The production shutdown prompted by the coronavirus pandemic last spring would have been reason enough to sound the alarm in Romania. But bigger trouble is brewing over the country’s rebate scheme, which has been imperiled by a bureaucratic logjam currently dragging into its second year.
After a bureaucratic reshuffle following a change in government in 2019, the cashback program has ground to a halt. According to the Romanian Alliance of Film Producers, the government owes €35 million ($42.4 million) to international productions that have lensed in the country since the rebate launched in 2018.
Of the two dozen foreign projects to shoot during that period, the only one to cash in on the rebate was Sony Pictures Television’s series “Alex Rider,” according to Iuliana Tarnovetchi, of Alien Film, which serviced the shoot.
“The fact that we don’t have a [functioning] cash rebate is not putting us in any [competitive] situation,” she says. “There...
After a bureaucratic reshuffle following a change in government in 2019, the cashback program has ground to a halt. According to the Romanian Alliance of Film Producers, the government owes €35 million ($42.4 million) to international productions that have lensed in the country since the rebate launched in 2018.
Of the two dozen foreign projects to shoot during that period, the only one to cash in on the rebate was Sony Pictures Television’s series “Alex Rider,” according to Iuliana Tarnovetchi, of Alien Film, which serviced the shoot.
“The fact that we don’t have a [functioning] cash rebate is not putting us in any [competitive] situation,” she says. “There...
- 7/1/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Cluj, Romania–A year after introducing a cash rebate of up to 45% to keep pace with neighboring countries in an increasingly competitive region, Romania is seeing signs that the incentive scheme is paying off.
“This year seems to be quite busy—much busier, I would say, than last year,” says Bogdan Moncea, of Castel Film Studios in Bucharest, which recently serviced the fifth installment in Universal’s “Dragonheart” fantasy franchise. “Romania was fairly competitive even before, but many producers would go to a country that had a rebate, even if the cost of doing business in Romania was very competitive.”
He adds: “Now it’s become a lot more attractive in terms of production costs and efficiency. Significantly better than Hungary, significantly better than Czech Republic.”
A €50 million ($56.3 million) annual fund has been set aside by the government to woo foreign productions to this scenic corner of Eastern Europe. The...
“This year seems to be quite busy—much busier, I would say, than last year,” says Bogdan Moncea, of Castel Film Studios in Bucharest, which recently serviced the fifth installment in Universal’s “Dragonheart” fantasy franchise. “Romania was fairly competitive even before, but many producers would go to a country that had a rebate, even if the cost of doing business in Romania was very competitive.”
He adds: “Now it’s become a lot more attractive in terms of production costs and efficiency. Significantly better than Hungary, significantly better than Czech Republic.”
A €50 million ($56.3 million) annual fund has been set aside by the government to woo foreign productions to this scenic corner of Eastern Europe. The...
- 6/7/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Initiative highlights 25 established feature film and TV producers from Europe, Canada, the USA and India.
Film and TV drama co-production training and networking programme Trans-Atlantic Partners (Tap) has revealed its 2018 line-up of 25 producers from across Europe, Canada, the USA and India.
Tap, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, provides case studies of trans-Atlantic projects, market intelligence, legal advice and information on sales and distribution. The programme is directed at producers at career mid-level who have produced at least one feature film or TV series.
It includes two training modules in Berlin (June 16 – 21) and Halifax, Canada (September 10– 16), where Tap producers...
Film and TV drama co-production training and networking programme Trans-Atlantic Partners (Tap) has revealed its 2018 line-up of 25 producers from across Europe, Canada, the USA and India.
Tap, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, provides case studies of trans-Atlantic projects, market intelligence, legal advice and information on sales and distribution. The programme is directed at producers at career mid-level who have produced at least one feature film or TV series.
It includes two training modules in Berlin (June 16 – 21) and Halifax, Canada (September 10– 16), where Tap producers...
- 6/13/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Marking a new milestone for the Dominican Republic’s budding film industry, Dominican helmer-scribe-producer Dilia Pacheco is directing the first Romanian-Dominican co-production, “Vlad,” based on a treatment by Pacheco.
Pacheco credits the magic and serendipity of Cannes where she met Romanian producer Iuliana Tarnovetchi, producer and managing partner of Alien Film, on the red carpet for “The House that Jack Built.”
“When I found out Iuliana was Romanian, I told her about my project about Vlad the Impaler that I had been developing for more than 15 years,” she said.
