December 16, 2011

Barcelona

Today we officially announce our partnership with ECU 2012 The European Independent Film Festival held in Paris.

The Virtual Bridge will be the prize sponsor for the best ECU 2012 Script.

About The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) 2012

The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) continues its commitment of being at the centre of discovery, promotion and projection of the very best independent filmmaking talent from around the world.

ÉCU will showcase filmmakers whose films demonstrate quality, innovation and independence in both form and content. There are thirteen categories of films in this highly esteemed competitive festival.

While ÉCU’s goal is to bring worldwide attention to European independent filmmakers, there are also five foreign categories open to independent filmmakers from the Americas, Africa and Asia.

The festival will take place in Paris March 30th, 31st and April 1st 2012.

The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) has established itself as a fantastic arena for independent filmmakers from around the world to screen their films to large audiences made up of a cinema-loving public who are seeking alternatives to the offerings of major studios, as well as to agents, talent scouts, production company representatives, distributors and established producers looking for new projects and raw talent. Of course several hundred independent filmmakers from around the world will be in Paris to participate in the ÉCU.

With interest from large sections of European and international press, this is a great opportunity for independent filmmakers to get recognition for their films. Attending directors will also have the opportunity to speak about their films at our “Speak to the Directors” panel sessions which take place throughout the festival.

“The European Independent festival has proved to be a true breakthrough for Indie Filmmakers in Europe. ÉCU 2012 offers European independent filmmakers the chance to screen their films to an audience hungry for high-quality independent films, exposes them to other independent filmmakers’ work and gives them a forum to exchange ideas with other filmmakers. I believe that all of this will help them a great deal in their future filmmaking ventures.”

-Scott Hillier, President of The European Independent Film Festival.

www.ecufilmfestival.com

German Film and television producer

Born November 15, 1960

Christoph Thoke, German Film and Television Producer, has primarily worked as on-air promotion producer for the German broadcaster RTL 2 and German-French broadcaster Arte. From 1996 until 2002 he was part of the management at the production and service companies Taunusfilm and CineMedia, where he started out as assistant to the general manager and later became executive for production and acquisition.
At Taunusfilm, he oversaw all international production activities including the L.A. office of Taunusfilm International, while at CineMedia he was involved in the acquisition of films such as “What Women Want », starring Mel Gibson.
Christoph’s producing credits at that time included: critically acclaimed Little Senegal, which in 2001 was selected for the Foreign Film Language Oscar, Lubov and other Nightmares, Sundance 2002, as well as Planet B, The Antman and Planet B, Detective Lovelorn, both Berlin 2002, Official Selection, Perspective of German Cinema.

In 2003, Christoph joined forces with Axel Moebius to produce with their own company Thoke + Moebius Film (TMF).
At TMF, Christoph has been able to produce or co-produce a slate of ten titles such as Tropical Malady from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a major arthouse sensation which got the Jury Price in Cannes 2004 (jury presidency: Quentin Tarantino) and was selected as best film of the year 2004 by Cahiers du Cinema.
Other titles at TMF include Bruno Dumont’s Twentynine Palms, Venice 2003, Official Competition, Buffalo Boy, official entry from Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 78th Academy Awards and Wedding Chest, official entry from Kyrgyzstan for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 79th Academy Awards.

In total, Christoph’s films have been officially selected for more than 400 festivals and garnered more than 70 awards around the globe.
In 2007 Christoph founded the production outfit Mogador Film, from where he is going to produce for the local and international market. The first project hasl been: Le Silence de Lorna. The film has been directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, got selected for Official Competition in Cannes 2008 and was awarded price for best script (jury presidency: Sean Pean), Christoph was been acting as German co-producer.

Tutoring, Panels and Consultancy
Since 2005, Christoph has been involved in different aspects of media training to name for example:

• Panelist at the Rotterdam Lab with Jani Thilgtes, Rotterdam International Film Festival 2005,
• Panelist on “International Producers in Europe” with Karl Baumgartner and Marco Müller, eDit 8. Filmmaker’s Festival, Frankfurt 2005,
• Member of the Pedagogic Staff and Production Tutor, Meda Films Development,
• Production Tutor, M.F.D., Marrakech 2006, 2007 and 2008, http://www.mfd.ma
• Project Consultant for Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop,
• Rotterdam 2007 and Cannes 2007, http://www.babylon-film.eu and
• Moderator for Producers Network, Festival de Cannes 2007.
• Production Tutor, Film Business School, Ronda 2008

Christoph Thoke is member of the German Film Academy (www.deutshe.filmakademie.de).

Wikipedia

María Laura was born in Argentina, where she got a degree in Image and Sound Design from the University of Buenos Aires. She later specialized in screenwriting and animation getting a degree as Professional 3D animator from Image Campus.

