19/08/2020 - Featuring 10 films and running alongside Hong Kong’s Filmart, the project developed by Film Republic and EastWest is mixing VR and AR to welcome its guests

Running alongside Hong Kong’s Filmart from 24-28 August, MADE IN EUROPE will host 10 European films directed by 10 European filmmakers and will be the world’s first entirely interactive mini film market. Behind this initiative are two sales agencies, London-based Film Republic and Austria’s EastWest.

MADE IN EUROPE will be a VR/AR market based on an app – available for both iOS and Android – where buyers will have the chance to navigate the various rooms, check the line-ups, while some special content will be offered. Furthermore, the market experience will be hosted by Lithuanian Shooting Star, Aistė Diržiūtė.

Xavier Henry-Rashid, managing director at Film Republic and the campaign’s co-founder, gives further insights into the project: “There were so many ‘virtual’ markets announced this year, which all ended up being simply ‘online’ markets. The concept for MADE IN EUROPE was first conceived over a year ago, but at the time funding bodies required physical attendance. Rather than an endless market, this is aimed to be a little bit of fun and nostalgia, with some entertaining content along the way, and the possibility to claim a real physical goodie bag on the way out”.

The guests will have the option to request special screenings of the 10 available films, which will be hosted on Archipel Market, a new online marketplace for films previously launched during Cannes 2020. Archipel is featuring all the films in their online market viewing platform for the duration of the event.

Aistė Diržiūtė, the 2019 host of the European Film Awards and EFP Shooting Stars alumnus, will be embedded in augmented reality into the app to welcome guests, and she noted: “It’s been a lot of fun preparing for this and preparing interviews with so many incredible directors and actors”. Diržiūtė will host the interviews within the app and over social media on Facebook Watch and Instagram TV. Among the confirmed attending guests are Serbian artist Marina Abramović, Latvian writer-director Viesturs Kairišs (The Chronicles of Melanie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Swiss auteur Rolando Colla (What You Don’t Know About Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), British filmmaker Jason Wingard (Eaten by Lions [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), and Turkish actress Elit İşcan (Mustang [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
film profile]).

MADE IN EUROPE will be accessible from www.filmsmadein.eu from 24 August and the use of a VR headset will be optional for the participants. The project is developed by UK’s Immerse Labs, which works with creators in the space of mixed reality, real-time simulation and virtual training. It is supported by the European Film Promotion, MEDIA - Creative Europe and Swiss Films, with the assistance of Archipel Content.

The complete list of the selected films for the 2020 MADE IN EUROPE is as follows:

512 Hours [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Adina Istrate, Gia La Salvia (UK)
The Accidental Rebel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Randa Chahoud (Germany/UK)
Apocalypse, Please – Barbara Graeftner (Austria)
Baumbacher Syndrome – Gregory Kirchhoff (Germany)
Eaten by Lions [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Jason Wingard (UK)
Eden [+see also:
trailer
interview: Ulla Heikkilä
film profile] – Ulla Heikkilä (Finland)
The Sign Painter – Viesturs Kairišs (Latvia/Czech Republic/Lithuania)
Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Svetla Tsotsorkova
film profile] – Svetla Tsotsorkova (Bulgaria/Qatar)
Tangled Web – Victor D. Ponten (The Netherlands/Belgium)
What You Don’t Know About Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Rolando Colla (Switzerland/Italy)