Focus 2009: Suddenly, It All Happened – The turning point in close-up  

The Berlinale Talent Campus 2009 will focus on turning points as a driving force in filmmaking and will illuminate every facet of the fascinating effect they can have.

Storytelling is one of the central aspects of successful filmmaking and is as old as humanity itself. Stories have always connected people to their culture. It is a communication medium used to influence others, to seduce, convince or even manipulate them. It can explain certain things or keep people and events from fading in our memories. Successful films and compelling stories thrive on turning points, events that give a plot a new and critical direction. These turning points can make the film experience unique and overwhelming. However they are not only responsible for shaping a successful plot development, they also play a central part on other levels of filmmaking. Whether actor, cinematographer, editor or composer – everyone will face a turning point in the creative process and deal with its aftermath.

Producers, directors, actors, cinematographers, screenwriters, editors, production

designers, film music composers, sound designers, film journalists and visual artists from all over the world are invited to apply online through the Campus website: www.berlinale-talentcampus.de.

The Berlinale Talent Campus is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in co-operation with MEDIA - Training programme of the European Union, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Skillset and UK Film Council as well as Volkswagen.

A hotspot for cineastes and cinéphiles from around the world enjoys a large audience (430 000). Up to 400 films (of every genre, nationality, length and format) are shown every year as part of the Berlinale's public programme, the vast majority of which are world or European premieres. Asian cinema has always been a warmly welcomed festival guest and has collected several of the most prestigious Berlinale prizes.

The NETPAC Prize is awarded to an Asian film in the Forum section.

Berlinale offers countless forms of co-operation and creative interaction, among them the popular BERLINALE TALENT CAMPUS, which takes place during the festival and invites about 350 young film talents from around the world to meet with experienced film professionals and personalities for a week of workshops and discussions.

The festival also hosts WORLD CINEMA FUND, which supports filmmakers from transition countries, with a special focus on feature films and creative feature-length documentaries with a strong cultural identity. Until 2007, the geographical focus has been on Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. In February 2007, the WCF announced an expansion of the focus regions: since summer 2007, film projects from South East Asia and the Caucasus are also eligible for support from the WCF. Another important goal is to strengthen the profile of these films in German cinemas. The World Cinema Fund has an annual budget of about 500,000 Euros at its disposal and provides support in the fields of production and distribution. Next deadlines are in spring 2009.

In 2009, the Clermont-Ferrand Festival, the world's premier cinema event dedicated to short films, will celebrate its 31th anniversary and will present three competitions mixing film and digital mediums, thus bringing greater diversity to the short film format – diversity being its basic principle, its source of uniqueness and vitality. The International Competition will include about 75 films in competition from around 50 countries and the French Competition will include about 65 films in competition.

Undergoing directorial and festival team changes in the past few years (this year’s edition will be the second for Rutger Wolfson), International Film Festival Rotterdam remains one of the most interesting sights for world, independent and auteur film. Aimed at the home public as well as film critics and festival programmers from all around the globe, it functions as a platform of cinematic ideas, and as a relaxed meeting place for professionals and filmmakers, especially during the days of CineMart co-production market (January 25-29). IFFR is also a home of Hubert Bals Fund, designed in 1988 to bring remarkable or urgent feature films and feature-length creative documentaries by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to completion. The HBF provides grants that often play a crucial role in enabling these filmmakers to realize their projects.   

Trieste Film Festival is an Italian film festival devoted to the (disregarded) cinema from Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. The Festival, run by artistic director Annamaria Percavassi, owes its international well-established prestige first of all to the long-term opening to wider and new geographical areas, and also to the increasingly focused attention towards the very high quality of the selection. The festival is a unique opportunity to meet with filmmakers, actors, film professionals coming from the explored areas of interest, in order to discuss freely with film critics and experts. Trieste festival also offers special events, unique monographic sections and a retrospective traditionally devoted to an important and original filmmaker from the areas of interest.

