The Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum is a San Sebastian Festival initiative to promote the development of film projects between Europe and Latin America and thereby strengthen co-production and inter-continental promotion networks.

Intended for projects at the development stage, a maximum of 20 projects will be selected by the Festival to participate in the first edition of the Forum based on the reports of three international experts.

The project heads will have the opportunity to present their work to industry members at pitching sessions and a personal agenda of meetings with professionals interested in participating in their projects.

The Forum will also include initiatives focussed on encouraging informal meetings between its participants with activities to prompt the exchange of experiences and knowledge on key questions linked to the audiovisual industry today and tomorrow.

By launching the I. Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum, the San Sebastian Festival consolidates its position not only as a benchmark platform but as a hub between both film worlds, covering all stages involved in cinematic projects related to Latin America, from the initial stage with the Co-production Forum, to the exhibition stage with Horizontes Latinos, not forgetting post-production with Films in Progress.

Seventeen projects have been selected to participate in the I. Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum

The Forum will run on September 27 and 28 at the 60th edition of the San Sebastian Festival

The seventeen projects were selected from among a total of one hundred and four proposals entered from eighteen countries, mostly in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, the UK, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The selection committee made particular mention of the wide variety and high quality of the projects presented, many of which are signed by directors and producers of long artistic and professional standing, while others are extremely interesting projects by new filmmakers taking their first steps in the world of feature films.

For two days, the project creators will work to a busy agenda of meetings with distinguished professionals from the international industry. The aim is to establish contacts with co-producers and distributors potentially interested in contributing to the projects with a view to ensuring their production and improving their international viability.

By way of continuation to the San Sebastian Forum and thanks to collaboration with the Festival de Cannes Marché du Film and Argentina’s National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA), some of these projects will have the opportunity to continue their international trajectory with participation in the Ventana Sur market and in the next edition of the Cannes Producers Network. These events will decisively boost the international promotion of the participating projects.

List of selected projects:

For more information about the I. Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum: Industryclub@sansebastianfestival.com

EXPERTS:

MANUEL PÉREZ ESTREMERA
Started as a contributor to magazines on film and cultura: Film Ideal, Nuestro Cine, Cuadernos para el diálogo, Primer Acto. He collaborated in numerous series and programmes for Spanish television, TVE, and was director of the weekly film programme, Fila 7; from 1987 to 1992 he was the company’s Assistant Director of External Production. He has also held a variety of executive positions with the Sogecable group, including Director of the programme Magacine and Director of Own Productions with Canal Plus. He was Director of the San Sebastian Film Festival for two years and a member of its Management Committee until 1997.

Manuel was also head of the Production Department at the San Antonio de los Baños International Film and Television School in Cuba between 1998 and 2000. He is the author of four books: Correspondencia inacabada con Arturo Ripstein, Nuevo Cine Alemán, Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, and Problemas del Nuevo Cine.
His more recent positions include Director of Cinematography with the Spanish Ministry of Culture (ICAA) (2004) and Director of TVE (2005-2007).

FEDERICO VEIROJ
Holds a Degree in Social Communication. Producer and director of the feature films Acné (2008) – premiered at the Festival de Cannes Directors’ Fortnight - and La vida útil (A Useful Life, 2010). Both films have landed festival awards and have been commercially released in several countries.

He contributed to the Uruguay International Film Festival programme and worked for four years at the Filmoteca Española. Federico is currently Delegate for Latin America at the San Sebastian Festival.


SOPHIE BOURDON
Formerly CEO of ACE - Ateliers du Cinema Europeen, Sophie Bourdon is today working as a freelancer for the international film industry at the crossroads between professional training, consulting in co-productions and international sales and match making at festivals. Her main objective is to help building bridges between producers from Europe and their peers from other continents.

During her 11 years at the Head of ACE, she worked with more than 200 independent producers on the development of their projects. Films (co-)produced by ACE Members include "No Man's Land", "Magdalene Sisters", "Dance with Bashir", "Incendies", "La Soledad", "La Cienaga", "El Custodio", "Gigante". Prior to ACE, Sophie used to be an international sales agents, for 9 years in Paris, working for MK2 among others.
 

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• DOSSIER I. EUROPE - LATIN AMERICA CO-PRODUCTION FORUM

The call is open to film projects at the development stage from Latin America and Europe. The latter must have a direct link with Latin America: involvement of a Latin American producer, filming locations, or another similar formula.

The projects must:

• Be fiction projects with a minimum duration of 60 minutes, and transmedia projects taking film as one of their main platforms.
• Have at least 20% of their funding already assured
• It will be an advantage if the project is being presented for the first time at a forum, if the production company has already made at least one international co-production and if additional documents are presented including earlier works completed by the director.

The entry requirements (in English and Spanish) are:

• Acceptance of the Rules & Regulations of the I. Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum.
• Online registration.
• Submitting the documents: Presentation of the project (1 page), treatment (8-12 pages), 1 dialogue sequence, the budget and the financing plan for the project.

Deadline for project registration: 30 June 2012

The Co-production Forum is a San Sebastian Festival initiative with the purpose of promoting the development of film projects between Europe and Latin America and strengthening co-production and inter-continental promotion networks.

The San Sebastian Festival has launched a public call for entries by film projects at the development stage. Based on the reports of three international experts, the Festival will choose a maximum of 20 projects to participate in the Co-production Forum. 

The project heads will be able to find among the professional guests, strategic, industrial and financial partners for co-producing their projects. They will also have the opportunity to present their work to industry members at pitching sessions and a personal agenda of meetings with professionals interested in participating in their projects.

The Forum conditions are as follows:

1. The I. Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum will take place at the 60th San Sebastian Festival, on 27 and 28 September 2012.

2. The San Sebastian Festival circulates the call to all of the industry professionals in its database, in addition to publishing news of the event in the media and on its website:
http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/

3. The call is open to producers in Europe and Latin America who have projects at the development stage which meet the following requirements:

• Fiction projects with a minimum duration of 60 minutes, and transmedia projects taking film as one of their main platforms.

• European projects must have a direct link with Latin America: involvement of a Latin American producer, filming locations, or another similar formula.

• The projects must present a budget and financing plan with at least 20% of funding already assured.

• It will be an advantage if the project is being presented for the first time at a forum, if the production company has already made at least one international co-production and if additional documents are presented including earlier works completed by the director.

4. Interested parties can register free of charge, by duly completing and submitting the online registration form and having accepted the conditions of these rules and regulations.

5. To present additional images, the interested parties must indicate an URL, FTP or any other system for viewing the material online. Physical copies will not be accepted.

6. The Festival will recognise the person signing the registration form as the only intermediary in all aspects related to participation of the project in the Co-production Forum and will hold this person solely responsible as opposed to other companies or people involved in the project.  

7. The decision on selected projects will be final.

8. The invitation issued to each project will remain strictly confidential between the San Sebastian Festival management and the project producers or representatives, until such time as the Festival decides to make an official announcement on the subject.

9. The producers of the selected projects undertake to:

• Confirm participation of the project in the Co-production Forum.

• Confirm their presence and /or the directors for the duration of the Forum, being recommended the attendance of both.

• Send all material requested for the project by the organisation for its catalogue and website.

10. Once the production of the projects has been completed, the opening credits of the final copy must include the Festival logo and the phrase: “[Title of the film] participated in the I. Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum”.
The logo is available in several languages on the official Festival website.

11. All doubts arising in the interpretation of these rules and regulations will be settled by the San Sebastian Festival management.

12. In the event of discrepancy on the interpretation of these rules and regulations, the Spanish version will apply.