the
production company POMEGRANATE FILMS.
Among her films: « A Drop in the Ocean» (Mionneto Film Award/
Forum / Berlin Film Festival, 1996), “Kostis Papagiorgis , the sweetest
misanthrope” (Panhellenic Association Critic’s Award / 20th Thessaloniki
Documentary Festival, 2018.)

Director`s Statement
Between past, present, reality, dreams and fantasy scenes, the film will
retrace the important moments of Giannis’ life, his coming of age and
his journey through his country’s History. The visual atmosphere will
reflect the boy’s psychology: the shots in the Childcare Cities will be
tight and claustrophobic and in black and white, while Giannis’ idyllic
dreams and ashbacks will be shot in wider angles, in color and warm
lighting. His dreams will gradually turn into discolored and overexposed
nightmares. The soundtrack will punctuate the narrative.
Secured Budget
160 000 €
Total Budget
1 250 000 €
Funding Body
Greek Film Center
To ensure resemblance of the three actors playing Giannis at different
ages we will organize rehearsals for all three of them together, so as to
create common details in their behavior. (They will all three bear a scar
on their foreheads, first appearing on the child’s face in scene no25).
My method for directing the children will be to explain to them in depth
what is being done so as to build a relationship of trust and make them
enjoy the process creatively. With a moving and alert camera, we will
capture their acting/non-acting.
As an introduction and inserted between chapters of the Giannis’ story
there will be authentic testimonies of Europeans who suffered in their
childhood similar experiences with Giannis, placing this Greek story into
a wider context. Seven people from Spain, North Macedonia, Bulgaria,
Poland, France/Reunion, East Germany and England, in close-up shots
on neutral backgrounds, will give their own testimony in their respective
languages. Like ghosts living within the ruins of their memory, the
shots of their faces will be superimposed with a stonewall. Thus the
documentary images of these witnesses will blend gently with the poetic
ensemble of the fiction film, but always on the child’s side and from the
child’s point of view.

HOTLINE
COUNTRY
KOSOVO
Logline
A young woman is stuck in the misogynistic web spun around her and
squeezing her into a quicksand of desolation. She has to decide how
deep does she have to sink, before she escapes.
Short Synopsis
EDONA a young woman in Kosovo is drifting between a university in
disarray, exploring drugs in parties and anger fueled anti-establishment
activism. Beside her macho boyfriend, she is having an affair with
Sebastian, a German professor, who is also in charge of a scholarship
program to Germany. Under pressure for her lifestyle from her
conservative father in the village she grew up in, she has to turn into a
chameleon to adapt. As a psychology student she confronts traumas
and scars from the war in a crisis-hotline and develops a special bond
with an ex-soldier with PTSD in his suicidal agony. She makes it her
mission to make him to come out in public with the atrocities he saw as
a healing process but when nevertheless loses him, her own hope and
redemption fade away.
Her brother turned into an Islamic fundamentalist abroad, comes
back and wants to lock her at home and stop her from studying.
Sebastian escapes away with Edona as her brother is chasing and
threatening them and drive to a neighboring country, where in the end
she even resorts to blackmailing to force Sebastian to sign her on that
scholarship, on her only ticket out.
Short Bio of the Director
DREN ZHERKA
DIRECTOR
dreninjo@gmail.com
Born 1980 in Kosovo. After he gathered experience in film at home in
Kosovo in 2003 he moved to New York and since 2007 he is living in
Berlin. Studied film directing in Filmarche in Berlin besides studying
European Ethnology in Humboldt University. Eho was his debut feature
film in 2016, that went on to win the Silver Zenith in First Films Category
in Montreal World Film Festival and was shown in several festivals
like: Mumbai Film Festival, Hofer Filmtagen, Prifest, and Durban
International, among others.

Director`s Statement
Youth, so much youth! Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe
with 53% of the population being under 25 years old, and that youth is
touted as the only real resource the country has to offer. But it is also
a generation caught between the dreams of freedom, and the reality
of corrupted politics, a ruined education system, poverty, and high
unemployment.
Within that hopelessness of that generation a lot of them want to leave
the country, and then young women find themselves in another battle
with a huge wall of masculinity and patriarchal mindset. Like so many
men growing up in Kosovo, it takes some time to step out of the picture
and actually see the deeply ingrained patriarchal and the dominant
sexism in a traditional society that women experience every day, and
that men take so much for granted as a way of life, they don’t even
actually notice it.
Secured Budget
286 00 €
Total Budget
750 000 €
Funding Body
Kosovo
Cinematography Center
N’Art Films
- Prishtina Municipality
HAVC
Woof Films
That’s why I want to tell a story about a young woman in Kosovo who
faces these hurdles and sees escape as a way to survive. On the other
hand, the ghosts of the war cling like a noose on the neck of societies
keeping them in the shade of the past. It’s on the generation of my
protagonist to face those ghosts, bring light and maybe in the future
leave the past behind in a new understanding, even though they are
reluctant to know much about war or care about something that for them
is so far away in the past.
All those experiences and poverty create underneath the warm surface
a very transactional society a rigid hard system of corruption that is
so difficult to overcome and where many see a way only in escaping
from it. But it is clear to me that no one can come out of this system
unscathed, and purely on his or her right. Edona doesn’t fight but gives
in, and exactly bowing down to the pressure of the system and playing
the game just to reach her goal of escaping it all, tells us more about the
system and what it does to individuals and youth within it.
BUJAR KABASHI
PRODUCER
bujar.kabashi@gmail.com

I LOVE YOU MORE
COUNTRY
KOSOVO
Logline
Ben, a gay teenager from Kosovo, is exhilarated to finally meet his first
love from Germany, Leo, when a green card lottery win causes his life
to take an unwelcome detour to America.
Short Synopsis
Ben, a cute but shy boy from a small town in Kosovo, is eager to finally
meet his first love from Germany, Leo. This excitement is quickly
crushed when Ben’s mom barges into his room shouting that they won
the Green Card Lottery. This once dream of Ben turns into a nightmare
because his family decides to move to America a month before Leo’s
visit.
Short Bio of the Director
ERBLIN NUSHI
DIRECTOR
Born in Peja Kosovo in 1992, Erblin started acting at ten years old. He
earned his B.A. from George Mason University where he studied film
with a concentration in directing, and a minor in photography. His short
film, BINI, won a Jury Prize at the 15th DC Shorts Film Festival and was
nominated for a Student Academy Award.
tiliaentertainment@gmail.com