Categories: Feature Films
Requirements: 35mm. Films must have been produced within 2 years to the last date of entry
Awards: $20,000 for Best Feature Film, $10 000 Best Director, $10,000 Best Actor, $10,000 Best Actress, Best Marathi Film INR 5,00,000/-, Student Film Competition Best Script $ 2000, Best Director $1000, Best Cinematography $1000
Fees: None

Pune is the fastest growing cosmopolitan in the country today. The presence of FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) for a very long time has generated an unparalleled “intellect” Cinema audience base. Pune has a very large influx of foreign students, professionals, researchers etc. They come from all parts of the world and they are integral part of the strong society structure of Pune. The education capital of India-Pune, also draws students from all disciplines across the country and around the World. The National Film Archive of India is also situated in Pune.

The availability of a world-class movie watching experience through the newly built Multiplexes has also been responsible for triggering a new passion for cinema enthusiasts in the city. Also given the multi cultural mix of population with varied interests, Pune provides for an ideal base for an International Film Festival.

Keeping in mind these things, the Pune International Film Festival launched its pursuit to bring the best in “celluloid” to the vast audience of Pune in 2002 with it’s first “International Film Festival”. It has been evolving as a major annual event.

The Festival offers a contemporary and liberal platform for the filmmakers of the world to exhibit the excellence of the film art. The aim is mainly to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of cultures of different nations. We hope to present the complex human situations of the rapidly changing world in the globalise era.

Pune is the fastest growing cosmopolitan in the country today. The presence of FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) for a very long time has generated an unparalleled “intellect” Cinema audience base. Pune has a very large influx of foreign students, professionals, researchers etc. They come from all parts of the world and they are integral part of the strong society structure of Pune. The education capital of India-Pune, also draws students from all disciplines across the country and around the World. The National Film Archive of India is also situated in Pune.

The availability of a world-class movie watching experience through the newly built Multiplexes has also been responsible for triggering a new passion for cinema enthusiasts in the city. Also given the multi cultural mix of population with varied interests, Pune provides for an ideal base for an International Film Festival.

Keeping in mind these things, the Pune International Film Festival launched its pursuit to bring the best in “celluloid” to the vast audience of Pune in 2002 with it’s first “International Film Festival”. It has been evolving as a major annual event.

Cambofest: Film and Video Festival of Cambodia is the first ever independent (*non-NGO, grass roots, private-sector) movie festival in Cambodia!

Cambofest aims to contribute to the development of film, video, and media production in Cambodia by showcasing the original work of both international and regional filmmakers.

Now that peace and stability have returned, the world has once again taken an interest in Cambodia as a safe, fun, and unique cultural and travel destination. Cambofest’s aim is to contribute to the rebirth of film, video, and media production in Cambodia by showcasing work by both international and regional filmmakers.

While Cambodian and regional filmmakers' work are highlighted in ther program, international and non-Cambodian themed work is sought as well for a variety of programs.

The International Film Festival of Kerala is a yearly event organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is recognized by the FIAPF thus making it part of a prestigious circle of specialized festivals. The 13th edition of IFFK will be held at Thiruvananthapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum), the capital city of Kerala in the South of India from 12th - 19th December 2008.

IFFK boast’s of an exclusive and extremely popular Competition section restricted to films produced or co produced in ASIA, AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA within the last year of the festival cycle. The usual sections include world cinema, documentaries (in film formats), short fiction (in film formats), retrospectives, homage’s and tributes.

Over the years, the festival has attracted an ever increasing number of entries and our distinguished juries have a tough choice in deciding on the prizes and there is the prospect of winning attractive cash awards.

The goal of Animateka is to showcase animation production from Central and East European countries to the Slovene public, foreign guests and film professionals invited to Ljubljana on this occasion, establishing a space where authors, producers, journalists, students and audience will exchange their ideas and experiences in the relaxed atmosphere of Kinodvor venue. Besides the regional focus the festival also overviews world animation cinema and each year presents an Artist in Focus (last year the honor went to the Japanese master Koji Yamamura), a regional focus, children’s programme and youth’s workshops. The festival has in 2008 experienced serious financial cuts from the Slovenian Film Fund and Slovenian Cinematheque, both main funders of the festival, but has managed to gather energy and prepare its 5th edition.

