For the second year in a row, Transilvania Pitch Stop (TPS), the co-production platform organised by the 17^th Transilvania International Film Festival (25 May-3 June), continues its focus on Romania, the Black Sea and the neighbouring regions. Ten feature-film projects that are at various stages of development and financing are invited to be presented at a special two-day pitching session on 1 and 2 June in Cluj-Napoca. Furthermore, the fifth edition of the TPS project development workshop will welcome five projects hailing from Romania and Moldova.

In detail, the ten projects that will get the chance to attend Transilvania Pitch Stop come from Serbia, Hungary, Georgia, Turkey, Russia and Romania. Some of the highlights include the sophomore films by Romanian filmmaker Ivana Mladenovic, best known for her Toronto-premiered debut Soldiers. Story from Ferentari [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Dawid Ogrodnik
interview : Ivana Mladenovic
fiche film], and Serbia’s Pavle Vučković, whose Panama [+lire aussi :
critique
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fiche film] premiered in 2015 out of competition at Cannes. As for debut efforts, Turkish short-film director Berrak Çolak (also Reha Erdem’s assistant) will present her first feature, while Russian documentarian Andrey Gryazev, known for his artistic-anarchistic Tomorrow, which premiered in 2012 in the Berlinale Forum, will pitch his debut feature.

The participating directors and their attached producers will pitch their projects to an audience of film professionals, and they will also have a chance to book one-to-one meetings with them afterwards. Furthermore, an international jury of experts will bestow three highly valued awards upon the best projects: the €20,000 Eurimages Co-production Development Award, the €25,000 award in post-production services offered by Chainsaw Europe, and the €5,000 DACIN-SARA Prize.

The selected projects are:

A Big She-Bear - Lali Kiknavelidze
Producer: Lali Kiknavelidze – Lira Production Studios (Georgia)

Border Games - Elene Mikaberidze
Producer: Aleksandre Shervashidze – Nushi Film (Georgia)

Everything in its Right Place - Berrak Çolak
Producer: Engin Palabıyık – Harikulade Film (Turkey)

Frost - Pavle Vučković
Producer: Stefan Mladenović – Plan 9 (Serbia)

As Far as I Know [+lire aussi :
critique
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fiche film] - Nándor Lőrincz, Bálint Nagy
Producers: Gábor Kovács - FilmPartners Ltd, Mónika Mécs - M&M Film (Hungary)

March. April. May. - Andrey Gryazev
Producer: Vladislav Ketkovich – Ethnofund (Russia)

Ivana the Terrible [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Ada Solomon
fiche film] - Ivana Mladenovic
Producer: Ada Solomon – Hi Film Productions (Romania)

The Alley Cat - Çigdem Sezgin
Producer: Çigdem Sezgin – Kule Film (Turkey)

The Shooter - Piotr Levchenko
Producer: Katia Filippova – Pan-Atlantic Studio (Russia)

To the North - Mihai Mincan
Producer: Radu Stancu – deFilm (Romania)

At the TPS project development workshop, one Moldovan and four Romanian directors will present their debut or sophomore feature films. At the beginning – 28-31 May – the participants will also benefit from a dedicated, personalised script guidance, training and support session before their pitch in front of the international experts. The best two projects will have the chance to win the Connecting Cottbus Award and the Villa Kult Cultural Residency Award.

The selected projects in the Transilvania Pitch Stop Workshop are:

Horia - Ana-Maria Comănescu
Producer: Ada Solomon – Micro Film (Romania)

Metamorphoses - Peter Kerek
Producer: Alexandru Teodorescu – Saga Film (Romania)

October - Cristian Pascariu
Producer: Bogdan Crăciun – Libra Film Productions (Romania)

Santa Barbara - Anatol Durbală
Producer: Sergiu Cumatrenco Jr – Youbesc (Moldova)

The Mind Patrol - Tudor Botezatu
Producer: Irina Malcea, Paul Negoescu – Luna Film, Papillon Film (Romania)