Director`s Statement
I grew up in a country where being queer was unheard of. I saw my
first queer film when I was in high school. My life changed forever
because it was the first time I saw myself in a character on screen and
the way I was secretly feeling all those years.
Even though the numbers of LGBTQ films have increased since then,
the current desperation is the lack of relatable stories told and how we
see ourselves presented in those films.
Secured Budget
150 500 €
Total Budget
416 130 €
Funding Body
Kosovo
Cinematography Center
I wish I grew up watching films like “Call Me By Your Name” or “Love,
Simon” and find myself in those characters. With “I Love You More”
I intend to do just that, because I’m telling a story that I experienced
myself. Future teenage kids will not be the only ones that will see
themselves in my film, but anyone from around the world that dreams
to come to America. Kids whose parents work hard to bring their
family to the land of opportunity.
For those that struggle assimilating in a foreign country and starting
over from ground zero. I want to shine the light on those families that
were lucky to move to America through the Green Card Lottery.
I want to also show the hardships those families face when traditional
parents have not been exposed to LGBTQ communities or films to
know anything about how their queer child feels. This story examines
the joyous feelings of our first romantic love as teenagers. How
teenagers are willing to risk everything to be with someone because
at the time they are convinced they found the one that truly cares for
them.
LULZIM GUHELLI
PRODUCER
lulzim_guhelli@yahoo.com

JUDAS TREE
COUNTRY
ITALIA
Logline
Anna and her son Andrea, who survived a tragic car accident, devise a
cruel and psychological revenge against the man who caused the death
of their loved ones.
Short Synopsis
Anna is the only one that survives unharmed the accident that takes
the lives of her husband and her daughter, while the youngest son
Andrea loses both his lower limbs. After five years, mother and son are
enclosed in a profound incommunicability, sheltering feelings of revenge
towards the man who caused the accident.
Andrea’s only lifeline is music; the boy is part of a youth choir, as Agata
is. An understanding is established between them. What Agata ignores
is that due to a fortuitous circumstance Andrea began to doubt precisely
her father Augusto, a tenor of international fame, considering him guilty
of the accident, that makes him the only one responsible for the fate of
his family.
Thus, during an important concert held by Augusto, many miles away,
Anna and her son, holding under threat the whole man’s family, put him
in front of a choice: to publicly confess in front of his audience that he is
guilty of the double homicide or his family will die.
The man, even in this circumstance, will show his cowardice and
incredibly he will not be able to confess betraying his family, which in
turn and without his knowledge will not die but will abandon him forever,
leaving him alone struggling with his conscience full of shame.
Short Bio of the Director
ANTONIO DE PALO
DIRECTOR
antonio.a.depalo@gmail.com
Antonio De Palo graduated in directing at the European Rosebud
Academy for Cinema and Television in Rome. His short films have
been presented in over 50 countries and in over 200 festivals.
His latest short film “Le Abiuratrici”, with Valeria Solarino, is currently
being distributed. The short film will have its premiere at the 33rd edition
of the Braunschweig Film Festival.

Director`s Statement
The Judas Tree refers to the legendary episode according to which
Judas Iscariot gave the kiss of betrayal to Jesus under the tree of
the same name. Later, tormented by guilt, he hanged himself. The
vivid color of its flowers has remained in the memory like the color of
the blood of Judas, a symbol of betrayal: the sin of all sins.
The Judas Tree is the interpretation of the contemporary world in
which the measure of revenge lies in the unveiling of the man’s
infidelity. The loyalty, before being a bond with one another, to which
one relies, is an inner bond, a deal with yourself, which can manifest
its weakness in the moment of trial. As it happens to Augusto, who
could have behaved in another way, choosing to try to save his
family, at least tried to do something. The loyalty is measured by
actions, facts, the possibility to choose, without betraying yourself.
And this is how the betrayal of himself, of his conscience, as in
Augusto, announces the future betrayal of the others, of the good; or
of his family.
Secured Budget
62 000 €
Total Budget
610 500 €
Funding Body
Mediterraneo
Cinematografica
In this way, Anna and her son Andrea pursue a psychological and
profound revenge, they put the man in front of his conscience, they
put him once again in front of the possibility of choosing.
The project reminds the American Realism of Edward Hopper, in
which the subjects, set inside architectures and rigid geometric
shapes, come to light in sense of isolation, of solitude, given
precisely by the surrounding space. A representation in which the
profound sense of malaise of the onscreen characters of the story
is manifested.
FRANCESCO LATTARULO
PRODUCER
francesco@mediterraneocinematografica.it

MIMI
COUNTRY
NORTH MACEDONIA
Logline
A small town girl, who is infertile, becomes obsessed with her friend’s
newborn son, to a degree that she develops phantom pregnancy.
Short Synopsis
Mimi, an introvert girl who studies in Skopje, after a messy abortion in
her home town, became infertile.
She begins a toxic friendship with Sara - a restless extrovert, who
seems to have everything that she doesn’t. But, most importantly, she
has a baby.
Mimi’s repressed maternal instincts wake up, to the degree that her
body starts to physically change – her belly gets swollen, her breasts
bigger and full with milk - she develops a phantom pregnancy.
Her delusion results in total destruction of Sara, and stealing her son.
It is a psychological thriller about a young girl’s obsession, provoked by
the gender prejudice, and a society that is dominantly driven by greed
and superfluity.
Short Bio of the Director
Born in 1983, Darijan Pejovski is a writer/director based in Skopje,
Republic of North Macedonia. After graduating Film and TV directing, he
has made seven short films, a TV feature, and numerous commercials
for some of the most prominent clients in the country.
DARIJAN PEJOVSKI
DIRECTOR
darijan_pejovski@yahoo.com
In 2015, his first feature film “Three days in September” had its premiere
at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film was also shown at the
Chicago International Film Festival, Filmfestival Cottbus etc. He also
directed three TV series, most notably “The Family Markovski” in 2017.
The second season of the series is set to air in autumn, 2019.