“She was surprised how much I, a Dominican, knew about this historical Romanian figure,” said Pacheco. In a few weeks, Pacheco will be traveling to Romania to prep for the feature, which is slated to shoot on location in the country by 2020. Tarnovetchi is hiring a screenwriter to co-develop the project, budgeted at $3 million.
In “Vlad,” Pacheco hopes to provide a...
Pacheco credits the magic and serendipity of Cannes where she met Romanian producer Iuliana Tarnovetchi, producer and managing partner of Alien Film, on the red carpet for “The House that Jack Built.”
“When I found out Iuliana was Romanian, I told her about my project about Vlad the Impaler that I had been developing for more than 15 years,” she said.
“She was surprised how much I, a Dominican, knew about this historical Romanian figure,” said Pacheco. In a few weeks, Pacheco will be traveling to Romania to prep for the feature, which is slated to shoot on location in the country by 2020. Tarnovetchi is hiring a screenwriter to co-develop the project, budgeted at $3 million.
In “Vlad,” Pacheco hopes to provide a...
- 5/16/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Newcomer Jenia Tanaeva co-wrote screenplay and joins producer roster.
Harvey Keitel and Liam McIntyre have signed up to the romance See You Soon alongside newcomer Jenia Tanaeva.
Iuliana Tarnovetchi, Tanaeva (pictured) and Mike Cestari wrote the screenplay with revisions by Joe Ballarini about a Us football player who finds love after he suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Poppy Drayton, Oleg Taktarov, former Spain and Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol, and Larissa Malevannaya round out the key cast.
Commercials director David Mahmoudieh makes his feature directorial debut on See You Soon. Gabi Ilioiu and Tarnovetchi of Alien Film Entertainment produce alongside Tanaeva and Monella Kaplan for eMotion Entertainment. Alexander Mikhalskiy serves as executive producer.
“This is a modern-day Cinderella story in the vein of Pretty Woman and An Affair To Remember,” said Tanaeva. “I wanted to create a warm and heartfelt story about people and the power of love. I hope the...
Harvey Keitel and Liam McIntyre have signed up to the romance See You Soon alongside newcomer Jenia Tanaeva.
Iuliana Tarnovetchi, Tanaeva (pictured) and Mike Cestari wrote the screenplay with revisions by Joe Ballarini about a Us football player who finds love after he suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Poppy Drayton, Oleg Taktarov, former Spain and Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol, and Larissa Malevannaya round out the key cast.
Commercials director David Mahmoudieh makes his feature directorial debut on See You Soon. Gabi Ilioiu and Tarnovetchi of Alien Film Entertainment produce alongside Tanaeva and Monella Kaplan for eMotion Entertainment. Alexander Mikhalskiy serves as executive producer.
“This is a modern-day Cinderella story in the vein of Pretty Woman and An Affair To Remember,” said Tanaeva. “I wanted to create a warm and heartfelt story about people and the power of love. I hope the...
- 7/31/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Godless wins Special Jury Prize and Best Actress.Scroll down for the full list of winners
Turkish director Mehmet Can Mertoğlu’s Album has won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20).
The comedy, which premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes in May, follows a middle class Turkish couple who try to cover up the forgery of their family history.
The decision was made by a jury led by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman. The award comes with a prize of $18,000 (€16,000).
Album producer Yoel Meranda commented when receiving the award: “Many people here know that most of the stuff that helped this film get made happened in Sarajevo. It started in Sarajevo, and it’s amazing that we have completed this circle.”
Ralitza Petrova’s Godless was awarded two prizes: the Special Jury prize and Best Actress for lead Irena Ivanova.
The Bulgarian-French-Danish...
Turkish director Mehmet Can Mertoğlu’s Album has won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20).
The comedy, which premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes in May, follows a middle class Turkish couple who try to cover up the forgery of their family history.
The decision was made by a jury led by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman. The award comes with a prize of $18,000 (€16,000).
Album producer Yoel Meranda commented when receiving the award: “Many people here know that most of the stuff that helped this film get made happened in Sarajevo. It started in Sarajevo, and it’s amazing that we have completed this circle.”
Ralitza Petrova’s Godless was awarded two prizes: the Special Jury prize and Best Actress for lead Irena Ivanova.
The Bulgarian-French-Danish...
- 8/20/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Projects previously presented at the market include Laszlo Nemes’s Oscar-winning Son Of Saul.
The 14th CineLink Co-Production Market (Aug 18-20), the backbone of Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section, will this year present 15 projects from South-East Europe, and three guest projects from Qatar and Mexico.
