BUCHAREST: The new teen film by Romanian writer/director Cristina Jacob Oh, Ramona! will be released domestically on 91 screens on 15 February 2019. Cristina Jacob’s box office hits #selfie and #selfie 69 topped the domestic charts in 2014 and 2016. This is the first English language film by Cristina Jacob with plans for theatrical distribution abroad.

This month we speak with Andres Kauts, director/programmer of Tartu Elektriteater, a hip cinema in the medieval town of Tartu in Estonia, known for the variety of its films (European and Estonian titles) and also for not selling popcorn.

ZAGREB: Vinko Brešan’s Croatian/Serbian/Polish coproduction What a Country! / Koja je ovo država has racked up 56,076 admissions in Croatia in five weeks, much more than the Croatian hit of 2018, The Eighth Commissioner / Osmi Povjerenik by Ivan Salaj, which had 31,828 admissions.

The Law on Culture was approved in 2018 in Montenegro for the area of culture and the establishment of public institutions.

Croatian cash rebate was raised to 25% as of July 2018, with additional 5% for productions in regions of below average development.

ZAGREB: The number of foreign productions using the tax incentives scheme in Croatia increased from 11 in 2017 to 14 in 2018, but the local expenditure decreased from of 24.7 m EUR in 2017 to over 15.5 m EUR in 2018.

The most important development in the Romanian film industry in 2018 is the cash rebate scheme launched by the National Commission for Prognosis on 8 October 2018. A total of 41 international and national projects applied for rebates by the end of 2018.

This month we speak with Iris Sretenovic, the programme manager of Cadmus Cineplex, a modern cinema named after the ancient hero Cadmus, the mythical founder of the city of Budva, the only mortal who married a goddess.