Z365" or "Festival all year round" is the new strategic point of the Festival in which converge investigation, accompaniment and development of new talents (Ikusmira Berriak, Nest); training and cinematic knowledge transfer (Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, Zinemaldia + Plus, Filmmakers' dialogue); and investigation, disclosure and cinematic thought (Z70 project, Thought and Discussion and Research and publications).
Dynamic UK regional film agency Screen South, has brought a troupe of eight top upcoming UK producers to San Sebastian for industry presentations and pitching sessions.
The Cine-Euro co-production training scheme is a joint initiative between Screen South, Skillset and the U.K. Film Council, in partnership with filmfund network, Cine Regio and sales company Film Export UK.
Miranda Robinson, who recently produced Dummy is coordinating the scheme and project mentor is veteran producer Pippa Cross, who is currently post-producing Philip Ridley’s supernatural thriller, Heartless.
Cine-Euro was launched at the Edinburgh film festival in June, followed by fast-track training at Pinewood Studios.
The range of projects include romantic comedies, horror, coming-ofage pics and thrillers, including three productions that already have script, cast and crew in place, produced by Ben Pullen, Lee Santana and Harriet Rees.
On Monday afternoon, September 22, the eight-pack received presentations from the Galician and Catalonia film orgs, explaining the mechanics of setting up a Spanish co-production deal.
Today Tuesday between 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. there will be a networking session at the Sales Office, where Screen South hopes to pin down Spanish-co-production partners for the scheme’s projects, whose titles include My Mum, the Porn Star, Venus as a Boy and Die Laughing.
“Production and especially finance are long and lonely endeavors”, comments Pippa Cross. “But going on the road together has created a mutuallyenriching energy and a balanced step-bystep focus on structural and creative aspects".
Miranda Robinson plans to wrap the pilot year of the scheme at Berlin in February 2009, to coincide with the annual meeting of organisational partner Cine-Regio.
M.D.