AGORA INDUSTRY (November 2-9, 2013) is an industry event offering various networking opportunities for the global film industry in an informal, welcoming and professional atmosphere. As an international meeting and trading event, AGORA INDUSTRY runs parallel to the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and offers to its visiting industry professionals a variety of industry activities:

The Crossroads Co-Production Forum (November 5-9)

The Agora Works in Progress - Screening of films in post-production (November 7)

The Agora Film Market with a Digital Video Library (November 2-9)

All Industry activities focus on the countries of Central Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean.

CROSSROADS, the Co-Production Forum headed by Marie-Pierre Macia, has selected 16 projects this year, based on the quality of the script, the creative team and the likelihood of it being produced. All selected projects are either produced or co-produced by a country in South-eastern and Central Europe or the Mediterranean area, or contain story elements linked to these regions. The selected projects come from the following countries: Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Serbia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

The producers of these 16 projects will be introduced to a variety of industry professionals from all over the world. The program is varied and provides opportunities to meet other producers, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents and consultants. CROSSROADS’ goal is to support the producers of feature-length film projects that are linked to the Mediterranean and Balkan regions in finding the right partners to finance and accomplish their projects. The Crossroads Awards are:

The Greek post-production house Two Thirty Five offers the main prize of a co-production award (image and sound post) to the winning project

CNC offers 7.000 euro for project development.

The Producer’s Network of the Cannes IFF offers a free accreditation for the Producer’s Network in the Cannes Film Festival 2014.

Sofia Meetings of the Sofia IFF will select one project to be presented in March at the Sofia Meetings 2014.

The Mediterranean Film Institute Script 2 Film Workshops offers a scholarship for its next round of Script 2 Film Workshops to one of the projects.

Initiative Film, a scrip-development consultancy firm in France, offers its services to one of the projects.

The 2013 Crossroads jury consists of:

Peter Carlton, producer - Warp Films, UK

Amanda Livanou, producer - Beben Films, Greece

Alesia Weston, former Sundance Film Institute executive, USA

This year’s projects are: 

1. Another Paradise, Director: Nana Janelidze, Producers: Rusudan Glurjidze & Ekaterina Jojua, Cinetech Film Production/N&N Studio, Georgia 

2. Chlorine, Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Producers: Damiano Ticconi & Ginevra Elkann, ANG Film/Asmara Films, Italy 

3. Disorder, Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese, Producer: André Logie, Tchin Tchin Production, France

4. Echoes, Directors: Amikam Kovner & Assaf Snir, Producer: Keren Michael, Handsome Serge Productions, Israel

5. Fair Play, Director: Konstantina Voulgari, Producer: Eleni C. Afentaki, MITOS, Greece

6. Frankenstein (A Death Odyssey), Director: Costas Zapas, Producer: Gregory Athanasiou, Minus Pictures, Oticons, Rappasfilms, Greece/Germany

7. Fellini, Director: Karolos Zonaras, Producer: Lefteris Danikas, Zonaras Productions, Greece

8. The German Cakemaker, Director Ofir Raul Graizer, Producer: Itai Tamir, Laila Films, Israel

9. The Girl Next Door, Director: Rinio Dragasaki, Producers: Konstantinos Kontovrakis & Fenia Cossovitsa, Blonde Productions, Greece

10. God Protect My Daughter, Director: Leyla Bouzid, Producer: Sandra da Fonseca, Blue Monday Productions, Tunisia/France

11. A History of Women, Director: Ülkü Oktay, Producer: Onur Ünlü,  Eflatun Film, Turkey

12. Revolution, Director: Wissam Charaf, Producer: Charlotte Vincent, Aurora Films, France/Egypt

13. The Sea and its Waves, Directors: Liana Kassir & Renaud Pachot, Producer: Abla Khoury, Ginger Production, Co-producer: Mathieu Mullier Grifiths, Kafard Films, Lebanon/France

14. The Satellites, Director: Nenad Mikalacki, Producer: Pascaline Saillant, 25 Films, France/Serbia

15. Waterloo, Director: Miguel Angel Jimenez, Producer: Gorka Gomez Andreu, Kinoskopik, Spain

16. The Veteran, Director: Zacharias Mavroeidis, Producer: Phaedra Vokali, Marni Films, Greece

The AGORA WORKS IN PROGRESS are closed sessions for Thessaloniki’s invited industry professionals, presented to sales agents, distributors, producers and festival representatives. 12 films have been selected from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, FYROM, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Israel, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.

Graal S.A, a leading post-production house in Greece, will provide the winning film of the Works in Progress section with post–production services. Previous recipient of the Graal Award was Annemarie Jacir’s second feature film When I Saw You, which will be screened in this year’s Open Horizons section.

The 2013 Agora Works in Progress Jury consists of:

Matthieu Darras, Festival Programmer - San Sebastian IFF, Spain

Olivier Heitz, International Acquisitions - MK2, France

Konstantina Vonorta, producer - Graal, Greece

This year’s films are:

1. The Curve, Director: Rifqi Assaf, Producer: Rula Nasser, The Imaginarium Films, Co-producer: Mohammad Hefzy, Film Clinic, Jordan/Egypt

2. Factory Girl, Director: Mohamed Khan, Producer: Mohamed Samir Sayed, DayDream Art Production, Egypt

Factory Girl participated in the Crossroads Co-production Forum in 2012

3. Home Work, Director: Athanassios Karanikolas, Producers: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Lasse Sharpen, Oxymoron Films, Greece/Germany

4. Impressions of A Drowned Man, Director-Producer: Kyros Papavassiliou, dryTree Films, Co-producer: Monica Nicolaidou, Filmblades, Cyprus

5. The Judgement, Director: Stephan Komandarev, Producer: Stephan Komandarev, Argo Film, Co-producer: Alexander Ris, Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, Bulgaria/Germany/ Croatia/FYROM

The Judgement participated in the Crossroads Co-production Forum in 2008

6. Lazar, Director: Svetozar Ristovski, Producers: Svetozar Ristovski, Small Moves; Igor Aleksander Nola, MP Filmska Produkcija; Galina Toneva, Gala Film; Guillaume de Seille, Arizona Production, FYROM/Croatia/Bulgaria/France

Lazar participated in the Crossroads Co-production Forum in 2010

7. Next to Her,Director: Asaf Korman, Producers: Haim Mecklberg, Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, 2-Team Productions, Israel

8. The Sky Above Us, Director: Marinus Groothof, Producers: Sander Verdonk & Denis Wigman, CTM Lev Pictures, Co-producers: Miroslav Mogorovic, Art & Popcorn; Benoit Roland, Entre Chien et Loup; Giorgos Karnavas, Heretic, Netherlands/Serbia/Belgium /Greece

9. Song of My Mother, Director: Erol Mintas, Producer: Asli Erdem, Mintas Film, Co-producers: Guillaume de Seille, Arizona Films; Mehmet Aktas, Mitosfilm, Turkey/France/Germany

10. The World is Mine, Director: Nicolae Constantin Tanase, Producer: Tudor Giurgiu, Libra Film, Co-Producer: Radu Stancu, De Film, Romania

11. ForEver, Director: Margarita Manda, Producers: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Kostas Kefalas, Faliro House; Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Heretic; Costas Lambropoulos, Margarita Manda, CL Production, Greece (Out of Competition)

12. Stratos, Director: Yannis Economidis, Producers: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Faliro House; Panos Papahadzis, Argonauts Productions, Michael Weber, The Match Factory, Greece/Germany/Cyprus (Out of Competition)