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MIDPOINT 2022

MIDPOINT Shorts and MIDPOINT Cold Open are off to WEMW

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- Five short-film projects will be presented to film professionals at the gathering, while Cold Open is inviting accredited guests to explore the ever-changing TV landscape

MIDPOINT Shorts and MIDPOINT Cold Open are off to WEMW
Director Nadia Parfan, who is taking part in MIDPOINT Shorts with her short film The Annunciation

The second MIDPOINT Shorts workshop is already under way, and the participants, clutching their five short-film projects, are being prepared for their showcase, which will happen on Monday 24 January at 15:30 CET, within the hybrid When East Meets West (WEMW) co-production forum unspooling in Trieste, Italy, and online. Accredited industry guests can attend it both physically and virtually.

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This year’s edition of the MIDPOINT Shorts programme offers intensive training to the teams behind four short-film projects in development and one in the post-production phase (Rites), which was selected in collaboration with the Cannes Short Film Corner. The creators have been working under the guidance of acclaimed director and script consultant Pavel Marek and the MIDPOINT Shorts head of studies, producer and tutor Marija Razgutė, while pitching tutor Stefano Tealdi has joined alongside other guest tutors.

As a reminder, the development journey started in September with a preparatory kick-off session, followed by the first workshop focused mainly on creative development and dramaturgy, production strategies and project packaging (see the news). The second and final workshop offers industry insights, pitching training and a lecture by Wouter Jansen focusing on festival strategies for short films. Also on the agenda is a master class by Sameh Alaa, about his short film I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face, which was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

The selected 2021-2022 MIDPOINT Shorts projects are as follows:

The Annunciation (Ukraine)
Writer, director: Nadia Parfan
Producer: Aleksandra Kostina

April 1989 (Slovakia)
Writer, director: Maxmilian Turek
Producer: Marek Urban

Night Shift (Cyprus)
Directors, producers, writers: Alasdair Bayne and Talat Gokdemir

Rites (Czech Republic)
Writer, director: Damian Vondrasek
Writer: Lukas Csicsely
Producer: Martina Netikova

Wedding, Berlin (Czech Republic)
Writer, director, producer: Farah Abou Kharroub
Producer: Patrik Svehelka

Furthermore, nine producers from around the globe have been selected for the third edition of MIDPOINT Cold Open, the programme targeting independent feature-film producers who want to move into high-end series. The programme will be held entirely online from 23-28 January as part of the WEMW Inspirational Labs (see the news).

Tutors Marike Muselaers (Lumiere Group) and Gabor Krigler (Joyrider) will familiarise the participants with the overall landscape and priorities of the industry, and provide hands-on skills in the financing and distribution of scripted series content.

Also, on 24 January, an open lecture and talk is being organised for all WEMW-accredited guests, under the title “Where to Start When Financing a TV Series?”. Marike Muselaers and guest tutor Petri Kemppinen will discuss the current business models and share their own experience when it comes to TV series production and financing in this fast-changing market. What’s more, the conversation will touch on all stages of financing, from finding the initial development money and funding, to getting commissioned and engaging co-producers and private investors.

The selected producers for MIDPOINT Cold Open 2022 are as follows:

Serena AlfieriVIVO FILM (Italy)
Anaelle Beglet – art et essai (Canada)
Nino Chichua1991 Productions (Georgia)
Maya FischerGreen Productions (Israel)
Kalin KalinovInvictus Ltd (Bulgaria)
Zala OparaVertigo (Slovenia)
Gabor OsvathFilmfabriq (Hungary)
Ziad Touma – Couzin Films (Canada)
Angelo Troiano – Mediterraneo Cinematografica srl (Italy)

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