The festival competition is open to any film directed by students in a cinema and/or audiovisual school.

The world's premiere Film and Documentary Festival showcasing first time documentaries and film's across 9 award categories including producers, directors, actors, screenplay writers, and technicians from people of Asia - Pacific origin.

An original event which combine a (bit of) film festival and an award ceremony for 10 categories (Best Film, Best Script, etc.) The festival is dedicated to first films, even if the definition of first films and the concept of the festival seem to be flexible (in 2006, The Road, the 4th film of Chinese director Zhang Jiarui was awarded Best Film). Up to 4 films are invited in each of the different categories. This year the event is adding “Pacific” to its name and scope.

Chinese state level international professional event and market focusing on documentary which started in 2003. The festival held in Guangzhou annually includes the following major activities: A thematic Competition, Documentary Market, Public Screenings and Seminars. GZ DOC 2008 will be held from December 1 to December 5.

Every year, GZ DOC chooses a theme with international concern for the competition and calls for the recent documentaries produced in China and worldwide. The past themes include: History and Cultural Heritage, Children and Youngster’s Stories, Women Today, Facing Poverty and Towards the Olympics.

Documentary Market in GZ DOC is the only professional market in documentary in China. It started with Documart (project pitching session) and Doc Shop in 2004. In 2005, 30 VIP commissioning editors were invited to meet Chinese producers. Projects with Most Marketing was introduced for promoting Chinese projects to international market. In 2006, GZ DOC worked with Discovery Asia in “Discover First Time Filmmaker” program and received over 400 applications and a Sino-Canada-German trilateral producer meeting was held. In 2007, GZ DOC introduces Producer Day and invited 50 international producers to meet Chinese documentary professionals.

GZ DOC Screening endeavours to introduce outstanding documentaries to Chinese audience who rarely have access to these films. Screenings of outstanding documentaries in the festival venue and universities were held since 2003. From 2005, Public Screenings were held during the festival time in three cinemas in Guangzhou. In 2006, 38 films from China, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Poland, Finland, Portugal, Canada were screened in three cinemas as well as University City. Starting from 2007, GZ DOC opened online application for public screening.

Seminars have been held since GZ DOC 2003 to discuss various issues in documentary making. The 2008 concern is: How to Produce Market-Oriented Documentaries.

The first International film festival of India was held in Bombay as early as 1952. At the third festival in 1965, the first competitive one for India, the Paris based Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films ( FIAPF ) gave official recognition to the Indian Festival putting it on par with those of Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Moscow. Since the 9th IFFI in 1983, with the participation of 22 World Countries, the festival has become a major forum for Third World cinema.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary Festival des trois continents (Festival of Three Continents) - Nantes remains faithfull to its starting aims: promoting the use of the medium of film (fiction and documentary) to make possible confrontations of cultures from the different countries of three continents (Africa, Asia, Black and Latin America), to promote the distribution of films and to enable filmmakers from distant places of the world to meet each other as well as French and international filmmakers, to help artists achieve recognition for creative work that is often produced under extremely difficult conditions. To name just a few of the discoveries this festival has contributed to the Western view on treasures of world cinema: Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, the Argentine new wave, Souleymane Cissé, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Abbas Kiarostami, Wong Kar-wai, Tsai Ming-liang, Jia Zhang-ke ...

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF, original name: Tallinna Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival) is an international festival that includes competitive feature film festival and competitive specialised film festivals. The 12th PÖFF takes place from 13 November to 7 December 2008 and includes main programme, Student Film Festival Sleepwalkers, Animation Film Festival Animated Dreams, Children and Youth Film Festival Just Film, Nokia Mobile Phone Film Festival MOFF and industry market Baltic Event.

