The Sofia Meetings (www.siff.bg) which is supported by MEDIA (http://ec.europa.eu) presented 28 projects of young directors who had a chance to pitch the projects to producers and network. The Sofia Meetings held within the framework of the Sofia International Film Festival has become one of the most important industry events in central Europe and attracted over 100 film producers, directors and film professionals. Despite the gloomy outlook in Hungary and Bulgaria for film funding in 2011 new projects are continuing to be developed with producers hoping to find ways to get their projects made through coproductions and alternative sources of financing.
The event also presented screening of works in progress and a Balkan showcase of recent Balkan productions. Together with the Bulgarian National Film Centre (www.nfc.bg) the meetings also screened new Bulgarian films and works in progress. The Meetings headed by Mira Staleva aim to promote new projects from young European filmmakers and new films from Bulgaria and the Balkan region to festival programmers, sales agents and distributors.
Joining the Sofia Meetings for the fifth time was the Robert Bosch Stiftungs' Coproduction Prize which offers young filmmakers from Eastern Europe the opportunity to realize a joint film project with young German filmmakers (producers, directors, cameramen, and scriptwriters) with a presentation by Frank Albers.
Awards of the 8th edition of SOFIA MEETINGS:
Mediterranean Film Institute presents a grant for the project ‘FIRUZA' by Daniel Burlac (producer) and Andrea Valeanu (screenwriter).
BEST PITCHING AWARD
Certificate and a prize of 3,000 Euro cash given to the director and producer of the film project ‘Indian Wife' by Robert Lakatos (director) and Andras Mihi (producer) (Hungary) who had the best pitching in the Second Film Projects Programme, donated by NU BOYANA FILM.
BEST PITCHING AWARD
Certificate and 5,000 EUR in postproduction services given to the producer of the film project ‘Youth' by Tom Shoval (director) and Gal Greenspan (producer) (Israel) who had the best pitching in the Plus Minus One Programme, donated by SYNCHRO FILM, VIDEO & AUDIO (VIENNA).
BEST PROJECT AWARD
Certificate and 5,000 EUR in post production services for the best project to the film project ‘Indian Wife' by Robert Lakatos (director) and Andras Mihi (producer) (Hungary) in the Second Film Projects Programme, donated by DIGIMAGE - LVT Post Production.
BEST PROJECT AWARD
Certificate and 2,000 EUR in services for the best project film project ‘Youth' by Tom Shoval (director) and Gal Greenspan (producer) (Israel) in the Plus Minus One Programme, donated by LVT Sofia Post Production.
Robert Bosch Stiftung
Robert Bosch Shorts
At Home, Germany-Sergia, 2009, 25', director Nenad Mikalcki
Normal. Slives of Life in Estonia and Germany, Germany-Estonia, 2010, 57', directors Heilika Pikkov, Sandra Van Slooten, Volker Maria Engel
Renovation, Germany-Romania, 2009, 25', director Paul Negoescu
