Montenegrin cinematography is on the right track, said the director of the Film Center of Montenegro (FCCG). Aleksandra Božović, at a panel discussion organized as part of the International Film Festival in Cyprus (Cyprus Film Days International Festival).
At the 22nd edition of the festival, which was held from April 18 to 21 in Limassol, Cyprus, as part of the Dot.on.the.Map Industrial Platform. Montenegrin cinematography was presented...
Božović spoke at the SEE Cinema Network's Film Network panel on the topic "Film Community: Strengthening the Film Industry of Southeast Europe through Regional Cooperation", emphasizing the importance and power of regional cooperation in the film industry. She also spoke about the efforts that FCCG invests in the development of Montenegrin cinematography, but also about the promotion of our country as a film destination, the FCCG announced.
"Our goal is the development of Montenegrin cinematography, and we believe that we are on the right track, especially if we bear in mind that the Film Center of Montenegro was founded in 2017, and that it is the youngest in the region, with visible results that create a safe environment for the development of new talents and projects. FCCG, in addition to co-financing the production of domestic productions, the presentation of domestic cinematography abroad, is especially developing the 'Film in Montenegro' program through which we present our country as a film destination with the aim of attracting foreign investments by providing services to foreign production companies, encouraging them to film in Montenegro. said Bozovic.
She added that she is proud of the development and growth of the number of Montenegrin productions and co-productions, as well as financial investment.
"Every year, on average, we invest 80 percent of the total budget of the Film Center in co-financing domestic productions. Of that, 69 percent of the budget goes to the co-financing of national productions, while on average 31 percent of the budget is directed to the co-financing of minority co-productions. Our producers co-produce mostly with countries from the region and South-Eastern Europe", said Božović and added that the Film Center has supported 49 projects with 1,477 million euros in competitions for minority co-productions since its establishment.
In addition to her, the following participated in the panel: Deputy Minister of Culture of Cyprus Dr. Elena Christodoulidou, Director of the Greek Film Center Athena Kartalou, Kamena Balkanski ispree Creative Europe MEDIA desk in Bulgaria and Ilinka Teodorescu from the Romanian Film Center.
Presented the project "Four funerals and a wedding"
As part of the Dot.on.the.Map Industrial Platform, which gathers filmmakers from Southeast European countries, this year's edition included the project of the Montenegrin production company Parangal film "Four Funerals and a Wedding", directed by Nikola Mijović and producer Maja Kecojević. This program is implemented in partnership with the Agora film market of the Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Producer Kecojević is pleased that the project under development was among the eight selected from the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
"We had the opportunity to present ourselves in front of a large audience consisting of producers, sales agents, representatives of public funds, distributors. Of the new acquaintances, I especially highlight the authors and producers from Cyprus and Greece and the new preliminary agreements on future collaborations," said Kecojević.
Mijović says that participation in the co-production market gave "an additional wind behind the film project".
"Because of the future festival life and distribution of the film, it is important for us that already at this stage there is interest in what we do, and in that sense I think we have succeeded in presenting our film in an interesting and impressive way". he assessed.
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