PÖFF is recognised by FIAPF as an associated Competitive Specialised Feature Film Festival. PÖFF is also a supporting member of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) and a member of the Alliance of Central and Eastern European Film Festivals (CentEast).

The main programme is the biggest and best known part of PÖFF. It includes two competition sections - international competition EurAsia for European and Asian features, and Scottish Leader Baltic feature film competition -, non-competitive overview of world cinema, extensive programme of documentaries, retrospectives of filmmakers, genres and studios, and focus on filmmaking of some countries or regions. The programme presents ca 200 films from over 60 countries, though emphasis is traditionally on the European cinema.

In 2007, the winning film Blind Mountain was co-produced by China, Hong Kong, and Germany and directed by Li Yang. The total statistics for films screened at the festival came to 196 films from 38 countries. 135 screenings were attended by over 21,000 viewers. The average number of visitors for one screening was 157, which gives the ninth IFF Bratislava the status of most viewer-oriented festival in its history.

Every year, the festival presents between 250 and 300 short films from around the world. More than 120 screenings of 30 different compilations are organised in Arts Centre STUK, in 5 venues.

The workshop will have two seminars. First seminar workshop in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June 2009 (the business of being a commisioning editor analysed in detail; from the idea to the screen; based on case studies; with the participation of all the players involved in the genesis of a programme); second seminar workshop in Portugal, October 2009 (commissioning editor - what does the future hold?; from new production methods to new forms of broadcasting; meetings with the best experts in the field).

EURODOC was designed to provide European documentary producers with a specific training structure. Producing quality creative documentaries requires increasingly more funding, which is proving difficult to find at national levels regardless the size of the country. Things are moving fast, very fast. Constant training remains vital.

Eurodoc is a strong, influential and united network. This has been indispensable in enabling it to cope with the rapid changes in the documentary sector. Since the creation of the programme, its objectives have remained the same: to improve the trans-national circulation of documentary films and to strengthen the international development of small and medium-sized companies in the sector.

In 2009, EURODOC will start a long-term cooperation with three institutions, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission, the Slovenian Film Fund and the Croatian Audio-Visual Center, in order to welcome every year one producer from each of these three neighboring countries (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia). 

Contact: Marit van den Elshout, Jacobine van der Vloed
Website: http://professionals.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/eng/cinemine.aspx

CineMart has a rich history of presenting daring, innovative and independent film projects from different parts of the world, and in the past decade has given special attention to providing support to the filmmakers and producers coming from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The International Film Festival Rotterdam launched CineMart 25 years ago as a regular film market, eventually remodelling it as an effective co-production market, the first of its kind. Throughout its history, CineMart has proven to be an integral part of the international film industry, providing an indispensable platform to support the realization of new film projects and heralding the start of each new ‘film year.’

The formula of introducing projects to potential co-producers, sales agents, television buyers, distributors and financiers in one-on-one meetings has proven to be so effective that many festivals have used the same blueprint to create their own co-production markets. CineMart is pleased to be working together with many of them, including Cannes, Berlin, Pusan, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Independent Features Project (IFP), Sithengi Film and Television Market, Paris Cinema and CineLink (Sarajevo).

WebSite: http://www.efm-berlinale.de/en/service/registration/registration.php

The European Film Market (EFM) is primarily aimed at professionals such as sales agents and distributors, acquisition executives, producers, exhibitors, financiers, as well as representatives of the TV and home entertainment market. It runs for 9 days as part of one of the most important film festivals in the world, the Berlinale. As the first major film event of the year, it is a magnet for international industry professionals, and is seen as a barometer for the upcoming year in film.

The EFM is the business centre of the festival, taking place in the exhibition hall of the Martin-Gropius-Bau (MGB), and now in the official second location at the EFM Marriott Offices in the deluxe modern Marriott Hotel, both just minutes away from the festival headquarters at Potsdamer Platz in the heart of contemporary Berlin.