Director`s Statement
I live in a city that’s constantly and dramatically changing, not only
demographically, but also architecturally. The turbulent social and
political events, the endless transition, the erosion of aesthetic
and moral qualities brought a rise in chauvinism and conservative
gender prejudices.
All of that made me create a character in which all of these problems
will reflect. It is not an accident she’s female, at an age when most
of us face the “big” life challenges for the first time.
Secured Budget
736.000,00 €
Total Budget
1.086.000,00 €
Funding Body
North Macedonia
Film Agency
That’s Mimi, a small town girl studying in Skopje. Instead of starting
over, away from the conservative macho community where women
are pointed at and stigmatized, she soon faces the same nightmare.
Deprived from motherhood, and surrounded by people who have
everything that she doesn’t, she is unable to achieve an emotional
balance in the new environment. Mimi dives more into her twisted,
dark world that eventually leads her to self-destruction.
This film treats provincialism, not like someone’s geographic origin,
but as a general comment on the time we live in. It is a dark fairytale
about greed as a dominant force in today’s society.
Although the story is pretty realistic and happens in today’s
Skopje, it will be told quite stylistically, through the eyes of Mimi:
claustrophobic interiors, crowded pavements, distorted reflections.
In this film, the city of Skopje echoes the confused emotional state of
the quiet and introvert girl, but also of the cynicism, hypocrisy, false
friendships. It may sound like a cliché, but the city is actually one of
the main characters.
Mimi is a film about the superfluity, about the false facade we show
to others. Usually, when the facade shines, the inside is rotten.
TOMI SALKOVSKI
PRODUCER
salkovski@sfs.mk

NO GOD, NO MASTER
COUNTRY
FRANCE
Logline
No God no Masters” a relentless twisted class-related melodrama of
endless demolition and renovation work, between reality and fantasy, in
a Athens basement fat.
Short Synopsis
Andi, an Albanian worker, is taken on by a young French-Greek
anarchist, to renovate with him his two broken-down lower-ground
floor apartments : time seems suspended, oscillating between thirst
for emancipation and need for deviation. A film about twisted class
relations, endless demolitions and renovations, between reality and
fantasy.
Short Bio of the Director
LOUKIANOS MOSHONAS
DIRECTOR
Born in 985 in Athens , he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon,
and Le Fresnoy in Lile. His shorts have been screened and awarded in
numerous festivals – New Directors New Films in NY, Janela, Angers
Documenta Madrid, Olhar de Cinema. Vila do Conde – while his last
two shorts “Manodopera” (2016) and “Young Man at Their Window”
(2017 ), both premiered at Locarno Film Festival. The later won the EFA
award for Best European short film .
loukianos@gmail.com

Director`s Statement
With this film, I’d like to show an astray part of Athens,
Its dark streets, its derelict bourgeois apartment buildings —once
vacant fields—, Its walls covered with posters or graffiti, as if to
mask poverty, resist anonymity,
Its streets, submerged by immigrants who fled dying regimes,
Secured Budget
10 000€
Total Budget
616 063 €
Funding Body
CNAP
Dreaming of a better life, living out of parallel economies,
Its feeble shop window’s neon lights, shining in the night like a
constellation,
Its streets, hallways, lower-ground floors leading nowhere, where
solitary souls roam, Where bitterness prowls, out of frustration and
resentment,
Where someone feels as if he’s disappearing into vastness,
And can go crazy, violent.
It’s in the shadows of a building like this, that Andi and Lucio meet.
They have nothing in common, but neither one wants to disappear
crushed, forgotten in the meanders of their worksite. They’d like to
break free from their past, give themselves, body and soul, to a land,
to another identity, a passion, a war — or alienate themselves.
EMMANUEL CHAUMET
DIRECTOR
chaumet@eccefilms.fr

PERHAPS
COUNTRY
NORTH MACEDONIA
Logline
…story of two beautiful women, whose dreams have been destroyed
by the brutal men they are connected to, and of their ultimate liberating
revenge.
Short Synopsis
PERHAPS… is a Macedonian neo noir set in the exotic and ethnically
diverse Old Turkish Bazaar of Skopje. It is a story of two beautiful
women, whose dreams have been destroyed by the three brutal men
they are connected to, and of their ultimate liberating revenge.
Ana, was a promising young painter, who is now literally the “slave”
and “prostitute” of her half-brother, the vicious Macedonian racketeer
Aco. Arta, was a talented Belgian ballerina who dreamt of a career
on Broadway. But, the material safety she hoped to find when she
married Refet, an Albanian antiques dealer she met in Bruxelles, came
with a heavy price tag. When he promised to take her to New York
immediately after a short stop in his native Macedonia, where he was
to do a small business deal with his childhood friend Aco, she had no
idea that she’d spend the next 3 years of her life inside the walls of a
traditional Albanian house in the Old Turkish bazaar. To get back at
her husband for her ruined life, Arta slept once with his cousin and
smuggling partner, Visar, who now uses that to force her into having
sex with him regularly, threatening to tell Refet everything if she refuses.
When there is no way out, her it takes a friend like Ana to do whatever’s
necessary to over the enslavement from the clutches of these men.
Short Bio of the Director
KASTRIOT AVDYLI
DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
Born in 1972 in North Macedonia, Kastriot Avdyli holds a BFA degree
in acting from the State University of Tetovo, in Macedonia; and MFA in
Directing from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Kosova in Pristina.
After producing and directing several film and documentaries, his first
feature film The Return (2017) made the festival round in International
Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Oldenburg International Film
Festival etc. “Perhaps” is his second feature film.
kabdyli@hotmail.com

Director`s Statement
PERHAPS is a story of this battle and its protagonists – the criminal
structures and honest people, whose dreams and moral virtues
vanish daily before the onslaught of the spiritual degradation created
by those criminal structures.
Such are the circumstances of harsh materialism and ruthless
treatment of others - prostitution, theft, drug trafficking, racketeering,
corruption and despair - which surround the two heroines of our film.
As they both find themselves trapped by circumstances which are
destroying their lives, their only hope lies within their true friendship,
and the false one existing amongst the men who have enslaved
them.
Secured Budget
487 805 €
Total Budget
802 452 €
Funding Body
North Macedonia
Film Agency
Needless to say, the above battle, which forms the basis of our
story, must be expressed visually. So, to depict the world of our
female protagonists (their softness, the light and warmth which still
shine inside them) we will use warmer lights and counter lighting.
On the other hand, for the dark and brutal materialistic world which
surrounds them we will use neon/dedo lights. The clash between the
two will create a rich visual experience.

