As every year, KVIFF Eastern Promises has presented a wide selection of projects, 29 in total that are in different production stages across three programmes. This edition of the industry section of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was held online and Hugo Rosák, the Head of the KVIFF Film Industry Office, underlined: “What was important this year is that, despite the pandemic, we didn’t break the tradition of bringing into the spotlight quality projects from our region that are in the making and which buyers and producers can advance closer to distribution. It's reassuring to see that an online format can deliver this.”

In the Works in Progress section, fiction and documentary projects were merged for the first time. Rosák explained that “We feel that both categories, despite their differences, possess the same artistic value.“ A total of 12 projects, from countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and North Africa were presented.

The jury, which included Martina Bleis, head and project curator of the Berlinale Co-Production Market, programme and pitching advisor at Connecting Cottbus, Uldis Cekulis, producer and founder of VFS FILMS, Yohann Comte, co-founder and producer of Charades sales and co-production company, Esra Demirkiran, festival coordinator at TRT Cinema, and Michaela Patríková, sound designer at Soundsquare, selected the Iranian-French creative documentary An Owl, a Garden and the Writer by first-time director Sara Dolatabadi and produced by Amir Naderi, Dolatabadi and Farhad Mohammadi, as the recipient of the Works in Progress Post-production Development Award that consists of post-production services in UPP and Soundsquare. The jury mentioned: “For a delicate and poetic exploration of an artist’s world and his relationship with the society he lives in. The pitch surprised us all in the best possible way.“

The winner of the other prize in this section, the Works in Progress TRT, which offers a cash prize of €5,000, was Victim [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Michal Blaško
fiche film], by first-time Slovak director by Michal Blaško and produced by Jakub Viktorín and Pavla Janoušková Kubečková. The jury opined that the film has an “attentive approach to its story, which reflects the tender relationship between a mother and son and an individual and society in a strong social context. The director’s clear signature is evident in the artistic quality of the scenes and long, bold shots.“

Finally, for the Works in Progress Karlovy Vary IFF Award, that is also accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize offered from KVIFF, the jury has picked Tina & Megi, the sophomore project by Georgian director Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze, whose debut feature film Otar’s Death [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Ioseb 'Soso' Bliadze
fiche film] will premiere in KVIFF, produced by Eva Blondiau as a “A timely piece and a new and fresh voice showing and encouraging the fight of young women who ‘learn to fly’ despite a society that allows them no time or freedom to develop their own choices in life.“

Here is the list of KVIFF Eastern Promises Works in Progress award winners:

Works in Progress Post-production Development Award
An Owl, a Garden and the Writer – Sara Dolatabadi (Iran/France)

Works in Progress TRT Award
Victim [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Michal Blaško
fiche film] – Michal Blaško (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Germany)

Works in Progress Karlovy Vary IFF Award
Tina & Megi – Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze (Georgia/Germany)