Each year, producers, distributors, buyers and sales agents converge at the EFM where both commercial art-house and specialized mainstream films are given star billing. The open and lively environment of MGB allows for ample opportunity to meet and network with a wide variety of industry colleagues.

Recognizing that new and emerging talent is one of the greatest resources, the EFM continues to promote discovery, facilitate collaborations and provide platforms for productions in development.

Under the auspices of the EFM, the Berlinale Co-Production Market is an intensive three-day event where international producers and financiers meet with the goal of finding partners for selected projects. Located at the Berlin House of Representatives, directly across from the MGB, moving from one event to the next is quick and easy.

Books at Berlinale is a collaboration with the Frankfurt Book Fair. Publishers and literary agents are represented under an umbrella stand at the EFM to promote contact and exchange between the book and film worlds.

Straight from Sundance is a co-operation with the Sundance Film Festival giving our international buyers first crack at new films from the American independent scene.

Works in Progress is a forum for young talented Latin American filmmakers offering buyers and sales agents a chance to pick up on new and interesting work in their early stages and help bring them to fruition.

German Cinema is a series culled from the best of the previous year's German cinema, presented for the international market.

Whether putting together deals, networking for new opportunities or catching up with colleagues, it’s all about relationships. And that’s what the EFM is here for.

Website: http://www.tamperefilmfestival.fi/2008/eng/index.htm

Categories: International Competition, Finnish Competition, Special Programmes, Student Films, Trashmovie, Videotivoli …

Formats: any format, any genre (animation, documentary, fiction, experimental)

Awards: Grand Prize, Best Animation, Best Fiction, Best Documentary for under and over 30 minute length films in competition (money awards from 1,500 to 10,000 Euro), Best Student Film, Best Young Jury Film …

Fees: None

Together with festivals in Oberhausen and Clermont-Ferrand, Tempera is among the most important European short film festivals. Being held since 1969 also makes it the oldest short film festival in Scandinavia.

Yearly, over 500 short films are shown, both international and Finnish, and there are numerous seminars and other activities surrounding the festival.

Tampere Film Festival is an independent short film festival with an international, LAB1O and national competition. The competitions are open and free for all who want to submit a film for the preview. It is organized by the association Tampere Film Festival and receives financial support from the City of Tampere, the Finnish Film Foundation, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union Media-programme, Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture in Finland and other public and private partners.

Drawing attention to quality documentary films (premiered and awarded at prestigious international festivals) but also investigative and activist films, which focus on the most serious problems and violations of human rights, the festival primarily addresses young people and strengthens their belief that personal civic engagement can bring about a true and positive change. Currently One World is one of the leading human rights festivals in Europe (and is also among the founding members of the Association of Human Rights Festivals, which joins together 17 festivals from throughout the entire world). Its presence offers the possibility for deeper understanding of the connections and the important foreign-political and social themes, sparks the public discussion and promotes democracy and security. In the previous few years the event has expanded to many smaller human rights oriented festivals in Central, South and Eastern Europe.

One World also serves as an education platform: as a part of the project One World in Schools, a thematic collection of documentary films and other accompanying and teaching materials has been created, which help pedagogues to incorporate the teaching of human rights and development assistance into their lesson plans.

Categories: Official programme (international competition and special screenings), Bulgarian feature films, Balkan films showcase, European screen, World screen, Bulgarian shorts, Documentary programme, Retrospectives and tributes, Special events

Formats: Beta-SP, 16mm, 35mm

Awards: Grand Prize, Special Jury Award, Audience Award, FIPRESCI Award

Fees: None

The mission of the Sofia International Film Festival is to promote significant and innovative works in contemporary world cinema to the local audience, and regional (Bulgarian and Balkan) cinema to an international audience, as well as to encourage cooperation between local and international filmmakers. The main programme will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria with an additional week in Sofia, Bourgas and Plovdiv.

