Berlin

At the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 9 to 13), three awards featuring cash prizes have been given to selected feature film projects.

The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, endowed with prize money in the amount of 20,000 euros, went to the project Alcarràs (directed by: Carla Simón), presented here by production company Avalon PC (Spain), Sunday evening. With the prize, the European film fund Eurimages wishes to support the further development of the project. This year’s jury was composed of film fund representative Karin Schockweiler (Luxembourg), producer Helena Danielsson (Sweden) and distributor Jakub Duszyński (Poland).

Today two further awards were presented which have also been established components of the Berlinale Co-Production Market for years: with the VFF Talent Highlight Award, worth 10,000 euros, this year Munich-based VFF - Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten (Film and Television Producers Rights Association) has chosen to support the project Bufis (directed by: Mahad Ahmed), which was presented here by Kenya-based producer Vincenzo Cavallo. Since 2004, the VFF has been annually honouring a promising project featuring up-and-coming filmmaking talent from the “Talent Project Market”, which is organised by the Berlinale Co-Production Market in co-operation with Berlinale Talents. Also nominated this year were producers Jessie Fisk from Ireland and Alona Refua from Israel. The two also pitched their projects in front of an audience of participants at the Berlinale Co-Production Market and will each be receiving prize money in the amount of 1,000 euros.

The ARTEKino International Prize this year goes to the project A Responsible Adult by Israeli director Shira Geffen. With this award, endowed with prize money in the amount of 6,000 euros, ARTE honours an artistically exceptional project from the selection of the Berlinale Co-Production Market.

At the 16th edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market, the producers of the in-total 37 selected feature film projects are also meeting with co-producers and financiers. Over 1,500 individual one-on-one meetings with potentially appropriate partners from among the nearly 600 participants were meticulously planned in the run-up to the event. Books ripe for screen adaptation and series projects are also being presented prominently ­– centre-stage at the pitch events “Books at Berlinale” and “Co-Pro Series”. Over 2,400 requests for meetings were submitted this year. More than 280 films that were on the look-out for partners at the Berlinale Co-Production Market over the past years have been completed in the meantime. Three of these completed films are now screening in this year’s Berlinale programme.

The main partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a part of the European Film Market. Co-operation partner and primary event location is the Berlin House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus), which is situated right across from the European Film Market at the Gropius Bau.