CineLink boasts an impressive track record. An average of 60% of the projects that have taken part at the market in the last 13 years went all the way from development to production.
The most recent success is Laszlo Nemes’ Son Of Saul which won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2015 and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Films.
Other titles developed at the market include two winners of Venice’s Lion of the Future: White Shadow by Noaz Deshe, and Mold by Ali Aydin; two Berlinale Silver Bear winners: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin and If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban; and Semih Kaplanoglu’s 2010 Golden Bear winner Honey.
The...
The 14th CineLink Co-Production Market (Aug 18-20), the backbone of Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section, will this year present 15 projects from South-East Europe, and three guest projects from Qatar and Mexico.
CineLink boasts an impressive track record. An average of 60% of the projects that have taken part at the market in the last 13 years went all the way from development to production.
The most recent success is Laszlo Nemes’ Son Of Saul which won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2015 and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Films.
Other titles developed at the market include two winners of Venice’s Lion of the Future: White Shadow by Noaz Deshe, and Mold by Ali Aydin; two Berlinale Silver Bear winners: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin and If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban; and Semih Kaplanoglu’s 2010 Golden Bear winner Honey.
The...
- 8/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
Although they are neighboring countries, Poland and Lithuania have not had much cooperation in the field of cinema until recent years.
The first initiative to boost cinematic relations between the two countries comes in the form of a journey for producers from both countries on a sailing boat last year. In fact, the Lithuanian Film Centre together with the Polish Film Institute and Film Commission Poland, established quite a unique project – an expeditionary workshop for Lithuanian and Polish producers on a route across the Baltic sea. Six producers hailing from Lithuania and six from Poland spent the days between 12 and 14 September 2015 on the deck of the Brabander and embarked on a voyage from the seaport of the Lithuanian town of Klaipėda. The sailing boat reached the Polish town of Gdynia two hours before of the opening ceremony of the 40th edition of the Gdynia Film Festival. While traveling on the boat, the producers and the event’s moderator, Matthieu Darras, the head of programming at the Torino FilmLab, discussed potential joint projects that ranged from feature films, documentaries and animated films with common historical connections. During the voyage, these film-industry professionals became the Brabander’s crew, working as a team, all the while sharing ideas, looking for coproduction partners and participating in creative workshops.
“It’s been a very, very long time since Lithuania and Poland hadn’t collaborated neither on coproductions nor within festivals. Sometimes they would invite some film but they haven't done anything on a bigger scale. So, that's why I had this idea to present Lithuanian cinema in a proper way in Poland and Lithuania. Polish films are very well-known and that's been done by cultural institutes in Poland. And then, the third important part was to push producers together, give them a chance to meet and see what comes out of it. And, my crazy idea was to put them into a space where there was no escape,” stated Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, the Head of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage Department of the Lithuanian Film Centre and the initiator of the project.
A conference on the Klaipėda – Gdynia expedition was then held on 17 September 2015 during the Gdynia Film Festival where the film and sailing event was presented by the participants as well as an overview of the coproduction possibilities between Poland and Lithuania.
The fostering of Lithuanian and Polish relations did not end there. As a matter of fact, at the 7th edition of the Meeting Point Vilnius industry event organized within the framework of this year’s Vilnius Film Festival, there was a special focus on Poland, with special attention given to Lithuanian–Polish coproductions. Indeed, a panel discussion on the future of regional coproductions between the two countries was held during the event, with Robert Balinski from the Polish Film Institute, Rolandas Kvietkauskas from the Lithuanian Film Centre and Roberto Olla from Eurimages as speakers.
“Because the Lithuanian Film Centre has this close relation with the Polish Film Institute and the entire Lithuanian film industry wants to have closer relations with the Polish film industry, this year at the “Meeting Point Vilnius” event there is a bigger emphasis on the Polish film industry. Yesterday, we had a panel about the coproductions between Lithuania and Poland and we have many Polish films screening at the festival; we have many industry guests and journalists from Poland,” said Rita Stanelytė, the head of “Meeting Point Vilnius”.
There are three Polish-Lithuanian coproductions going on at the moment, out of which two were the result of the film and sailing event. They were presented at the “Coming Soon” sessions at “Meeting Point Vilnius”: the historical documentary "Habit and Armor" directed by Pawel Pitera and produced by Dorota Roszkowska and Kęstutis Drazdauskas and "Crisis," Andrius Blaževičius’ debut film.