Categories: documentary films in competition, focuses, retrospectives, special programmes

Formats: 16 and 35mm prints, Beta SP and Digital Beta; short, medium or feature length documentaries, copyrighted in 2008 or 2009

Awards: Grand Prize (€8 000), The Library Award (€6 000), Scam International Prize (€4 600), Louis Marcorelles Award, Short Film Prize (€2 500), The Young Jury Award (€2 500), Joris Ivens Award for first film (€2 500).
Fees: None

The festival is not looking for reportages, news programmes or journalistic-style documentaries. It gives priority to cinematographic writing and approaches, whatever the subject, genre or form.

Since 1978, the Cinéma du Réel international documentary film festival has been an outstanding international meeting point, where the public and professionals discover the films of experienced authors as well as new talents, the history of documentary cinema as well as contemporary works. The festival programs some hundred films for its various sections, screened at the Centre Pompidou, the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, the MK2 Beaubourg film theatre, the Paris City Hall and several other theatres in the Ile-de-France area.

Categories: films for youth and children competition programme (includes 8 feature films), shorts competition, retrospective, Panorama (features, shorts, documentaries, animation), new Nordic films ...

Formats: 35 mm (features, duration of at least 60 minutes), Beta SP or PAL

Awards:  BUFF Grand Prix - City of Malmö Award (€5500), The Swedish Church Award (€5500), The Youth Jury

Fees: None

BUFF - The International Children and Young People´s Film Festival in Malmö, was founded in 1984 and is a non-profit organization. The aim was, and still is, to screen good films for children and young people as well as adults. A meeting place for people working with children, young people and film.

Since 1995, BUFF is an official Swedish film festival, an assignment given by the Swedish Film Institute. About 100 films are shown during the six days of the festival, with screenings both day and night. BUFF arranges seminars and discussions for teachers, film-makers and cultural workers aiming to inspire children and youth films.

The Independent Short Film and Video Awards (ifva), hosted annually by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, has been actively promoting innovative creative media since 1995. In addition to supporting short film, video, and interactive media, ifva also organizes pre- and post-award activities to enhance public awareness of creative media and encourage media interaction. Committed to developing local indie talent, ifva seeks to break new ground and push the boundaries of innovation and creativity.

Categories: Competition for Full-Length Feature, Full-Length Documentary and Short Films

Formats: 35 mm, 16 mm, Beta SP, DVD

Awards: Best Fiction, Best Documentary, Best Short, Invisible Boarders Award

Fees: None

2009 Festival International de Films de Femmes de Créteil program guideline will be political and it will be articulated on a parallel between the United States of Europe and the United States of America with a 30 film program coming from both continents and a large brainstorming forum on the impact of cultural diversity throughout cinema made by women. This section will feature images of rich intercultural communities on both continents in order to point out new borders and explore new film styles.

A special night of genre films will bring together police, fantastic and science fiction, erotic films and even vampire horror movies made by women.

Categories: Asia, Africa, Latin America (except the USA, Canada, the European countries, Australia and New Zealand completed after 1 January 2008)

Formats: 35mm, 16mm, video, DVD, Beta SP

Awards: Camera Novo Award (8000 Euro), Young Jury Award, Audience Award

Fees: None

The festival encompasses three continents: Africa, Asia and Latin America. The main purpose is to confront western audiences with cultural expressions from far away countries and thus to enhance the understanding and the appreciation of these cultures.
The festival wants to present the film directors from the three continents as skilled world artists, to offer them a platform for their artistic expression and, in its own modest way, to contribute to the introduction and the promotion of films from Africa, Asia and Latin America in Belgian film distribution.

Bradford International Film Festival has become a byword for exciting, adventurous programming – a showcase for the new, the groundbreaking, the unusual and the obscure. Filmmakers are keen to submit their work on the basis that, if selected, it appears amidst a dazzling array of associated talent. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with basking in reflected glory.

In 2008 the lineup is once again constructed from a disparate mix of fresh material and tributes in the form of retrospectives. Thus Bradford straddles the cinema of the past and the cinema of the present while always looking forward to the future. This year special seasons are devoted to Michael Palin, Kenneth Branagh, Julien Temple, Leslie Norman and Christian Petzold. We will also be joined by TV film critic Barry Norman, composer Patrick Doyle, filmmaker Mike Figgis and musicians from the Royal Academy of Music.