THE RIVER
COUNTRY
GREECE
Logline
What is so called ‘ progress’ for him, is a threat for her.
Short Synopsis
The long Motorway crosses the city from one side to the other.
It oats like a river while it connecting two poles of two different worlds:
the modern world of the airport and the malls with the isolated, working
class settlements.
What is “progress” for Makis, is a threat for Maria.
A car accident brings them closer.
McNuggets even closer.
But it takes much more to be together.
Short Bio of the Director
HARIS RAFTOGIANNIS
DIRECTOR
Born in Athens. He studied Sociology at the University of Crete and
History of Cinema (MA, University of Crete). His short, mid-length and
documentary films True Blue (2016), Democracy: The Way of the Cross
(2013), A Silent Sea (2012), Seeders’ Seed (2011), On the Butcher’s
Bench (2006), and The Long Hall (2005)were selected for numerous
European film festivals and awarded in Greece.
harisraft@gmail.com

Director`s Statement
The River is an existential love story of two people, who struggle to
find themselves and their position in the world. A tragicomedy, about
two different worlds, two “opponents” and their way to be one.
Makis’ world is a colorful, Americanized place of wealth and much
waste, with typical road-movie spots: the big motorway, the big
cars, the fast food diners, the huge parking lots. Makis, devoted on
serving the common good, drives up and down the Motorway as a
lonely knight.
Secured Budget
100 000 €
Total Budget
750 000 €
Funding Body
The Greek Film Center
On the other pole lies Maria‘s tiny and isolated world, a Mad Maxlike
community, that survives mostly from the modern world’s waste.
Both worlds seem as solid environments for the two characters to
live in, as “a place to be”. But life is more chaotic. Just as like the
carefree birds that fly around. Their unique and strong eyesight will
warn them if something is wrong. But birds cannot discriminate a
very simple thing that stands in front of their eyes: the transparent
sound barriers along the Motorway (the River).
Makis and Maria will go on after their own crash, till they find their
way to be free.
ELENI KOSSYFIDOU
PRODUCER
eleni.kossyfidou@gmail.com

SABATTIER EFFECT
COUNTRY
NORTH MACEDONIA
Logline
A troubled teenager disturbs the fragile balance of a married
couple when she moves in to stay with them for couple of days.
Short Synopsis
University professors, Anna and Fillip are at a decisive point in their
marriage: Fillip wants children and Anna is not ready for that. Their
differences are clearly visible…. Their peace is disturbed by the arrival
of Maya, the daughter of their longtime friends, whom they haven’t
seen in a long time. What it starts as a couple in trouble evolves into
interesting and intriguing triangle that finally forces Anna decision to
leave, but not just from the house, but from their marriage that just
doesn’t make any sense any longer.
Short Bio of the Director
Eleonora Veninova is a screenwriter/director of award-winning short
fiction films, documentary films and TV Series. Her last film “The Sign”
has premiere at Director’s Fortnight in CANNES. Her films ‘Hairs’ and
‘Fighting for Death,’ both financed by the Macedonian Film Agency,
have won a dozen awards and screened at over 60 festivals around the
world, including Oscar/BAFTA/EFA qualifying festivals.
ELEONORA VENINOVA
DIRECTOR
eleonora.veninova@gmail.com
Eleonora graduated from California State University Northridge with MA
in Screenwriting. She is the co-creator/writer/director of the TV Series
‘Prespav,’ and a writer for several other Macedonian TV series. She is
currently developing her own series at Serial Eyes program in Berlin,
where she is currently based. Eleonora is working on her first feature
film ‘Sabattier Effect,’ financed by the Macedonian Film Agency, to be
shot in 2020

Director`s Statement
Sabattier Effect is a story about a love triangle between a married
couple and a teenager who’s just started to discover love and sex.
I like exploring love triangles because they are closest to what
I believe relationships would be like if it weren’t for the socially
imposed mores about monogamy. The problem with this triangle is
that Maya, the teenager, is not only underage, but she is also the
daughter of Anna and Fillip’s close friends. What complicates their
relationship more is the fact that for Fillip Maya’s visit is a test for
whether he and Anna are capable of looking after a child, something
that he desperately wants, but which presents a terrible burden for
Anna in their relationship.
Secured Budget
381 264 €
Total Budget
910 000 €
Funding Body
Macedonian Film Agency
Film Center Serbia
DNF Films
Living Pictures
I see this film as an intimate portrait of the three characters where
their inner conflicts and dilemmas would be explored through details,
pouring of vine, chopping tomatoes, handling of photographs,
unintentional physical interaction and similar gestures that reflect
their inner state. The dominant emotion that I want to capture with
camera is the restrained desire for someone/something that troubles
all three. The camera follows them in order to capture their intimate
moments, so I would feature many shots where the characters are
alone, doing their thing, while actually having a silent monologue
that’s a continuation of the conversations from previous scenes and
dialogues.
The film is equally focused on the relationships between all three
characters, with Anna in the middle of the triangle, whereas Maya
with her sexual confusion is a catalyst for the conflict between Fillip
and Anna. There are a lot silent moments in the film. Whenever
there is music, it’s Maya’s music, the melancholic ambient pop
sounds that captures her mood and desire for intimacy.
GOCE KRALEVSKI
PRODUCER
gkralevski@gmail.com

SEX CUT
COUNTRY
ALBANIA
Logline
VERA embarks on a personal fight.
A young woman trying to question and discover her own freedom, in a
moralistic, misogynistic society packet with rules.
Where there is no room for individualism and sexual desires are
subdued, she manages to come out as winner, only to remain a victim
of her own passion.
Short Synopsis
At the height of the Cold War, Vera, 27, works at the Public Television
in the censorship department. Her daily task consists of watching
foreign feature films before movies are screened to the public, edit and
cut all erotic scenes, and even alter the end of the films if necessary.
But when Vera tries to emulate the sexual fantasies she’s censoring,
her husband starts to believe she’s having an affair. In a dictatorship,
where discussing SEX is considered taboo, Vera falls into jeopardy from
powerful people who misinterpret her desire of freedom.
Short Bio of the Director
ENO MILKANI
DIRECTOR
enomilkani@gmail.com
Eno Milkani was born march 5, 1969 in Tirana, Albania. After the high
school studies for Fine Arts continued the Academy of Arts of Tirana
for theater directing. After the studies he followed the European Film
College in Ebeltoft Denmark, during the year 1992. Returning back in
Albania he started working as a cameraman for several documentaries
and promotional material. He is a co-founder of the film company
“Bunker Film”. In 2001 his first short film “Abandoned Eden” was in
competition in Karlovy Vary IFF and multi awarded in several Film
Festivals as Molodist IFF in Ukraine, Brindisi Film Festival, Tirana IFF
etc. In 2008 together with Piro Milkani released the film “Sorrow of
Madame Shnajder” as a co-director and editor of the film. In 2007 he
wrote and directed “The Saint” a short film. As Producer he produced
the short films “Beyond the River” and “ANA”. His latest feature as
Producer is OPEN DOOR an Albanian, Kosovo, Italian, Macedonian
coproduction Directed by Florenc Papas, which had the World Premiere
in Sarajevo IFF in 2019.

