Three cash prizes and one non-cash prize were given to selected feature film ideas on Sunday during the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 17th to 21st).
Over 370 films and 22 series that sought partners at the Berlinale Co-Production Market in recent years have already been finished.
The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of 20,000 euros was granted to Ukrainian producers ForeFilms for their film Screaming Girl (director: Antonio Lukich). Eurimages, the European film funding organisation, will utilise the prize to help the production flourish. This year's jury included promotion representative Emma Scott (Screen Ireland, Ireland), world sales agent Oscar Alonso (Latido Films, Spain), and producer Uljana Kim from Lithuania (Studio Uljana Kim, Lithuania).
The VFF, a collecting society for film and television producers, annually sponsors a promising young talent project from the Talent Project Market, which is organised by the Berlinale Co-Production Market in collaboration with Berlinale Talents. The VFF Talent Highlight Award is worth 10,000 euros. Silence Sometimes (directed by Álvaro Robles) won this year's award. Producer Mireia Vilanova (Cartuna, USA) pitched the project. Producer and director Assel Aushakimova (Risk Pictures) of Kazakhstan and producer Liselotte Persson (Snowcloud) of Sweden received nomination prizes of 1,000 euros.
The ARTEKino International Award 2024 goes to Hungarian director Hajni Kis's production I am Marika, which was produced by Proton Cinema. ARTE honors an artistically outstanding initiative with this 6,000-euro prize.
For the second time, the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award was given to a co-production market project from a WCF funding country; the producers of Seera Films from Germany, as well as director Fradique, will receive comprehensive advice on optimising the audience and communication strategies of their film Hold Time for Me.
At the 21st Berlinale Co-Production Market, producers from 34 selected feature film projects will connect with co-producers and financiers. Over 1,500 separate encounters with potentially relevant partners were scheduled and managed ahead of time, with over 600 participants in all.
Ten books for adaptation and ten new series proposals have also been chosen. They are the subject of the pitch events Books at Berlinale and Co-Pro Series.
The Berlinale 2024 will feature five outstanding films: Keyke Mahboobe Man (My Favourite Cake) by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha in competition, Arcadia by Yorgos Zois in Encounters, Quelle'estate con Irène (My Summer with Irène) by Carlo Sironi and Comme le feu (Who by Fire) by Philippe Lesage in Generation, and Oasis of Now by Chee Sum Chia in the Forum.
The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a Berlinale Pro* project of the Berlin International Film Festival, supported by the MDM - Central German Media Funding, the Creative Europe - MEDIA program of the European Union, and the Film Funding Agency (FFA). The Berlin House of Representatives serves as both the collaboration partner and the principal venue.