Categories: competition, retrospectives, student section, panels

Formats: 35mm, 16mm, Betacam PAL, Beta SP

Awards: Hellenic Red Cross Audience Award, FIPRESCI, Greek Film Center Awards, Amnesty International, WWF Award

Fees: None

The TDF is carried out every March in Thessaloniki since its inception in 1999, and under the umbrella of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival organization. Through its tributes and retrospectives, the TDF focuses on filmmakers with unique cinematic voices, internationally renowned for their contribution to the documentary genre. Films that address human interest, social issues, cultural, social and historical developments and diversity are encouraged to submit.

Running alongside the Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Doc Market was an initiative of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century and was an innovation in the field of Greek film festivals. The main purpose of the Market, annually co-organized with ERT A.E., is to bolster the commercial potential of contemporary documentaries. The Market took its first steps as a Balkan market. However, its quality didn't take long to attract buyers from all of Europe and to transform it into a European market within its first five years of operation. In the last few years the Market has become international, with major television networks, distributors, even representatives of other Festivals from all over the world participating. The constantly increasing attendance of the buyers and their great interest in its programme, has already established its place among international markets. At the same time as its success, the Market has accomplished yet another of its particular ambitions, the promotion and support of Greek documentaries, as it now annually presents almost the sum total of Greek production, independent and non independent, and gives a unique opportunity to Greek documentary makers to promote their work internationally and find practical help that will permit them to continue with their vision.

The Fribourg International Film Festival aims to promote quality films primarily from Asia, Africa and Latin America and thus contribute to ensuring cinematographic and cultural diversity throughout Europe. The Festival contributes to diffusing »another look« and therefore a better comprehension of the various cultural and social realities in the world. In this respect the FIFF is the Swiss reference event and enjoys wide recognition on the international scene. Every year it publishes a detailed catalogue. It organizes forums with professionals from for the public, the media and other professionals present. It also organizes special showings for children and young people, meetings with the filmmakers and workshops on the cinema.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is a competitive event whose aim is to serve as a platform for international film exchange, promote better understanding between peoples and cultures, and encourage young filmmakers around the world.

Categories: Shorts, Features and Documentaries. Competition for Asian digital films
Requirements: entries should have been produced within the last 24 months
Fee: US$ 40 to 70

Except for the Hong Kong films, new films must not have been shown in Hong Kong prior to the Festival screenings.
English subtitles are required for non-English speaking films.

Organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) in association with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong, Kowloon & New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association Ltd. (MPIA), Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) will be held from 23 to 25 March 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The 6th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum will receive project submissions until 15 November 2008.

A core event of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, the HAF is Asia's premier project market, designed to connect Asian filmmakers who have upcoming film projects with internationally prominent film financiers, producers, bankers, distributors, buyers, and financers for co-production ventures. The HAF is the ideal venue for discovering and investing in emerging Asian talents and for first-look opportunities of their latest projects. Past participants have included Mainland Chinese, Jia Jiang-Ke, Jiang Wen and Ning Hao, Hong Kong's Stanley Kwan, Ann Hui, Pang Ho-Cheung, Taiwan's Tsai Ming-Liang, Japan's Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Miike Takashi and Yukisada Isao, Korea's E J-Yong and IM Sang-soo as well as Thailand's Yongyoot Tjonhkongtoon, Nonzee Nimibutr and Pen-ek Ratanaruang.

The HAF is supported by various international partners including CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund of Rotterdam, Hong Kong Film Awards, Paris Cinema, Pusan Promotion Plan, the Rome Film Festival, J-Pitch of UniJapan, and associated partners Festival de Cannes, the Producers Network and Marché du Film. Many of the completed projects have gone on to screen at the world's most prestigious film festivals, among them Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Locarno and Pusan.