UP-AND-COMING PRODUCERS
For whom?
Emerging producers developing their first or second feature project looking for a co-producer or financial partner.
As the BRIFFâs team has always had at heart the promotion of emerging talents, UP: Up-and-coming Producers was created in order to put into the spotlight projects held by producers at the beginning of their career. Through one-to-one meetings, workshops and other networking events, the selected producers will have the opportunity to create a network of potential partners and gain tools to further develop their projects.
11 projects have been selected:
Director IstvĂĄn KovĂĄcs and producer Patricia DâIntino collaborated in 2018 for the short film A Siege which was selected in numerous festivals (AFI Fest, PĂFF Shorts, Camerimage, âŠ) and got the Bronze Award at the Student Academy Awards 2018. They decided to develop the short film into a feature, under the same title. A Siege looks into the consequences of war in everyday life through the struggles of Thea, a woman who goes on a search for water at any cost to wash her hair. Patricia is a Midpoint, Sarajevo Talents and Emerging Producers alumna and has previously worked on several documentary projects selected in prestigious festivals.
Tommy Oksen is a screenwriter with almost 15 years of experience in the field. He is now making his feature film debut with Giulia Triolo for Snowglobe, who has been recognised by the Danish Film Institute as one of the emerging producers participating in Rotterdam Lab 2022.
A Springsteen Song cleverly tackles the difficulties of a man's socializing when he has to part with his dying father.
Alta Rocca Films is an independent production company created by the producer duo Jean-Etienne Brat and Lou Chicoteau.
They are keen to support the work of authors whose vision questions the contemporary world, such as NaĂŻla Guiguet with her short film Dustin, shortlisted at the CĂ©sar 2022, or Chabname Zariab with whom they have already worked on a short film, Hizia. Her first feature film, Bells of Kabul, is an extension of her first short film, When you hear the bells, nominated at the CĂ©sar 2017 and selected in more than 30 festivals. It deals with the condition of young men used by the Taliban as sex objects, from the point of view of the protagonist, Leila, who tries to help them.
Since 2020, Maria Laskaridou has been working as a producer at Argonauts Productions, one of the leading production companies in Greece. She joins Thanos Psichogios to produce their first feature film although she has already proven herself as associate producer on the latest David Cronenberg's, Crimes of the Future, selected in official competition at Cannes 2022.
Circular Motion subtly highlights the coming-of-age of two previously inseparable teenage girls whose friendship will be tested and their dreams shattered by a morbid act, all set against the idyllic backdrop of an off-season Greek island. Thanos Psichogios and Maria Laskaridou have already taken the project to prestigious labs and forums such as Sarajevo Pack & Pitch, Torino Film Lab Next or Transylvania Pitch Stop.
El Gatoverde is a Spanish production company experienced in co-producing both short and feature films. Mariano Baratech is the founder and he is now accompanying the talented Elisa Puerto Aubel, a graduate of FAMA (Prague) in screenwriting, who has directed two short films to be released in 2022. Her feature film project, Cracks, depicts the portraits of four Madrid-based women of different ages and origins whose destinies intersect during an unprecedented heat wave.
Dzintars Dreiberg made quite a smashing debut with his first feature Blizzard of Souls (2019) which was a box office record in Latvia, was distributed in more than 50 countries and was shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards (Best Score). His new projects are produced by emerging producer Marta Romanova JÄkabsone as part of Kultfilmaâs line up, which was also behind Blizzard of Souls. Escape Net is a historical drama set during the Cold War which tells the story of a young girl who, in order to find her estranged brother, manages to enter what will turn out to be the most prominent female basketball team in European history.
Martin and Martina founded Projector23 in 2007 and have since collaborated on several projects, including their first feature film, Summer Rebels, which was screened at over 30 festivals worldwide (Sao Paulo, Giffoni, Zlin, Black Nights Tallinn) and acquired by Netflix.
Their next project, Lovebots, tells the story of a woman and her robot lover on the run, questioning the criteria of what is human in each automaton, and vice versa.
Bo Dream Productions is a company founded in 2020 by producer and director BoĆŒena Bogdziewicz-Ănkol, who is used to co-production markets (Cannes 2020, Sofia 2018, Sarajevo 2020). Bo Dream wants to give visibility to female film professionals, such as Ely Chevillot.
Ely Chevillot is a graduate of the IAD (Belgium), her graduation short film, The Elusive, was screened at more than 60 festivals, winning 11 awards.
Her first feature film, Medusas, deals with the difficult return of a man to his native village on the coast of Brittany, confronted with the reality of conflicting family relationships and a mysterious invasion of jellyfish.
Voices Films is a young Berlin-based production company founded in 2022 by Margarita AminevĂĄ-Jester and aimed at director-driven features of up-and-coming filmmakers. BorbĂĄla Nagy fits perfectly in this description and happens to have a long-time collaboration with Margarita AminevĂĄ-Jester since they met during their studies at the German Film & TV Academy Berlin.
Nothing to see here is their 4th project together and has already participated in the CineLink Co-Pro Market (2020) and at the Cinéfondation Residence (2021).
This story based on real events questions the boundary between freedom of expression and privacy in the age of invasive social networks.
Yordan Petkov and Victoria Mitreva began their collaboration on the director's second short film, Night Shift, which premiered at the 2021 Clermont-Ferrand festival.
They are now working on Yordan's first feature film, Resonance, an intriguing dystopia with a screaming siren, which was selected for the Torino ScriptLab 2021 and the College Cinema Biennale 2021.
Yukunkun is a French production company dedicated to giving visibility to emerging directors, dealing with social issues in an ambitious way, like Zoel Aeschbacher. His graduation short film, Bonobo, won numerous awards including the Audience Award at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, where it competed in the international competition, as well as the Oscar for Best Student Film in 2019.
His first feature film, Underdog, tells the story of an Uber driver and gambler, whose addiction will precipitate a whole journey in the heart of the Parisian slums.