In 2003, she won the Bafilm award in Screenwriting granted by Bafilm-Instituto Cultural de la Provincia de Buenos Aires-and INCAA.

Having won several screenwriting awards, she was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus as a Latin American Talent in the areas of screenwriting and direction.

During the Berlinale, she was selected for the Script Clinic and the Doc Docsprograms, hosted by Equinoxe, Script Factory and the Blake and Friedman Agency. Maria Laura’s mentor during the Script Clinic was renowned script doctor Tom Schlesinger.

During the Doc Docs program, she developed “Surfing Favela” that turned out to be one of the ten Winners of The Fuel Experiment, a contest sponsored by Fuel Tv and Fox. “Surfing Favela” was written and produced by M.Laura Ruggiero and Tomás Crowder.

María Laura was awarded the “Young Creators Prize”, granted by the National Board of Culture of Argentina for Outstanding achievement in Audiovisual Arts.

She’s been selected for several film programs in Europe and Latin America, being the“Film Program Cannes: Master Course on Producing” one of the most significant program she attended. The Film Program Cannes is run by Ralph Ackerman and NYU Professor Robert Nickson.

Among the most important learning opportunities in her career, M.Laura attended several Screenwriting classes at UCLAand at the Film and Arts Foundation (SF), gaining a different insight to the world of screenwriting. In 2007, Maria Laura won the he NATPE/FOX Diversity Fellowship and  was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus 2008 and for the Talent Project Market to present “Arches” a the Berlinale Coproduction Market.

She currently directs SeirenFilms, a company devoted to Content Design for Film, Tv and Animation.

On a personal level, Maria Laura is a Film Lover, Yoga addict, swimmer, surfer, Trascendental Meditation Practitioner, karma believer and fervent traveler. Her dogs are named Orson and Obi Wan. She’s a libra, with Aquarius rising and Moon in piscis. She tames hurricanes in her free time.

www.seirenfilms.com

Según el convenio, el ICO creará una línea de financiación para fomentar la producción de largometrajes y cortos para el cine, telefilmes, documentales y series de animación. Así, los productores audiovisuales podrán obtener créditos directamente del instituto, sin necesidad de la intervención de un banco privado. A dichos créditos podrán descontar los contratos de venta de derechos con las televisiones que invierten en la producción anticipada de productos audiovisuales.

El importe máximo de los préstamos no podrá superar el precio de compra de los derechos.

Este acuerdo estará vigente hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2014 y podrá solicitarse acceso a los fondos hasta el 31 de octubre de dicho año.

El ICAA, encargado de articular el acuerdo, lo ha definido como “muy relevante, ya que contribuye a dinamizar un sector, el audiovisual, aquejado por las dificultades a la hora de la obtención de crédito”.

Source: Sergio Perez Rios

She was born and raised in Panama. She received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business focusing in Finance and International Business in the United States, where she worked and lived before establishing her own company in Ecuador.

Due to her affinity to the arts she decided to apply her knowledge to the conception, planning, and development of the cinema. Her ability to form and manage working teams has made possible the realization of several projects.

Her mission is to collaborate with the independent artist, achieving high-quality productions with international perspective that arouse the human conscience through creativity and emotions.

Currently, she produces two different feature films: RUTA DE LA LUNA (Panama-Ecuador, in post-production) and FERIADO (Ecuador-Argentina, in development), and a graphic novel.

www.abacafilms.com

Raised in Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Fiorin went to film school in Sao Paulo (FAAP) and New York (New School), where he lived and worked for 14 years, before relocating to California in 2001.   He is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Positions at the Film Forum, Universal, First Look Films, and CalArts are part of his 18-year career in the industry. He is a Programming Associate for the Latin American Film Festival at The High Museum of Art, in Atlanta, and the Artistic Director of the IndieBrazil Film Festival, in Los Angeles.

Mr. Fiorin has been invited to conduct panel discussions on the state of alternative distribution in Sundance, Rio de Janeiro, Cannes, Rotterdam, Toulouse, and several other festivals.

Company Description:

FiGa Films releases features and documentaries of any length in the Art-house theatre circuit in North America, as well as via TV, online, and on DVD. Its growing library contains critically acclaimed, award winner films, acquired at the top film festivals around the world.

Privately funded in 2006, FiGa is a true independent voice for the best in filmmaking coming from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Long lasting relationships, with a personal approach, are fundamental to co owners Sandro Fiorin and Alex Garcia.

The Company launched its International Sales arm at the 2008 Locarno Film Festival, representing unique, upcoming projects from Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. FiGa’s first co production (Verano de Goliat) won the Best Film Award at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. Los Viejos, from Bolivia, will follow up in 2011.

FiGa’s mission is to select and sell worldwide rights of films with social relevance, by up and coming directors. Distributing up to 6 films per year in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina, it is raising the bar and becoming the home of the New Latin Cinema.