Director`s Statement
Visually the film be characterized from a smooth long shot trying to
present at its best the characters in what they do and how they live and
the environment, according its historical period.
The color palette will change from warm to green by the end of the film.
The opening scene will be quiet and simple in order to accommodate
and explain to the audience the lifes and personalities of the characters
that step by step will enter in conflict with each other. In
the film there is two worlds for Vera. One is at home with her husband
where she builds her life and feels very comfortable. Her home and at
her parents are the places where she feels loved, especially at night
where she thinks that she can control her life. Peace in a shallow warm
light fuel these living places. In the opposite the place of work and
outside is the other world where she does not feel comfortable. The
outside is very harsh because she is told all the time what to do. At the
moment she decides to oppose the others she will not be the same, and
all this will be noticeable by the photography point of view and colors.
Almost every scene will start peacefully to later escalate in a small
conflict, and altogether by the end will grow up into a bigger conflict
where resolution is very imminent.
The scenes at open sea on the ship the camera will wobble following
the waves to bring the feeling of freedom. The shots will be wide and
colorful where everybody wants to be, but this privilege is given not
to anyone. Returning from the ship and the trip on the open sea the
shots will be more closeups in a way to feel the difference.
In some scenes the film will deliberately will use the magic realism in
order to explain better the inner world of the main character, and visually
going beyond the real world where the main characht6er is forced to
live.
However the magic realism will not be used on its own but it will evolve
inside specific scenes. This will be used in order to point more to the
audience the real feel of the main character and explain more her
general fear. Every scene will be connected by the logical joints of the
dramatic structure by not allowing harsh jump cuts in the story telling,
though the whole story evolves in a period of six weeks.
Secured Budget
61 500 €
Total Budget
581 500 €
Funding Body
Bunker Film
Albascript
Lupin Film, Italy
VINCENZO FILIPPO
PRODUCER
vincenzo@lupinfilm.com

THE VULTURES
COUNTRY
SLOVENIA
Logline
What happens when team-building stops being a game? In an isolated
mountain cabin, seven elite lawyers get to know the real answer.
Short Synopsis
In an isolated mountain cabin, seven arrogant lawyers discover
that their team-building is not a reward, but a punishment for their
wrongdoing. When presented with the task of finding the culprit, a
whirlwind of calamitous events begins. After the snowstorm passes,
they realise they have become dependent on the only other human
being around - a mysterious foreigner, whose dark skin is in stark
contrast with the snowy whiteness surrounding them.
Short Bio of the Director
VIDA BREŽE
DIRECTOR
info@bladeproduction.com
Vida Breze is a director / writer / actor based in London.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Directing Fiction in Goldsmith College,
University of London.
With her acting background she’s passionate about achieving genuine
and fresh performance of actors that she works with. She also has an
equally deep commitment to achieving highest value of visual aesthetic
based on a compelling storytelling.
She has been working through wide range of visual formats and genres
from documentary, drama, to variety of videos and adds and achieved
high acclaim for her work.

Director`s Statement
The story of The Vultures completely enthralled me because of its
emotional intensity, how it relates to my own personal experience
and the incredible aesthetic opportunities that it has to offer.
It also dissects modern society through the language of the
psychological thriller.
My aim is to pull the viewer out of their comfort zone and take them
on a rollercoaster ride where the rules of society get overrun by the
savageness of human nature.
Secured Budget
34 500 €
Total Budget
650 000 €
Funding Body
Blade Production
Motion
Viktorija Films
The film will have two aspect ratios. 2.35:1 at the beginning and the
end and 1.37:1 in the middle in order to emphasise the feelings of
the struggle that our characters must go through. My intent is to use
central framing, a carefully chosen colour palette, with soft light at
the beginning of the film which gradually increases in contrast.
In building the atmosphere, suspense, and spectators’ identification
with characters, I want to place high importance on the sound
design. I also want to use a jazzy sounding accordion as a lead
instrument because of its vast emotional range of expression.
The explicit portraying of gore will be avoided as much as possible.
The cast will be led to a minimalist and genuine performance, which
will convincingly convey the interrelations of the characters and
express the uniqueness and emotional spectre of each of them.
ZORAN DŽEVERDANOVIĆ
PRODUCER
dzeverdanovic@gmail.com

woMEN
COUNTRY
GERMANY
Logline
Women in the patriarchal society of Albania. Different lifes, one mutual
decision: to give up femininity in the name of honor, freedom and
responsibility - to live as a man, to be a Sworn Virgin.
Short Synopsis
woMEN is a film about the “Sworn Virgins” of Albania, who have
chosen to live their lives as men, each driven by a different cause.
Predominantly, this is not a sexual decision, but based on social and
economic needs. In Albania, women have very limited rights. Few of
them are not willing to accept these restrictions. They fall back on a 600
years old tradition, swear an irreversible oath, become a sworn virgin
and get the same rights as men. Over time the women change not only
mentally but also physically.
Our documentary accompanies the audience into the world of the sworn
virgins. It is a movie about freedom and suppression, about the search
for individual happiness, about overcoming natures given but also about
the risk of failing existentially due to this non-reversible life decision.
Short Bio of the Director
KRISTINE NRECAJ
BIRTHE TEMPLIN
DIRECTOR
Kristine Nrecaj studied Film Science at Freie Universität Berlin. She
produced and directed the documentary KOSOWO that received a
theatrical release in 2003. She graduated from the screenwriter school
Berlin in 2010. 2014 her short film OF DOGS AND LIONS was shown
at national and international film festivals. The film received awards for
Best Director and Best Actress. Birthe Templin grew up in Northern
Germany and Argentina. She studied at the London Film Academy and
the Andzrej Wajda Master School of Film Directing, Warsaw.
After the fiction short LÜBBOS WIFE IS WAITING, she changed to
the documentary format. Her movies are shown on TV, at international
film festivals, have won awards. The documentary WHAT REMAINS is
acclaimed at important Holocaust Memorials and libraries worldwide.
kristine@nrecaj.de

