2017 brought a couple of important expansions and changes for the fifth year of the workshop programme SOFA – School of Film Agents. For the first time and now continually SOFA will provide their participants with a concentrated follow-up workshop in Tbilisi to expand and deepen the knowledge of these cultural agents. SOFA can from now on complete the full-year cycle of mentoring for their participants with a one-week seminar in Georgia eight month after their first workshop in Poland.
Also, the first workshop for the class of 2017 in Poland will for the first time be held in Warsaw. SOFA 2017/2018 edition, which will include both workshops in Warsaw and Tbilisi, is now open for application.
First follow-up workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia
SOFA – School of Film Agents will expand significantly: The eight participants of our fourth edition, who in August of 2016 started to work on their film culture projects with experienced international experts, will meet again in May for a follow-up workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia. From April 30th to May 5th 2017 they will not only get an opportunity to discuss the current status of each of their projects, but also to complete additional courses in different areas of cultural management. The fourth SOFA class was comprised of Lizaveta Bobrykava (Belarus), Iris Elezi (Albania), Inesa Ivanova (Lithuania), Terezie Krizkovska (Czech Republic), Tekla Machavariani (Georgia), Dumitru Marian (Moldova), Magdalena Puzmujzniak (Poland) and Julia Sinkevych (Ukraine).
This time the workshop in Tbilisi will take place within the framework of the German-Georgian Year, which is being celebrated by the Foreign Offices ofboth countries from mid-2017 to mid-2018.
„Culture overcomes borders. It is of great importance that cultural politics enhance this process. If we understand the stories told by our neighbours, if seeing their views about themselves enables us to see ourselves differently, only then can we hope to find joint solutions to all the big questions that arise from living in the 21st century. And which art form is more likely to contribute to creating this new image than film? It is therefore even more important for SOFA to train future film culture agents, and to design international networks for its participants, enabling the innovation of future projects. The project participants will contribute significantly to the development of an European cinema culture, which then will help us give up the narrow-mindedness of national interests and enter the joint resolution of the big issues. I am particularly pleased, that SOFA is able to offer a workshop in Georgia, for the first time, held within the framework of the German-Georgian Year. With great pleasure do we support SOFA and its spiritus rector, Nikolaj Nikitin, in this endeavour,” emphasizes Dr. Andreas Görgen, Head of the Department of Culture and Communication in the German Federal Foreign Office.
Confirmed tutors are the following: Oliver Baumgarten (Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, Germany), Simay Dinç (Arya Women Investment Platform, Turkey), Pascal Giat (PEGE Consulting, France), Miroslav Mogorovic (Art & Popcorn, Serbia), Renaud Redien-Collot (Novancia Business School, France), Petri Kemppinen (Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Norway), Susanna Harutyunyan (Golden Apricot Yerevan IFF, Armenia) and Tamara Tatishvili (producer and representative to Eurimages & European Film Promotion, Georgia).
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Applications for the Fifth Edition
Application deadline for the fifth SOFA edition is May 31st 2017. The participants will complete workshops in Warsaw (August 20th to 27th 2017) and Tbilisi (May 2018). The participation fee is 450 Euros. Scholarship are available. More information as well as the complete application form can be found at www.joinsofa.org.
SOFA is a joint project of Filmplus gUG (Cologne), Institute for Democratic Changes (Tbilisi) and Takes Film (Tbilisi), funded by German Federal Foreign Office and Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union. The 2017 Georgian workshop is funded also by Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall, Georgia National Film Centre and Film in Georgia. The 2017 Polish workshop will be also funded by: Polish Film Institute, Foundation of Polish-German Cooperation and Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission. The organisers wish to thank also the other partners: Meeting Point Vilnius, Karlovy Vary IFF, Goethe Institute, Mozinet, EAVE and Israel Film Fund.
SOFA School of Film Agents,
Nikolaj Nikitin, c/o Filmplus gUG, Venloer Straße 214, 50823 Köln, Germany
Press Contact:
oliver bernau pr, Oliver Bernau, phone: +49 176 2020 2909, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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