EFP announces the first digital edition of PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE 2020

EFP's networking programme PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will take place as originally planned from 11 to 15 May, 2020, and independently of the Cannes Film Festival which has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 20 selected up-and-coming European producers will meet online this year and present their projects in speed meetings and roundtable sessions. A case study as well as talks with experts will round out the digital programme running over five days.

EFP (European Film Promotion), the network of 37 European film promotion institutions, has selected the following 20 producers from 20 different European countries for its high-profile networking and promotion platform: Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria), Danijel Pek (Croatia), Mikuláš Novotný (Czech Republic), Monica Hellström (Denmark), Elina Litvinova (Estonia), Aleksi Hyvärinen (Finland), Andrea Queralt (France), Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer (Germany), John Wallace (Ireland), Giovanni Pompili (Italy), Yll Uka (Kosovo*), Marija Razgutė (Lithuania), Alan R. Milligan (Norway), Marta Habior (Poland), Mário Patrocínio (Portugal), Marina Gumzi (Slovenia), Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo (Spain), Marie Kjellson (Sweden), Flavia Zanon (Switzerland) and Rupert Lloyd (United Kingdom).

"PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE has become an established brand in the international film industry over the last 20 years. Being a Producer on the Move is an honour and ensures international recognition," says EFP Managing Director Sonja Heinen. "It is very important for EFP to continue supporting, promoting and connecting promising creative people as well as raising the visibility of their work and fostering cooperation within Europe – especially at this moment and in spite of these challenging times. We are grateful to the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and our EFP member organisations, the national promotion institutes, who are supporting this year's online version of our initiative in a flexible and unbureaucratic way."

The selected participants have already produced award-winning documentaries such as Monica Hellström who produced The Distant Barking of Dogs by Simon Lereng Wilmont, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Oscars, or Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer's production Another Reality by Noël Dernesch and Olli Waldhauer, which won the audience award at the DOK.fest München. Some producers have founded companies together with up-and-coming directors such as Marie Kjelsson with director Katja Wik (Kjellson & Wik), Vesela Kazakova with director Mina Mileva (Activist 38) and Elina Litvinova with writer-director Martti Helde (Three Brothers) or have produced genre films for international platforms such as Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo with Laura Alvea and Jose F. Ortuño on Animas. Some of the 20 producers were also creatively involved in their own productions, including Aleksi Hyvärinen who co-wrote the screenplays for Lake Bodom and The Renovation, Mário Patrocínio the writer-director of the documentary I Love Kuduro, and Marina Gumzi the co-writer of Stories from the Chestnut Woods. More than half of the participants have presented their productions at the leading international festivals such as Cannes Film Festival (Andrea Queralt, Fire Will Come, 2019), Venice Film Festival (John Wallace, Rialto, 2019; Giovanni Pompili, Sole, 2019), Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Mikuláš Novotný, Journey to Rome, 2015), Berlinale (Yll Uka, Exile, 2020), Locarno Film Festival (Marija Razgutė, Trot, 2018) and Sundance Film Festival (Marta Habior, Dolce Fine Giornata, 2019; Flavia Zanon, Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, 2020, awarded with the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize). And Alan R. Milligan deals with digital distribution models based on blockchain technology alongside his work as a producer.

The national film promotion institutes supporting this year's edition of EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE are: British Council, Bulgarian National Film Center, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Czech Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Estonian Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, German Films, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA (Spain), Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P. / ICA (Portugal), Istituto Luce Cinecittà (Italy), Kosovo Cinematography Center, Lithuanian Film Centre, Norwegian Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Screen Ireland, Slovenian Film Centre, Swedish Film Institute, Swiss Films and Unifrance.

EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union and Eurimage and in partnership with Festival Scope. Main media partner is Variety. Interviews with this year's PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will be published on the programmes' additional media partners' websites: www.cineuropa.org and www.fadetoher.com.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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