Director`s Statement
My great-aunt was a Burrnesha from Mirdita. This tradition
will always be a part of my family history. Although I was born
in Germany, it was always my profound need to dive into the
country of my ancestors and show their stories to the world.
In our work we attach great importance to treat our protagonists
respectfully, to offer them a space where they can show
themselves and tell their story. Without being commented from
the outside. We give the dramaturgical structure, yet we work
with what shows up rather than following fixed guidelines.
Tradition and modernity are combined, such as the adaptation
of the fairy tale “The girl that became a boy”, which is recorded
as a musical theme by classical Albanian instruments like the
Cifteli, Kaval, the Lodra but composed in a modern way.
Secured Budget
275 000
Total Budget
340 000 €
Funding Body
FFA Treatment Development Fund
German Ministery of Culture (BKM)
Nordmedia- DFFF Germany
(automatic fund)
Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg
FFF Bayern
Presales
Own Investment
We combine fine, intimate portraits with large cinemascope
images, to give the audience mental space. The visual
expressiveness of the Burrneshas in combination with the
Albanian landscape, which contrasts the architecture of New
York. The film will be poetic, beautiful, funny and painful. But it
gives hope for what is to come.
KATRIN SPRINGER
PRODUCER
k.springer@filmkantine.de

Ministry of Cultural Heritage,
Activities and Tourism
MiBACT
Since 1974, Direzione Generale
Cinema – MiBACT Directorate-
General Cinema (DG Cinema) is
one of the 11 Directorate-Generals
of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage
and Activities (MiBACT), DG Cinema.
MiBACT supports the creation,
production, distribution and circulation
of film and audiovisual works, supports
the opening and modernisation
of cinemas and the adaptation of
technical industries to technological
developments, and helps to establish
Italy’s position in relations with the
institutions of the European Union
and other international institutions. It
also promotes Italy’s image (including
for the purposes of tourism) through
film and audiovisual works, supports
professional training and moving
image education, and studies and
analyses the film and audiovisual
sector.
The main legislative tool the State
uses to intervene in the sector is Law
No. 220 of 14 November 2016 which
governs financial support for the sector
and all the administrative functions
for granting acknowledgments and
administrative procedures.
As well as managing the funds
provided for by the Law, DG Cinema
– MiBACT represents Italy before
EU, the Council of Europe, other
international bodies and international
funds that issue supranational support
to the sector (Eurimages, Ibermedia,
Creative Europe – the MEDIA subprogramme).
DG Cinema – MiBACT also manages
bilateral funds with similar institutions
in other countries to support the
development of international coproductions.
DG Cinema – MiBACT supports
Istituto Luce-Cinecittà S.r.l.,
the Fondazione La Biennale di
Venezia, the Centro Sperimentale
di Cinematografia, the Museo
nazionale del Cinema Fondazione
Maria Adriana Prolo-Archivi di
fotografia, cinema ed immagine,
and the Fondazione Cineteca di
Bologna.
DG Cinema – MiBACT hosts the
Film Commissions’ coordination
body and, in partnership with DG
Tourism and the Film Commissions
themselves, oversees the portal
on locations and on national and
regional production incentives
https://www.italyformovies.it/
Contact info:
Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività
Culturali e del Turismo
Direzione Generale Cinema
Address:
Piazza Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme, 9A
00185 Rome, Italy
Telephone: +39 06 67233400
Email: dg-c@beniculturali.it
Website: www.cinema.beniculturali.it

Anica, Associazione Nazionale
Industrie Cinematografiche
Audiovisive e Multimediali
Italian Film And Audiovisual
Multimedia Industries
Association
Founded in 1944, ANICA (National
Association of Film and Audiovisual
Industry) is the association which
represents Italian film and audiovisual
multimedia industries when dealing
with political and union institutions;
while also establishing relations with
all the key players in the promotion of
films and communication products in
Italy and abroad. ANICA is member
of Confindustria (the Italian Industry
Confederation), actively representing
the film industry.
The association is divided into three
sections: producers, distributors and
technical enterprises (printing and
development, film studios and soundsets,
equipment rental, editing, audio
and video post-production, dubbing
and transport).
ANEM (the National Association
of Theatre Owners), Cartoon
Italia (Association of Animation
Producers), and UNEFA (Union of
Film and Audiovisual Exporters) are all
adherents of ANICA.
As the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences’ representative
in Italy, ANICA selects Italy’s Oscar
candidate for Best Foreign Film. It is
also a founding partner of the “David di
Donatello” Award, as well as, being a
part of AGICOA (the Association for the
International Collective Management of
Audiovisual Works).
Furthermore, ANICA is a permanent
member of FAPAV (the Italian
Audiovisual and Multimedia
Protection Federation). It has
enhanced offices, offering services
required to meet the needs of
its members, that deal with the
changing economic and technological
environment: tax benefits for those
who invest in the production and
distribution of Italian cinema, access
to credit, relations with regional and
local institutions, studies, quantitative
analysis and context information
related to specific instruments for
the audiovisual sector. In terms of
International promotion, ANICA,
in collaboration with the public
institutions in charge, is consolidating
itself in seasoned markets and
opening new opportunities for the
internationalization of audiovisual
companies, and particularly, of Italian
audiovisual products.
With this goal in mind, ANICA – in
conjunction with the APT (Association
of Television Producers), with the
support of the Ministry for Economic
Development, the Ministry of Cultural
Heritage and Tourism, Italian Trade
Agency (ICE) and Regione Lazio –
has developed MIA, the International
Audio-Visual Market, which takes
place in autumn in Rome.

