12-02-2011

FNE at Berlinale 2011: Cinema Total Unites Central European Neighbours

By

    BERLIN: The 4th edition of Cinema Total running at the Berlinale promises to be a hot ticket for journalists and film industry professionals as the new team restructuring the Hungarian film industry will make their first appearance at Sunday's Political Round Table. Film funding chiefs from Hungary including Andy Vajna will be joined by colleagues from Austria, Croatia, Denmark and Ireland.

    Cinema Total which runs from 12-16 February this year will bring together professionals from Hungary, Austria, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia for a series of events, networking sessions and screenings at Berlin's Collegium Hungaricum. Cottbus FF and Connecting Cottbus is also a partner.

    The venue opens its doors to Berlinale goers on 12 February with an opening party. A summary of the main events is published below. For more information see www.hungaricum.de/cinematotal.

    The events of Cinema Total 4 are open to all film professionals and film buffs visiting the International Berlin Film Festival. If you would like to participate, please register at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In 2011, Cinema Total will be part of the official programme of Hungary's EU presidency.

    The OPENING PARTY of CT4 (12th February 2011, 7 p.m.), will bring together sponsors, partners and representatives from the international film industry and politics for a genuine vaudeville show. The opening night is the official reception of Hungary's distribution office, Film Union (Filmunió).
    Patrons of the event: Igor Slobodník (Ambassador of Slovakia in Germany) and Dr. József Czukor (Ambassador of Hungary in Germany). Special guests: Dr. Claudia Schmied (Head of the Ministry of Culture and Education, AT), Dr. Ivo Visković (Ambassador of Serbia in Berlin, RS), Lajos
    Koltai (director, HU), Marija Škaričić (Croatian Shooting Star at Berlinale, HR) and Dorka Gryllus (Hungarian Shooting Star at Berlinale in 2005). Music by Cimbaliband (HU).

    During Cinema Total 4, between the 13th and 16th of February, .CHB will organise daily screenings, where registered visitors of CT4 can watch a selection of Eastern European films of the last couple of years.

    If you miss anything from any day of CT4's programme, you can find out what happened by going to the daily FILM TALK session (9 p.m.) and hearing notable journalists and film experts reviewing everything from that day's events.


    On the 14th of February, as part of the daily FILM TALK session, CT4 will host REVOLVER LIVE, a live radio streaming with Vladimir Perisic (RS) and Kornél Mundruczó (HU). REVOLVER LIVE will be moderated by Saskia Walker and Franz Müller.

    On the 13th February at 11 a.m., the SUNDAY BRUNCH event will be an excellent opportunity for producers from Eastern Europe and Germany to meet and talk in a relaxed and conducive atmosphere.

    SUNDAY BRUNCH will be followed by a FILMPOLITICAL ROUND TABLE at 1 p.m., which will bring together leading figures of national film industries, decision makers of various film funding systems, and several members of the Hungarian government. The panellists will discuss the prevailing questions in the Hungarian and European film industry, regarding the current situation
    and the ongoing reconstruction of the Hungarian, as well as the European financing practice.
    Representatives of Hungarian and other European film funding organisations will be there to give their opinion, including Andrew Vajna (Government Commissioner for the Hungarian Film Industry), Henrik Bo Nielsen (CEO of the Danish Film Institute, DK), Dr. Peter Zawrel (President of Vienna Film Fund, AT), Simon Perry (ACE/Atelier du Cinéma Européen and the Irish Film Board,) and Hrvoje Hribar (Head of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, CR), Attila Bokor (Head of Film Department, Ministry of National Resources) and Zoltán Kőrösi (President of Hungarian Motion Picture Public Foundation, HU). The event is sponsored by Vienna Film Fund (Der Filmfonds Wien).

    At the TRUE STORIES (14th of February, 3 p.m.) event, guests can discover the latest trends and artistic tendencies of the Eastern European screenwriting industry by viewing and discussing excerpts from current movies.


