SOFA, the School of Film Agents, conceived and run by Nikolaj Nikitin, has picked its fifth generation of students for its training workshops in Warsaw in August, and in Tbilisi in April 2018. Nikitin announced the line-up at a press conference last week at European Film Festival Palić, where he works as the Official Selection programmer.

"There are many existing schools for filmmakers, producers, actors, but our goal is to train film industry players who will take care of festivals, distribution, start film magazines, and in some countries establish cinematheques or even film funds," said Nikitin. "Countries like France and Germany have bigger funds, more film schools and developed national archives, so we are focusing on Central and Eastern Europe and Caucasus countries, as well as Greece and Israel."

The seven selected participants and their projects are:

Nino Chichua (Georgia) - Film/TV Production Cost Calculator for Georgia
An online tool for international producers which adds transparency, ease and speed to calculating production budget estimate for filming in Georgia.

Tara Karajica (Serbia) - Fade to Her – Center for Women in Film
"Fade to Her" supports women in the Serbian film industry, promotes gender equality and the visibility of female-driven cinematic content.

Nikolai Lavreniuk (Belarus) - Belarusian Film Promotion Centre
A promotion centre of Belarusian cinema as a consolidation platform to show Belarus cinema potential to international professionals.

Liina Maria Lepik (Estonia) -  Tallinn Film Wonderland
A film industry hub project with region’s biggest studio complex initiated by Estonian film producers to boost region’s film production services.

Agnieszka Sekowska (Poland) - Producer’s MAP (Mentoring Action Plan)
A first of its kind one-year mentoring programme for young emerging producers which leads them through film festivals and trainings. 

Angelos Tsaousis (Greece) - DocRepublic
A documentary centre where storytelling with great social impact is celebrated.

Gitit Wainer (Israel) - Cine-Reflection – Films as a Reflection of Life
Film Education Programs for Youth.