The 10th
Crossroads Co-Production Forum opening event took place on Wednesday, November 5. Crossroads is part of the
Thessaloniki IFF Agora Industry section.
In his opening speech, Festival Director, Dimitri Eipides, welcomed the producers and directors joining the current edition of Crossroads, admitting he was greatly satisfied with the fact that the number of participants continues to rise. Mr. Eipides also said that the Crossroads Forum is valuable not only to the
TIFF, but also to the very evolution of cinema. “Crossroads gives filmmakers the opportunity to meet with other producers and distributors, facilitating the completion of film projects which are still in the making,” he added.
Taking the floor, Head of Crossroads
Marie-Pierre Macia, presented the members of the team and thanked the institutions supporting the Agora Industry section, including the
Hellenic Film Academy and the
Onassis Cultural Centre for 2014. Ms. Macia made special reference to Ms. Annamaria Lodato, present at the event, representative of
ARTE France, announcing, for the first time in Crossroads΄ history, a 6,000€ cash prize to a participating film project.
Crossroads 2014 jury consists of Ewa Puszczynska (producer - Opus Films, Poland), Thania Dimitrakopoulou (sales agent – The Match Factory, Germany) and Elise Jalladeau (producer/Audiovisual Attachée of the Embassy of France in Greece, France).
The TIFF Agora awards will be presented on Friday, November 7.
This year, the co-production forum celebrates its 10-year anniversary, which coincides with the centennial of Greek cinema. This prompted organisers to give special attention to Greek film projects and films in production or post-production. This emphasis is reflected in the fact that 6 out of the total 13 projects, all of which were selected on the basis of their script quality, are from Greece.
Crossroads 2014 selected projects are:
Kids From The East by Aramisova, Production: Michal Kračmer, Cinedix, Czech Republic/Slovak Republic
The Secret Ingredient by Gjorce Stavreski, Production: Emilija Chochkova, Fragment Films, FYROM
Sons Of Sunday by Rami Kodeih, Production: Rita Dhager, Senorita Films, France
Tea by Ahmad Abdalla, Production: Mohamed Hefzy, Film Clinic, Egypt
Tramontane by Vatche Boulghourjian, Production: Georges Schoucair, Abbout Production, Lebanon
All selected projects are either produced or co-produced by a country in South-eastern and Central Europe or the Mediterranean region, or contain story elements connected to those regions. This year΄s selected projects come from Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, FYROM and Romania. Participating producers and directors will have the opportunity to present and discuss their projects during formal and informal meetings with other producers, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents and consultants.
Crossroads is supported by the EU’s
Creative Europe programme and also collaborates with:
The Greek post-production company
2|35 Inc, presenting the co-production award (audiovisual) to the winning project.
The
CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l΄image animée), providing 7,000€ for the development of a project.
The
ARTE France TV network, presenting for the first time a 6,000€ award to a film project.
The
Producer’s Network of the
Cannes FF, granting an accreditation to the winning producer to participate in the upcoming Producer’s Network 2015.
The
Sofia Meetings section of the
Sofia IFF, selecting one project to be presented in next year’s edition, in March 2015.
The Mediterranean Film Institute
Script 2 Film Workshops, awarding a scholarship for script development to one project.
The French consulting firm
Initiative Film, providing its expertise to one project.
Cinemed (Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpelier), selecting one Greek film project every year to compete for its annual Development Grant.
The European portal
Cineuropa, providing extensive coverage of news and developments in the cinema market.
ACE - Ateliers du cinéma européen, selecting every year novice producers to participate in its producers network and develop their projects professionally with the help of established fellow producers.
Crossroads is part of the
Agora Industry that creates an international network of professionals and provides the grounds and optimal conditions for meetings, discussions and agreements, all in an informal, warm and professional environment.
