11/04/2023 - Cyprus Film Days’ co-production, training and networking platform is being held in Limassol, where Mediterranean filmmakers will pitch their projects to industry professionals

The 21^st edition of the Cyprus Film Days International Festival, the official competitive festival of Cyprus, will be held from 21-29 April. Alongside the gathering, the fourth edition of Dot.on.the.map Industry Days, the event’s co-production, training and networking platform, will take place from 27-29 April in Limassol. Cypriot producer-director Danae Stylianou will head up Dot.on.the.Map Ιndustry Days.

Eight teams of producers and directors originating from Mediterranean countries will pitch their new feature-length film projects to representatives of the international film industry. After group work and individual meetings, the filmmakers will explore future artistic and financial collaborations with international producers, financiers, sales agents, broadcasters, distributors, and festival and film-fund representatives.

Dot.on.the.Map Industry Days provides an opportunity to network with industry professionals from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Participants can explore co-production and distribution opportunities, discuss new projects in development and pursue cross-border collaborations. The organisation received numerous project submissions from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The pitching session will take place at the Rialto Theatre at 10:30 on 28 April.

An international jury, comprising three producers – Amanda Livanou (Neda Film, Greece), Dries Phlypo (A Private View, Belgium) and Veselka Kiryakova (Red Carpet Films, Bulgaria) – will decide on the winners of this edition. The awards include the Cyprus Film Commission – Invest Cyprus Award, accompanied by a monetary prize of €1,000; the PS Movies and Stories Award, accompanied by lighting and grip equipment rental worth up to €4,000, offered by PS Movies & Stories Cinema Equipment Rental Ltd; the Best Debut Project Pitch, accompanied by a monetary prize of €500 offered by the Directors Guild of Cyprus; the Αsterisk* Award, comprising consultancy services on the project’s financing and marketing strategies, worth €1,400; and the Agora Networking Award, offered by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival to the producer of the winning project, including accommodation and free market accreditation.

The programme includes a range of informative sessions and discussions on the film industry. These include a presentation on the Cyprus minority co-productions scheme, a discussion on investment incentives in Cyprus, a talk on the Eurimages Cinema Support Fund and a master class on film marketing by Vicky Miha, of asterisk*. Furthermore, there will be an information session on shooting in Greece and co-producing with the country, a session on MEDIA development calls, a panel discussion featuring international film-festival programmers sharing their expertise on curatorial strategies, and a live conversation with French film director and Cyprus Film Days jury president Julie Bertuccelli, moderated by Cineuropa’s Davide Abbatescianni.

Access to Industry Days events and activities is limited to market badge holders and film professionals actively working in the industry. Those interested in attending Dot.on.the.Map Industry Days can request accreditation until 18 April via this link. The organisers are also providing free accreditations to film professionals actively working in the film industry in the Republic of Cyprus.

The selected Dot.on.the.map projects are as follows:

Available Now - Assaf Machnes (Israel/Germany)
Producer: Kobi Mizrahi (KM Productions)
Co-producers: Luis Singer, Dennis Schanz (Iconoclast Films)

Checkpoints - Rita Borodiyanski (Israel)
Producer: Osnat Saraga (Αnaney Studios)

Eastern Mediterranean - Aliki Danezi Knutsen (Cyprus/Greece)
Producers: Aliki Danezi Knutsen, Vladimir Subotic (Roads and Oranges Films), Ioanna Davi (Indigo View)

Grey Glow - Michèle Tyan (Lebanon/France/Qatar)
Producer: Sabine Sidawi (Orjouane Productions)
Co-producer: Christine Rouxel

Rabies - Sandra Tabet (Lebanon/France)
Producer: Rana Eid (DB Studios)
Co-producer: Thomas Micoulet (Haut les Mains)

Smaragda, I got thick skin and I can’t jump - Emilios Avraam (Cyprus)
Producer: Tonia Mishiali (Bark Like a Cat Films)

Wagako - Coralie Watanabe Prosper (France/Japan)
Producer: François Hancy (Kyrne Productions)
Co-producer: Miyuki Fukuma (Bunbuku)

When I Close My Eyes I See Your Eyes - Sameh Alaa (Egypt)
Producer: Mark Lotfy (Fig Leaf Studios)