The Necromancer
2011
Central European Pitch Forum - 59 applicants from 19 countries
On 31 May the application period was closed for the first pan-European spec screenplay market.
The Central European Pitch Forum to be held this October in Pécs, Hungary, has received a surprising number of screenplays: all in all 59 applications have arrived from as many as 19 countries. For a first-of-its-kind event making its debut it is a stunning amount, proving the organizers’ theory that CEPF will definitely fill a void in Europe.
The first all-European screenplay market provides 12 writers with the opportunity to present their screen stories in front of a panel of internationally acclaimed producers during the Pécs International Film Festival between 30 September and 4 October 2007 in the hope of giving their projects a much needed professional boost.
The Central European Pitch Forum is unique among the many pitching events all across the continent in that it is a story market, meaning that writers can apply without having producers attached to their projects.
The processing of the applications has already begun. The reader team will have selected the 12 participants by mid-June. The jury team of CEPF will provide the selected writers with a detailed professional analysis of their screenplays. Based on this a short consultation period ensues, following which the writers can further develop their scripts. Until 31 August the participants have time to rewrite.
We are proud to announce that our jury teamconsists of some of the best in the craft. Head of jury is Christina Kallas (D-GR, Head of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe), the other members are Maciej Karpinski (PL, screenwriter, deputy head of the Polish Film Institute), Richard Kwietniowski (UK, BAFTA-winning writer-director) and Giovanni Robbiano (I, screenwriter-director, professor of the Genoa University).
The 12 participants will get an opportunity to hone their presentation skills on a 2-day residential workshop directly before the pitch in Pécs. This is facilitated by two outstanding presentation trainers, Jurgen Wolff and Rupert Widdicombe from the UK. Following the preparation, the 12 writers have nothing else to do but tell their stories to the 15 producers and go for one of the cash prizes of the pitch forum. In all, 10 thousand euro will be handed out.
The 15-strong producers’ panel is being assembled, but we have already received confirmation from some key players of the industry. Cyriac Auriol (Les films du requin, France - Bab Aziz, Heros), Borislav Chouchkov (Chouchkov Brothers, Bulgaria - Tilt), Andrey Deryabin (Hermitage Bridge Studio, Russia – Russian Ark), Anna Gudkova (Profit, Russia – Voroshilov’s Shooter, Luna Papa), László Kántor (Új Budapest Filmstúdió, Hungary - Trap, Dallas), Alexander Ris (Mediopolis, Germany - Trap, The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes) and Karla Stojakova (Axman Production, Czech Republic - Restart) have already confirmed their participation. The full list of producers will be completed by the end of July.
The 59 applications have arrived from the following 19 countries: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, FYROM, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and The UK.