    Films shown at the event: DOM (The House) by Zuzana Liova (in the Forum section of the Berlinale 2011, SK), SCHASTYE MOYE, (My Joy) by Sergei Loznitsa (Official Selection Festival de Cannes 2010, UA), SALA SAMOBÓJCóW (Suicide Room) by Jan Komasa (in the Panorama section of the Berlinale 2011, PL).


    Moderated by Christian Routh (Head of Studies, ScripTeast, PL)

    Participants of BOOKS AT SUNDOWN (15th Feb, at 5 p.m.) will enjoy a cocktail and learn about inspiring literary works of the day from Eastern Europe, available for screen adaptation.

    This year's Cinema Total will also see the return of its unique pitching session PITCH STOP. On the 16th of February, at 3 p.m., six pre-selected projects from Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia will present their work to a panel of distinguished consultants from the field of the
    international film industry. After the presentations, the consultants will analyze the viability of the projects and advise the competitors on how to achieve their goals.


    Projects: THE NIGHT OF A THOUSAND HOURS by Virgil Widrich (Minotaurus Film, Amour Fou Filmproduktion, AT); LEMON JUICE AND INDIGO by László Csáki (Laokoon Film, HU); ILEANA by Eva Pervolovici (STRADA Film, RO); THE IQUANAS by Marian Crisan

    (Mandragora, RO); WORKER'S SEA by Vladimir Perisic (RS); PIARGY: ANTICHRIST REBORN by Lukáš Hanulák (Big Bang Creative, SK); Consultants: Karl Baumgartner, Philippe Bober, Charlotte Mickie, András Muhi, Anthony Muir, Michel Reilhac, Ada Solomon, Peter Zawrel and Meinholf Zurhorst.


    Moderated by Simon Perry of Atelier du Cinéma Européen (ACE) and the Irish Film Board.

    COTTBUS LOUNGE (16th of February, 7 p.m.) is a networking event in collaboration with Filmfestival Cottbus - Festival of Eastern European Films and Connecting Cottbus - the East-West Co-production Market of Filmfestival Cottbus. The event is managed by Alina Butuman (A + K Agency, DE).

    On the 16th of February, .CHB will celebrate the success of CT4 with a CLOSING PARTY. While the opening party primarily caters to invited celebrities, the closing event, full of music and spectacles, is for all of Cinema Total's friends. The event will be presented by the Romanian Cultural Institute "Titu Maiorescu" Berlin. Performance of the night: "FloriMan" project by Maria Ana Gligor and Mircea Florian with DJ Vasile, VJ Tom and Octavian Diaconescu.

    Cinema Total is a politico-cultural initiative, which was created in 2008 by the director of .CHB János Can Togay (screenwriter and film director). His aim was to provide a lively meeting point for the Eastern European film market, as well as for its western partners.

    This year's CT4 events will focus on Hungary and its neighbouring countries, such as Austria, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The CT4-team has organised a series of events, bringing together the most important professionals from the disciplines of film and cultural policy from both sides of the "mental iron curtain".

    In keeping with Hungary's symbolic position as a bridge between Eastern and Western Europe, CHB will provide an 'open space' for film professionals and film lovers. During the hustle and bustle of Berlinale, Cinema Total will be a place for networking, discussion and relaxation, as well as an oasis for discovering more information about the myriad events of both Berlinale and
    CT4.


    The CT4-team:
    Katalin Gödrös (art director)
    Françoise von Roy (curator)
    Anita Gerencsér (project manager)
    Hajnal Kálnoki-Lukovics (project assistant)
    Jan Gunnar Franke und Zsuzsanna Petró (communication)

    Contact:
    Collegium Hungaricum Belrin (.CHB)
    Dorotheenstraße 12
    10117 Berlin
    Tel.: 0049 30 212 340-0
    E-Mail: Ms Hajnal Kálnoki Lukovics (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)