The third Polish-Lithuanian coproduction presented at the session is Eastern Business produced by Iuliana Tarnovetchi. Another Polish-Lithuanian coproduction that also includes Norway is "The Man Who Knew 75 Languages" by Anne Magnussen and Pawel Debski, a hybrid film that combines creative animation and acting. It is produced by Živilė Gallego, who also produced "The Summer of Sangaile."
Poland also had a special guest project; the film "Wild Roses," directed by multiple Polish award-winner Anna Jadowska, produced by Roman Jarosz and edited by Anna Mass ("Leviathan").
As far as the future of the strengthening of Polish-Lithuanian cinematic bonds is concerned, the next step, according to Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson is to figure out whether the funds can do something for these coproductions, “create something similar like coproduction funds for two specific countries. Poland has a very good initiative in the form of the Polish-German Film Fund that funds German and Polish coproductions. So maybe, it's the next step of discussion to see how the funds can make it easier for the producers from Poland and Lithuania to coproduce together,” stated Ruokytė-Jonsson. In her opinion, this does not mean that the Lithuanian Film Centre will fund the projects no matter what, as quality matters as much as the help to find an easier access to funding.
Finally, Poland will always be in Lithuania’s focus, as “it's our neighbor country so we will definitely focus on Poland in the long term,” Ruokytė-Jonsson added.
The first initiative to boost cinematic relations between the two countries comes in the form of a journey for producers from both countries on a sailing boat last year. In fact, the Lithuanian Film Centre together with the Polish Film Institute and Film Commission Poland, established quite a unique project – an expeditionary workshop for Lithuanian and Polish producers on a route across the Baltic sea. Six producers hailing from Lithuania and six from Poland spent the days between 12 and 14 September 2015 on the deck of the Brabander and embarked on a voyage from the seaport of the Lithuanian town of Klaipėda. The sailing boat reached the Polish town of Gdynia two hours before of the opening ceremony of the 40th edition of the Gdynia Film Festival. While traveling on the boat, the producers and the event’s moderator, Matthieu Darras, the head of programming at the Torino FilmLab, discussed potential joint projects that ranged from feature films, documentaries and animated films with common historical connections. During the voyage, these film-industry professionals became the Brabander’s crew, working as a team, all the while sharing ideas, looking for coproduction partners and participating in creative workshops.
“It’s been a very, very long time since Lithuania and Poland hadn’t collaborated neither on coproductions nor within festivals. Sometimes they would invite some film but they haven't done anything on a bigger scale. So, that's why I had this idea to present Lithuanian cinema in a proper way in Poland and Lithuania. Polish films are very well-known and that's been done by cultural institutes in Poland. And then, the third important part was to push producers together, give them a chance to meet and see what comes out of it. And, my crazy idea was to put them into a space where there was no escape,” stated Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, the Head of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage Department of the Lithuanian Film Centre and the initiator of the project.
A conference on the Klaipėda – Gdynia expedition was then held on 17 September 2015 during the Gdynia Film Festival where the film and sailing event was presented by the participants as well as an overview of the coproduction possibilities between Poland and Lithuania.
The fostering of Lithuanian and Polish relations did not end there. As a matter of fact, at the 7th edition of the Meeting Point Vilnius industry event organized within the framework of this year’s Vilnius Film Festival, there was a special focus on Poland, with special attention given to Lithuanian–Polish coproductions. Indeed, a panel discussion on the future of regional coproductions between the two countries was held during the event, with Robert Balinski from the Polish Film Institute, Rolandas Kvietkauskas from the Lithuanian Film Centre and Roberto Olla from Eurimages as speakers.
“Because the Lithuanian Film Centre has this close relation with the Polish Film Institute and the entire Lithuanian film industry wants to have closer relations with the Polish film industry, this year at the “Meeting Point Vilnius” event there is a bigger emphasis on the Polish film industry. Yesterday, we had a panel about the coproductions between Lithuania and Poland and we have many Polish films screening at the festival; we have many industry guests and journalists from Poland,” said Rita Stanelytė, the head of “Meeting Point Vilnius”.
There are three Polish-Lithuanian coproductions going on at the moment, out of which two were the result of the film and sailing event. They were presented at the “Coming Soon” sessions at “Meeting Point Vilnius”: the historical documentary "Habit and Armor" directed by Pawel Pitera and produced by Dorota Roszkowska and Kęstutis Drazdauskas and "Crisis," Andrius Blaževičius’ debut film.