UNIONE EUROPEA
REGIONE PUGLIA

Italian-Albanian
Co-Productions
FEATURES
L’America by Gianni AMELIO
Mario e Vittorio Cecchi Gori / MIBAC
ANCC – 1994
Hotel Dajti by Carmine FORNARI
CAVIAR PRODUZIONI / MIBAC
Fasada – 2001
Letters In The Wind by Edmond BUDINA
ASP, Dodici Dicembre, Erafilm
MIBAC -2003
Dear Enemy by Gjergj Xhuvani
Akkord Film, AGV, Les Films de Cinéma
ANCC -2003
East West East by Gjergj XHUVANI
High Point, AGV & Fast Rewind / MIBAC
ANCC – 2009
HoneyMoons by Goran PASKALJEVIC
Nova Film, SkaNdal
AFC / ANCC -2009
Ballkan Bazar by Edmond BUDINA
Erafilm, Mediaplex Italia / ANCC -2011
The Last Wish by Namik AJAZI
Mediavision, C.I.C. Communications \
ANCC – 2014
Bota by Iris ELEZI & Thomas LOGORECI
Erafilm, Partner Media / MIBAC
ANCC -2014
Sworn Virgin by Laura BISPURI
Vivo Film, Colorado Film
Prod., Bord Cadre Films,
Erafilm / MIBAC - 2015
Distant Angels by Gjergj XHUVANI
Cineteca di Bologna / ANCC -2015
Broken by Edmond BUDINA
B Film, Revolver, K.T.FILM&MEDIA
MIBAC / ANCC – 2016
Forgive Us Our Debts
by Antonio MORABITO
La Luna Srl, Peacock Film Ag, SkaNdal,
Agresywna Banda
MIBAC / ANCC -2016
A Shelter Among the Clouds
by Robert BUDINA
Erafilm, / ANCC – 2017
The Unfinished Portrait of C. B.
by Namik AJAZI
Mediavision, Movimento Film
MIBAC / ANCC -2017
Money Game by Antonio MORABITO
Filter Film
MIBAC 2017/ ANCC -2017
My Lake by Gjergj Xhuvani
Cineteca di Bologna MIBAC/ANCC 2017

SHORTS,
REALIZED IN
COLLABORATION
WITH AFC *
Contromano by Andamion MURATAJ
Lissus & AFC – 2014
Sue Proprie Mani
by Adrian PACI & Roland SEJKO
Propaganda & AFC – 2014
HUMANISTA
by Nico ANGIULI & Fabrizio BELLOMO
OnFilm Prod. & AFC -2014
FULL LENGTH
DOCUMENTARIES
La Nave Dolce by Daniele VICARI
Indigo, AFC, Rai, SkaNdal – 2012
The Ship by Roland SEJKO
Propaganda, Ist. Luce / ANCC – 2012
The Awaiting by Roland SEJKO
Digitalb, Ist. Luce / ANCC – 2015
*AFC - Apulia Film Commission
*MiBACT - Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism
*ANCC - Albanian National Center of Cinematography

T

BAL
KAN
FILM
CEN
ERFOCUS
MONTENEGRO

The Film Centre of Montenegro has been in existence for over
a year, which may sound somewhat unbelievable.
Among many positive outcomes, the most important is the
promotion of Montenegro as a ready and committed partner
on the regional and European scene. In the previous period,
which, in terms of rhythm and challenges on the road, reminds
us of John Ford’s “Stagecoach”, we managed to form a team,
set up a new film fund, organize support for film production at
different stages and types, cooperate with regional and European
institutions and participate in various initiatives and projects.
We are proud that we succeed in supporting and cooperating,
in different ways, with our neighboring countries:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo,
Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, and slowly, I hope,
expand the framework of co-production cooperation. Soon,
Montenegro becomes a member of Eurimages, and thus
rounds up the international network framework.
The future of the cinema of the region is, above all, in
cooperation at all levels and in different models, which stands
as the most important goal in front of us. As the best examples
from Europe prove time and again, the limited capacity
production countries, among which Montenegro is a specific
micro-cinema, increase their professional capacities, create
more attractive contents and realize the interested market only
through comprehensive collaboration and exchange. In the
following period, we must further explore models of possible
cooperation and learn through the exchange of experience.
The Balkan Film Market is, in this sense, a great place to meet
and launch new initiatives.
Sehad Cekic
Director Film Center of Montenegro

DUC
ILM
PRO
TION

ALBANIAN
COM
PANI
ES

90 Production
Bujar Alimani
0697252161
alimanifilm@hotmail.com
A. A.
Aida Kasemi
0682048417
aidakasemi@yahoo.com
A.B FILM
Adele Budina
0693531988
adelebudina@gmail.com
A.R Production
Ajola Daja
0695203319
ajoladaja.ad@gmail.com
Action Production
Gerta Qurku
0692039544
gertaqurku@yahoo.com
ALBASKY FILM
Paskal Semini
0684626416
paskalsemini@gmail.com
Albimazh (albimages) Studio
Kreshnik Hashorva
0692031531
albimagestudio@yahoo.com
Anima Pictures
Amantia Peza
0696086005
amantia.peza@anima.al
Ardit Sadiku Films
Ardit Sadiku
0685743312
ardisad@gmail.com
ART FILM
Emir Gramo
0684016821
turkeshiemira@gmail.com
ARTALB Film Production
Gentian Koçi
0692321352
artalbfilm@gmail.com
B&G Film Production
Besnik Bisha
0692059993
besnikbisha@yahoo.com
Big Screen Production
Gerian Kuka
0692021870
gerian.kuka@aed.al
BLACK BOX
Tan Kazazi
0676094339
tan_kazazi@hotmail.com
Black Stubborn Sheep
Saimir Gongo
0683830248
saimir77@yahoo.com
Bota Shqiptare
Genti Gjonaj
0682065280
gentgjonaj@yahoo.com
Bunker Film +
Eno Milkani
0682080356
enomilkani@gmail.com
CINEMANIA
Jaklid Gace
0685098650
contact@cinemania-al.com
CREATIVE BOX
Ermir Destani
0692277994
ermir.destani@gmail.com
D’ART+
Gledis Bica
0676013103
gledisbica@gmail.com
Eclipse SA Film Production
Spartak Pecani
0692081784
takpecani@yahoo.com
Edit 4
Vjolana Murataj
0676356969
violanamurataj@gmail.com
EJF Production
Jonid Jorgji
0694063304
jjorgji@gmail.com
ELEMENT STUDIOS
Regis Canaimeri
0692318142
elementstudios.al@gmail.com

