Karlovy Vary Film Festival Unveils Work in Progress, Work in Development Projects

Leo Barraclough
·5 min read

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Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the leading cinema event in Central and Eastern Europe, has unveiled the projects that will be showcased during the online edition of its industry program, Eastern Promises.

Eastern Promises will feature a total of 41 film projects, which will be presented as part of its various sections – Works in Progress, First Cut+ Works in Progress, Docs in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch, and Eurimages Lab Project Award. The presentations of projects to industry professionals will take place July 6-8, and the most promising projects will receive awards of the total value of Euros 165,000 ($185,000).

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In order to attend the online program, film industry professionals must be registered (click here) by June 22 at the latest.

Works in Progress
The Works in Progress sessions will be presented online on July 6 at 14:00-17:00 CET and July 7 at 14:00-17:00 CET.

The TRT prize of 10,000 EUR will be decided by jury members Vanja Kaludjerčić (IFF Rotterdam), Gabor Greiner (Films Boutique), and Faruk Güven (TRT). The Post-Production Development Award will be decided by the sponsoring representatives of UPP, Soundsquare, advised by KVIFF’s artistic director Karel Och.

Eight projects, all in post-production, were selected for Works in Progress from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa.

“Absence” (Iran, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic)
Director: Ali Mosaffa
Producer: Ali Mosaffa, Jordi Niubo, Filip Remunda, Silvia Panáková, Eric Panák

“The Alleys” (Jordan, Qatar, France, Saudi Arabia)
Director: Bassel Ghandour
Producer: Rula Nasser

“Black Medusa” (Tunisia, Luxembourg)
Director, Producer: ismaël

“Field” (Georgia)
Director: Lasha Tskvitinidze
Producer: Nodar Nozadze, Giorgi Kobalia, Nato Sikharulidze

“Snow White Dies at the End” (North Macedonia)
Director: Kristijan Risteski
Producer: Darko Popov

“Stop-Zemlia” (Ukraine)
Director: Kataryna Gornostai
Producer: Vitaliy Sheremetiev, Viktoriia Khomenko, Olga Beskhmelnytsina, Natalia Libet

“Troubled Minds” (Latvia, Norway)
Director: Raitis Ābele, Lauris Ābele
Producer: Roberts Vinovskis, Raitis Ābele, Kristele Pudane

“Wiarołom” (Poland)
Director: Piotr Złotorowicz
Producer: Jerzy Kapuściński, Ewa Jastrzębska

An additional eight Works in Progress projects will be introduced thanks to the First Cut+ program, showcasing projects that previously participated in First Cut Lab programs.

“Broad Peak” (Poland, Italy)
Director: Leszek Dawid
Producer: Pola Langowska

“Deskmate” (Turkey, Romania)
Director: Ferit Karahan
Producer: Kanat Doğramacı

“I am FINE, thanks” (Lithuania)
Director: Ernestas Jankauskas
Producer: Gabija Siurbyte

“Immaculate” (Romania)
Director: Monica Stan, George Chiper Lillemark
Producer: Marcian Lazar

“January” (Bulgaria, Portugal, Luxembourg)
Director: Andrey Paounov
Producer: Vanya Rainova

“The Runner” (Lithuania, Czech Republic)
Director: Andrius Blaževičius
Producer: Marija Razgutė

“The Users” (Serbia, Slovenia, Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Director: Ivan Ikić
Producer: Milan Stojanović, Marija Stojanović

“Wild Roots” (Hungary, Slovakia)
Director: Hajni Kis
Producer: Júlia Berkes, Balázs Zachar

Docs in Progress
Eight projects were selected for Docs in Progress, introducing documentary films from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa. They are in late production stage or in post-production. The prize of 5,000 EUR will be decided by jury members Salma Abdalla (Autlook Filmsales), Rada Šešić (film consultant and curator) and Charlotte Cook (Field of Vision). The session will be presented online July 8 at 14:00-16:30 CET.

“Every Single Minute” (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
Director: Erika Hníková
Producer: Jiří Konečný

“Intensive Life Unit” (Czech Republic)
Director: Adéla Komrzý
Producer: Pavla Janoušková Kubečková

“Homes” (Latvia)
Director, producer: Laila Pakalniņa

“The Lines” (Slovakia)
Director: Barbora Sliepková
Producer: Barbara Janišová Feglová

“Roma and the Camel Man” (Georgia)
Director: Irakli Metreveli
Producer: Nodar Nozadze

“Until the Wedding” (Poland)
Director: Daniel Stopa
Producer: Małgorzata Staroń

“Indoor – Tehran” (Iran)
Director: Azadi Moghadam
Producer: Afsaneh Salari

“The Pawnshop” (Poland)
Director: Łukasz Kowalski
Producer: Anna Mazerant, Łukasz Kowalski

Works in Development – Feature Launch
Works in Development – Feature Launch is a platform organized in collaboration of Midpoint Institute, an international script development program, co-production market When East Meets West, Trieste Film Festival and KVIFF. Nine projects, developed within this Feature Launch program, will be presented online and are now looking for co-production partners. They will compete for Euros 10,000 Development Award. The session will be presented online July 7 at 10:00-12:00 CET.

“Crissea IV” (Romania)
Director: Vladimir Dembinski
Producer: Bogdan Crăciun

“The Fragile Beauty of Masculinity” (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
Director: Andrea Culková
Producer: Miroslav Novák, Katarína Krnáčová

“Kyuka – Journeying to the Moon Through the Endless Sea” (Greece)
Director: Kostis Charamountanis
Producer: Danae Spathara

“Neither Voice” (Slovenia)
Director: Ester Ivakič
Producer: Andraž Jerič

“The Sanctuary” (Bulgaria)
Director: Katerina Borisova
Producer: Eleni Dekidis

“Sara’s Bungalow” (Poland)
Director: Julia Rogowska
Producer: Krystyna Kantor

“Usud” (Serbia)
Director: Stefan Malešević
Producer: Andrijana Sofranić Šućur

“Vacuum” (Ukraine)
Director: Yelizaveta Smith
Producer: Aleksandra Kostina

“Two Times One” (Bulgaria)
Director: Vladimir Petev
Producer: Vanya Rainova

Eurimages Lab Project Award
Eurimages Lab Project Award will showcase eight projects in production or post-production stage, each “transgressing the borders of traditional filmmaking.” The best project, selected by international jury comprised of Els Hendrix (Eurimages representative), Adina Pintilie (film director) and Mark Peranson (Berlinale), will receive an award of Euros 50,000. The session will be presented online July 8 at 10:00-12:00 CET.

“Atlantide” (Italy, France)
Director: Yuri Ancarani
Producer: Marco Alessi

“Bula” (Belgium, Brazil)
Director, Producer: Boris Baum
Producer: Alexis Schmitz

“Burial” (Lithuania, Norway)
Director: Emilija Skarnulyte
Producer: Dagnė Vildžiūnaite

“Five Dreamers and a Horse” (Armenia, Germany)
Director: Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan
Producer: Vahagn Khachatryan, Eva Blondiau

“Hello My Friend” (Germany, Cuba)
Director: Bettina Blümner
Producer: Jamila Wenske

“Roots” (Serbia, Croatia)
Director: Tea Lukač
Producer: Andrijana Sofranić Šućur

“Stepne” (Ukraine, Germany, Poland)
Director, Producer: Maryna Vroda

“Utopia” (Ukraine, Austria, Netherlands)
Director: Juri Rechinsky
Producer: Thomas Herberth, Maxim Asadchiy, Kirsi Saivosalmy

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