The third Polish-Lithuanian coproduction presented at the session is Eastern Business produced by Iuliana Tarnovetchi. Another Polish-Lithuanian coproduction that also includes Norway is "The Man Who Knew 75 Languages" by Anne Magnussen and Pawel Debski, a hybrid film that combines creative animation and acting. It is produced by Živilė Gallego, who also produced "The Summer of Sangaile."
Poland also had a special guest project; the film "Wild Roses," directed by multiple Polish award-winner Anna Jadowska, produced by Roman Jarosz and edited by Anna Mass ("Leviathan").
As far as the future of the strengthening of Polish-Lithuanian cinematic bonds is concerned, the next step, according to Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson is to figure out whether the funds can do something for these coproductions, “create something similar like coproduction funds for two specific countries. Poland has a very good initiative in the form of the Polish-German Film Fund that funds German and Polish coproductions. So maybe, it's the next step of discussion to see how the funds can make it easier for the producers from Poland and Lithuania to coproduce together,” stated Ruokytė-Jonsson. In her opinion, this does not mean that the Lithuanian Film Centre will fund the projects no matter what, as quality matters as much as the help to find an easier access to funding.
Finally, Poland will always be in Lithuania’s focus, as “it's our neighbor country so we will definitely focus on Poland in the long term,” Ruokytė-Jonsson added.
- 5/24/2016
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
Turkey’s Tolga Karacelik, whose Ivy was at Sundance at Toronto last year, among those to bring new features to CineLink.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20) has revealed the first six projects selected for its CineLink Co-Production Market, which is set to run Aug 18-20.
The titles include Butterflies, from Turkish director Tolga Karacelik, whose psychological drama Ivy world premiered at Sundance 2015 and went on to play at Istanbul, Sydney, Karlovy Vary and Toronto among others.
Butterflies is “a black comedy about death and two brothers reuniting”, which won The Binger award at Istanbul’s Meetings on the Bridge Film Development Workshop and was selected for Sundance Lab.
Ela And Hilmi is from another Turkish director, Ziya Demirel, whose 2015 short Tuesday (Sali) was selected by Cannes for its shorts competition and secured a special mention at Sarajevo.
The Heroes Were Dancing is the next project from Serbian filmmaker Nikola Ljuca, whose mystery...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20) has revealed the first six projects selected for its CineLink Co-Production Market, which is set to run Aug 18-20.
The titles include Butterflies, from Turkish director Tolga Karacelik, whose psychological drama Ivy world premiered at Sundance 2015 and went on to play at Istanbul, Sydney, Karlovy Vary and Toronto among others.
Butterflies is “a black comedy about death and two brothers reuniting”, which won The Binger award at Istanbul’s Meetings on the Bridge Film Development Workshop and was selected for Sundance Lab.
Ela And Hilmi is from another Turkish director, Ziya Demirel, whose 2015 short Tuesday (Sali) was selected by Cannes for its shorts competition and secured a special mention at Sarajevo.
The Heroes Were Dancing is the next project from Serbian filmmaker Nikola Ljuca, whose mystery...
- 3/29/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Former winners of Screen International’s Best Pitch Award are among the producers with projects at the co-production market during the 14th edition of Tallinn’s Baltic Event (Nov 16-18).Scroll down for full list of projects
Finnish producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg of Making Movies Oy, who won the Screen award on two occasions (most recently, last year for the comedy Impaled Rektum) will be coming to the Baltic Event with Klaus Harö’s next feature project, the grandfather-grandson drama Dark Christ.
Making Movies is the producer of Harö’s The Fencer, Finland’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.
Another of Harö’s feature projects, Never Alone, to be produced by Mrp Productions’ Ilkka Matila, received Screen’s best pitch award in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian producer Uljana Kim, whose production of Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day took the award home from the 2013 edition of the Baltic Event, will be back...
Finnish producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg of Making Movies Oy, who won the Screen award on two occasions (most recently, last year for the comedy Impaled Rektum) will be coming to the Baltic Event with Klaus Harö’s next feature project, the grandfather-grandson drama Dark Christ.
Making Movies is the producer of Harö’s The Fencer, Finland’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.
Another of Harö’s feature projects, Never Alone, to be produced by Mrp Productions’ Ilkka Matila, received Screen’s best pitch award in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian producer Uljana Kim, whose production of Kristijonas Vildziunas’ Seneca’s Day took the award home from the 2013 edition of the Baltic Event, will be back...
- 10/21/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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