Emblem
Eliodor Markja
0682000678
emarkja@emblem.al
Era Film
Sabina Kodra
0692055550
sabinakodra@gmail.com
Erë Film
Mihal Rama
0682169171
erefilm@hotmail.com
EuroFilm
Vladimir Prifti
0674155207
ladprifti@gmail.com
Filterfilm
Parid Andoni
0692030309
paridjanis@yahoo.com
Fotokozmos
Dhori Jano
0675566806
fotokozmos@albaniaonline.com
Gentius Film
Genti Kame
0694030120
contact@gentikame.com
Grishaj Film Production
Adi Grishaj
0675507633
adigrishaj@gmail.com
Gulf Production
Omid Karimi
0696002000
www.gulfproalbania.com
Hija Film
Irdit Kaso
0696740567
irdit.kaso1@gmail.com
Idea
Ilir Harxhi
0672000099
harxhiilir@yahoo.com
Kaçak
Anila Balla
0697537338
anilaballa@live.com
KAVALO STUDIO
Endri Dani
0693014189
endri_dani@hotmail.com
Kinostudio DarDan
Ina Zoto
0696090690
info@dardan.al
KKOCI Productions
Fatmir Koci
0698805026
kocifatmir6@gmail.com
KONCENTRAT
Ervin Çoba
0695243841
koncentratmcs@gmail.com
Kube Studios
Erfort Kuke
0672050031
ekuke@kubestudios.com
Lissus Media
Andamion Murataj
0697447031
lissusmedia@gmail.com
Makers Production
Mateus Çingi
0694333345
mateocingu31@gmail.com
Maku
Artan Maku
0672021634
maku.production@yahoo.com
Media Vizion
Genc Dulaku
0692026371
gdulaku@icc-al.org
MEDIAVISION
Namik AJAZI
04 2415996
niko_ajazi@yahoo.com
Mov(i)e On
Artan Malaj
0692184338
artanmalaj@gmail.com
ULTI MEDIA STUDIO NOSITI
Edmond Topi
0692036190
infonositi@gmail.com

O2 Movie Production
Erion Bubullima
0672326002
erionbubullima@gmail.com
ON FILM PRODUCTION
Dritan Huqi
0692056175
tanhuqi@gamil.com
ORA FILM
Kujtim Çashku
0692057119
kujtim@afmm.edu.al
Papadhimitri Film Production
Dionis PAPADHIMITRI
0672060422
papadhimitrifilmproduction@gmail.com
PARTIZANI PRODUCTION
Herta Basha
0696568971
partizaniproduction@gmail.com
Pika Pro
Albert Malltezi
0692086666
amalltezi@pikaproduction.com
Pro Motion Studio
Valbona Xhelili
0689010854
xhelilivalbona@yahoo.com
Production Cinemania
Steljo Gace
0675629285
cinek_roshi@yahoo.com
PROJEKT-SXHJ
Elida Maku
0672070957
elida_pajovi@yahoo.com
Silver Dream Productions
Artur Gorishti
0674646099
silverdreamproduction@gmail.com
SKA-NDAL
Elida RASHA
0692238956
rashaelida@yahoo.it
SOFILMS
Lorina Pepo
0685050445
lori.pepo@gmail.com
TEO FILM
Atina Laco
0697574968
teofilm.contact@gmail.com
Tirana Film Institute
Agron Domi
0672088771
gondomi@yahoo.com
Tunnelfilm
Florenc Papas
0699337607
tunnelfilm@gmail.com
VIDEOLINE
Endrit Delisula
0692269858
edelisula@gmail.com
YLLIRI Films
Astrit Hykaj
069427045
shekulliiri@yahoo.com
Zig-Zag Film
Mevlan Shanaj
0686047877
mevlanshanaj@gmail.com
R&T ADVERTISING
Adrian Ruci
0692032073
aruci@rtadvertising-al.com
S K FILM
Saimir Kumbaro
0692092001
saimirkumbaro@gmail.com
SHOWS AND PUBLICITY PRODUCTION
Marco Truppa
0693070200
saimir77@yahoo.com

BFM
www.balkanfilmmarket.com

ILM
FEST
VALS
N ALB
NI

Contact
Njësia 5, Pall.1 Maji
Shk.18/54, 01101
Tirana-ALBANIA
+355672088771
info@tiranafilmfest.com
www.tiranafilmfest.com
Contact
+355 (0) 682147062
www.anifestrozafa.al
artanmaku@anifestrozafa.al
arturdauti@anifestrozafa.org
Contact
+355682070701
enomilkani@gmail.com
www. filmfreeway.com
Contact
Email: info@deafilmfest.al
infonositi@gmail.com
Tel: +355 69 20 36 90
facebook: deafilmfestival
Contact
Rruga Aleksandër Moisiu
nr.78, Kinostudio
Tirana, Albania
+35542365188
info@ihrffa.net
www.ihrffa.net
Contact
Korça, Albania
info@koshfest.com
www.koshfest.com

UDIO
UAL
VI
SE
RVI
ES
IN ALBANIA

Contact
+355 68 20 48 417
aidakasemi@yahoo.com
office@aafilmfilmcompany.com
www.aafilmfilmcompany.com
Contact
Autostrada Tr-Dr, Km 7
Tirana, Albania
+355 696090690
info@dardan.al
www.dardan.al
Contact
Str Myslym Shyri,
P. 55/1 Shk1 Ap 3
Tirana, Albania
+355672060422
www.papadhimitriproduction.com
Contact
Rr. Mihal Duri No. 123/3
Zip. 1000, Tirana, Albania
+ 355 67 20 21 649
www.kubestudios.com
contact@kubestudios.com
Contact
Tel:+355 69 20 22903
Mail: Info@provideo.al
spironino@provideo.al
www.provideoalbania.com

OTHER
INEMA
OGRA
PHIC
NSTITU
ION

Contact
Rr .Aleksandër Moisiu,
No.76/1,
Tirana, Albania
info@aqshf.gov.al
www.aqshf.gov.al
Contact
Addr: Rr. Abdyl Frasheri,
P. Pegaso, Shk.1, Ap.35,
Tirana, Albania
+355 672088771
albaniafilmcommission.com
Contact
thealbaniancinemaproject.org
Facebook
The Albanian Cinema Project

OUR AIM IS TO ACCOMPANY OUR
CLIENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS
nilorfilm@icloud.com

ANDAMION MURATAJ
BFM DIRECTOR
andamion.murataj@balkanfilmmarket.com
RAFAELA RICA
BFM MANAGING
DIRECTOR
rafaela.rica@balkanfilmmarket.com
ILIR BUTKA
BFM INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
ilir.butka@balkanfilmmarket.com
MAJLINDA TAFA
BFM COORDINATOR
majlinda.tafa@balkanfilmmarket.com
SUELA TUCI
BFM PROJECT MANAGER
KEJSI KURANI
BFM HOSPITALITY
hospitality@balkanfilmmarket.com
BFM TEAM
LONDI ZIKO
BFM DIGITAL MARKETING
SPECIALIST
EDVIN QEFALIA
BFM DESIGNER

This catalog and other promotional materials for BFM 2019
were made possible thanks to the contribution of the following
institutions, to which we are deeply grateful:

info@balkanfilmmarket.com
www.balkanfilmmarket.com