FNE: This is the second edition of SOFA. Did you modify the workshop in any way given the experience of the first edition? What is the main focus this year?
Nikolaj Nikitin: One clear focus this year are web based/VoD Projects. We feel and see that there is still big potential in Europe for national VoD platforms that offer “art house” content like our Greek project OCTAPUS but also cross the B2P line – like the German idea for the DIRECTORS COLLECTION. Next to digital distribution, we are very happy to have an outstanding cinema building network project from Lithuania; FRONT wants to create up to 30 digital screens in rural Lithuanian areas.
After the experience of the first workshop we made some improvements and changes. They are mainly aimed at the workshop’s schedule allowing the participants to have more time here in Wroclaw to talk to their mentors and other experts as well as working on the projects, improving them and beginning to build in all the feedback and inspirations they are getting from the tutors and peers. Also we made sure they get more detailed information beforehand, so they can prepare their project in the best way possible to be discussed in Wroclaw – e.g. in terms of building up a marketing strategy in advance.
FNE: The chosen projects are very diverse. How would you define a "film agent" within this context, given that the participants have such different ideas?
Nikolaj Nikitin: Film Agents are for us film mediators, enablers and catalyzers with innovative project ideas in cinema promotion in all the existing and still to be invented fields and structures. We wanted to establish a unique interdisciplinary and intercultural European platform for young professionals who do not fit into the already existing training programmes for filmmakers (directors, screenwriters, producers), even though being equally important for a “functioning” film culture and industry, as they ensure that all those films are actually seen.
The possible fields for project selection are on purpose as wide as possible and we are very happy to have a rather diverse selection this year. The projects are related to the fields of film funding, film promotion, film commission, film distribution, film presentation and film education – all aiming at developing local audiences. All applicants need to have already gained experience in the field of cultural work and obtained a finished degree in any subject related to their project.
FNE: What criteria did you use to select the most interesting projects and promising participants?
Nikolaj Nikitin: We have two main criteria that exclude some applications: the project shouldn’t have started and shouldn’t be any kind of competition to already existing institutions. Then of course we looked for original and needed ideas that would develop the AV sectors of the applicant’s country.
After making a short list, I met all of the participants personally, so they were all “hand picked“. I wanted to make sure that their idea wasn't only a good project on paper but also to see if they have the professional background, energy and wit to realize and run them. I figured that if they were able to convince me with their idea, they can also get the necessary support and means in their country to make the project happen. I orientated myself by my own experience, when I started my festival activities and my own film magazine, where almost nobody was able to tell me how to run things in my own country. By the way - many of our SOFA experts started their careers the similar way, so I believe we are the right people to coach our participants.
FNE: SOFA participants come from a region that is often defined as CE and "young" Europe. How does your workshop help with the cinema industries of these countries?
Nikolaj Nikitin: SOFA offers an effective “short-cut“ for their participants with direct access to urgently needed information. Thus, the vision behind the SOFA programme is to create an initiative that helps bringing a country’s film culture and industry back to life, to make it work and develop with time. A main force behind the will of realizing the SOFA training is the plain fact that broad research showed that such a programme doesn’t exist anywhere in Europe or other parts of the world. There is no training for those who can actually ensure that European films are seen, remembered, appreciated and used for educational purposes. By training participants from the “East“ we hope (and already proved) to develop a whole region’s AV sector -- not only in terms of developing a needed project and helping to realize it in best manner possible, but by actually creating working places for your film professionals through this.
FNE: Where do you see the biggest challenges in modern European cinema? What should be the focus of young film agents?
Nikolaj Nikitin: Two major issues right now are surely the death of art house cinemas – and with that the decline of circulation of European films – and the lack of film education. That’s why we are very happy to have next to the cinema building Lithuanian project a Serbian film literacy project with us. In many European countries cinema is unfortunately considered neither art nor industry. So it’s not acknowledged as cultural value nor as a possible field of economic growth. This must change – and we must start with the youngest generation. Our biggest fear is that we will lose them to all those iPads and tablets and it will be difficult to explain to an adult the added value of a real cinema visit. It’s important to share this most wonderful experience of sitting in a cinema and watching a great film with our kids.
Also of course it’s important that the European audience identity itself with its own national cinema. They must be proud of their directors, producers and of course actors as public figures as they are proud on their local sportsmen. All those needs are very well reflected in the selection of this year’s projects…
FNE: What are the most interesting and successful projects from the first edition of SOFA? Do you track their development?
Nikolaj Nikitin: It’s exactly a year ago that we finished the first SOFA workshop and I’m very happy and proud to be able to say that the success of SOFA has been already proven: numerous projects from the first edition have already been able to be realized or are shortly before realsation. For example, Leana Jalukse’s project “Doktok“ – a distribution initiative for Estonian documentary films – was able to be established with the help of SOFA. Melinda Boros is currently leading the “TIFF Studio Workshops“ in Cluj and Sonja Topalovic was recently able to rejoice over Eurimages funding for her interactive database “FBO – Festival Box Office“. FBO especially is a project in which we strongly believe; it will revolutionize the international scene! And turn the film-world into a better place – and isn’t this the dream(job) of each agent?
FNE: Who are the experts during this year's edition? Why did you decide to connect them with SOFA participants?
Nikolaj Nikitin: Among the mentors we have Fatima Djoumer from Europa Cinema, Roman Gutek from Warsaw (Gutek Film), Roberto Olla from Strasbourg’s Eurimages, Katriel Schory, who runs the Israel Film Fund as well as Dragoslav Zachariev from EuroVoD in Paris. Besides our unique target group one innovation of SOFA is that we handpick our mentors after the selection of the participants and their project needs without having a fixed team of experts (besides our core experts for financing, presentation and marketing). By this, we ensure that each project is getting the most experienced mentor possible to work on it – with longtime knowledge in the field that is very close to needs of the participating project. We are very happy that those well respected, experience and surely very busy key players of European cinema find the time to come to SOFA, as they surely value with this our idea and show big support for our participants.
